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[BreezyLimbo]

See Bobby Roberts... as I have said goal post moving.

You literally just described what it would take and I said that had already happened but you just want to be mad to keep being mad.

don't worry I gave myself leeway by saying never make another stupid comment again.

 

[old manatee]

Here are twitter post responses from one of his victims.

This really cleared some things up for me.

 

[JackAceMcJo]

I know Tim personally and have worked with and for him, and despite all this still hold him in high regard.

I am in no way condoning Faraci's behavior or Tim's inappropriate and clandestine harboring of him. This is a terrible turn of events and Tim hasn't done anyone any favors with many of his actions or comms. I'm not going to white-knight for Tim, but I will try to shed some light on how a good person with good intentions made some bad decisions.

Tim is not an amoral or deceitful person. In my firsthand experience he is quite transparently a passionate, caring, and high-minded guy who has done amazing and generous things by sheer force of will in both his business and community. I believe he has arrived here because of the way his compassion and loyalty to one person blinded him to a need to be accountable to a broader constituency. Not because he is a jackass.

Tim values his non-conformity and trusts his instincts as much as anything else, and this by definition creates a type of reverse arrogance. This is found in many people considered to be "movers and shakers." I was there as Alamo was born out of a cinema anarchy mindset that he spearheaded. And even as the chain grew, Tim never saw himself as or desired to become a business icon, ne CEO.

In fact at one point he did sell off the expansion/franchising rights to another group. He did this to protect the pure absurdity of what he had built in Austin. He didn't want to compromise his integrity and feared becoming "the man" that he railed against. Ultimately the other group began running the franchises in such a dispassionate and bottom-line way that Tim couldn't stomach how they had watered down his vision. So he bought it all back.

His businesses have been successful because he has always followed his anti-establishment approach. As luck would have it this jibed with a huge subculture. But he never craved and I would suggest was never groomed for what we have come to know as a CEO.

If he was a "proper" CEO - perversely aware of political correctness and careful to consider his every move against public perception - this would never have happened (and I'll wager Alamo and his other business would not have been nearly as successful). But that's not Tim. He was just trying to help out someone who he saw as family.

There are shitty people in the world. Earlier in my life I came to the conclusion that those people are often part of an otherwise good family. Like the cliché crappy uncle. But they're still family, and most people feel compelled to continue trying to help them in all but the most dire circumstances... I did, literally until the day my very real crappy uncle died.

Tim was just trying to take care of his own. I believe he did this for all the right reasons in his head, with no intent to diminish anyone else. I'll go one step further and dispute Todd Brown's "Old Boys Club" assertion. Misogyny had nothing to do with it. Tim would have done the same thing for a woman.

I believe Tim's actions were short sighted and callous. But they were intended to be caring, not tone-deaf let alone evil. What he does from here will be the real test of his character.

{ Now you can tell me how you would've done it differently, kicked your broken friend to the curb, and have always done the right thing for the greater good in your life.
Go ahead... flame on. }

 

[Shadowhelper]

Tim seem like a stupid cunt who doesn't seem to get it.

He should step down. Tired of hearing their personal friends telling people they're not that bad.

Devin copy writing a month after he was supposedly let go, asking other victims to hide Devins crimes, these things are an absolute travesty and show Tim does not get it one bit.

 

[LewieP]

Yes I wouldn't ascribe malicious intent to League's actions, but it is a pretty serious failure of management to have this outcome, and I think he needs to seriously reconsider his approach on these kind of matters.

Regardless of his personal feelings towards any individuals involved in these events, he has a responsibility to do right by Faraci's victims, and the public that he told he would be severing professional ties with Faraci, over doing right by a colleague. That's what being in charge means.

 

[whatsinaname]

I know Tim personally and have worked with and for him, and despite all this still hold him in high regard.

I am in no way condoning Faraci's behavior or Tim's inappropriate and clandestine harboring of him. This is a terrible turn of events and Tim hasn't done anyone any favors with many of his actions or comms. I'm not going to white-knight for Tim, but I will try to shed some light on how a good person with good intentions made some bad decisions.

Tim is not an amoral or deceitful person. In my firsthand experience he is quite transparently a passionate, caring, and high-minded guy who has done amazing and generous things by sheer force of will in both his business and community. I believe he has arrived here because of the way his compassion and loyalty to one person blinded him to a need to be accountable to a broader constituency. Not because he is a jackass.

Tim values his non-conformity and trusts his instincts as much as anything else, and this by definition creates a type of reverse arrogance. This is found in many people considered to be "movers and shakers." I was there as Alamo was born out of a cinema anarchy mindset that he spearheaded. And even as the chain grew, Tim never saw himself as or desired to become a business icon, ne CEO.

In fact at one point he did sell off the expansion/franchising rights to another group. He did this to protect the pure absurdity of what he had built in Austin. He didn't want to compromise his integrity and feared becoming "the man" that he railed against. Ultimately the other group began running the franchises in such a dispassionate and bottom-line way that Tim couldn't stomach how they had watered down his vision. So he bought it all back.

His businesses have been successful because he has always followed his anti-establishment approach. As luck would have it this jibed with a huge subculture. But he never craved and I would suggest was never groomed for what we have come to know as a CEO.

If he was a "proper" CEO - perversely aware of political correctness and careful to consider his every move against public perception - this would never have happened (and I'll wager Alamo and his other business would not have been nearly as successful). But that's not Tim. He was just trying to help out someone who he saw as family.

There are shitty people in the world. Earlier in my life I came to the conclusion that those people are often part of an otherwise good family. Like the cliché crappy uncle. But they're still family, and most people feel compelled to continue trying to help them in all but the most dire circumstances... I did, literally until the day my very real crappy uncle died.

Tim was just trying to take care of his own. I believe he did this for all the right reasons in his head, with no intent to diminish anyone else. I'll go one step further and dispute Todd Brown's "Old Boys Club" assertion. Misogyny had nothing to do with it. Tim would have done same thing for a woman.

