NYC judge orders filmmaker to turn over outtakes of documentary on Chevron-Ecuador legal fight

Maker of film ‘Crude’ ordered to turn over footage

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York City has ordered a documentary filmmaker to turn over about 600 hours of raw footage from a film about a legal fight between Chevron Corp. and Ecuadoreans over oil contamination in their country.

Judge Lewis Kaplan issued the order Thursday, requiring filmmaker Joseph Berlinger to turn over the outtakes from the film “Crude,” which was released last year.

Kaplan said Berlinger could not use the First Amendment to shield himself from the effort by Chevron to get the footage.

Maura Wogan, a lawyer for Berlinger, said the ruling threatens “great harm to documentary filmmakers and investigative reporters everywhere.”

Chevron lawyer Randy Mastro called the film outtakes a “treasure trove” and said it will expose “corruption and fraud and a travesty of justice going on right now in Ecuador.”