10 Movies That Ruined Real Life People's Reputations
9. Spotlight - Jack Dunn
The Best Picture-winning drama Spotlight is an urgent and infuriating document of the Boston Globe's investigation of pervasive child sex abuse in the Boston area by Roman Catholic priests.
And as acclaimed as the movie was, it received blowback from one of the people depicted - Jack Dunn (Gary Galone), a trustee and "PR man" for Boston College High School.
During a brief interaction with journalists Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton) and Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), he's shown to be dismissive and defensive of questions about sexual abuse taking place at the college, even suggesting the pair are "reaching for a story."
The real Dunn mounted a legal defense almost immediately, claiming that he never downplayed abuse allegations, though both Robinson and Pfeiffer rebuked that he did everything in his power to protect to the college's image.
In order to fan the flames, distributor Open Road Films ultimately offered a statement apologising for his depiction, while also making a series of donations to local charities in his name. They said:
"We acknowledge that Mr. Dunn was not part of the Archdiocesan cover-up. It is clear from his efforts on behalf of the victims at BC High that he and the filmmakers share a deep, mutual concern for victims of abuse."
And while Dunn said he felt "vindicated" by the outcome, he also acknowledged that his legal victory "will never erase the horrific experience of being falsely portrayed in an Academy Award-winning film."
Given that literally tens of millions of people have seen Spotlight and only a small fraction of them ever read about his legal challenge, his rep hasn't really recovered.