I believe Tim's actions were short sighted and callous. But they were intended to be caring, not tone-deaf let alone evil. What he does from here will be the real test of his character.

{ Now you can tell me how you would've done it differently, kicked your broken friend to the curb, and have always done the right thing for the greater good in your life.
Go ahead... flame on. }

Eh, nothing to flame. I feel knowing someone personally colours your perception of things and we tend to minimise their actions.

1) Tim's actions clearly do not reflect those "passionate, caring and high-mindedness" traits of his. We can only judge someone on their actions.

2) So Devin was "one of his own" but the women who worked with Tim weren't? If "Tim would have done same thing for a woman. " was true, shouldn't he have tried to protect and stand up for them too? Isn't that the definition of "Old Boys Club" where the man seems to be "one of his own" but the women aren't?

 

[HStallion]

I know Tim personally and have worked with and for him, and despite all this still hold him in high regard.

I am in no way condoning Faraci's behavior or Tim's inappropriate and clandestine harboring of him. This is a terrible turn of events and Tim hasn't done anyone any favors with many of his actions or comms. I'm not going to white-knight for Tim, but I will try to shed some light on how a good person with good intentions made some bad decisions.

Tim is not an amoral or deceitful person. In my firsthand experience he is quite transparently a passionate, caring, and high-minded guy who has done amazing and generous things by sheer force of will in both his business and community. I believe he has arrived here because of the way his compassion and loyalty to one person blinded him to a need to be accountable to a broader constituency. Not because he is a jackass.

Tim values his non-conformity and trusts his instincts as much as anything else, and this by definition creates a type of reverse arrogance. This is found in many people considered to be "movers and shakers." I was there as Alamo was born out of a cinema anarchy mindset that he spearheaded. And even as the chain grew, Tim never saw himself as or desired to become a business icon, ne CEO.

In fact at one point he did sell off the expansion/franchising rights to another group. He did this to protect the pure absurdity of what he had built in Austin. He didn't want to compromise his integrity and feared becoming "the man" that he railed against. Ultimately the other group began running the franchises in such a dispassionate and bottom-line way that Tim couldn't stomach how they had watered down his vision. So he bought it all back.

His businesses have been successful because he has always followed his anti-establishment approach. As luck would have it this jibed with a huge subculture. But he never craved and I would suggest was never groomed for what we have come to know as a CEO.

If he was a "proper" CEO - perversely aware of political correctness and careful to consider his every move against public perception - this would never have happened (and I'll wager Alamo and his other business would not have been nearly as successful). But that's not Tim. He was just trying to help out someone who he saw as family.

There are shitty people in the world. Earlier in my life I came to the conclusion that those people are often part of an otherwise good family. Like the cliché crappy uncle. But they're still family, and most people feel compelled to continue trying to help them in all but the most dire circumstances... I did, literally until the day my very real crappy uncle died.

Tim was just trying to take care of his own. I believe he did this for all the right reasons in his head, with no intent to diminish anyone else. I'll go one step further and dispute Todd Brown's "Old Boys Club" assertion. Misogyny had nothing to do with it. Tim would have done same thing for a woman.

I believe Tim's actions were short sighted and callous. But they were intended to be caring, not tone-deaf let alone evil. What he does from here will be the real test of his character.

{ Now you can tell me how you would've done it differently, kicked your broken friend to the curb, and have always done the right thing for the greater good in your life.
Go ahead... flame on. }

Just going to point out that being willing to do this for a woman is by no means any better as his shady handling of things was the cause of all of this. Saying he'd do it for a woman isn't shining a better light on him.

 

[Shadowhelper]

Sympathising with your sexual assaulter friend is not showing compassion. That is being selfish. He likes his friend, and wants to be around him. That is typical sexist behaviour that enables the abuse of women. This is how it happens! Tim is complicit. Sorry.

If I am repeatedly confronted with such information about an employee, my first instinct is not to protect the rapist or mysoginist. I think my compassion would lie with the victim.

He was getting absolutely blasted on twitter. He should step down.

 

[berzeli]

.

I'm going to include you in this as well:

.

Look, people to the wrong thing for what they perceive as the right reasons all the time, it doesn't make them the worst human being on the planet or anything but they need to show that they understand how their actions were perceived. And Tim's Facebook posts and other communications don't show that, that's why people are pissed off, he needs to state what he did wrong in no uncertain terms (i.e. he let his personal connection to Faraci cloud his judgement and he deceived the people working for him by not telling them about this hire).
Tim is known for speaking clearly and loudly about various topics, so it's disappointing to hear him say things that could have come from some Fortune 500 CEO who got in trouble.

And this is over Devin Faraci, freaking Devin Faraci.

If Tim wanted to help his friend, which is an ok thing to do, there were options available to him which didn't include letting the man work for him in the very same industry that we was a plague upon. The issue isn't that he helped Faraci, it is the manner in which he did.

I'll go one step further and dispute Todd Brown's "Old Boys Club" assertion.

Are you aware what "Old Boys Club" entails? It's literally this:

Tim was just trying to take care of his own.

It is that Tim views Faraci as "his own", it is that he let his personal connection to him influence the decision making. Like you can't say you dispute the assertion of the "Old Boys Club" by spending large chunks of your post stating that Tim did let his personal connections to Faraci influence what he did to the detriment of others.
Now maybe Tim would indeed extend the same courtesy to a woman, but that doesn't fucking matter because it is a hypothetical, it is a theory. Unlike the very real courtesy he did to a toxic shithead of a man.
If Tim didn't want it to come across as an "Old Boys Club" he shouldn't have acted in the way he did.
And like, saying that he would protect a toxic shithead even if it was a woman isn't a compliment.

Also things like this:

{ Now you can tell me how you would've done it differently, kicked your broken friend to the curb, and have always done the right thing for the greater good in your life.
Go ahead... flame on. }

This is just unnecessarily inflammatory.

