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Disney Quashes Rumors on Mel Gibson's Film James Hirsen
THE LEFT COAST
REPORT Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories): 1. Disney Quashes Rumors on Mel Gibson's Film For the second time this month the Walt Disney Co. has issued a confirmation that it will distribute Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto," a Mayan-language film. In early August 2006, just days after Gibson's DUI arrest, Disney indicated in a statement that it was going ahead with the release of "Apocalypto." "'Apocalypto' has completed filming and is currently in post-production," Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta said. "The film will be released as scheduled."
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Why would Disney have to repeat itself a mere 10 days later? Because the company was compelled to respond to a story that was repeated throughout the Internet.
It started with an article posted on the Fox news site that utilized unnamed sources. The story claimed that Disney wanted to sell distribution rights to "Apocalypto" to another studio in order to distance itself from the Gibson controversy. "It's not true," Disney spokeswoman Trotta told Reuters. 2. Tucker Carlson Goes "Dancing With the Stars"? As I expound upon in my latest book, "Hollywood Nation," news and entertainment are becoming less and less distinguishable. Before he rose to primetime news personality fame, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper hosted a reality show called "The Mole." Meredith Vieira glided to and fro from her game show host chair to her seat next to Barbara Walters and Star Jones on the morning talk show "The View." She is presently readying herself to take Katie Couric's former throne on NBC's "Today" show. Now Internet sites are excitedly spreading the news that MSNBC's Tucker Carlson will be showing off his own fancy media-hopping footwork by joining celebrity contestants in the new season of "Dancing With the Stars." The former bow-tied conservative continues to reshape his image. It's yet to be seen, though, whether he will have to contend with some of the holdover stereotypes typically associated with right-of-center white males. 3. Warren Beatty: 'Far Right' Kept Him From Running It's funny how celebrities who run for political office frequently elect to have an "R" as opposed to a "D" next to their name; i.e., Ronald Reagan, Sonny Bono, Fred Thompson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others. Maybe it's because celebrity conservatives aren't in the habit of making lame excuses. Actor, activist and much ballyhooed potential political candidate Warren Beatty is offering an explanation as to why he's been a loud talker, but not much of a walker, when it comes to running for office. Beatty is quoted in Amy Wilentz's book, "I Feel Earthquakes More Often Than They Happen," as saying, "People hate celebrities . . . There has been a demonization of celebrities on the part of the far right." According to Beatty, the "far right" is quite potent even when it comes to a certain hallowed New Jerseyite. "Look," Beatty said, "Bruce Springsteen went out for [John] Kerry in Ohio, and they even made him look bad - and Springsteen is a saint." 4. Oliver Stone and Nicolas Cage Transformed by 'World Trade Center' Based on some recent remarks made by director Oliver Stone and actor Nicolas Cage on CNN Headline News, the experience of making the "World Trade Center" film had a profound effect on the two men. Stone and Cage told CNN Headline News why this movie was different from other works of theirs. Stone described the movie as "detailed, accurate, based on true events and real participants who survived." Stone said it was different because it's "an amazing story" that's "never been told" and involves a rescue that "is so improbable." "I don't think the director is the issue. If you like him, great. If you don't, the film is better than the director," Stone uncharacteristically explained. Cage approached the film with an attitude of desiring "to honor their story and to not bend it." The actor also explained his reluctance to do promotional interviews for the film. "I view the film as storytelling which depicts history. And I'm respectful of these people's stories, and I do not see this as an opportunity to go on other shows that are entertainment-based to sort of sell it," Cage said. Cage admitted that the movie had "absolutely changed him. "I had the most amazing experience I've ever had on any film," he said. Meeting the actual men who are the subject of "World Trade Center" was "like an electric current that went right through me," Cage recounted. "Wow, there really are angels," the actor said. "These people are above and beyond. Their spirit is an incredibly powerful force to feel. And it changed my life. Absolutely." 5. Media Mumbo Jumbo President Bush recently demonstrated that the choice of words can set the tone and mood of the nation. It was the first time that, in describing the nation's fight against terrorism, the president modified his prior rhetoric and clearly stated that what we are engaged in is a "war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those who love freedom [and] to hurt our nation." Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has been ahead of the curve when it comes to the vocabulary of war. In a July 2006 speech at the National Press Club, Santorum examined President Bush's penchant for use of the phrase "war on terror." (At an event I personally attended, the senator elaborated on the same theme.)
"Some say we're fighting a war on terror," Santorum said. "That's like saying World War II was a war on blitzkrieg. Terror, like blitzkrieg, is a tactic of war used by our enemy; it is not the enemy. In World War II, we fought Nazism and Japanese imperialism. Today we are fighting against Islamic fascism." Bush's use of the more specific terminology brought an immediate denunciation from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). In a letter to the president, Parvez Ahmed, CAIR board chairman, wrote, "The use of ill-defined hot-button terms such as 'Islamic fascists,' 'militant jihadism,' 'Islamic radicalism' or 'totalitarian Islamic empire' harms our nation's image and interests worldwide, particularly in the Islamic world." It seems that when the news and/or entertainment media attempt to report on, or include within a product's content, the suggestion that a relationship between Muslims and terrorism exists, CAIR typically goes on offense and pressures the individual or company in question to make the proper adjustments. This causes the news and entertainment media to change messages, approaches or presentations, and a distorted reality is what is ultimately presented to the public. Mike Wallace interviewed the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The 88-year-old correspondent called the Hezbollah-backer "an impressive fellow," "obviously smart as hell," "reasonable," and "an interesting man." Meanwhile ABC used a recent segment of "World News with Charles Gibson" to showcase Richard Clarke, the former counter-terrorism chief in the Clinton and current administrations, an ardent Bush critic and now an ABC News consultant. In his appearance, Clarke used al-Qaida and Nazi in the same breath but in so doing did not receive the same linguistic chastisement as Bush and others have. Clarke also implied that the Bush administration has not been aggressive enough in its war strategy. Clarke responded to a question about the use of the term "Islamic fascists" by pointing out that Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan were beaten in less than four years "but five years into this war against al-Qaida, they're out there still plotting major attacks against the United States." Life is good for critics of the war. Besides being a consultant for a major television network, Clarke's 2004 book, "Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror," is being made into a motion picture, which will reportedly star actor, peace activist, and avocational journalist Sean Penn. The Left Coast Report believes the moral of the media story is that truth in nomenclature poses no present day obstacle for those who tell a Hezbollah version of history. Editor's Notes:
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