Caffeinated Clint
Charlie Chaplin. Frank Capra. Billy Wilder. Ingrid Bergman. Mikhail Baryshnikov. What do these people all have in common. One thing is they’ve all been nominated for Academy Awards (with Chaplin, Capra and Bergman winning multiple times). But that is minor. The main thing they have in common is that they came to America from their native lands to express their artistic visions. Baryshnikov actually came to the US via Canada after leaving Russia in 1974.
I bring these names up (and there are countless more filmmakers, painters, authors and other artists to add to the list) because this week the powers that be at SONY PICTURES let them and their achievements down when they bowed to an invisible threat and refused to release their film “The Interview.” While SONY may think they’re doing the right thing (and, in my opinion, the studio is doing this to take the light off of the embarrassing emails that have been released the past three weeks), what they are doing is setting a precedent that should never have been set.
In the past, the United States has always been a leader in confronting things deemed unfair or downright wrong through artistic expression. On March 7, 1941, exactly nine months before Pearl Harbor was bombed and the United States entered World War II, Chaplin released a film he wrote, directed and starred in called “The Great Dictator,” a film which brought to the screen, in Chaplin’s distinct way, what was happening across the Atlantic in Europe with Adolf Hitler. The next year, Walt Disney – yes, THE Walt Disney, released a cartoon entitled “Der Fuerhers’ Face.” It featured Donald Duck in a Nazi uniform (there are probably more Swastikas in this cartoon then in an entire season of “Hogan’s Heroes.”) undergoing a horrible life under Hitler. And, since I mentioned it, “Hogan’s Heroes” made the Nazi’s out to be incompetent boobs. And while I’m sure Hitler wasn’t too pleased with either the Chaplin film or Donald Duck goose-stepping, I don’t recall him ever threatening to bring harm to the people that went and watched them.
Next month, Warner Brothers is scheduled to release the film “American Sniper,” based on the true story of American sniper Chris Kyle and his exploits during the Iraq war. What happens if Al Quida or ISIS or any other extreme group doesn’t want the film released and threatens Warner Brothers. What if the Japanese or German governments, tired of always being portrayed as the “bad guys” of World War II decide they’re sick and tired of always coming out on the losing end of movies. Does this mean Universal is not going to release “Unbroken” next week because it’s depictions of the abuse being meted out in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp might offend some people? And why in the hell is Paramount refusing to allow screenings of “Team America: World Police?” Many of the Alamo Drafthouses, including the one here in Kansas City, had hoped to play it as a good natured rebuffing of those involved. But suddenly the film is not available. However, it was five months ago. I know because I went to the 10th Anniversary presentation at the Kansas City Alamo Drafthouse this past July 5 and saw it. So it was okay to show in July but not in December? Odd.
You know what I find incredibly ironic? The late Kim Jon Il, father of the current Idiot in Charge of North Korea, Kim Jon Un, LOVED Hollywood movies. He had a specially air conditioned vault in his home that held over 20,000 DVDs of American films (and the occasional North Korean remake of such films as “Titanic,” Gladiator” and “Godzilla”). I would bet that Kim Jon Il had a copy of “Team America: World Police” and, while maybe he wasn’t as flattered as he could have been over his portrayal in the film, I’ll bet he chuckled every time the messed up puppet muttered the words, “Matt Damon!”
It’s just a movie. Hopefully one day SONY will realize that. If they really wanted to protect us they never would have released “White Chicks.” Or “Little Man.” Or “Gigli.” Maybe they should change their name to OY CTURS. That’s SONY PICTURES minus a spine!