 

[JackAceMcJo]

Just going to point out that being willing to do this for a woman is by no means better any better as his shady handling of things was the cause of all of this. Saying he'd do it for a woman isn't shining a better light on him.

I meant exactly what I said. Just disputing that Tim propagates ANY kind of "club" that would maliciously exclude or trample on others. He would have tried to help any one of his extended family who transgressed but seemed to be trying to make amends no matter their gender, race, species, etc.

Also I thought I was pretty clear that I agreed that this was series of abhorrent decisions on Tim's part. And I never implied that DF was at the time, or has since made himself deserving of Tim's misguided clemency.

But the vitriol and greater-than-thou hypocrisy coursing through this thread and the internet is equally alarming to me.

 

[HStallion]

I meant exactly what I said. Just disputing that Tim propagates ANY kind of "club" that would maliciously exclude or trample on others. He would have tried to help any one of his extended family who transgressed but seemed to be trying to make amends no matter their gender, race, etc.

Also I thought I was pretty clear that I agreed that this was series of abhorrent decisions on Tim's part. And I never implied that DF was at the time, or has since made himself deserving of Tim's misguided clemency.

But the vitriol and greater-than-thou hypocrisy coursing through this thread and the internet is equally alarming to me.

I wonder why in this day and age people feel vitriolic over something like covering for a known molester.

 

[Ahasverus]

I was really glad of living in a world with no Devin Faraci.

I hope it's kept that way.

 

[Foggy]

I wonder why in this day and age people feel vitriolic over something like covering for a known molester.

It's equally alarming, don't ya know

 

[RoninChaos]

The man who left Drafthouse & Fantastic Fest over this has released his statement as to why he left. It is... pretty fuckin' damning.



Basically, Tim League now has a whole shitload of work he's gotta do that he never needed to heap onto his desk.

Also, I think Fantastic Fest is going to take a bit of an attendance hit this year. I'm seeing more than a few people who normally are first in line (and even host events there) backing out.

So what's so special about this guy that the Alamo CEO is willing to torpedo his brand to give cover to someone who committed sexual assault?

 

[Bill R Boggess]

Devin’s always struck me as a shit.

Many years ago on CHUD he wrote this shitty editorial bashing Heath Ledger shortly after his death for being an addict. His nasty little screed included a bizarre parallel he drew with the media’s then current obsession with Britney Spears’ lunacy and decline and for whatever reason he decided to use Ledger’s death as a soapbox for claiming that poor Britney deserved more empathy and compassion than Ledger, whose recent death had sparked massive and widespread upset.

http://www.chud.com/13543/the-devins-advocate-the-dirty-double-standard/

Never mind that Spears made her problems public and frontpage by acting insane and vulgar at every turn while Ledger was introverted, quiet and never seemed to foist his struggles onto the masses.

And never mind that during the time you wrote this incredibly judgmental editorial, you were apparently an addict yourself.

 

[Bill R Boggess]

So what's so special about this guy that the Alamo CEO is willing to torpedo his brand to give cover to someone who committed sexual assault?

Nothing.

Devin is an entertainment writer with decent chops but there’s plenty of professional critics out there who match if not exceed his abilities and as a bonus, they are not nauseatingly pretentious or outright sleazes.

 

[Bill R Boggess]

But the vitriol and greater-than-thou hypocrisy coursing through this thread and the internet is equally alarming to me.

The only way a person could be a hypocrite in this situation is either they themselves did something similar in regards to sexual assault/harassment or gave sanctuary to a person who did.

I’m not trying to dogpile on you here and I appreciate you sticking up for a friend but I think the anger being directed at him is very much justified.

 

[Shadowhelper]

Nothing.

Devin is an entertainment writer with decent chops but there's plenty of professional critics out there who match if not exceed his abilities and as a bonus, they are not nauseatingly pretentious or outright sleazes.

What's special to Tim about Devin is that he's a close friend. They have the same taste, and like to get trashed. He's also very good at his job.

The thing is, most film writers are either just straight up bad, or a bit boring. Devin would have bold opinions, black and white opinions and could explain very simply why a movie is good or bad from his perspective. Plus he was always angry and dismissive of bad movies or film makers which was just fun to read. That bully part of personality would present itself in his reviews, and made it far more readable.

That is why even though all these BMD people knew Devin was around, and wanted him back.

The writers of BMD? They all bow to Devin. He built that place, and other than one other writer who was hired by Devin themselves, they are all really generic and boring. Of course they would look up to Devin, he's vastly superior to them in writing about movies. The new editor Meredith is extremely boring. If she didn't get hired for this job, no one would be interested in her opinions on cinema.

Even after he left his podcast once he was unmasked, his lady co-host, Amy Nicholson, was almost begging him on her podcast for him to come back. She's an atrocious critic. She needs him. Without Devin there is no point to her show, which was once very popular. It reminds me of how Siskel was always terrified Ebert would leave.

The BMD crew will always love him, he built that place. It will also never be the same, never have the same audience without him. They all knew he was still working there. Devin never lashed out at people who demure to him, who bow to him. They always wanted him back, and they definitely need him.

Its easy to look the other way when not doing so would destroy your livelihood. Only one writer made one small comment, Alex Revielo, that it was handled poorly, Tim fired him. But no one else spoke up, because, like I said, they all wanted him back because they actually do need him.

Yeah, if Tim is such a great guy, why did he fire Alex Rivielo for merely writing, the situation has been handled poorly? Give me a break. Everything Tim has done says he's a piece of shit.

 

[sflufan]

If a reprehensible individual like Devin Faraci is such a "close" friend of Tim League, then that probably speaks quite a bit about Mr. League's "true" character.

 

[Shadowhelper]

If a reprehensible individual like Devin Faraci is such a "close" friend of Tim League, then that probably speaks quite a bit about Mr. League's "true" character.

Yeah. Like I said, Tim fired a writer for merely saying " This situation has been handled poorly."

As Tims email shows he's trying to move the BMD brand forward and as big aspirations for it. Devin is the reason BMD is a thing. He made it. It's not just friendship, it's for his own selfish business goals. He's an asshole and a piece of shit.

