Contact: John Cones

Date: April 25, 2008
Phone: 310/477-6842
E-Mail: jwc6774@roadrunner.com


PRESS RELEASE

Los Angeles - Twenty-year Los Angeles-based securities/entertainment attorney, author and lecturer John Cones today accused New York Publisher Peter Lang, the publisher's Managing Director, Chris Myers, and Acquisitions Editor, Mary Savigar, of dishonest bullying tactics and other disreputable business practices as the publisher sought to force Cones to remove a small amount of language from his most recent book (contracted to be published by Peter Lang) which the publisher alleged to be "anti-Semitic" but failed to show the language was anything more than bona fide criticism of the business practices of the Hollywood establishment.

 

Cones, the author of five other published books about the film industry, including Hollywood Wars: How Insiders Gained and Maintain Illegitimate Control Over the Film Industry (Marquette Books, 2007), claims that not only did Peter Lang fail to demonstrate that the language was actually anti-Semitic, they did not even make any effort to do so.  They simply said 'we think the language is anti-Semitic and it has to be removed or the book will not be published.'  Cones tried to get the publisher to explain exactly what language they thought was "anti-Semitic," to share with him which of the many available authoritative definitions of anti-Semitism they were using and how such specific language actually exhibited all of the required elements of such a definition -- but they refused to even discuss the substance of the matter with him.

 

Cones believes the actions of the publisher's employees were both highly unethical and dishonest while partly designed to protect American film students all across the country (one of the target audiences for the book) from learning the truth about Hollywood, before they make a decision that might result in a waste of their professional lives, since, as Cones says: "nepotism, cronyisn, favoritism and other forms of reverse discrimination are common in the film industry".  In addition, he says the publisher's actions amount to another use of the anti-Semitic sword (the affirmative use of the false allegation of anti-Semitism designed to distract from the truth) which has also been used in Hollywood over the years to squelch criticism. He said that in the book which was to be
entitled: Motion Pictures: A Complete Guide to the Industry, in a chapter discussing problems with the Hollywood-based film industry, he simply pointed out that the most accurate description of the Hollywood control group for more than one hundred years is that they are "politically liberal, not very religious, Jewish males of European heritage".  He further cited at least thirty books and articles in support of that view which he also claims is not really new information.  He has simply been more precise than other
authors in describing who runs Hollywood.  He further contends that there is nothing anti-Semitic about disclosing factual information.  In fact, he asked the publisher to demonstrate that any statement made in the book was false and again they did not respond to the challenge; instead they simply refused to publish the book.

 

The ENTIRE TRANSCRIPT OF E-MAILS exchanged between Cones and Peter Lang's  Savigar and Myers showing what Cones believes is a consistent pattern of irresponsible behavior on the part of the publisher and its employees has been posted on the Internet at:  http://www.homevideo.net/FIRM/rotten1.htm

 

A SUMMARIZING ARTICLE appears at:

http://www.homevideo.net/FIRM/rotten2.htm

 

The BOOK in its final draft stages, with the final editorial corrections provided by Cones, is also available to reporters (and other publishers) upon request.

 

Source of this PRESS RELEASE:

http://www.homevideo.net/FIRM/25apr08.htm

 

 


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