The Power of Twitter

Last week it looked like Walter Kirn, who wrote the novel Up in the Air, upon which the hit movie was based, would be watching the Academy Awards from his living room. Kirn, you see, hadn't been invited to the Oscars, despite the fact that screenwriter Jason Reitman was up for a Best Adapted Screenplay award. Kirn retaliated against Paramount Pictures, who should have issued the invitation, on Twitter:

In a message Kirn posted on Wednesday (17Feb10), Kirn wrote, “Caution to writers: Don’t expect that because you write a novel that becomes an Oscar-nominated film that you’ll be invited to the Oscars. Novelists are like oil in H’wood (Hollywood): they drill us, pipeline us, pump us and then burn us.”

But movie bosses have moved quickly to settle the issue, giving Kirn a prime seat next to the film’s star, [George] Clooney.

Kirn confirmed his invitation via Twitter.com on Friday (19Feb10), writing: “Thanks to Paramount Pictures for coming through with Oscar tickets and proving true to its word, which I shouldn’t have doubted.”

Whoever said that all publicity is good publicity was wrong—at least in the era of Twitter.