He even asked a victim to keep it to herself, so her story doesn't hurt BMD. He tried to silence a victim and fired another writer for a minor comment. Lets stop pretending Tim is some cuddly, nice guy who made a small mistake. Like a cut throat he fired Alex Rivelo and openly told a victim that she needs to be quiet so it doesn't hurt his brand. He openly said that. Just sounds like a typical asshole suit who puts his money and image above anything else.
That is the reason the other BMD did not speak out too. They all wanted Devin back because without him, professionally the site will never do as well as it once did.

 

[Dan-o]

His businesses have been successful because he has always followed his anti-establishment approach. As luck would have it this jibed with a huge subculture. But he never craved and I would suggest was never groomed for what we have come to know as a CEO.

This, I can appreciate... but it's not like he hasn't had, what, 20 years of Alamo Drafthouse to figure it out. It's still my preferred theater, but I'm not a fan of how all-encompassing their business is today (film distribution, reviews/news site, movie merch, theaters, festivals), as it feels very... not sure how to put it. I don't like one company owning the whole pipeline, I gues.

If he was a "proper" CEO - perversely aware of political correctness and careful to consider his every move against public perception - this would never have happened (and I'll wager Alamo and his other business would not have been nearly as successful).

Yawn. This is bullshit.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

This is pretty shitty, but it's not so egregious I would refuse to patronize the Drafthouse if I lived in an area they serviced.

 

[HarryKS]

What does a blogger do at a theater/cinema company?

 

[Dan-o]

What does a blogger do at a theater/cinema company?

For the last 10 months? Low level uncredited blurbs, it seems.
Before that? Editor in Chief of their own in-house review/news site.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Yeah. Like I said, Tim fired a writer for merely saying " This situation has been handled poorly."

As Tims email shows he's trying to move the BMD brand forward and as big aspirations for it. Devin is the reason BMD is a thing. He made it. It's not just friendship, it's for his own selfish business goals. He's an asshole and a piece of shit.

He even asked a victim to keep it to herself, so her story doesn't hurt BMD. He tried to silence a victim and fired another writer for a minor comment. Lets stop pretending Tim is some cuddly, nice guy who made a small mistake. Like a cut throat he fired Alex Rivelo and openly told a victim that she needs to be quiet so it doesn't hurt his brand. He openly said that. Just sounds like a typical asshole suit who puts his money and image above anything else.
That is the reason the other BMD did not speak out too. They all wanted Devin back because without him, professionally the site will never do as well as it once did.

Feraci's name has been dragged through so much mud that at this point it's foolish to think him coming back would all of a sudden bring back the site to it's glory days. Maybe Tim should get better managing talent instead of having an entire site's fame rest on one person.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

Finally catching up on all this. WTF is League thinking? Those "apologies" and everything even after Faraci left again aren't helping things.
It is like watching a slow motion train wreck now, and League seems oblivious how he is helping the wreck happen.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I think a lot of what's going on (this conversation's been popping up a lot lately w/r/t apologies/sympathy/empathy) boils down to not just misplaced sympathy on Tim's part, but misplaced empathy, and the focusing of that empathy in very specific, and exclusive ways, both with Tim and with people who want to stick up for him despite (or because of, more likely) his actions:

The place people put themselves is usually in the shoes of the repugnant idiot (the sexual offender, the drunk driver, the sexual harasser, the racist, etc. etc.) and then they examine the scenario in terms of "Would my friends abandon me? I'd hope they wouldn't. I'd hope they'd stick around and let me know I was loved," and then proceeding from there like "C'mon guys, give em a chance!"

And that's understandable, yeah. But it's also selfish. The place you're putting yourself with this exercise is smack in the center as if it was a movie about a hero fallen from grace, and it's primarily seeking reassurance that despite your (hypothetical) idiocy people still like you. Which isn't even really question here. It's placing empathy primarily in the wrong place, and turning a story about something seriously wrong into a what-if where you get reassured that people think you're okay down deep.

That ignores the concepts of personal responsibility and forgiveness. That sets you up to spot wrongdoing in everyone who should be rightfully upset and/or angry. And that's almost always behind this "second chance" talk. You're not empathizing with the people who have been wronged. You're 100% inhabiting the shoes of the person who did wrong, and trying to find a way to make that person be liked again, and when it seems that's becoming hard, you get upset at people making it hard, as if they shouldn't be doing that.

They absolutely should though. Because it is hard. And it's not about whether the person who transgressed gets to go right back to doing what they want to do with no real repercussions or changes with nobody bringing it up again and everyone being all smiles and jokes. It's about whether the work to make things right is actually being done so the wronged don't have to feel like they do anymore.

I think this is what Tim did when he decided to give Devin a "second chance" and it's what people are doing now when they argue that Tim needs a "second chance." The second chances are just extensions of the first chance in this instance. The kindness being asked for doesn't really come with responsibility. And the friendship being offered isn't really friendship. It's just enabling.

Tim was dishonest. He still sounds dishonest. The honest moves he has made feel forced on him by external factors. There's no trust there right now. There probably shouldn't be. Because the people who have been hurt by all this dishonesty and bad behavior don't have any either. Tim didn't really empathize with anyone but Devin for the past year. He didn't really put himself in anyone's shoes BUT Devin's. And that's why he made the decisions he kept making. And now he's wearing those shoes - and people are making the same bad calls HE made, on HIS behalf, and it's not really helping him. It's just enabling him, like Tim enabled Devin.

Friendship demands either honesty or absence. Either you're gonna be honest with that friend, or you're gonna bounce. People aren't being honest about Tim, or honest to him, and others are being honest... and then they're leaving.

That should say something.

 

[broncobuster]

Finally catching up on all this. WTF is League thinking? Those "apologies" and everything even after Faraci left again aren't helping things.
It is like watching a slow motion train wreck now, and League seems oblivious how he is helping the wreck happen.

