All kinds of controversy is coming soon to a theater near you.
Newmarket Films, the indie distribution company that brought us Mel Gibson's polarizing The Passion of the Christ, has paid a reported $1 million to secure U.S. distribution rights to Death of a President, a movie that has sparked an uproar for dramatizing the assassination of President George W. Bush.
The deal was announced on Monday, the five-year anniversary of 9/11. But a source claimed the date was purely coincidental and that negotiations simply had begun after the film had its world premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival Sunday night.
The brainchild of British producer-director Gabriel Range, Death of a President will air initially on Britain's Channel 4 on Oct. 9 and will be rolled out to theaters across the U.S. in the following months. Newmarket would not confirm whether it would time the film's release to Election Day.
Shot like a typical television documentary, the 93-minute film uses computer wizardry to combine archival footage of President Bush with staged scenes to depict the murder and its aftermath. The trades estimate the film's budget between $2 million and $4 million.
The film opens in October 2007, with the President visiting Chicago amid demonstrations over his newly expanded powers via the so-called Patriot Act 3. After giving a speech, he exits a hotel to his motorcade when he is gunned down by an assassin hiding in a nearby building.
Death of a President then focuses on the impact Bush's death has on the country, his funeral--complete with a eulogy delivered by "President Cheney"--and the wrongful arrest and conviction of a Palestinian immigrant for the crime.
The seamless effects have been so convincing that many critics who have seen the film fear it might encourage an attempt on Bush's life.
Even actor Kevin Costner chimed in. The Oscar winner, whose latest film, The Guardian, is also screening at the fest, criticized Range for not taking into account the impact such a film would have on Bush's family.
"It's awfully hard if you're his children, his wife, his mother, his dad; there's a certain thing we can't lose as human beings, which is empathy for maybe the hardest job in the world," Costner said, per contactmusic.com.
"Whether we think it's being performed right or not we can't, like, wish...or think that's even cute."
There was no immediate comment from the White House.
Despite the built-in hype, Sunday's sold-out premiere didn't attract any protesters and was greeted afterward with polite applause--intermingled with a few hisses. The film failed to wow reviewers.
In its recap of the screening, the Associated Press said the film "plays out like whodunit on a grand scale," but critic Norman Wilner of the Toronto Metro said, "It's not as controversial as it could be." And while praising Range's technical achievements, Daily Variety's Todd McCarthy said, "Disappointingly, Death of a President shrinks from its promise as a piece of genuinely radical or adventurous speculative fiction."
Still, Range told Reuters that "the reaction of the general public was very good."
"People didn't know what to expect," he continued. "Our film has a very striking premise but it is not sensational or gratuitous. I hope people will see it as a balanced film and compelling drama. It is an oblique look at the ways the United States has changed since 9/11. We use the lens of the future to explain the past."
At a post-screening Q&A, Range defended his faux doc from suggestions it could spark the very action it portrays.
"I think the film makes it clear it would really be a horrific event," he said. "There have been plenty of fictional films about assassinations, so this is not the first in that sense."
But, while Range speculated his opus wouldn't encourage any would-be John Hinkleys, he did add that he has received a half-dozen death threats since word of the subject matter got out.
Just to clarify, although I have several shall we say 'negative' comments about Bush, I don't plan on seeing this. Making a movie on this subject is just too far out. It's not necessary. I get that it's a movie, but damn, no matter what, Dubya is still the C&C and I won't back the nature of this film. I don't know the entire premise but from what I've read it doesn't look cool at all.
Edit: attention government agencies, please do not blame the messenger. I didn't make this lame movie. Thank you.
I thought it was very thought provoking and on the most basic level the acting was amazing. Just a really good mockumentary. I don't get what all the uproar is about. ?
I think some people are just a little uncomfortable with the idea of their commander in chief dying. From the premise, I actually got the feeling that the idea of the movie is "see, we're better off with Bush". Would that be right?
"I'm for it so we can put Nuclear power plants up there, and then beam the power back to earth on a laser beam." ~ Whidden
I believe that they were trying to make a documentary to show what can happen... and how to deal with it. But, the part that makes it hard to swallow, for many, is that this is an actually person... he's real, and he's the President of the United States. How do you think that his wife, and daughters, and parents, feel seeing this? Seeing their family member assassinated? It's okay to make a movie with a President being assassinated who is fictional. They crossed the line, in my opinion, in making it like this... and I don't even like Bush.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
09-13-2006 11:08 PM
