July 27, 2006
"Every generation has a defining moment... This Was Ours."
That's the voiceover -- accompanied by Coldplay music -- in a new ad for Oliver Stone's movie "World Trade Center." Test screenings showed a surprisingly strong response from teenagers. I suppose releasing this story about the teenage response is part of the publicity campaign. Let me idly speculate that the movie is failing to appeal to adults for some reason -- perhaps because it has a cheesy disaster movie feel -- and they are repositioning.
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9 comments:
Well, let me idly speculate - this film isn't going to appeal to Stone's leftist JFK/Nixon conspiracy mongering audience unless he's arguing 9/11 was a vast conspiracy of the GOP/Mossad Oil Interests. Which doesn't sound like what he's trying to achieve here, to his credit. Everyone else checked out years back, I suspect - and I'm not sure doing junkets through flyover country is really going to work. Fairly or not - and I haven't managed to stomach one of films all the way through since JFK - this man is the cinematic equivalent of Hilary Clinton.
While early reviews suggest Stone avoided an overtly political message here (i.e. his habitual anti-US stance), and may even have rendered a fairly accurate portrayal of the day's events, I probably won't see it.
This is primarily because I understand there's no mention of terrorists causing the event. That means UW scholar Barrett can still use it for class material.
I sure the heck am not going to pay good money to be reminded of the grave threat the civilized world faces from the likes of al qaidah and other islamofacists. It is about like paying the undertaker to see a video of your Grandmother being embalmed. ohhh! There's Granny's spleen! Gee! I didn't know old people had so much bodily fluid! Wow! There ain't much left to her once the undertaker is done, is there?
My family is going to see it. A pair of 40 somethings, a 20 year old, and a 15 year old.
Everything I've read about the production of this movie is so different than one would expect from a Oliver Stone movie. He has reportedly been a stickler for the exact details as to what happened that day.
Does he leave out the details of who attacked the US? Maybe but I'm not sure that matters. WTC, to me, seems like it is about the response to the attack that day and nothing else.
I think Stone can be a very powerful filmmaker and I completely enjoy JFK. Not for any sense of historical accuracy, but for its intensity and performances--Kevin Bacon and Tommy Lee Jones, anyone? It's a wonderful fictional accounting of conspiracy beliefs and the fact that Stone believes it is fact doesn't detract from my enjoyment.
Oliver Stone smokes marijuana.
Regularly.
Peace, Maxine
Cal Thomas, a conservative columnist who used to be Jerry Falwell's PR guy, loves the movie and gave it a rave review in the papers this week. Thomas is someone I never agree with, but I must admit his review made me sit up and take notice.
I've been told, though I haven't read them myself, that a number of conservatives have written rave reviews of the movie. They've characterized it as patriotic, appropriately deferential to religious faith, and inspirational.
I've moved from "I'll never see an Oliver Stone movie again" to "maybe I should find out more before deciding."
If the movie acquires a Titanic vibe among the younger set, it could make a lot of money.
Okay, I get it, it's like, you hear the Coldplay music and you see the planes flying towards the towers, and the music plays and the planes fly, yadda yadda, then CRASH! They hit the towers and, dammit, the music is still playing.
That's when you're chilled to the very marrow as you realize you've just witnessed a horrible, epic tragedy: Coldplay survived.
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