| RIPTIDE | ▼ CORAL GABLES GOD FORBID! and evangelist Jerry Falwell Jr., he contacted his alma mater, the University of Miami (UM), to ask whether the school would be in- terested in scheduling a screening at its Bill Cosford Cinema. “It would be an opportunity [for students] A to engage with the filmmakers and perhaps some of the interview subjects of the docu- mentary,” Corben tells New Times. To his surprise, the university declined to screen the film, God Forbid: the Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty, in spite of his successful career and past ties to the school, including routine classroom visits to speak with students on campus. Moreover, it seems the college’s decision to pass on the film wasn’t due to a scheduling issue, inappropriate content, or some other such glitch. Rather, he says, it was because of his Twitter comments. “’Unfortunately the Cosford Cinema can- not accommodate the premiere screening of your Jerry Falwell documentary due to previ- ous negative publicity and comments you have made about the University of Miami School of Communication,’” Corben relates, quoting the explanation he says was provided to him on behalf of a Cosford Cinema super- visor. And where was Corben when he got the news? GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS ▼ MIAMI CRIMINALLY CONTEMPTIBLE job, including former marketing and operations director Diana Perez-Pazos. With the wounds of that loss still fresh, Perez is now facing a criminal charge over a commercial code violation that was not her responsibility, according to her attorney. “August 12 will be a day I will never forget. I A 66 was greeted by seven police officers and two code enforcement officers while we had summer camp in full swing,” Perez said during public com- ment at a city commission meeting on September 13. “I am now being charged with a misdemeanor Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Billy Corben coproduced a documentary about a sex scandal involving Jerry Falwell Jr. and a Miami Beach pool boy. “Ironically, while I was actually leaving campus after a [radio] interview with WVUM, I get a call from the Cosford theater manager telling me they are refusing to screen our new documentary,” Corben says. “And the reason was even more surreal: It’s apparently because of some mean tweets about the school of communication.” New Times emailed and called the office of Konstantia Kontaxis, chair of UM’s Depart- ment of Cinematic Arts and an award-win- ning documentary and narrative filmmaker, but has not received a response. According to UM’s website, Kontaxis has served as cura- tor/advisor for the Norton Herrick Center for Motion Picture Studies and the Cosford Cin- ema since 2012. When reached by New Times, Rene Rodri- because I was just working at the outdoor center and the police just happened to come.” Perez recounted to commissioners that po- VIRGINIA KEY EMPLOYEE STUNNED BY CRIMINAL CHARGE OVER CODE VIOLATION. BY JOSHUA CEBALLOS fter the closing of the Virginia Key Out- door Center this past August, 17 center employees were abruptly left without a lice officers on the scene during the outdoor center shutdown asked for the manager of the business, Esther Alonso, who was not present when they arrived. Because Alonso wasn’t there, police allegedly asked Perez for her ID for re- cord-keeping purposes, and she obliged. Shortly afterward, police handed Perez an af- fidavit on a charge for running a business with- out a business tax receipt — a code violation issued against the outdoor center. “I was told that in the city of Miami it is a crim- inal offense not to have one of these permits, and since I was the one responsible at the time of the shift, I would be the one the arrest affidavit would be served to,” she said during the meeting. Under City of Miami code, operating an es- tablishment without a business tax receipt is considered a misdemeanor punishable by 60 days imprisonment and a $500 fine per day guez, who manages the Cosford Cinema, de- ferred to UM’s media relations department. Peter E. Howard, assistant vice president for communications and public relations, directed a reporter to submit a request in writing. By press time, the office had not responded. Corben says his allegedly offensive tweets weren’t specified by the university. He scoured his Twitter account to locate any likely culprits but to no avail. “I don’t know what it is, but I do know that I had screenings on and participated at the cinema,” Corben adds. “These are the kinds of opportunities that the university should be providing to its students, and the school of communication apparently has issues with criticism and wants to silence certain voices.” Corben notes that the snub seems to con- while the violation continues. The city contends that Virginia Key Outdoor Center did not have a valid business tax receipt or certificate of use. But Perez’s attorney, Henry Marines, tells New Times he expected Miami-Dade County Judge Edward Newman to throw out the charge against his client because she was not the head of the outdoor center. The business was owned and operated by Alonso, and all documentation for the business is in Alonso’s name, he says. “I’m surprised this survived arraignment,” Marines tells New Times. Nevertheless, the case in Miami-Dade County criminal court is moving forward, with a hearing scheduled for November 29. According to the affidavit, provided to New Times by the Miami Police Department in re- sponse to a public records request, the respond- ing officer wrote that Perez identified herself as the person in charge. “Defendant identified herself as the manager UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI DECLINES TO SCREEN NEW BILLY CORBEN DOCUMENTARY. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN s documentarian Billy Corben geared up for the release of his upcoming documentary about the well-publicized sex scan- dal involving a Miami pool boy tradict a journalism school’s ostensible mis- sion: to foster freedom of speech and fight censorship. He adds that he has no intention of letting “THESE ARE THE KINDS OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT THE UNIVERSITY SHOULD BE PROVIDING TO ITS STUDENTS.” the rejection discourage him from continuing to visit the campus to speak with students and faculty. At the onset of the pandemic, for instance, he participated in “Career Conver- sations” to share his experience working as a documentary film- maker. “I would never allow the reckless actions and opin- ions of one indi- vidual to change my opinion on the campus commu- nity as a whole,” Corben says. “This is certainly not go- ing to stop me. I have an incredible amount of respect for the students and the faculty, who do a lot of good work over there.” That said, he points out that the univer- sity administration gave him a hard time when he was working on a pair of documen- taries, The U and The U: Part 2, which chron- icled the rise and fall of the UM Hurricanes’ football dynasty. He says he has grown accus- tomed to behavior he believes is intended to stifle dissent. “I’m kind of used to pushback from the ad- ministration,” Corben says. “It’s a shame that this is how the university treats its graduates. I offered them an opportunity like I’ve of- fered another almost half a dozen venues in town or in South Florida, all of which have said yes.” God Forbid: the Sex Scandal That Brought Down a Dynasty, coproduced by Corben, Al- fred Spellman, Oscar winner Adam McKay, and Todd Schulman, will premiere on Hulu on November 1. Corben is in talks with sev- eral venues around South Florida to schedule in-person screenings. of the business onsite,” reads the last sentence of the narrative, which appears to be written in a dif- ferent shade of pen from the rest of the narrative. The original documentation given to Perez on August 12, however, does not include that sen- tence saying Perez identified herself as manager. Marines provided New Times with a carbon copy of the document given to Perez, and it makes no mention of Perez identifying herself as the man- ager of the Virginia Key Outdoor Center. Marines would not comment on the apparent discrepancy between the two documents, but says the entire situation seems to be out of the norm. “It’s a little unusual that they would pick an employee and make an arrest but that’s where we seem to be,” he says. It is unclear at this time if Perez’s case will go to trial, according to Marines. Perez has time to file motions to dismiss the case, which the judge could grant before November. [email protected] MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 OCTOBER 6-12, 2022 NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | miaminewtimes.com
