Tag: Film

How Much Do They Hate Us? Pretty Damn Much

Trish

For all the people who asked how we would like to be on the receiving end of an objectionable Hollywood-esque portrayal, we have an answer: Not so much.

CNN reports on a film that opened today in Turkey starring Gary Busey and Billy Zane as a couple of people we would just as soon not share a nationality with.

In the movie, American troops kill dozens of innocent people with random machine-gun fire, shoot the groom in the head, and drag those left alive to Abu Ghraib prison — where a Jewish doctor cuts out their organs, which he sells to rich people in New York, London and Tel Aviv

In the most expensive Turkish movie ever made, American soldiers in Iraq crash a wedding and pump a little boy full of lead in front of his mother.

They kill dozens of innocent people with random machine-gun fire, shoot the groom in the head, and drag those left alive to Abu Ghraib prison — where a Jewish doctor cuts out their organs, which he sells to rich people in New York, London and Tel Aviv.

Whoa. Why would they make a movie like that?

One recent opinion poll revealed the depth of the hostility in Turkey toward Americans: 53 percent of Turks who responded to the 2005 Pew Global Attitudes survey associated Americans with the word “rude”; 70 percent with “violent”; 68 percent with “greedy”; and 57 percent with “immoral.”

I won’t bother saying we brought part of this on ourselves. O.K., I just did.

“Valley of the Wolves Iraq” opens with a true story: On July 4, 2003, in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, troops from the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade raided and ransacked a Turkish special forces office, threw hoods over the heads of 11 Turkish special forces officers and held them in custody for more than two days…the incident damaged Turkish-U.S. relations and hurt Turkish national pride. Turks traditionally idolize their soldiers; many enthusiastically send their sons off for mandatory military service.

In the movie, one of the Turkish special forces officers commits suicide to save his honor.

I’m already feeling sick. No popcorn, thanks.

Looking on the bright side, it’s just a movie, right?

“There isn’t going to be a war over this,” said Nefise Karatay, a Turkish model lounging on a sofa after the premiere. “Everyone knows that Americans have a good side. That’s not what this is about.”

So what is it about? And I wonder how they would have portrayed us if they didn’t know about our “good side.”

Gifted Newcomer Portrays Child Predator in Sundance Short Film ‘First Date’

Jon Ponder

As the Sundance Film Festival gets underway this week, there is pre-festival buzz about First Date, a short film produced in Kansas City, KS. Its depiction of a sexual predator who sets up a date with a teenage boy online is bringing attention to a breakthrough acting performance, as well as kudos for shining a light on the growing problem of online child predation.

The story follows the predator, whose online name is “KC Muscle,” played by Santiago Vasquz, as he undertakes extreme measures to make his first date happen with an underage boy played by Tian Wei.

“First Date” was written and directed by Gary Huggins, a Kansas City-based film historian. It is among 20 short films selected out of 4,311 submissions for Sundance 2006, which opens January 20. It will also show this month in France at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, which is the short film industry’s top international venue.

Huggins says he wrote the part of KC Muscle specifically for Vasquez. He had confidence that Vasquez could handle the role because he had worked for many years as an undercover narcotics cop. He literally knew how to play a role as if his life depended on it.

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Despite Cancellation at Theatre Owned by Homophobe, ‘Brokeback Mountain’ Tops Sales at Two Other SLC Theatres

Jon Ponder

Shot in foot: You have probably heard by now that, in an extremely unusual move, a movie theatre in Salt Lake City canceled the scheduled run of “Brokeback Mountain.”

The theatre – the poetically named Megaplex 17 – is owned by car dealer Larry H. Miller, and the movie’s run was canceled, of course, because “Brokeback Mountain” is a love story about two ranch hands who fall in love.

What you may not know is that while “Brokeback Mountain” was canceled at the Megaplex 17, it played at three other SLC theatres where it did strong business. According to Box Office Mojo:

On the four-day New Year’s frame, Brokeback Mountain earned $46,300 at the Broadway, landing among the top nationwide per-screen averages that weekend. For the weekend ending Jan. 8, the movie took in $18,823 there, still No. 1 in the complex… At the Century 16, Brokeback Mountain was also No. 1 with $12,741.

While Miller cancelled “Brokeback Mountain” assumedly on moral grounds, he had apparently no problems with “Hostel,” a (het) sex-drenched, violent horror film, for which the theatre grossed about $10,000 over the weekend.

As noted, theatre operators rarely cancel movie runs. A rep for Focus Features, the distributors of “Brokeback Mountain,” sounded outraged:

“It’s the most despicable practice that any exhibitor can do,” Focus’ head of distribution, Jack Foley, told Box Office Mojo. “It was a flagrant dismissal of a commitment, and without even a phone call. So I’m not in business with him anymore. It’s a breach of contract. It’s unethical. We can sue him.”

