The Rumor Mill

Website reports that according to an unnamed source, Actor, is currently in talks to star in Film.

Website = a member of the set news websites

Actor = a member of the set actors

Film = a member of the set upcoming films

We all know the formula. We've all read the posts. Someone has it from some source that someone will likely be doing something that we're supposed to highly care about. There are entire sites out there dedicated to collecting all the rumors surrounding comic book adaptations, major blockbusters, romance films, and the like. I should start off by mentioning I don't hate rumors, they're not bad, and occasional doses of them does supply some much needed anticipation factor to films. These days though, they're getting a bit incessant.

At a certain point I began wondering if there were any actors who haven't been rumored to have a role in the upcoming X-Men reboot, playing the villain in The Dark Knight Rises, or featuring in The Hobbit. Of course there's nothing wrong with reporting a rumor if you feel it has some validity, but there has to be a line at which you stop. If your 'unnamed source' is a guy who stood near a guy who heard from another guy that was best friends with someone who may have been doing casting for that film, reliability needs to be called into question. It's not that you should always tell us the reliability of your source, but would a scale percentage on their accuracy, if it's someone you've used before, hurt too badly? Or if they're first time, mention they are, and so their reliability is subjective. Oh, and if you would be so kind do that FIRST.

I do understand why media outlets do it though. There's a big deal in online media, or media in general, with being the first to report something. If you're the first to report it, the other news sites, blogs, and fan sites link back to you. In turn, it ups your viewership, which ups your ad count, which ups your money. Rumors are merely an extension of that idea. If you post a rumor for something nobody else has reported, even if the backing is a bit sketchy, people will latch onto it and want to know more.

Personally I'm just tired of it all. There's no requirement that your rumor even possess the most minute amount of accuracy, as by definition there's never much basis for a rumor. They're always hearsay, and without firm foundation little more than hypothetical wishing. Too many of these rumors seem to pray on the hopes and desires of fanboys and fangirls. Trying to get them worked up. Don't believe me, whip out google and type in Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the Riddler rumor. The rumor spread like wildfire across the internet, turns out, no Riddler in the film at all. But that's what happens with these things, someone hears that a rather popular actor, actress, or director is going to be apart of a rather well anticipated thing and the rumor explodes.

These rumors become monsters in their own right. They build up anticipation by playing to people's desires. It works in the studio's favor if you keep talking about their film, even if nothing you say is accurate. It keeps awareness up, which keeps hype up. The inevitable flaw in all this is the realization that once the truth comes out, if the rumor is incorrect, people have spent a lot of time, and personal investment, in what amounts to nothing. Most people brush this off and dive back in, but over time even the tiniest dings in armor add up.

To me there's just too much negative that comes from a rumor than outweighs the vague possibility that it might be accurate. But we live in a society where Headlines supersede content. Where the enjoyment derived from hype outweighs the possibility of being let down. Where people seek out the things they want to hear, not the things they need to hear. A vast database of information. An even more vast database of false information. Do us all a favor, don't feed an already overgrown monster. Try and keep the priority on the facts.

Thank you.