Hollywood and 9/11.....in bad taste?

darkman2

I dont know about anyone else but I find something very disturbing about the fact that two high budget entertainment movies have already been made about United Airlines flight 93 and the World Trade Centre little over 5 years since the disaster. Whats even more worrying is perhaps the over emphasis on 'action' in United 93. There is credible evidence that alot of the things we have heard about this flight and the 'hero's' on board is infactual, that its been distorted by a need to make Americans feel like at least someone fought back admirably. However is this the case?. Have a listen to the former head of the NTSB in this short clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzP8WkcY5Z4

You know Hollywood loves this sort of thing. They are currently making a hell of alot of money atm churning out these movies and whats even more disturbed is that they have the adacity to put 'dedicated to those who died on 9/11' at the end of both. Its only dedicated to their wallets IMO. I personally will not watch another movie about this violently, horrific act of barbarism that occured that day. So violent and barbaric that the actors and directors in these movies dont have a clue what those ppl actually went through and I wish they would stop pretending they do. If anything this is the worst indictment of American society possible. Making money out of the most violent deaths imagineable is crossing the line IMHO. Dont get me wrong. I find some of the documentary's intriuging and well worth-while but I think it would have been in better taste not to make these movies so soon. What do you think? Is Hollywood knowingly taking advantage of the misery of others in this case. Or do I just need to chill out?

Ruu_Old

Hollywood needs to move on I think and quit bringing it up all the time, its over with so let it be done with. It is a bit tastless at this stage imo. It doesn't bother me a whole lot though.

MrJoeSoap

The main thing for me is that I don't think any 90 minute film is going to be any more dramatic and touching than the actual footage already seen. Every single time I see those people leaning out the windows of the towers, not to mention the few who jumped, I get goosebumps.

I won't be going to see any 9/11 films.

The guys who were making the documentary about the NYFD at the time of the attacks provided the best footage out of anyone. I think their movie was just called "9/11".

Lindaloo

To be honest, I'm surprised that they waited so long, it's not like Hollywood to be that sensitive.

I agree that the documentary that the French journos did was the most incredible piece of footage and for me, having seen that, I've no need to watch anything else to do with it.

With regards the movie with Nic Cage, were all proceeds not donated to charity (I know he donated his salary)? At least that is something I suppose

lostexpectation

I think your wholey wrong, both films were extremely reserved both, based on the reports and made in agreement with participants and families involved, both stuck to the 'known' facts as much as possible (esp with 93, with WTC dramatised)... and both were made by extremly left wing directors, I say and Q&A with Stone and some guy who obviously had a problem with Stone said what you said, Stone just let the guy who was actually buried under the towers who he made the film with answer for him, neither film particularily Hollywood.

Lurk

I appreciate your sentiments OP...there are an awful lot of people, especially Americans, who share your opinion and there was always going to be criticism of any film made about 9/11. But I would tend to agree with lostexpectation....while WTC was quite dramatised, I didn't think Flight 93 went over the top. In both cases, I was glad to get some idea of the horror that people went through, even though we will probably never get the full facts.
The clips that have generally been seen on TV about the attacks were censored. For example, Canadian TV showed people jumping from the towers, whereas few other countries did, and before WTC, I had never seen this.

In relation to Flight 93, I've deliberately stayed away from Web sites reputed to have the "real" facts about the event, simply because I didn't know where to start. There are so many media sites backed by either right- or left-wing cores that it's difficult to know which are unbiased. Do you know any sites that don't seem to have an agenda, so that I can have a look?

One of the big conspiracy theories is that an airplane didn't hit the Pentagon, that the government exploded a bomb there to heighten the tension. It doesn't seem to be a great cover-up though, seeing as everyone knows about it. Deary me, I'm not sure if the public will ever know what really happened that day.

TerrorFirmer

lostexpectation wrote:

I think your wholey wrong, both films were extremely reserved both, based on the reports and made in agreement with participants and families involved, both stuck to the 'known' facts as much as possible (esp with 93, with WTC dramatised)... and both were made by extremly left wing directors, I say and Q&A with Stone and some guy who obviously had a problem with Stone said what you said, Stone just let the guy who was actually buried under the towers who he made the film with answer for him, neither film particularily Hollywood.

