The accuracy of its depiction of the cover-up of sex scandals committed by Roman Catholic clergy won Spotlight the 2014 Best Picture Award at the Oscar Awards, but the fabricated dialogue in one scene cost it an out-of-court settlement. Open Road Films, the film's studio and distributor, admitted that the words said by the celluloid Jack Dunn, Boston College's spokesman, was "fictionalized" to highlight the drama. The real-life Dunn complained that the scene made it appear that he was an unwitting accomplice to the sexual abuse of children being perpetrated by men of the cloth.
According to Access Hollywood, Dunn said that he literally became physically sick after seeing how the movie portrayed him. Though he did not file a lawsuit, he retained a lawyer to voice his grievances and specifically asked that the offending scene be edited out. In its settlement, Open Road Films acknowledged, "that Mr. Dunn was not part of the archdiocesan cover-up." While it could not remove a scene from a film that was currently showing, the studio will make donations to Boston charities as part of the settlement. Among the receipients are Resilient Kids and The Big Brother Association for Boston.
The scene in dispute showed the newspaper reporters interviewing Dunn in the all-boys Catholic school, the Boston College High School, in 2002. The journalists had discovered that teachers had been abusing young boys in the 1970s. Under pressure, the cinematic Dunn, played by Gary Galone, remarked that the accusations were "ridiculous" and that the reporters were "trying to reach for a story."
In its related story, WCVB 5 reports that the fabricated dialogue had cost Dunn and his family months of pain and anxiety. The father of four said that his real-life position on sexual abuse and the Roman Catholic church's culpability was totally opposite to that of the movie's portrayal of him. He reveals, "This insinuation of being in the know about the biggest scandal in the history of the church -- it was just devastating because it wasn't true. I got through it because I'm a person of faith."
Ultimately, Open Road Films' settlement was a vindication that cleared his name. Entertainment Weekly quotes Dunn as saying, "...[I am] relieved to have the record set straight on an issue that has caused me and my family tremendous pain."
