Christopher Lee
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BirthDate BirthPlace |
05/26/1922
Belgravia, London, England |
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Quote of the Day: Christopher Columbus on "Potter"
November 05, 2001 9:53am ESTChristopher Columbus, director of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, to Time about the length of the film. "My mantra has been, kids are reading a 700-page book; they can sit through a two-hour movie.''
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Role Call: DiCaprio the Great
November 02, 2001 9:32am ESTThere's been a bunch of activity since the last Role Call, which I suppose is a good sign that Hollywood is not shutting down under the terrorist threat. I'll lead off with a project that has me frothing at the mouth. After collaborating on the upcoming Gangs of New York, Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese are teaming up again to make a movie about Alexander the Great. Alex, you'll recall, was crowned King of Macedonia (DiCaprio's role) after his father, Phillip, was murdered, and then tried to conquer the rest of the known world. The spec script was co-written by Oscar-winning Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and will be produced by Initial Entertainment Group. No start date has been set yet. Let's just hope the film lives up to the power of the story. More on that darn "Exorcist" prequel I guess the idea of doing a prequel to The Exorcist hasn't made anyone stop and ask, "Why are we doing this again?" Irish actor Liam Neeson (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace) has just signed on to play the young Father Merrin. The story revolves around the young Merrin, as he encounters the evil horned one for the first time, in post-World War II Africa. The past life of Merrin, played by Max von Sydow in the original, is referenced in The Exorcist, so hey, why not make a movie about it? It sounds silly, that's all. The other shaky element to the film is that its being directing by John Frankenheimer, who, God bless him, is getting a little long in tooth and really hasn't had a really good film since The Manchurian Candidate in the late '60s. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Freeman catching up with his dreams The talented Morgan Freeman will star in Castle Rock Entertainment's Dreamcatcher, an adaptation of the latest Stephen King novel. Ah, the one King novel I have yet to read (because I've read them all, being such a HUGE King fan). Freeman will play one of four former childhood pals who come together on a hunting trip and end up fighting off extraterrestrials and one evil Army colonel in the woods. While I'd rather cut off my left foot than bad-mouth my Stephen (or let Annie Wilkes from Misery do it for me), Dreamcatcher sort of sounds like a cross between It, which was a really terrifying book and Tommyknockers, which wasn't one of King's best. Thus, I have my reservations. However, director Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill) had an interesting thing to say about doing the film, which he told Variety: "We start out with four friends who are burned out and unhappy, and who get together once a year to go hunting. The fact that it starts out like I>The Big Chill was an attraction, but it then gets taken over by a terrific Stephen King narrative." Maybe I'll see the movie. Travolta, Jackson get down to "Basics" Royale with cheese, please. Those two wacky guys--John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson--of Pulp Fiction fame are working together again. Lucky us! But their new film Basic sounds somewhat predictable and uneventful. Travolta will play a Drug Enforcement Administration agent who comes to an Army basic training camp to investigate the disappearance of an Army Ranger instructor played by Jackson. They've both kind of done similar movies already. Travolta did The General's Daughter where he plays an undercover detective investigating the death of a promising cadet and daughter of the Army base commander. OK, got the Army thing going. And Jackson made Rules of Engagement, where he plays an Army leader accused of killing innocent people in a battle during the Gulf War. Right. Well, I guess they just like to put on Army fatigues. Comic book Cage Nicolas Cage has been eyeing comic book fodder for his next project for a while now. First, he thought about doing an updated Superman, but that was a long time ago and it fell through pretty quickly. Next he was looking at doing a film based on the Marvel Comic Ghost Rider. But now Cage has settled on the film Constantine, an adaptation of the DC-Vertigo comic Hellblazer for Warner Bros. Apparently, the character Constantine is described as a Dirty Harry type who dabbles in the occult and teams with a female investigator to fight evil forces. Oh sure, Cage could do this in his sleep, but, I tell ya, he needs to look at who has been representing him because he really hasn't had any luck in movies in a long time. And Constantine doesn't sound like one to put in the books either. Hopkins goes black--again In Anthony Hopkins newest film project, The Human Stain, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Philip Roth, Hopkins will be playing a "light-skinned black college professor who spends his life passing himself off as Jewish and then becomes a victim of political correctness when he refers to absentee students as 'spooks' and gets labeled as a racist." At least, that's the description in the Hollywood Reporter. Gosh, I hate it when that happens. Nicole Kidman is also on board, playing a troubled yet strong-willed woman with whom the professor falls in love. While the drama sounds interesting, in a slow, character-driven kind of way, Hopkins has a thing about playing a black person. He donned full makeup once to play Othello in a BBC production of the Shakespeare play in the '80s. You go, Tony!
