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Boycott Makes a Splash in the UK
Published on 11/28/07 08:40AM by Leslie FishlockThanks to all of our Brit Military guys who spotted this article in the Telegraph, one of the largest papers in the UK, as well as all the nice comments in support of our boycott.
They see this as an outrage against our troops, who they see as their own, defenders of freedom, and are disgusted.
Iraq war atrocity film Redacted bombs in US
By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles in Telegraph.co.uk
Brian De Palma's Redacted, a film based on the real life rape and murder of an Iraqi girl by US soldiers, has become the latest war and terror themed Hollywood release to fail at the box office.
The drama from the director of Carrie, Scarface and Casualties of War took just over $25,000 during its US opening weekend when it was shown at only 15 cinemas nationwide.
By contrast, Disney's fairy tale romantic comedy Enchanted took more than $50 million during its opening five-days, which ended on Sunday.
The film, for which De Palma won the Silver Lion best director award at this year's Venice Film Festival, was inspired by online reports about a US Army squad raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl before shooting her in the face, torching her body and killing her entire family.
"Everything you see in the movie is something I got off the internet, including the masked character who confesses to some atrocity and wants everyone to know about it," De Palma told the San Francisco Chronicle.
"I changed the names. I fictionalised things. But it's all based on real stuff that I saw."
The film, which was shot documentary-style on digital video in just 18 days, revisits the themes of Casualties of War, about the rape of a Vietnamese farm girl by US troops.
But Redacted has met mixed reviews and triggered outrage among some conservatives with calls for a boycott (a website, www.boycottredacted.com, was set up) and talk show host and critic Michael Medved claiming it "could be the worst movie I've ever seen."
"It appears that De Palma is just the latest moviemaker eager to foist a heavy-handed anti-war picture on the public, and frankly some of these shrill screeds are starting to look silly," wrote reviewer Kam Williams.
The film's dire performance follows the public's similarly lacklustre response to other recent releases themed around the Iraq war and post-September 11 policy. In the Valley of Elah, from Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis and based on true events linked to the Iraq war, has made less than $7 million since its September release despite a cast including Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon.
The Robert Redford-directed political drama Lions for Lambs, with Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep, also sank with minimal trace, taking less than $14 million in three weeks - less than half its production cost.
Even The Kingdom, starring Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner, about an FBI squad targeting Saudi terrorists, made only $47 million, a low figure for a widely-released action movie with high-profile stars.
Earlier this year, A Mighty Heart, about the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, made just over $9 million after eight weeks.
Commentators say the films' subject matter is proving too close to home for many cinema-goers, who seek escapism. In some cases, the releases have just not been good enough.
"These movies have to be entertaining," Lew Harris, editor of Movies.com, said. "You can't just take a movie and make it anti-war or anti-torture and expect to draw people in. That's what happened with Rendition and it has been a disaster."
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De Palma Iraq Flick Bombs
Published on 11/26/07 09:18AM by Leslie FishlockNovember 25, 2007 -- IT'S hard for Hollywood pacifists like Brian De Palma to capture the hearts and minds of America if
Americans won't see their movies. While the public is staying away in droves from “Rendition," “Lions for Lambs" and “In the Valley of Elah," audiences are really avoiding “Redacted," De Palma's picture about US soldiers who rape a 14-year-old Iraqi girl, then kill her and her family. The message movie was produced by NBA Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who insisted on deleting grisly images of Iraqi war casualties from the montage at the film's end. Cuban offered to sell the film back to De Palma at cost, but the director was too smart to go for that deal. “Redacted" - which “could be the worst movie I've ever seen," said critic Michael Medved -took in just $25,628 in its opening weekend in 15 theaters, which means roughly 3,000 people saw it in the entire country. “This, despite an A-list director, a huge wave of publicity, high praise in the Times, The New Yorker, left-leaning sites like Salon, etc. A Joe Strummer documentary [of punk-rock band The Clash] playing in fewer theaters made more in its third week," e-mailed one cineaste. “Not even people who presumably agree with the movie's antiwar thesis made the effort to see it."
John Howell is boycotting the movie 'Redacted' - News/Talk 760 WJR
Published on 11/21/07 02:43PM by Leslie FishlockIt's our own Howie on the radio in Detroit city! Listen up!
Courtesy of the Frank Beckmann Show - WJR News/Talk 760
Something to Remember this Thanksgiving
Published on 11/21/07 09:08AM by Leslie FishlockThanks to Danita for sharing this with us - I think we all need to read this and remember the heros making us safe and happy this Holiday
It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has protected and preserved our freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,
who has protected and preserved our freedom of the press.
It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has protected and preserved our freedom of speech.
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has protected and preserved our freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has protected and preserved our the right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN, not the politician, who has protected and preserved our the right to vote.
Wise Words from GOE: Contact Cuban
Published on 11/18/07 08:20PM by Leslie FishlockI called the Dallas Mavericks front office today to express my displeasure at Mark Cuban’s funding of Redacted. I started the conversation by saying, “I hope this isn’t the only phone call you’re going to receive like this, but I am a soldier and I never raped nor murdered anyone.” The woman on the other end of the line said, “Why would you blame Mark?” When I responded, “Because he funded the project,” I found myself talking to dead air. My thought is that we should all call, or write and express our displeasure. The address and phone are below. Remember, use no profanity, but be firm and let the front office know that this use of Mr. Cuban’s fortune is unacceptable. The men and women in the military are what’s best about our country and Mr. Cuban should know that Hollywood may applaud his efforts, but we will never forget. Manchu.
Mark Cuban
Dallas Mavericks
The Pavilion, 2909 Taylor Street, Dallas, TX 75226
Main Administrative Office Phone: 214.747.MAVS
Thank you,
Chris Hill
Gathering of Eagles
National Director for Operations
http://www.gatheringofeagles.org/
Michael Medved Pans Redacted as "an Atrocity"
Published on 11/17/07 11:00PM by Leslie FishlockCaptain Kaufman blasts Murtha and Redacted
Published on 11/14/07 05:30PM by Leslie FishlockFilms like Redacted and politicians like Rep. Jack Murtha consistently paint US troops as callous and even brutal. Captain Kaufman explains how far from the truth both Murtha and Redacted Are.
Clip courtesy of Hot Air