Yeah. I'm not really sure why he keeps digging. The situation was handled poorly from the jump, but he could've taken the hit and resolved it days ago. Now all this is just adding salt to the wound.

 

[Cybit]

As someone in recovery for addiction myself, and also going through a 12 step program - this thread makes me angry, fearful, and sad at the same time. Threads like these basically push people back into addiction. It's basically "bootstraps" bullshit, but more socially acceptable.

I hope Devin goes through the steps honestly and sincerely, and gets to the amends step and does it as best as he can. I hope it brings those he hurt peace and the ability to move forward. I get what Tim's trying to do - but he should have let any changes Devin has gone through since this began speak for themselves rather than trying to sneak him in.

 

[Count Dookkake]

This whole story has been crazy to watch unfold. I've known Tim for about 10 years. In that time, we have had many interactions, in public and in private. We're not best friends or anything, but I've been to the man's house, he's entrusted me with missions, we've shared drinks and meals. Despite occasionally playing the wild man/mascot, Tim has always impressed me as smart, aware, and good, so when the Devin story first broke, I really thought Tim would do everything right. It has been a bummer to see that not be the case at all. I still hold out hope that he snaps out of it and is able to correct course before sinking the whole ship. There are a lot of good people that work for him.


Here are the latest public fb comments from Todd Brown.

Here are four essential elements missing from Tim League's apology for this whole debacle:
"I should not have harbored the man who assaulted you."
"I should not have harbored the man who harassed you."
"I should not have asked you to keep silent."
"I should not have kept my actions a secret."
When I stepped down from Fantastic Fest I stated that the omissions in Tim's acknowledgment that he had quietly re-hired Devin Faraci were a key reason for doing so. And it is what is omitted, again, that are the key reasons for my utter rejection of his apology.
Caroline and Kat - and others like them who have chosen to speak anonymously for fear of reprisal - are actual people. Real, actual people who had real, actual harm done to them. And yet they are completely and totally absent from this. Instead, what do we get?
Three days after acknowledging Faraci was back on payroll - three days spent with crisis teams and publicists - we get "I am concerned about what these choices may say about me and the values of this company to employees, customers and the community at large."
It is no great feat to feel concern for your own public image. I am not impressed by the instinct for self preservation. I am, however, utterly appalled by the absolute silence directed to Caroline and Kat and the actual, real, tangible harm done to these actual, real, tangible women.
The only concern - literally, the ONLY concern - expressed by League in his apology is for himself and his company. The vision is completely inward. The perpetrator is once again cast as the victim. And once again, yes, the Club is called upon to form its protective circle with the actual victims very firmly on the outside.
I know that my continuing to talk about this places friends and former colleagues at Fantastic Fest in an incredibly difficult position. I know that I am damaging friendships and relationships that go back over a decade and I know that, for some, this damage will be irreparable. I know that the timing is shit. But I did not choose this timing. And while I regret losing those of you who I will inevitably lose ... well, fuck. What else am I supposed to do?
I stated when I stepped away that I felt embarrassed and ashamed. That has only deepened.

I don't know Todd nearly as well, but we have interacted a handful of times over the years. He has always come across as a good person.

 

[UltimaPooh]

I think a lot of what's going on (this conversation's been popping up a lot lately w/r/t apologies/sympathy/empathy) boils down to not just misplaced sympathy on Tim's part, but misplaced empathy, and the focusing of that empathy in very specific, and exclusive ways, both with Tim and with people who want to stick up for him despite (or because of, more likely) his actions:

The place people put themselves is usually in the shoes of the repugnant idiot (the sexual offender, the drunk driver, the sexual harasser, the racist, etc. etc.) and then they examine the scenario in terms of "Would my friends abandon me? I'd hope they wouldn't. I'd hope they'd stick around and let me know I was loved," and then proceeding from there like "C'mon guys, give em a chance!"

And that's understandable, yeah. But it's also selfish. The place you're putting yourself with this exercise is smack in the center as if it was a movie about a hero fallen from grace, and it's primarily seeking reassurance that despite your (hypothetical) idiocy people still like you. Which isn't even really question here. It's placing empathy primarily in the wrong place, and turning a story about something seriously wrong into a what-if where you get reassured that people think you're okay down deep.

That ignores the concepts of personal responsibility and forgiveness. That sets you up to spot wrongdoing in everyone who should be rightfully upset and/or angry. And that's almost always behind this "second chance" talk. You're not empathizing with the people who have been wronged. You're 100% inhabiting the shoes of the person who did wrong, and trying to find a way to make that person be liked again, and when it seems that's becoming hard, you get upset at people making it hard, as if they shouldn't be doing that.

They absolutely should though. Because it is hard. And it's not about whether the person who transgressed gets to go right back to doing what they want to do with no real repercussions or changes with nobody bringing it up again and everyone being all smiles and jokes. It's about whether the work to make things right is actually being done so the wronged don't have to feel like they do anymore.

I think this is what Tim did when he decided to give Devin a "second chance" and it's what people are doing now when they argue that Tim needs a "second chance." The second chances are just extensions of the first chance in this instance. The kindness being asked for doesn't really come with responsibility. And the friendship being offered isn't really friendship. It's just enabling.

Tim was dishonest. He still sounds dishonest. The honest moves he has made feel forced on him by external factors. There's no trust there right now. There probably shouldn't be. Because the people who have been hurt by all this dishonesty and bad behavior don't have any either. Tim didn't really empathize with anyone but Devin for the past year. He didn't really put himself in anyone's shoes BUT Devin's. And that's why he made the decisions he kept making. And now he's wearing those shoes - and people are making the same bad calls HE made, on HIS behalf, and it's not really helping him. It's just enabling him, like Tim enabled Devin.

Friendship demands either honesty or absence. Either you're gonna be honest with that friend, or you're gonna bounce. People aren't being honest about Tim, or honest to him, and others are being honest... and then they're leaving.

That should say something.