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Thirteen Ghosts Review
October 28, 2001 7:25am ESTArthur Kriticos (Tony Shalhoub) is trying to keep his small family together after losing his wife and the mother of their kids Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth) and Bobby (Alec Roberts) in a tragic fire that left them homeless. Out of nowhere one enigmatic Uncle Cyrus (F. Murray Abraham) wills Arthur a bizarre yet dazzlingly beautiful mansion made almost entirely of glass and filled with priceless antiques. There's not much that could go unseen behind the transparent walls except for perhaps 12 pesky ghosts of disturbed folks like onetime mental patients and a kid whose head got in the way of an arrow. It just so happens old Cyrus with the help of his psychic phantom-wrangler Rafkin (Matthew Lillard) has been summoning up a few restless spirits so he can open the Eye of Hell and take over the world or something. They just need one more spirit to finish the job. All right who's blackmailing Oscar-winner Abraham into taking roles like this? The man should have thrown the script out sight-unseen and then fired his agent. Rah Digga yet another rapper-turned-wanna-be-actress is there to offer some sassy comic relief as the kids' nanny--she's fun in a usual sort of way. Shalhoub-ho hum. Elizabeth? Yawn. She's not even in half the movie. Lillard it can be said is about the only bright spot in this otherwise not-silly-enough not-cheesy-enough not-funny-or-scary-enough horror movie. He's got the right idea as he tries to camp it up as a borderline hysterical psychic who has guilt issues about being able to see everyone's secrets with his "gift." But worst of all is the usually great Embeth Davidtz (um Schindler's List?!) as a--get this--ghost's rights activist who thinks she's channeling Zelda Rubenstein from Poltergeist as she hisses the obvious: "This house is not a house!" The only thing scarier than F. Murray Abraham taking a role in this movie is that it ever got made at all--then again we have the Dark Castle folks (the same ones who brought us that masterpiece remake The Haunting a few years ago) to thank. They forgot to hire a director and a scriptwriter instead putting visual effects guy Steve Beck behind the camera to show us some semi-interesting special effects (it is a ghost movie after all and you better score some points there). Unfortunately the movie is uneven makes little sense and strives for both laughs and scares but achieves neither with cornball dialog and silly stereotypes; it's wildly gory to boot. Everyone's gonna say the ultra-modern haunted house is the star of Thirteen Ghosts and with good reason. The production design in this movie is amazing and the idea of ghosts hiding behind clear walls is an intriguing if ultimately wasted concept.
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Scorsese, DiCaprio team up for "Alexander"
October 23, 2001 7:57am ESTLooks like director Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio make the perfect team. After teaming up for the upcoming film Gangs of New York, Scorsese, DiCaprio and Initial Entertainment Group are ready to join forces again to create the epic Alexander. The script details the story of Alexander the Great, crowned King of Macedonia, centering on his ambition to conquer the world, which ultimately leads to his downfall. According to the Hollywood Reporter, IEG has sealed a deal with writers Peter Buchman (Jurassic Park III) and Oscar winner Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) for a mid-seven-figure sum, billing it as a "multimillion-dollar epic." "We have paid a significant figure for this excellent script as we believe this is a perfect vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese to join forces again following their successful collaboration on Gangs of New York," IEG CEO Graham King told the Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday. However, the duo is yet to see the national release of Gangs of New York, which has been pushed back until next year. Pulled from its slated Dec. 21 release earlier this month, Miramax flirted with the idea of releasing the picture for a brief and limited Oscar run before the Dec. 31 deadline. But according to Reuters, it is now believed that Gangs will be released sometime next summer. Although it is still unclear which companies, if any, will lose money because of the date change and the nixed Oscar run, IEG has created a limited liability company to finance $65 million of Gang's estimated $90 million budget. That money, which will be used by international distributors for specific international rights, will not be paid out until the picture is released in respective territories.
