Filmmakers Protest Smithsonian-Showtime Deal
April 18, 2006
More than 215 filmmakers, television executives, and academics have petitioned the Smithsonian Institution to abandon a partnership with Showtime Networks, reports The New York Times.
As part of the deal, Smithsonian Networks, a new joint venture, would get the right of first refusal on commercial documentaries that relied on the museum’s archives, curators, or scientists.
The filmmakers object to the idea of a company getting preferential treatment and say the deal would discourage filmmakers from taking their projects to other companies. The Smithsonian says the arrangement would affect only a small number of projects.