I think everyone deals with it differently. Some are more quick to trusting than others and that might be a fault in them but it doesn't make it wrong. I don't think any of you are wrong for having a deep distrust but at the same time I'm allowed to share what I think on the matter and because I disagree with you in certain areas all of a sudden we have to draw our lines in the sand.

And how honest are you really? If you really had to deal with a close friend that is in the same shoes as Tim would you be as blunt as you are now? Honestly? If this was a trial would you swear it? People like to bring up hypotheticals about things but when push comes to shove they really never know how they'll react.

EDIT: Thanks for the post Count. Did you work at Alamo or just with them?

 

[The Technomancer]

I honestly don't care what Tim did or didn't do to support Devin, who has clearly been going through some shit himself, other then that he gave him a job back at his old company within like a month. Tim was there for Devin with emotional support? Great. Tim has been helping Devin with his rehab? Awesome. That's not what we're talking about

 

[PhoncipleBone]

As someone in recovery for addiction myself, and also going through a 12 step program - this thread makes me angry, fearful, and sad at the same time. Threads like these basically push people back into addiction. It's basically "bootstraps" bullshit, but more socially acceptable.

I hope Devin goes through the steps honestly and sincerely, and gets to the amends step and does it as best as he can. I hope it brings those he hurt peace and the ability to move forward. I get what Tim's trying to do - but he should have let any changes Devin has gone through since this began speak for themselves rather than trying to sneak him in.

That is where I am. The reason this is an issue though is how League handled it to begin with, doing everything in secrecy. If they had been upfront about Devin and them trying to help him, this would all be playing out very differently.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I think everyone deals with it differently. Some are more quick to trusting than others and that might be a fault in them but it doesn't make it wrong. I don't think any of you are wrong for having a deep distrust but at the same time I'm allowed to share what I think on the matter and because I disagree with you in certain areas all of a sudden we have to draw our lines in the sand.

And how honest are you really? If you really had to deal with a close friend that is in the same shoes as Tim would you be as blunt as you are now? Honestly? If this was a trial would you swear it? People like to bring up hypotheticals about things but when push comes to shove they really never know how they'll react.

Pooh, this isn't really a matter of "people are allowed to have their opinions" because nowhere in that (or here) am I saying people should shut up, that they shouldnt' talk, that they should keep their thoughts and feelings quiet. The question of whether people should be allowed to have their opinions on this matter isn't even a question. Of course they should. And nobody's being silenced, either. Or even asked to, so far as I can tell. So that's not really on the table here.

I mean, I understand why you'd think I'm just fronting for the fuck of it on a forum one Saturday morning. That makes sense as a perfectly valid read. That I'm taking this opportunity to speak at a remove from the principals to make statements I otherwise wouldn't.

But I'm not saying shit I wouldn't be saying otherwise. I mean - anyone can read this. Everything is searchable. Screen names don't mean anything. Anyone can discover who you are and go trawling through your past whenever they want. I've got my name and my face on all this (usually) disposable bullshit. So if I'm going to say it, I mean it. So far as my personal experiences with this shit goes (and keeping in mind what I just said) yes, I would (and have) been this blunt with friends/family members who have transgressed in similar manners. Some of those friendships survived. Some of those relations in the family made it.

Others did not.

this thread makes me angry, fearful, and sad at the same time. Threads like these basically push people back into addiction. It's basically "bootstraps" bullshit, but more socially acceptable.

I don't know about all this.

 

[Foggy]

Here are the latest public fb comments from Todd Brown.



I don't know Todd nearly as well, but we have interacted a handful of times over the years. He has always come across as a good person.

Todd's composure as the most high-profile dissenter has impressed me and I hope even more people follow his convictions.

 

[kirblar]

As someone in recovery for addiction myself, and also going through a 12 step program - this thread makes me angry, fearful, and sad at the same time. Threads like these basically push people back into addiction. It's basically "bootstraps" bullshit, but more socially acceptable.

I hope Devin goes through the steps honestly and sincerely, and gets to the amends step and does it as best as he can. I hope it brings those he hurt peace and the ability to move forward. I get what Tim's trying to do - but he should have let any changes Devin has gone through since this began speak for themselves rather than trying to sneak him in.

This isn't about his addiction. That's the entire problem, if League's original story about this only being post-rehab to help him w/ money was true than this would be much less of an issue, but his explanation was a lie. He hired him back almost immediately.

 

[broncobuster]

This isn't about his addiction. That's the entire problem, if League's original story about this only being post-rehab to help him w/ money was true than this would be much less of an issue, but his explanation was a lie. He hired him back almost immediately.

Basically.

As someone with friends and family members who struggled with addiction and substance abuse problems, knowing what they went through for recovery, to see these guys make a mockery of the process is what's reprehensible.

 

[The Driver]

Wow, imagine torpedoing the goodwill your awesome chain of theaters, festivals, merch, films, etc, have earned the past few years by caping for Devin fucking Faraci of all people

in 2017.

Like the dude has been known as a cunt for a minute even before the really fucked up shit came out.

Smh, it's even worse considering all the cool peeps that work there and the neat stuff they do for this to be the kind of rock that weighs them down of all things.

 

[Cybit]

Posting via phone - so will be short. Basically forgiveness is really hard and complicated in rehab, and if the implication is that someone is functionally banned from society for a disease and their actions (which have consequences) regardless of any actions they take - the motivation becomes pretty rough.

If they're abusing the recovery process to try to slip by, then that is reprehensible. But Devin's letter seems pretty spot on for someone at that stage of recovery and what he's doing next.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Posting via phone - so will be short. Basically forgiveness is really hard and complicated in rehab, and if the implication is that someone is functionally banned from society for a disease and their actions (which have consequences) regardless of any actions they take - the motivation becomes pretty rough.

If they're abusing the recovery process to try to slip by, then that is reprehensible. But Devin's letter seems pretty spot on for someone at that stage of recovery and what he's doing next.

How familiar are you with Devin? Devin not being able to write about movies for a paycheck isn't at all the same as Devin being banned from society.

At this point, this is less about Devin than it is about Tim, really.