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Corky Romano Review
October 19, 2001 6:27am ESTWelcome to the world of klutzy assistant veterinarian Corky Romano (Kattan) who loves bad '80s music and is by nature a cheery fellow. However he is also the son of an organized crime family who was kicked out long ago for not fitting in. Hmm wonder why? When the family including "Pops" Romano (Peter Falk) and his two dysfunctional sons Peter (Peter Berg) and Paulie (Chris Penn) come under FBI investigation they convince Corky to go undercover and join the FBI to disrupt the case. Corky becomes the darling of the bureau through no fault of his own which irks its resident jerk (Matthew Glave) who loathes Corky from the start. Seems Corky's bogus FBI résumé has been beefed up to enable him to gain access to his father's case file. It all ends predictably happy. Saturday Night Live's Kattan is at his best when going out on the comedy limb and as Corky he climbs out with élan rather than dropping with a sickening thud. Corky is a fun character infused with that manic energy Kattan displays so well in his SNL personas. He is very close to being able to carry this film. But alas this isn't quite the role that could establish him as a leading man. Veteran Falk who has about one moment where he is really funny and Fred Ward who plays the family's right-hand man are the only other actors of Kattan's caliber in the film and their characters seem to have been watered down to allow Kattan to shine. The other performances while serviceable fall right into cardboard cutouts especially those in the FBI. Clearly the casting was done with an eye on keeping the audience squarely focused on star Kattan. in star focus. Unfortunately keeping Kattan in the forefront is also one of the main problems with the film. It was nice watching all the comic's antics laughing our butts off as he jerks his way down the aisle after inhaling a bunch of cocaine but couldn't we have had a good story to go along with it? Here the story exists exclusively to provide setups for Kattan's gags. Do we have to see a bunch of FBI agents make fools of themselves again? The film seems to follow the same route other SNL stars have taken recently focusing on the comedian rather than the film as a whole. At least Corky is not based on one of Kattan's SNL characters. Will Ferrell seems to be one of the only SNL members to have mostly steered clear of any star-making opportunities seemingly satisfied with playing really funny supporting characters (not counting A Night at the Roxbury). Maybe Kattan would be better served following the lead of his good friend.
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The Last Castle Review
October 19, 2001 5:57am ESTThe film opens with prison warden Colonel Winter (Robert Redford) greeting the highly respected General Irwin (James Gandolfini) at the start of his 10-year sentence for disobeying a presidential order. When they meet Irwin makes a snide remark about Winter--a non combatant--proudly showcasing military trinkets and memorabilia in his office. The comment instantly touches off a power war between the two which ends with Irwin threatening to take over the prison and flying the American flag upside down--a symbol that the castle has fallen. Winter rises to the challenge and the two begin their strategic plotting. Irwin wins the respect of his fellow inmates in an overly drawn scene where he is forced to carry large stones from one pile to another in the prison courtyard and forms an army of inmates using clichéd chess tactics to demonstrate his assault plans. Winter meanwhile watches from his cozy office overlooking the courtyard as if he was watching a reality series on a big-screen TV. The highly regarded General Irwin is a simple solemn type which unfortunately is what is fundamentally wrong with the film. While Redford does the brooding thing quite well the script never calls for him to do anything more than that. James Gandolfini takes on the role of prison warden Colonel Winter with fitting simplicity. He accentuates Winter's dumb-thug persona by over-enunciating his words and speaking in an unnaturally slow manner. Redford and Gandolfini both churn out great performances but it would have been more rewarding had the script called for their characters to be more well-rounded. Steve Burton plays Winter's right hand man Captain Peretz convincingly considering what few lines he has. His body language facial expressions and dialogue manage to convey his character's thoughts even when his lines don't. Directed by Rod Lurie (The Contender) The Last Castle is a well-paced story without a dull moment. It concludes with a dramatic and exciting climax but the problem is it's just too simple. While it's easy to get caught up in the story it's hard to buy how easily the inmates are able to take control of such a heavily guarded maximum-security prison. Using cafeteria trays as shields is one thing but hurling stones using a giant catapult that somehow went unnoticed by prison security is hard to swallow. So is the fact that these inmates a group of hardened criminals cooperate so easily with hardly any friction. While it could have been a very emotional story it fails because the characters are one-dimensional and never really explored including the two main characters played by Redford and Gandolfini. One is a great strategist and the other draconian but viewers are left to guess why and how they got that way.
