But that's not even where the story ends. For a while, the accusation stuck and the family was ostracized in their town. As the lawyer later discovered, PFOA was only one of more than 60,000 unregulated chemicals that these companies released into the world. In 2001, he sent a letter to the director of every relevant regulatory authority, which caused DuPont to respond by requesting a gag order in a bid to prevent him from disclosing his findings to the government. After selecting their own experts (who conveniently ignored the company’s use of PFOA) to investigate the site, DuPont accused the Tennant family of poor husbandry, which is just another way of saying they were mistreating their cattle. Who Gets Paid In Class-Action Lawsuits? Furthermore, the company agreed to pay for medical monitoring of the affected group. Through eerie visuals and a complex plot, director Todd Haynes beautifully crafts the retelling of a true story that keeps viewers shocked, invested and longing for the truth. They had to change churches several times. After that success, Robert continued his pursuit of taking DuPont to task and getting justice for the 70,000 Parkersburg residents that the company poisoned. Robert Bilott, on the other hand, is one of the good ones. They had to change churches several times. The Real Story Behind 'Dark Waters' The new film from Todd Haynes focuses on Robert Bilott, an attorney who took on the goliath chemical company DuPont. With Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman. The farmer was right: the waste had killed his livestock, and Bilott ensured that he received compensation in the form of an out-of-court settlement. Eventually, DuPont "put $70 million into a community health and education project," according to Salon. The next step was for Bilott to file a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the 70,000 people in Parkersburg whose drinking water had been tainted by the chemical substance. These discussions will encompass articles and research about some of the most popular topics in the paranormal world. You get the idea. A thrilling case that builds upon multiple layers, “ Dark Waters ” truly relies on the patience of its audience, while each revelation in the story drags the audience deeper into it. "What if whatever is killing those cows is in the drinking water?" The farmer believed that the chemical company DuPont was responsible for their deaths, but no local lawyers were willing to accept his case because the corporate entity wielded too much influence and power in the town. A trailer just dropped for Mark Ruffalo's upcoming drama Dark Waters, in which he stars opposite Anne Hathaway as Robert Bilott, a crusading lawyer intent on bringing down the chemical company DuPont for leaking acid into West Virginian water. You get the idea. Dark Waters is a 2019 American legal thriller film directed by Todd Haynes and written by Mario Correa and Matthew Michael Carnahan. December 19, 2019. The Matching Tattoo The 'Avengers' All Got Is Actually Pretty Cool Looking, These 'Avengers' Actors Are Superheroes IRL, Here's How Your Crush Noah Centineo Got His Face Scar, Source: Photo by Maddie McGarvey/ For The Washington Post via Getty Images, Stephen Traversie Made an Estimated $300,000 From His Career in Marketing, Here's Where the Cast of 'The Virginian' Is Now, Is Katy Perry Pregnant Again? A Coordinated Campaign: Looking at the Network Pushing Dark Waters. They were denied. In 2004, the EPA "filed a lawsuit against DuPont, charging it with concealing evidence about C8's risks for more than two decades." This angered the lawyer, and he made it his mission to get justice for the Parkersburg residents whose lives had been affected by the substance. The movie is already being tipped to crash this year’s Oscars and certainly looks like something that will appeal to the Academy. Kieran is a Daily Curator for the website you're currently reading. In the meantime, you can check out the trailer below and then read on to learn all about the events that inspired it. The new film Dark Waters dives into the subjects of public health, chemistry, and law, depicting the true story of environmental attorney Robert Bilott and his almost two decades of civil actions against one of … Dark Waters feels like it exists in the same universe, though it follows a lawyer this time, who similarly brings DuPont to task in West Virginia in a 20-year legal battle. Soon, Robert discovered that DuPont had been dumping chemical waste — including an unregulated chemical compound — near the site where Wilbur was raising his cattle. In the case of Dark Waters, the fragile shoulders we see uncovering the truth are those of corporate defense attorney Rob Bilott, played by … Bilott’s war against DuPont lasted almost 20 years, and while his victories proved to be financially rewarding for many people, his intentions were inspired by moralistic reasoning in an effort to make our planet a better place. The movie opened in October 2019! Directed by Todd Haynes. He also loves the movie Varsity Blues. "DuPont is knowingly poisoning 70,000 local residents for the last 40 years," Robert tells his wife, played by Anne Hathaway. Dark Waters, by contrast, has a gray, washed-out color palette and is mostly set in boardrooms and offices, ... showing how DuPont tries to flood Bilott with data to keep him far from the truth. DuPont obliged, but Bilott’s crusade was far from over. Their neighbors refused to talk to them. Legal thriller Dark Waters tells the story of tenacious attorney Mark Ruffalo, who takes a stand against a chemical company that has been poisoning a local town. As a consequence, an angered Robert decided to make this case public and get justice not only for the cattle, but for the Parkersburg residents whose lives were put at danger through the consumption of the poisoned water. Dark Waters is an American legal thriller that tells you the true story of a corporate defense attorney, Robert Bilott who takes on an a 20 year environmental lawsuit against an industrial chemical company … While trying to expose the truth… "Dark Waters" was produced by Participant Media, which was also behind public-discourse sparking movies like "An Inconvenient Truth," "Food, Inc." and "Spotlight." Here's what you need to know about the real-life DuPont lawsuit. Thus began an extremely long and contentious battle between Robert and the people of Parkersburg he was defending, and the chemical mogul known as DuPont. So we designed a specific show-LUT in preproduction with