Also, Devin's letter came almost a year after both he and Tim had been dishonest as to Devin's removal/dismissal from the company, and only came out after people called both of them on it first.

 

[Cybit]

How familiar are you with Devin? Devin not being able to write about movies for a paycheck isn't at all the same as Devin being banned from society.

At this point, this is less about Devin than it is about Tim, really.

Also, Devin's letter came almost a year after both he and Tim had been dishonest as to Devin's removal/dismissal from the company, and only came out after people called both of them on it first.

Having your livelihood and career taken from you and knowing people will potentially chase you from job to job is pretty rough. I highly suspect whatever job he took, once it was publicly revealed, that company would have been subject to the same "you are hiring a harasser" issue. That said, since it was his previous employer, that's a fairly significant caveat to this all.

Though I guess I'm confused about the timeline here - I am under the belief that Tim re-hired Devin basically after Devin had been in recovery for a while (aka 4th step / 5th step completion) but didn't tell anyone (which was dumb imo, if he felt Devin had changed, he should have told his staff he was doing this and let Devin prove himself directly to the staff), and folks found out as Devin started writing more and more. I think Tim should have owned the decision outright - I get why giving Devin a job would ostensibly help in recovery - but he owes it to his staff to tell them that directly.

That said, I don't know how much of this is complicated by the anonymity factor of AA / these programs - Devin can't exactly go public about it and Tim may have felt that telling his staff that Devin was in recovery would violate that anonymity. But the fact he knew he shouldn't tell folks who work for him that Devin was hired back should have been a pretty good flag that he shouldn't do it under his company's banner. I mean he should just say "look, Devin is a friend who did some terrible shit, and he's fighting his alcoholism so he becomes better and doesn't do this again. I want to help him fight a pretty well understood and serious disease, and I am gonna give him a small job to keep him on his feet while he is in recovery. If you don't like it, that's your problem." It comes down to whether you believe Devin was genuinely contrite and is actively becoming better, or this is just all a plot to get him back without any actual change involved.

Regardless Tim should have had enough conviction to be as honest and open as he could be about it.

 

[Random Human]

He was hired back almost immediately after stepping down.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Having your livelihood and career taken from you and knowing people will potentially chase you from job to job is pretty rough.

People probably won't chase him from job to job if his job isn't in the "writing reviews about movies" business, I don't think. He's a known quantity in online film criticism, but outside that realm, nobody knows who he is. He's held jobs outside that area before. He's not obligated to that specific vocation. And like I said upthread, holding this specific job is part of the reason he is what he became.

Though I guess I'm confused about the timeline here - I am under the belief that Tim re-hired Devin basically after Devin had been in recovery for a while (aka 4th step / 5th step completion) but didn't tell anyone (which was dumb imo, if he felt Devin had changed, he should have told his staff he was doing this and let Devin prove himself directly to the staff), and folks found out as Devin started writing more and more.

He apparently waited about 2 months, it seems. Four at the latest, because he was attending Drafthouse events as staff in February. The whole thing is shady and I'm pretty sure AA has nothing to do with it.

"I want to help him fight a pretty well understood and serious disease, and I am gonna give him a small job to keep him on his feet while he is in recovery. If you don't like it, that's your problem."

But this is shitty (he would be owning the shittiness at least) because he's basically telling people in his company at that point "If you are upset that I'm giving this guy back a position in my company despite the fact this guy has harassed and been awful to some of you reading this right now, that's your problem."

Remember: Another employee went to Tim right around the time Devin stepped down (because I don't think he was actually fired either time) and he told that employee to keep it quiet if they could for Devin's benefit.

It comes down to whether you believe Devin was genuinely contrite and is actively becoming better, or this is just all a plot to get him back without any actual change involved.

I don't think those are the only two choices, and it really does seem like the most probable option is that Devin wants to be contrite and is fumbling at it, Tim wants to help his friend, and neither of them seems to be really looking at it through any other prism but "Can we help Devin," and its leading them to not take into account a wide array of other factors, and so Tim has been making bad decisions from more or less a HUGE blind spot the entire time. It doesn't have to be a nefarious plot or anything. Just a guy who cares about his friend not being careful and considerate about how he goes about trying to help, and making it way worse for everyone.

 

[Random Human]

In terms of the timeline, keep in mind a Drafthouse employee said this:

So at most a month, and employees only found out about it from seeing his name in emails.

 

[unpopularblargh]

I know Tim personally and have worked with and for him, and despite all this still hold him in high regard.

I am in no way condoning Faraci's behavior or Tim's inappropriate and clandestine harboring of him. This is a terrible turn of events and Tim hasn't done anyone any favors with many of his actions or comms. I'm not going to white-knight for Tim, but I will try to shed some light on how a good person with good intentions made some bad decisions.

Tim is not an amoral or deceitful person. In my firsthand experience he is quite transparently a passionate, caring, and high-minded guy who has done amazing and generous things by sheer force of will in both his business and community. I believe he has arrived here because of the way his compassion and loyalty to one person blinded him to a need to be accountable to a broader constituency. Not because he is a jackass.

Tim values his non-conformity and trusts his instincts as much as anything else, and this by definition creates a type of reverse arrogance. This is found in many people considered to be "movers and shakers." I was there as Alamo was born out of a cinema anarchy mindset that he spearheaded. And even as the chain grew, Tim never saw himself as or desired to become a business icon, ne CEO.

In fact at one point he did sell off the expansion/franchising rights to another group. He did this to protect the pure absurdity of what he had built in Austin. He didn't want to compromise his integrity and feared becoming "the man" that he railed against. Ultimately the other group began running the franchises in such a dispassionate and bottom-line way that Tim couldn't stomach how they had watered down his vision. So he bought it all back.

His businesses have been successful because he has always followed his anti-establishment approach. As luck would have it this jibed with a huge subculture. But he never craved and I would suggest was never groomed for what we have come to know as a CEO.