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Role Call: Clooney shows some "Cruelty"
October 12, 2001 1:06pm ESTOh no, George Clooney couldn't possibly be cruel. One just has to look into those soulful eyes to know he's one of the good ones. That's the truth, isn't it? Actually, the title refers to the next film Clooney may do, called Intolerable Cruelty, with Joel and Ethan Coen, his compadres from O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Clooney would play a divorce lawyer who finds himself the target of revenge by a client's ex-wife. Of course, the inevitable romance ensues. Rumor has it that Universal is trying to sign Julia Roberts to star with him. Hmmm, that's very curious. Clooney and Roberts have been awfully chummy since making Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven. Oh well, good for them. The film has been labeled as a black comedy. But when have the Coen brothers ever made a "white" comedy? It's getting redundant to keep labeling their films as black comedies, don't you think? We all know what we are in for when we walk into one of their movies. Starsky and Hutch rule! Starsky and Hutch is the latest television show to be made into a movie, with Ben Stiller, of all people, attached to star. Even though I am getting really tired of Hollywood making bad '70s TV shows into movies, I just loved Starsky and Hutch when it was on the air. Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul totally rocked as the hot crime fighting duo driving around in a cool red 1974 Ford Torino with a big white stripe (Starsky's, of course). They were just too damn cute and had great chemistry. But the film version already sounds bad--Ben Stiller? He's supposed to be Starsky? I don't think that's gonna work, folks. Maybe they'll try and get Owen Wilson to play Hutch. The real question is, who are they going to get to play Huggy Bear, the skinny street informant with the great pimp hats? Watts in "Plots" Actress Naomi Watts, hot off her brilliant turn in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, will star opposite Brenda Blethyn, Alfred Molina and Christopher Walken in Miramax's Plots With a View. The story centers on two competing funeral parlors in a small U.K. town. I guess funeral parlors are now the "in" thing since HBO's Six Feet Under made such a huge impact. This will probably be one of those smaller independent films not many people will get to see but will get lots of critical praise. Watts is an interesting actress, though, and is absolutely wonderful in Mulholland Drive. Driver zooms to "New Cardiff" Quirky actress Minnie Driver is set to headline with Colin Firth and Heather Graham in Buena Vista's New Cardiff. Based on Charles Webb's novel of the same name, the story is about a British man (Firth) who is dumped by his fiancée (Driver) and is then introduced to an American girl (Graham). Sparks fly between the two, but things go awry when the fiancée shows up looking for him. Okay, what's different and unique about this movie? Good lord, they keep making the same general movies over and over again and we continue to flock to them. In all fairness to the talent, maybe they can make something of the script and turn it into a great character piece--but I have my doubts. Kattan receives next call Chris Kattan's Corky Romano has just been released in the theaters and already he's got a second pitch going to bat at Disney Studios. The studio brass are pleased with the tracking results (the tracking results?) of Corky and are looking to do another comedy with the SNL comedian. The current pitch has Kattan starring as a figure skater who ends up playing for a losing NHL hockey team and, through a series of wacky circumstances, helps turn the team around. Ah, but here comes the soft underbelly of the story--at the same time, the skater must mend an unresolved relationship with his father, an old, crusty, retired hockey player who's upset that his son never followed in his footsteps. How sweet. Well, more power to Kattan, I say. Having seen Corky Romano, I actually think he has potential as a leading man. He just has to get past the silly stuff.
