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Feature films in the News genre?
I've noticed that there are 111 titles in IMDb which are listed as feature films yet have the genre News. This combination seems implausible to me. Many of the titles listed with the News genre are dramatized stories with all roles played by actors (examples: A Fighting Season, I Used to Live Here).
I found one film with the News genre, Street of the Dead, whose plot reads as follows:
There are some other titles listed as feature films with the News genre which apparently are News, but not feature films, such as Multiracial Identity for the Year 2000 Census (a made-for-television production) or Pathé News, No. 17 (a newsreel, and hence a short film, not a feature).
I suggest that anyone submitting the News genre to a feature film should receive a warning along the following lines: "The News genre is rarely applicable to feature films. A dramatized feature film does not qualify for the News genre merely because its plot relates to current events or depicts news reporters," with a checkbox to allow the submitter to acknowledge the warning and submit the New genre anyway. Even after that, the staff should scrutinize any feature film submitted with the News genre to see if it qualifies. Most likely, it won't.
I found one film with the News genre, Street of the Dead, whose plot reads as follows:
Alan Mancuso and his friends Mort, Steve, and Chauncey partake and in the marijuana laden adventures at the Mancuso residence. While battling the usual case of the munchies, Chauncey stumbles upon an ancient sandwich, that wets his appetite. After devouring the clearly expired treat Chauncey transforms into a brain craving, gargling zombie and begins to attack his fellow friends and sparking the biggest zombie outbreak this side of Canada.Somehow my local newspapers failed to report on that event.
There are some other titles listed as feature films with the News genre which apparently are News, but not feature films, such as Multiracial Identity for the Year 2000 Census (a made-for-television production) or Pathé News, No. 17 (a newsreel, and hence a short film, not a feature).
I suggest that anyone submitting the News genre to a feature film should receive a warning along the following lines: "The News genre is rarely applicable to feature films. A dramatized feature film does not qualify for the News genre merely because its plot relates to current events or depicts news reporters," with a checkbox to allow the submitter to acknowledge the warning and submit the New genre anyway. Even after that, the staff should scrutinize any feature film submitted with the News genre to see if it qualifies. Most likely, it won't.
Responses
jay_spirit
561 Messages
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21K Points
3 y ago
I have no idea what, if anything, should be done with this curious entry: Probably the Best Test Title Around.
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selcuksahinduran
2 Messages
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130 Points
3 y ago
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gromit82
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1 y ago
https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?title_type=feature&genres=news&sort=release_date,desc
I'm sure that the IMDb staff knows that it's very unusual for a feature film to qualify for the News genre, so if a contributor happens to submit such a title in error, the staff should take appropriate action to prevent such submissions from being accepted.
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plur62
82 Messages
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3K Points
1 y ago
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gromit82
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2 m ago
I'm going to bump this thread again, because after two and a half years, IMDb now has 117 feature films listed in the News genre, most of which do not belong there because either (1) they are dramatized stories, not news, or (2) they are made-for-television or direct-to-video titles, not feature films.
Remember, the description of the News genre is:
As an example of an incorrect listing, Pilot Error (2020) is listed in the News genre. The film's plot outline says:
But being a fictional story about newspaper reporters is not the same thing as being in the News genre. Even a dramatized story about real-life newspaper reporters such as All the President's Men (1976) wouldn't belong in the News genre -- and, fortunately, it isn't listed with the News genre. Pilot Error, which is a fictional story about fictional characters and fictional events, is even less worthy of being listed that way. ("Air Paris" is not even a real airline.)
And, on the other hand, there are titles listed such as Post Debate Special (2018), which looks like it might qualify as News, but appears to be a television special, not a feature film.
To quote my initial post in this thread:
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