The Truth Behind CATFISH May Come Out Due to Legal Issues

Catfish was one of the most enjoyable movies of the year for me because I avoided everything about it before seeing it. I'd highly recommend getting that same experience if you haven't seen it yet, so stop reading now if you want to go in unspoiled.

All right, now I'll assume the rest of you have already seen the documentary, which Movieline suggests (in a must-read article) might not be as innocent as it seems. The gist of the argument is this: in a film in which a Michigan housewife swindles three tech-savvy New Yorkers, is the audience really supposed to believe that the events played out exactly as they did on screen? Perhaps we'll get the answer to that question, because now the movie's legitimacy is being called into question on a legal platform.

In the film, the guys discover Angela's songs are actually that of Amy Kuney, specifically the song "It's All Downhill From Here." Kuney is signed to Spin Move Records, and their parent company is now after Relativity Media and the filmmakers behind Catfish for money for featuring the song so prominently. Now in the case of a documentary, there are certain rules about fair use which grant privileges to filmmakers capturing "real events" on camera as they happen. BUT...if Catfish is staged as some suggest, then those rights disappear with the illusion of truth and the company has to pay the artist for the use of her music.

There's always the possibility of settlement out of court - a Catfish producer said "We are hoping to come to fair and equitable arrangement with [the musician and her representatives]" - if this thing goes through, then the filmmakers will have to go on the stand and swear that their film was genuine. We'll keep you posted with more info as it becomes available.

So assuming you saw Catfish, what did you think about the movie? Was the whole thing staged, or, my personal belief, a few parts of it staged and recreated after the fact? Let us know what you think in the comments section.