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News Roundup: Broadcasters screen terrorist speeches
October 11, 2001 2:32pm ESTMajor television stations around the globe continue to broadcast statements from Osama bin Laden despite White House warnings that they may contain encoded messages, Reuters reported. The U.S. administration has pointed out that bin Laden's message, which was channeled through the Arab satellite news station Al Jazeera, might be trying to tell his followers to launch new attacks in America. For now, stations such as ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC will make editorial judgments if more material comes their way, and will not broadcast them live. A man sprayed a substance that police later said was a cleaning agent in a suburban Washington subway station Wednesday--this four days after ABC's Nightline aired a report on biological terrorism, The Associated Press reported. The report, which aired on Oct. 5, examined what might happen if terrorists released anthrax spores into a subway system. Since the show aired, viewers have sent in varied feedback: some are glad the issue was brought up, others worry that the show could provide a blueprint for terrorists. Fox will run a special edition of I>America's Most Wanted: A Special Edition: Terrorists on Friday night, at President Bush's request. The White House and the FBI hope that the show will expose alleged global terrorists, Reuters reported. Fox's Television Entertainment Group chairman, Sandy Gurshow, was handed the daunting task of producing the episode within 48 hours. The show will feature a list of 22 "most wanted terrorists"; among them is Osama bin Laden. Ailing Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been diagnosed with auto-immune inner ear disease (AIED), which causes less than one percent of all cases of hearing loss, Reuters reported. He is being treated with medication and might undergo surgical treatment if needed. Physicians at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles believe the ailment is caused by the body's immune system attacking the inner ear and damaging the hearing nerve, but they are confident that with proper treatment Limbaugh will be able to retain some of his hearing. In Courts After months of haggling over child support payments, rapper Eminem is now officially divorced. In the divorce decree issued on Friday, Macomb County Circuit Judge Donald G. Miller ordered Eminem to pay $1,000 a week in child support to his ex-wife Kim Mathers, the Detroit Free Press reported. Eminem, 28, and Mathers, 26, will share custody of their 5-year-old daughter Hailie. In General British Star Wars devotees have claimed the fictional faith Jedi as their religion and forced it onto the 2002 national census, London's Daily Express reported. More than 10,000 fans sent out an e-mail campaign convincing the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to give Jedi its own code. In the films, the Jedi Knights are a noble order of protectors unified by their ability to tap into a universal power called "The Force." Film directors Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo, Raising Arizona), are in negotiations to bring George Clooney and Julia Roberts together in the brothers' next black comedy, Intolerable Cruelty, Reuters reported. Clooney is in talks to play a Hollywood divorce lawyer who finds himself falling in love with his client's ex-wife. The Coen brothers are were brought into the project to rewrite the original script by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone; Ron Howard is attached to direct. A federal judge has deferred a request made by record giants for a summary judgement regarding their lawsuit against Napster's copyright infringement, Reuters reported. Some of the issues addressed were the song-swapping service's ownership, misuse and misconduct under copyright law. In addition, the Recording Industry Association of America has urged companies similar to Napster, such as Music City's Morpheus, Kazaa and Aimster, to shut down. A letter written from John Lennon to Paul and Linda McCartney about the breakup of the Beatles fell short of its $95,700 reserve asking price at Christie's, the British auction house. The six-page draft, filled with spelling mistakes, deletions and expletives, was finally sold for $88,330 on Oct. 10 after it failed to sell last week. "There was a lot of interest in the letter but you can never guarantee it will sell,'' a spokeswoman for the auction house told Reuters. Christopher Reeve has accepted $2 million in federal funds to establish The Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center in Short Hills, N.J., according to AP. The center will include a library, a Web site and referral services for the more than 2 million Americans who are paralyzed. The Walt Disney Company said Wednesday that its new Platinum Collection DVD of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs sold 1 million units in its first day on retail shelves, Reuters reported. Disney has decided to keep its most 10 lucrative movies, including Snow White, Cinderella and The Lion King, off video shelves, saving them for limited-time re-release as special DVDs.