While a cynical observer might note that Larry Miller’s violation of his contract with Focus Features is part of a larger picture – that conservativism has a corrupting effect on its adherents that makes them put their own judgments and benighted moral positions above the law – why not focus on the positive: All the ink given this one cancellation out of 484 theatres nets out to be more free publicity for the film.

This leaves us with a win-win for the movie – nobody in Salt Lake City who wanted to see “Brokeback Mountain” was prevented from seeing it and the distributor got a lot of free publicity – and a loss Larry Miller, who lost ticket sales to other theatres in his market and comes off looking a big ol’ homophobe.

‘Brokeback’ Politics – Can a Movie about Gay Ranch Hands Change Hearts and Minds?

Jon Ponder

Cultural shift: “Brokeback Mountain” has the pedigree of a major hit movie: Two hot young stars, Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, who are also great actors; an Oscar winning director, Ang Lee; a screenplay by Pulitizer-winning novelist Larry McMurtry (“The Last Picture Show” and “Lonesome Dove”) and is based on an incredibly powerful short story by another Pulitzer prize winner, Annie Proulx, author of the novel, “The Shipping News.”

Hint to the ladies: If your man refuses to go see “Brokeback Mountain” with you, go with a girlfriend. After you’ve seen it, you may want to check up on Mr. Macho’s “fishing trips with the boys” and his annual “trip to Talladega.”

The result of all this talent is a magnificent thing – one of the few truly great films Hollywood has ever produced. It will likely receive Academy Award nominations across the board, and could well score big wins on Oscar night.

It is a bona fide critical success, leading in nominations in most critics’ association awards from coast to coast, and in nominations for the Golden Globes. If it does well at the Oscars, it could become a “must-see” film.

Or maybe not. There is good reason to doubt the suburban and small town conservative enclaves are ready for a movie about gay ranch hands in love.

So “Brokeback Mountain” isn’t for everyone – what movie is? In 2004, for example, despite the fact that millions of us stayed away in droves from “The Passion of the Christ,” Mel Gibson’s S&M epic about the torture and killing of Jesus, the film made $370 million worldwide.

“Brokeback Mountain” could easily make $100 million and more, which would qualify it as a hit by most standards, without selling a single ticket to a NASCAR dad, a homo-threatened “straight” guy or a Christian torture fetishist.

(Hint to the ladies: If your man refuses to go see “Brokeback Mountain” with you, go with a girlfriend. After you’ve seen it, you may want to check up on Mr. Macho’s “fishing trips with the boys” and his annual “trip to Talladega.”)

No movie could convert millions of homo-haters into gay-friendlies, but this particular film will definitely open a few eyes.

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Profanity in Rightwing Film Halts Screening at Anti-Michael Moore Film Fest

Jon Ponder

Despite this rather glowing report from the local paper, the organizers of the Freedom FilmFest – an event that was hastily organized to protest the Traverse City Film Festival and its founder, Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore – found themselves in hot water yesterday.

At least one “values voter” reportedy walked out of the Freedom Filmfest’s screening of “Michael Moore Hates America” in protest over the film’s excessive use of profanity. Apparently, Red-staters who are interviewed in the documentary-style film repeatedly describe Michael Moore as a “fucker” and a “motherfucker.”

Because of the outcry, festival organizers shut the screening down before the film was over.

While larger venues at TCFF screenings have consistently been sold out, reports say the rightwing event has been sparsely attended – one screening had 50 people, another had only 15.

A person on the scene commented, “What if they gave a war and nobody came?”

Among prizes awarded at the festival, “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” won “scariest film.”

Thanks to ArtSavant.

Traverse City Film Festival Announces Panel Discussions

Jon Ponder

Includes Session Led by Michael Moore on Art And Politics in Film

Topics for panel discussions at the Traverse City Film Festival later this month have been announced. The discussions, which are free and open to the public, will present the views of Hollywood movers and shakers including the festival’s founder, Oscar-winning documentarian Michael Moore.

According to the Traverse City Record-Eagle, the panels will include:

Moore will lead the July 28 session titled, “Is it Art? Or Is it Politics? Traverse City Wants to Know.”

He said the idea for the session was hatched even before he went to the Traverse City Commission to seek permission to show nightly free films outdoors at Traverse City’s Open Space as part of the festival.

“There’s an interesting discussion of whether this film festival is political,” he said. “You have to recognize that if you are going to be a filmmaker, you have to do the filmmaking first – not the politics. Because you’ll lose people on the politics.”

“Is Fiction Dead? The Rise of Documentary Films” is the title of the July 29 panel. Those participating include Marilyn Agrelo, director of “Mad, Hot Ballroom,” and Alex Gibney, director of “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” both of which are showing during the festival; Ethan Canin, author of “Emperor of the Air”; and mystery writer Robert Sloan.