If he was a "proper" CEO - perversely aware of political correctness and careful to consider his every move against public perception - this would never have happened (and I'll wager Alamo and his other business would not have been nearly as successful). But that's not Tim. He was just trying to help out someone who he saw as family.

There are shitty people in the world. Earlier in my life I came to the conclusion that those people are often part of an otherwise good family. Like the cliché crappy uncle. But they're still family, and most people feel compelled to continue trying to help them in all but the most dire circumstances... I did, literally until the day my very real crappy uncle died.

Tim was just trying to take care of his own. I believe he did this for all the right reasons in his head, with no intent to diminish anyone else. I'll go one step further and dispute Todd Brown's "Old Boys Club" assertion. Misogyny had nothing to do with it. Tim would have done the same thing for a woman.

I believe Tim's actions were short sighted and callous. But they were intended to be caring, not tone-deaf let alone evil. What he does from here will be the real test of his character.

{ Now you can tell me how you would've done it differently, kicked your broken friend to the curb, and have always done the right thing for the greater good in your life.
Go ahead... flame on. }

I don't think this has anything to do with political correctness. He did a bad thing and got caught and then tried to play it off as altruism.

 

[Shaanyboi]

I know Tim personally and have worked with and for him, and despite all this still hold him in high regard.

I am in no way condoning Faraci's behavior or Tim's inappropriate and clandestine harboring of him. This is a terrible turn of events and Tim hasn't done anyone any favors with many of his actions or comms. I'm not going to white-knight for Tim, but I will try to shed some light on how a good person with good intentions made some bad decisions.

Tim is not an amoral or deceitful person. In my firsthand experience he is quite transparently a passionate, caring, and high-minded guy who has done amazing and generous things by sheer force of will in both his business and community. I believe he has arrived here because of the way his compassion and loyalty to one person blinded him to a need to be accountable to a broader constituency. Not because he is a jackass.

Tim values his non-conformity and trusts his instincts as much as anything else, and this by definition creates a type of reverse arrogance. This is found in many people considered to be "movers and shakers." I was there as Alamo was born out of a cinema anarchy mindset that he spearheaded. And even as the chain grew, Tim never saw himself as or desired to become a business icon, ne CEO.

In fact at one point he did sell off the expansion/franchising rights to another group. He did this to protect the pure absurdity of what he had built in Austin. He didn't want to compromise his integrity and feared becoming "the man" that he railed against. Ultimately the other group began running the franchises in such a dispassionate and bottom-line way that Tim couldn't stomach how they had watered down his vision. So he bought it all back.

His businesses have been successful because he has always followed his anti-establishment approach. As luck would have it this jibed with a huge subculture. But he never craved and I would suggest was never groomed for what we have come to know as a CEO.

If he was a "proper" CEO - perversely aware of political correctness and careful to consider his every move against public perception - this would never have happened (and I'll wager Alamo and his other business would not have been nearly as successful). But that's not Tim. He was just trying to help out someone who he saw as family.

There are shitty people in the world. Earlier in my life I came to the conclusion that those people are often part of an otherwise good family. Like the cliché crappy uncle. But they're still family, and most people feel compelled to continue trying to help them in all but the most dire circumstances... I did, literally until the day my very real crappy uncle died.

Tim was just trying to take care of his own. I believe he did this for all the right reasons in his head, with no intent to diminish anyone else. I'll go one step further and dispute Todd Brown's "Old Boys Club" assertion. Misogyny had nothing to do with it. Tim would have done the same thing for a woman.

I believe Tim's actions were short sighted and callous. But they were intended to be caring, not tone-deaf let alone evil. What he does from here will be the real test of his character.

{ Now you can tell me how you would've done it differently, kicked your broken friend to the curb, and have always done the right thing for the greater good in your life.
Go ahead... flame on. }

So Tim is compassionate, caring, high-minded...

Just not when it fucking counts, it seems. He's instead a liar and more concerned about the well-being of his sexual harasser friend than he is the people who are victims of this shit. And instead, uses them in a PR stunt to absolve himself of any guilt in the public eye.

Fuck him.

 

[Dan-o]

I don't think this has anything to do with political correctness. He did a bad thing and got caught and then tried to play it off as altruism.

Pretty much. I'm just glad Tim himself isn't playing the PC card with this.

I can appreciate (while still disagree with) wanting to help his friend out, even in the worst of circumstances. But keeping it secret for 10 months? Bad move.
He should have hired the crisis management company last October. They'd have told him then not to pull that shit.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

The woman I was talking about earlier? The one who reached out to Tim shortly after Faraci stepped down the first time?

She's invited anyone who has a story to tell to tell their story, and she will publish it while keeping their identity anonymous.

The first woman to take her up on that offer just got posted.

 

[unpopularblargh]

The woman I was talking about earlier? The one who reached out to Tim shortly after Faraci stepped down the first time?

She's invited anyone who has a story to tell to tell their story, and she will publish it while keeping their identity anonymous.

The first woman to take her up on that offer just got posted.

Now, it’s probably unfair to say that in that I have no relationship with League. He didn’t personally reject me. I’m sure he doesn’t know the particulars.Yet he always knew when our bathrooms were shut down for cleaning, and would fire off an email wanting them reopened within the hour. But that’s the mystery of League and the Drafthouse. Somehow, no one is in charge when someone is getting hurt, and a lot of people got hurt there. Somehow League is “above it all,” too big for the daily grind of the Drafthouse, except when suddenly he isn’t.

League doesn't come off looking good from any of this. Reminds me of my manager from when I worked at Best Buy back in college. Always there to pick the nits, never there when things got complicated.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

The woman I was talking about earlier? The one who reached out to Tim shortly after Faraci stepped down the first time?

She's invited anyone who has a story to tell to tell their story, and she will publish it while keeping their identity anonymous.

The first woman to take her up on that offer just got posted.

Reading that just pisses me off. I want to get my wife's take on it, because she only tells me a sampling of similar bullshit she puts up with in her field and how mad it makes her.

I do hope more people come forward.