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Hearts in Atlantis Review
September 26, 2001 10:20am ESTBobby Garfield (David Morse) returns to his small hometown to attend the funeral of his childhood friend and remembers the fateful summer in 1960 when his whole world changed. The story flashes back to when 11-year-old Bobby (Anton Yelchin) and his best friends Carol (Mika Boorem) and Sully-John (Will Rothhaar) capture the pure joy of youthfulness. When a mysterious stranger named Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) moves upstairs and starts to pay attention to Bobby the boy suddenly realizes what's truly missing from his life--the love of a parent. Bobby's mother Liz (Hope Davis) is embittered by the death of Bobby's father and shows little compassion for her son's growing needs. Ted fills a void with the boy opening his eyes to the world around him and helps Bobby come to terms with his real feelings for Carol--and his mother. But Ted also has some deep dark secrets of his own and Bobby tries hard to stop danger from reaching the old man. The performances make the film especially in the genuine camaraderie of the kids. Yelchin Boorem and Rothhaar never deliver a false move with an easiness that makes us believe we are simply watching three 11-year-old children grow up together. Yelchin in particular is able to get right to the heart of this young boy who misses his father and clings to the only adult who will listen. And his scenes with Boorem simply break your heart. (Davis) does an admirable job playing a part none too sympathetic. She manages to show a woman whose been beaten down but who does truly love her son in her own way. Morse too is one of those character actors you can plug in any movie and get a performance worth noting. In Hearts you want to see more of him. Of course the film shines brightest when Hopkins is on the screen. It may not be an Oscar-caliber performance but the actor is unparalleled in bringing a character to life--showing the subtleties of an old man looking for some peace in his life. If you are expecting the Stephen King novel you may be disappointed. Screenwriter William Goldman and director Scott Hicks (Shine) deftly extracted the King formula of telling a story through a child's eye and explaining how the relationships formed as a child shaped the adult later. Hicks did an amazing job with his young actors especially Yelchin and Boorem. But where the novel continued into a supernatural theme explaining Brautigan's fear of being captured by "low men in yellow coats" (a reference to King's The Dark Tower series) the movie downplayed the mystical elements instead giving real explanations for Brautigan's man-on-the-run. That was the one problem with Hearts--we needed more danger. Introducing men from another dimension may not have been the way to go but had there been more tension the film would have resonated more especially when Bobby risked his own safety to save Ted.
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Users Speak Out: We WANT to remember the WTC
September 23, 2001 11:46am ESTHollywood.com users have spoken and the response is overwhelmingly clear: The World Trade Center, a symbol of America's strength and power, should be remember and revered. Hollywood should keep all the images of the Twin Towers intact in films and television programs. From our poll, 77.8% of our users voted against removing images of the WTC and 22.2% voted they would rather not be reminded. Many of you also let us know your thoughts and feelings on the matter. Here's what some of you have said: I don't understand it. We have finally been told that we are not immune to the tragedy that is happening in other countries already. We have been given a wake-up call. And what do we want to do? Push the snooze button? Go back to sleep? I understand that some situations are hard for those who have lost loved ones in the tragedy. I'm not immune to it. I'm glad my mother and father no longer work at the Pentagon. I'm grateful that my fiance is safe and still in my arms. I've read the heartfelt articles in the Washington Post about loved ones waiting for the arrival of their family member(s), refusing to believe that they are dead. I've cried and I'm unable to read these stories anymore without bringing back those tears. But it is something I refuse to let go, something I refuse to forget in any way. By removing these instances from the movies, we are giving in to our fears and hiding from them. We are attempting to forget something that should never be forgotten. We should be strong in our understanding and dealing with what has happened. We should be proud to see these images in movies, knowing that even through the tragedy, we are able to carry on as normal. Terrorism is described as an act of intimidation or coercion and we are caving in more and more when we chose to forget what was and what is. "We have woken a sleeping giant and he has rolled back over and gone to sleep." --Christopher Goodno After being completely saturated with the coverage of the crisis, the evening after the attacks my husband and I decided to watch a movie on cable to get our minds off of things. The movie we chose was Bait, which had at least a dozen shots of the WTC. One shot was particularly eerie, in that is zoomed in on the upper floors of the tower. It was upsetting and sad, and will continue to be for some time to come. I am glad to see Hollywood taking a responsible position during this time of tragedy. --Tracy Ryan First off, let me say how saddened I am by the terrorist attacks on American soil. With that said, I believe the industry can go too far in trying to be "politically correct" or "sensitive" about the future uses of the images of the WTC in films and on book covers, or video game covers. In a way, the images of the WTC in the Spider-Man movie, for example, might even be looked at by some as a remembrance or tribute to New York's past great skyline. In the movie trailer, the buildings were not being blown up or set on fire, so I don't see the harm in allowing people to view the majestic skyline, as it once stood for peace and