“They’ll be discussing why it is that Hollywood movies are getting worse and worse – the fiction movies … and why it is that the one type of film where the attendance is up are documentaries,” Moore said.

July 30 brings “Hollywood Confidential: Stories We Will Only Tell in Traverse City.” Rob Tappert, producer of both recent “Spiderman” movies, will be joined by producer Rebecca Reynolds, who lives in Leelanau County and whose latest project is a pilot for HBO; screenwriter Larry Brand (“Halloween: Resurrection”), whose first job was as personal assistant to Orson Welles; screenwriter Chuck Pfarrer (“The Jackal” and “Navy Seals”); and Ari Emanuel, cofounder of the Endeavor Agency and after whom the lead character of an agent by the same name is modeled in HBO’s “Entourage.”

On July 31, the topic is “How to Make a Great Movie for $30,000.” Andrew Wagner, director of “The Talent Given Us,” one of the films showcased during the festival, will be featured. Jonathan Caouette, director of another festival film, “Tarnation,” is also expected. Jeff Gibbs, co-producer on Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9-11” and “Bowling for Columbine,” will moderate.

“This one’s especially for students and young people interested in filmmaking,” Moore said. “You don’t have to wait until you have the multimillion dollar Hollywood deal to make your own movie.”

The events will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday through Sunday, July 28-31, at the Traverse City Opera House, free of charge.

More info: Traverse City Film Festival

Wingnuts’ Panties in a Wad Over Film Festival Founded by Michael Moore

Jon Ponder

Conservative filmmaking is like conservative stand up comedy: It sucks. Conservative filmmakers put their idealogy up front, which makes their films read like what they are: wooden, unimaginative propaganda.

Conservatives rarely produce fictional works, but when they do the films are often quite violent – “Passion of the Christ,” is a prime example. Rather, they gravitate toward psuedo-documentaries that are either “answer” films – “Michael Moore Hates America,” for example – or barely concealed propaganda pieces such as “Confronting Iraq” and “WMD” that seek to shore up the fading “rally ’round the flag” effect among the rightwing base about President Bush’s quagmire in Mesopotamia.

So why would a group of rightwingers want to inflict a festival of their bad films on the citizens of Traverse City, Michigan?

They are in a dither because film fans have gotten together to found the Traverse City Film Festival. The festival is avowedly nonpartisan – and it sounds like fun:

Among the 31 films are four classics that will be shown free of charge on a 40-foot-high, inflatable screen in a park beside Grand Traverse Bay: “Jaws,” “The Princess Bride,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Casablanca.”

At the paid, indoor screenings, festivalgoers can choose from the very latest Indie and foreign film fare – titles like Sundance and Cannes winner “Me and You and Everyone We Know,” “Mad Hot Ballroom,” a documentary about 11-year-olds who ballroom dancing competitors, which will open the festival, “Broken Flowers,” the latest from independent film pioneer Jim Jarmusch and the hardhitting documentary, “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.”

These are films that only smart people can enjoy – so is that what has these un-smart Americans all riled up?

No. They don’t like that it that founder-in-chief of the festival is Michael Moore, the rightwing’s leftwing icon. The Oscar-winning documentarian is a Michigan native who lives in New York and has a home near Traverse City.

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Hix Nix Science Flix at Imax

Jon Ponder

In this article in today’s New York Times, Carol Murray, director of marketing for the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, which operates the local Imax theatre, explains why she decided not to show the documentary film, “Volcanoes.”

“If it’s not going to draw a crowd and it is going to create controversy,” Murray said, “from a marketing standpoint I cannot make a recommendation” to show it.

This is just flat wrong. Controversy sells movie tickets. If you want to put butts in the seats at local cineplex, there really is no such thing as bad publicity. Just ask Mel Gibson or Michael Moore.

Amazingly, the Fort Worth science theatre is not the only Imax operator to self-censor this science film because it presents science. The Times says, “‘Volcanoes,’ released in 2003 and sponsored in part by the National Science Foundation and Rutgers University, has been turned down at about a dozen science centers, mostly in the South … because of its brief references to evolution, in particular to the possibility that life on Earth originated at the undersea vents.”

Apparently, panic erupted in the museum’s marketing department after a test screening of “Volcanoes” for 134 local residents. Reading through the viewer comments, a whiff of controversy arose – and it seems to have set Murray’s hair on fire. She told the Times that “while some thought [the film] was well done, ‘some people said it was blasphemous.’ In their written comments, she explained, they made statements like ‘I really hate it when the theory of evolution is presented as fact,’ or ‘I don’t agree with their presentation of human existence.'”

That this happened in a museum dedicated to science is as scary as it is sad. I suppose you could argue that avoiding controversy is mission-critical in marketing departments at a public institutions. But when avoidance of controversy leads to censorship, a line has been crossed.