News Summary: “How Topic Studios’ Big Bet on Cannes-Winner ‘The Climb’ Is Paying Off Despite the Pandemic”
Writer’s Note: This is one out of three news summaries that I did in my journalism writing class. For the summaries, I chose to follow Angelique Jackson, a reporter for Variety. This news summary is on an article of hers and I analyze how she specializes in her subject matter and demonstrate journalistic concepts of critical thinking, writing and interviewing.
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/topic-studios-the-climb-michael-angelo-covino-1234832980/ by Angelique Jackson, Nov. 17, 2020
Why This Story Is News
This story is news because it is about the movie “The Climb” and its long road to finally being released in theaters after its debut 18 months ago at Cannes. Out of the five interest elements, fame definitely applies to this story because it is about a film that got recognition and won an award at Cannes and went on to be shown at other major film festivals. Another element I would say applies to this story is impact because the article is about an independent film’s challenging journey and the success it has gotten, especially during a pandemic.
How They Reported the Story
Angelique Jackson reported this story by using direct quotes from Michael Angelo Covino, Michael Barker, and Maria Zuckerman. These sources are all credible because they worked on or contributed to the movie in some way. Covino is the director, writer, and one of the stars of the movie. Barker is the SPC co-president and Zuckerman is Topic Studio’s executive vice president. Another great source that could have been used is Kyle Marvin, who is Covino’s filmmaking partner and co-star in the film. This article does pass the Topeka Test because Jackson goes into detail of what the film is and the journey it has had. She also goes into a little detail of the studios that they worked with, their relationship, and the filmmakers history.
How They Wrote the Story
Based on the different types of ledes, I would say that the lede that was used was a combination of name-recognition lede and a little bit of an interesting-action lead. In the lead, Jackson mentions the names of the filmmakers and stars of the movie and how it premiered at Cannes. The lead is also a little bit of interesting-action because Jackson mentions how the film was finally released 18 months after it was shown at Cannes and during a pandemic.