Lawsuit claiming this is not a documentary
Would love to know how this turned out...
https://www.ifc.com/2010/12/the-catfish-lawsuit
I can't find anything about any result reached. Could it still be ongoing all these years later?
I think Nev went looking for someone to Catfish him. He had the concept and needed someone to "catfish" him to execute it. One thing that really stands out is she let herself be interviewed at the end. These people do not like to be exposed on camera. They don't give explanations. If you look at Tallhotblonde documentary. The woman would not allow herself to be on camera. It's a blend of real/fake.
sharePersonally I suspect the whole thing was staged - just unscripted improvisation by Nev & Angela. I could believe her husband and kids may have been genuine, though. Otherwise, it's all just a little bit too pat.
And I definitely agree with Apple - it's highly suspect that she'd be so open. But I don't think it's impossible, either. Sometimes people doing things like this actually want to be caught, and may even take pride in the extent of their deception.
That's why in the TV series, it's actually the catfish'er who always contacts the show first.
This guy in particular:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIbb5KeGhGc
Possibly fake, too, of course.
As for the lawsuit - it's a copyright infringement case. They used a copyrighted song (the one "Megan" supposedly performed) without paying royalties. The claim is that the song clip falls within the "fair use" exception because the story is true.
In reality, the fair use exception doesn't necessarily apply even if the whole thing was 100% true and unscripted.
That means it's only marginally relevant how much if any of it was faked.
The real issue is just "picking a number" both sides are happy with. Cases like these ALWAYS settle before trial.
I personally suspect the producers are only claiming "fair use" is to CREATE an issue of whether it was real or scripted. The resulting publicity would get more people to watch the film.