prosperity in our city (I live in New York). As it pertains to terrorist movies, then yes, I agree with holding them back for a while to let the Americans heal a bit from this blow to our way of life, but we must remember the way this great city used to look (and will look again), so I do not see the harm in images depicting the WTC or surrounding areas... We must remember the WTC and never forget what the terrorists took away from us. --Kathy McCormack The World Trade Center towers were a remarkable piece of engineering knowledge and to remove them from all future endeavors would be a shame. Yes it will bring sadness and most likely emotions of hatred but they are a part of history that should be used to create possibly bigger and better icons for America's future. Anyone who has a piece of this past, should treasure it. -- Margie Scammaca Give it two to three months. After that, movies with or without the Twin Towers and about terrorism should be showing on theaters and television just as planned. --Gerardo Garcia At this time America is sensitive to the attacks here in America, but pulling movies out (even banning many songs on radio) is too much. Come on! This is ridiculous! Movies are for entertainment and even movies with terrorism doesn't show terrorists in a good light. A movie like Independence Day shows hostile attacks from aliens, but it showed that people of all races united to fight the enemy and prevailed. This is more of a feel-good movie than a depressing one. Most movies with terrorism always show where THE BAD GUY ALWAYS LOSES. --Jeff Centauri I think it's okay if they want to remove the image of the WTC towers from any future movies or TV shows, but if the show or movie was filmed and made before the terrorist attack, then they shouldn't have to remove the towers. --Jonathan Racasa If a movie that has already been made and has not been released yet, then yes pull it, because it would make no sense to show a movie that features two buildings that are not even there. However, do not take away good movies like Independence Day due to the incident. --Mario What happened to the WTC is very tragic and my heart goes out to all the families of the victims, fire- fighters and policemen, but in order for everyone to start trying to heal, we need to face what happened head on and not wait a year to do it. Hiding the images of the WTC is impossible because people want pictures and are buying them, the news is showing them when they were first built. I think it's great that plans to build them bigger and better have already started. No one ever heals if the situation is hidden or put on the back burner and not dealt with. People need to realize this is only the beginning of this war and it will probably last for a very long time. If Hollywood isn't going to show what we already know, the media, newspapers and reporters will. --Becky Ramirez I don't think they should show the World Trade Center, especially if it has to do with violence. I live in the city and saw them destroyed in front of my eyes. --Francesca Hollywood is always first in line to capitalize on emotional issues. It would be a low blow to all Americans, if we are constantly reminded of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, because Hollywood wanted to make a buck. Not to mention what impact a major motion picture, with the WTC, could have on a "stars" career. Maybe in fifteen or twenty years from now, a producer could make a movie that might explain the evil committed to our great nation. But, for now, let our nation heal and find the low-life scum bag that derived such a painful act of cowardice. --Donald Bixler No! Most definitely not...I find the absence of the WTC far more offensive than its presence. Over the years since its construction, the WTC towers stood out like a beacon of light over the city of New York, symbolic of mankind's resourcefulness and spirit. When bereaved, we don't pretend our loved ones never existed.. we don't throw out their possessions and burn their photographs... NO! we want to remember them, we NEED to remember them and the joy they brought to our lives. Why then should we seek to obliterate this majestic building from our memory as though we are ashamed that it ever existed... WE have nothing to be ashamed of, and I for one hope that they rebuild the towers of the WTC, BIGGER and BETTER than before, as a lasting memorial to the people who lost their lives there. --Clint Sherratt Hello, I run a movie theatre in Indiana, so I have had to deal with the delays of movies and the removal of media items to promote certain movies. It is my understanding that the government would like for us to try to get things back to normal. How can this be accomplished when people are going out of their way to try and cover up reminders of the buildings which were involved? You cannot retrieve movies or shows or pictures that the public may have already in their homes. The absent buildings themselves are a clear reminder of what happened and will continue to be throughout history. With this being said why should Hollywood or anyone else lose money by trying to cover up what has happened. We will never forget September 11, 2001; and we never should. Thank you for the time in reading this email to express my feelings on this subject. --David L. Stoup I believe if we remove all reference to the WTC from movies, games, pictures, etc... they've won. I agree that movies due to be released such as Collateral Damage should be put on hold, at least long enough to allow the families to grieve, and the United States to let this pass as a whole. But making any major changes in the way we live (besides maybe some better security at these airports) and they've accomplished their goal. I hope that the lessee of the WTC property does indeed rebuild the WTC's. Even taller this time. Anything else would add to the tragedy that already passed. Putting a memorial on the first floor to remind everyone of what happened is a must. We need to keep this country in our prayers, as well as back our President, George W. Bush, with all the support we can muster. God Bless America. --Eddie Leonard