that in mind. PFOA wasn’t public knowledge at the time, but during his research, the lawyer was given access to 160,000 DuPont files which revealed that the company had been using the substance since 1951. The Washington Works DuPont plant in Parkersburg, WV on October 28, 2015. Over the following months, the lawyer drafted a public brief against DuPont. His fight to find out the truth - with the help of a lawyer called Rob Bilott - has been dramatised in new film Dark Waters, starring Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway. Remember Erin Brockovich? He’s spent the majority of his professional career taking the fight to corrupt chemical companies and has managed to do some good in that time. Before Bilott discovered the truth about DuPont’s use of PFOA, however, the company almost won the case. the Tennant family of poor husbandry, which is just another way of saying they were mistreating their cattle. His story is also the subject of Dark Waters, the upcoming Todd Haynes movie starring Mark Ruffalo as the environmentally-conscious lawyer and depicting the case that propelled him to fame. The EPA, drawing from Bilott’s research, also launched their own investigation into PFOA and determined that it posed risks to anyone exposed to it. During his research, Robert learned that DuPont had been engaging in this practice since at least 1951. Bilott’s environmental crusade began in 1998 when he was contacted by Wilbur Tennant, a farmer from Parkersburg, West Virginia, whose cattle had been dying as a result of suspected poisoning. Dark Waters (19,286) IMDb 7.6 2 h 7 min 2019 X-Ray PG-13 Inspired by a true story, an attorney (Mark Ruffalo) uncovers a dark secret connecting a growing number of unexplained deaths to one of the world's largest corporations. During Bilott’s own research, though, he learned that DuPont had been concealing evidence of their actions involving PFOA for decades. In 1998, Wilbur Tennant, the farmer we see in the trailer, contacted Robert when he believed that poison in the water his cattle was drinking was responsible for killing 190 of his cows. Title: Dark Waters Summary: “Mark Ruffalo stars as Robert Billott, a Cincinnati, Ohio attorney for Taft Stettinius & Hollister, a firm that represents major corporations, including DuPont, one of the world’s most powerful chemical manufacturers. According to Salon, which published a long-form article about the case that we recommend reading, the Environmental Protection Agency got involved in the suit as well. "Dark Waters," starring Mark Ruffalo as an attorney trying to punish the DuPont chemical corporation for dumping toxic waste in West Virginia, is a lone-crusader-against-the-corrupt-system film, in the tradition of " The Insider," " A Civil Action," and " The Verdict." "In a rather unusual move, the company also agreed to fund a multimillion dollar health study, overseen by independent, court-appointed scientists, to determine whether exposure to C8 had actually harmed people," the piece continues. 'American Idol' Fans Are Dying to Know, 'Flip or Flop's Anita and Ken Corsini's Son Was Diagnosed With Cancer at Only Three Years Old. Bilott was on to DuPont, but his actions had a knock-on effect throughout their entire industry. A tenacious attorney uncovers a dark secret that connects a growing number of unexplained deaths to one of the world's largest corporations. Dark Waters is a bit different from their previous films because of its gritty fact-based story, though there is also a definite, carefully thought-out look and color palette to the images. We can't wait to see how this riveting legal case is brought to life by Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway, who are already receiving Oscar buzz for their performances. Accurately depicted in new film Dark Waters, DuPont was guilty of actions such as dumping sludge they knew to be toxic into a farm in West Virginia.. But what's the true story behind Dark Waters? ‘Dark Waters’ Faces Inconvenient Truth of Environmental Activism Pat Rizzuto, Tiffany Stecker and Sylvia Carignan. Dark Waters feels like it exists in the same universe, though it follows a lawyer this time, who similarly brings DuPont to task in West Virginia in a 20-year legal battle. In the process, he risks everything – his future, his family, and his own life – to expose the truth. I … Dark Waters wants to be a story about a lone… Read more. Although Robert had been working as a successful lawyer in Cincinnati, he accepted this case because he had spent time in Parkersburg, W.Va. as a child, since that's where his grandmother lived. ‘Dark Waters’ Review: A Deep Dive for the Truth Mark Ruffalo stars in his passion project about an environmental lawyer seeking justice for a West Virginia farmer. The film is directed by … However, the farmer knew his grandmother, and the lawyer’s childhood memories of spending time in Parkersburg made him sympathetic toward the townspeople. Dark Waters will be released in select theaters Nov. 22, and across America on Nov. 29. Not because there are ghosts or demons or paranormal activity involved. Dark Waters captures the tones of despair and inequity that define the PFAS crisis — some people are allowed to pollute the bodies of others for a profit, and we tolerate a culture that allows this to be repeated over and over again. Tags:Dark WatersMark RuffaloReal StoriesTodd Haynes. DuPont responded by trying to plead with his firm, claiming that it could discourage future clients from working with them. Writers: screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Mario Correa The Brief and Scandalous History of the X Rating, How an Intimacy Coordinator Affects Story on a Film Set, Double Take: They Got ‘Constantine’ Right The First Time, 28 Things We Learned from John Woo’s ‘Hard-Boiled’ Commentary, A Brief History of the Fembot in a Red Dress, ‘It’s a Sin’ is the Best New Show of 2021 So Far, How They Shot the Head Explosion Scene in ‘Scanners’, No, Morgan Freeman Did Not Voice the Crab in ‘Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar’, Vinegar Syndrome Brings Devilish Deeds to Blu-ray, ‘Gravity’ and the Line Between Realistic and Believable Sound Design. An attorney links a number of unexplained deaths in a small town to one of the world's largest corporations, DuPont. Nicolette Cain/ABC News Mark Ruffalo told "The View" on Thursday that his new film, "Dark Waters," which is based on an environmental lawsuit against the chemical company DuPont, will expose a story that almost "nobody knows about" even …