Pretty much sums up what I was about to say.

ixoy

Surely it applies to other movies covering horrific events - do you object to "Hotel Rawanda" and "Shooting Dogs" then, which covered events that were more barbaric and large in scales of death?

\m/_(>_<)_\m/

i would love to see the twist they would put on a movie showing them killing tens of thousand of innocent men, women and children like they have done in Afghanistan and Iraqi. i sure they would still come out looking like brave men fighting for freedom.

mike65

I'm sure we won't have to wait too long before the first Iraq movies, proberly from George Clooney! As for November 9th movies I don't have a problem, Vietnam was still smoking when the first flicks about it were in preproduction (I'm ignoring Green Berets!).

Mike.

Peteee

mike65 wrote:

I'm sure we won't have to wait too long before the first Iraq movies, proberly from George Clooney! As for November 9th movies I don't have a problem, Vietnam was still smoking when the first flicks about it were in preproduction (I'm ignoring Green Berets!).

Mike.

Exactly, Films are always going to be made about disasters and the like. 9/11 movies are no different.

Do you complain about films being made about WW2, when 40 odd million people died? Of course not

Galvasean

Hollywood has always cashed in on tragedy. Titanic is the highest grossing movie of all time afterall. 9/11 is just another cash cow for cynical Hollywood execs.

BopNiblets

I'm waiting for them to announce Hurricane Katrina.

Hugh Hefner

Christ, 5 years? It's really been a long time. Almost a third of my life. I don't like the fact that I can remember it well(ish). Makes me think that maybe a 75 year life span is too short.

Damn those tortoise!


I've never seen either of the 9/11 films but as a general rule I don't think that art can ever be in bad taste. And, from what I've heard and read, both of those films are quite deserving of the term "art".

J.R.HARTLEY

do you think it's the first time this has happened, hollywood thrives on stuff like this, when pearl harbour was bombed unexpectedly in 1941 we had a slew of movies about it hitting the screens within months, and there were 12,400 people killed in that attack.

Victor

Oddly Spielberg said the film of the (true) 9/11 story would never be made, but at the end of Munich, it specificly shows the WTC.

J.R.HARTLEY wrote:

do you think it's the first time this has happened, hollywood thrives on stuff like this, when pearl harbour was bombed unexpectedly in 1941 we had a slew of movies about it hitting the screens within months, and there were 12,400 people killed in that attack.

Sure?

Sm0ke

i really cant bring myself to watch any of these films. ive been getting constant abuse from friends aswell cause i wont watch them "ur family wasnt it in the disasters so whats ur problem, u watch WW2 films etc."

i feel its too soon and its not the type of thing i want to find myself watching for entertainment purposes.

Havel

Hollywood is a major part of American society, and i think the movies are just a natural reaction, its just the way the American psyche deals with these problems. They have a persistent need to portray themselves in a positive light, so they need to see their fellow Americas being heroic in the face of such a disaster, and if Hollywood is the means to do that then so be it.

J.R.HARTLEY

Victor wrote:

Sure?

nope, i was trying to recall the number from memory so i guess i remember it incorrectly, but you get the jist of the post

Sad Professor

I don't have any problem with 9/11 movies being made in theory. Like others have said, plenty of movies are made about other tragedies and events and no one complains. I guess the difference with 9/11 is it didn't happen 60 years ago (like the holocaust), nor did it happen in some african or middle-eastern country (like Rwanda or Munich).

We can watch those movies safely from the distance that history and culture provides. But even for us in Ireland, 9/11 felt like it happened next door, we had the feeling that this could really happen HERE, to US. It's hard to be entertained with that cloud hanging over you.

I guess it just goes to show what a waste of time such so called "important" films are. People will never really connect with the terrible reality that films like Schindler's List, The Killing Fields etc were based on. It's still just entertainment.

I haven't seen United 93 but I have seen WTC, which I thought was well made and well intentioned but fairly unnecessary otherwise. I like Stone and I admire what he was trying to do, i.e. provide a cathartic release for people like his Vietnam films did. But as Stone has admitted, the events of that day go much deeper than two towers collapsing or a war in iraq.

That day was too complicated to be condensed into a simple story of heroism and hope IMO, which is all we can ever expect from Hollywood. The real story of 9/11 will only be told by history and I don't see it having any happy endings.