7 Famous Writers Who May Not Have Actually Existed
3. David Manning
TwitterWhat do you do when your film studio's movies are getting universally terrible reviews? Why, you pay somebody to write good ones, that's what! At least, that's what Sony thought would be a good idea back in the early 2000s, prompting one of the most controversial examples of fictitious writing in recent memory. Manning was said to be a writer for The Ridgefield Press, a small weekly publication based in Connecticut in America. Among various reviews Manning praised A Knight's Tale, describing Heath Ledger as this year's hottest new star! and comedy The Animal, claiming it was another winner!. After a little bit of journalistic investigation, however, it transpired that The Ridgefield Press had never heard of David Manning, and Sony was caught in its lie. The question lingers, then, as to whether or not Manning ever existed. We know for certain that he didn't write for The Ridgefield Press, but someone was clearly writing the false reviews. Whether or not there was one singular person or a group of people was used remains a total mystery. It's likely that the name David Manning was made up in order to protect the identity of multiple people, but there are those who claim The Ridgefield Press had a deal with Sony to protect Manning's identity, and were completely aware of what was going on.
