LOS ANGELES â€" In a sharp exchange over the weekend, SeaWorld Entertainment and the team behind “Blackfish,†a documentary about the dangers associated with captive orcas, traded charges about the validity of the film, which is set for release on Friday by Magnolia Pictures.
“Blackfish†was directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January. It particularly focuses on Tilikum, a killer whale that was involved in the death of a trainer, Dawn Brancheau, at SeaWorld’s park in Orlando, Fla., in 2010.
In an unusual weekend e-mail to about 50 film critics, SeaWorld representatives called the documentary “shamefully dishonest, deliberately misleading, and scientifically inaccurate.†They challenged portions of the film in detail, disputing what they called an “insinuation†that SeaWorld captures wild whales, which it says it has not done for 35 years, and did not adequately inform trainers about the dangers of working with Tilikum, an orca that was associated with two previous deaths.
In a Saturday response, the filmmakers noted that SeaWorld representatives declined to be interviewed for the film, and contested the SeaWorld assertions in detail. Among other things, they said “Blackfish†acknowledges that most whales at SeaWorld are not caught wild, and disputes a SeaWorld claim that the film incorrectly accused the company of using punishment-based training. They also said trainers were not fully briefed about the past deaths associated with Tilikum.
SeaWorld, which operates about a dozen theme parks, raised over $700 million in an initial public offering in April.
Michael Cieply covers the film industry from the Los Angeles bureau.
