Oprah Gets Taken By Another Phony Memoir -- Feature Film Plans Scrapped?
Filed under: Drama, Deals, Newsstand, War
Oprah Winfrey might be one of the most powerful women in the world, but one thing's for sure: the gal has no talent for spotting literary scams. Variety has reported that Herman Rosenblat's Oprah-endorsed Holocaust memoir, Angel at the Fence, has been pulled from publication by Berkley Books just weeks before the book was scheduled to hit the shelves. But that's not all -- plans for a $25 million film based on the book have been compromised following allegations by scholars, friends and family members that Rosenblat's tale was fabricated (New Republic has the whole story over at their website).According to Rosenblat's tale, his family was forced into the Schlieben Labor Camp in Germany, where he supposedly met his "angel" -- a young Jewish girl who lived outside of the camp and met Rosenblat at the fence to give him apples and bread, and he never learned her name. After the war, he relocated to New York and on a double date finally met the young girl who had kept him alive during his time at the labor camp. The two eventually fell in love, and it was that love story that earned them the spot the Oprah show (twice!) where she referred to their tale as "the single greatest love story" she had encountered in her 22 years on the show. Oprah has since declined to comment on the current controversy.
The last time a memoirist got caught in the act, the movie deals disappeared faster than you can say 'James Frey', but Angel's producer, Harris Salomon, said "he would go ahead with the film, but as a work of fiction, adding that Mr. Rosenblat had agreed to donate all earnings from the film to Holocaust survivor charities." Rosbenblat has since released a statement apologizing for any liberties he took with the truth in his story. Judging by the public reaction to Frey's 'inventions' I can only imagine how people will react to Rosenblat's fabrications. But, I still think the real question is: just because the story isn't true, does that mean you can't make a great movie? Sound off below...










Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-29-2008 @ 5:56PM
Scott Weinberg said...
The story might be wonderful, but if you call it TRUE and you're lying, then that's really tacky.
Exponentially so if it's a story about concentration camps.
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12-29-2008 @ 7:20PM
Max Frost said...
We already suffered through Life is Beautiful. Did we really need another whimsical feel-good love story about the Holocaust? It's like watching Alain Resnais' Night and Fog scored with Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On.
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12-30-2008 @ 6:19AM
Danny Bloom said...
Hi, good post.
If you care to blog about this press release, following, below, please do, pro or con. It is online now at ijcm101.blogspot,com
RE:
Asking Oprah to invite Herman Rosenblat on her show one more time to apologize for his literary fabrication, explain why he did it, ask forgiveness
I am creating a national write-in campaign here with a grassroots effort to ask Oprah to invite Herman on her show in future to apologzie, ask forgiveness, explain why he did and how and ... to move on with his life quietly and out of the spotlight.
I have already been in touch with Oprah's producers and there is a good chance this might happen. Oprah will not attack Herman on air the way she did with James Frey after his deceptions were uncovered. In this case, she will allow Herman to answer to the public, explain himself, apologize and ask forgiveness, from Oprah and the public, for his literary faux pas.
PLEASE leave your comments below. You may frame them as a letter to Oprah, which her producers in Chicago will read online here, and you can make your voice heard about asking Oprah to invite Herman on her show one last time to explain himself, to apologize to Oprah and the public, to ask forgiveness and to move on with this life from the point onward. We believe that he is a good man, and that he just made a wrong decision by sticking with his made-up story for so long. Now that the fabrication has been exposed by the media and his book cancelled, it is time for Oprah to invite him on her show and let him explain himself to her and to the public. I think there will be a teaching moment here for everyone, for Oprah too, for Herman, too, and for the viewing public.
I am in touch with Oprah's producers by email and phone now, and am waiting word on what they will do with this suggestion. There is no group sponsoring this write in campaign, just one lone blogger following his heart.
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12-30-2008 @ 6:23AM
Danny Bloom said...
that link for the Oprah campaign re Herman is corrected here
http://ijcm101.blogspot.com
If time or space or inclination, do blog on this pro or con, and if need more info, email, you know where to find me: danbloom in the gmail section
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12-30-2008 @ 9:40AM
Kevin said...
I don't know very much about this story specifically, so I'll answer your question in a more general fashion. I think that a stories truth doesn't necessarily affect whether or not it can be turned into a good movie. However, there are some stories that are so preposterous that the only way I'm going to be able to stomach the plot twists is if they actually happen to be true. Given what you said about this story, I'm not sure if I could buy the whole "saved my sanity as a child in a concentration camp, then randomly had dinner with you later" plot device. If it actually were true than I would be amazed and find it to be a fantastic turn of events, but if its not then it seems like a pretty unbelievable plot contrivance that is just being used so manipulate the audiences emotional response. Its kinda the feeling I had with another, similar holocaust movie earlier this year; boy with the striped pajamas. I won't say anything about the ending other than if it had happened in real life than it would have been tragic, but since it was used by the filmmakers to drive home a point I found it absurd and over the top. Thats just my 2 cents.
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12-30-2008 @ 11:19AM
Dave said...
You mean to tell me that Oprah is not a human lie detector? Shocking, how could she be fooled in such a way? Couldn't she just have used her wealth to build a time machine and send one of her lackeys back to check the story out?
C'mon Jessica, what is your own talent level with regards to spotting literary scams? I suppose you knew all along.
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12-30-2008 @ 2:57PM
Martin said...
The first scam that went undetected by Oprah was James Frey, am I right? I actually liked his books, so the entire Oprah-being-miffed-at-James business left me cold.
You have to admit that lying about the Holocaust is a ballsy thing to do in the face on an entire nation. So kudos for that, at least.
And on a side note: I fear Oprah. The demi-god status she seems to have acquired in the US over the years is terribly frightening to me. It is unhealthy for a nation to put that much faith in a tv personality. I suppose I will never understand the entire Oprah-phenomenon.
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1-02-2009 @ 9:37PM
Reader said...
Oh! Are we going to suffer through another anti-German tear-jerker?
Stop lying, period.
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