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Thursday, February 19, 2004
Poetic License and Hollywood - Nora Dunn Invokes My Ire:
There seems to be a great deal of debate lately about the poetic license taken in "The Passion of Christ". I'll leave that discussion to others. Today, my wife pointed out a much more egregious bit of embellishment.
We had discussed whether or not to go see a movie, which has been difficult with an infant in tow. One of the movies she had been considering was "Runaway Jury". An avid reader, my wife was pleased with the Grisham novel, and decided it would be a worthy story to be told on the big screen.
Today, she informs me that the original story and the cinematic adaptation are far from the same. But the movie rendition departs far from the original. It seems the book takes to task the tobacco industry, while the movie diverts away from the old, standard, beaten down RJRs of the world and decides to make the GUN industry the villain.
So why the switch? Here's an excerpt of an interview with Nora Dunn, who apparently plays a small role in the movie:
Were you familiar with the book prior to filming?
I read the book after I read the script. No movie should try to make a novel, and I think the script was faithful in that it really, really developed and got the characters of the jury. The book is very much about the jury. They did a good job and as an actor, you have to have your history. You have to bring your history with you. It was in the book. My character was in the book pretty much as she was in the script, only in a condensed form.
What do you think about the change from the tobacco to the gun industry?
I think they probably did that because of "The Insider." The gun issue is a big unresolved issue in this country right now. I think it's out of control. I think the gun manufacturers should start being afraid. You can't open an aspirin bottle if you're a kid but you can fire a gun at someone.
So, Hollywood wants to tackle the gun issue. What issue would that be? Oh, that pesky second amendment, huh? Doesn't it seem hypocritical that Hollywood's very existence is predicated on the gun violence is seems now poised to fight?
Why should the gun manufacturers be afraid, Nora? Are they going to be "brought down" by "Big Hollywood"? Short of a wholesale repeal of the second amendment, that's going to be tough, even for a legion of left-wing superheroes like yourselves.
Let's talk tobacco vs. guns, Nora. Tobacco is a lifestyle choice, where there was demonstrable evidence that companies sought to hide the dangers of their products. We won't discuss the merits of the lawsuits against the tobacco industry, because that's another discussion. This is simply a comparison of the perceived culpability of the two. Would you honestly argue that "big guns" conspired to withhold information of the dangers of their products? That's nonsense.
And Nora, please understand, while your characters were... er, semi-funny in their day, threatening the second amendment has never been funny. You Hollywood types always want to dive into a cause to make yourselves useful. Fine. Speak your mind, just like I'm speaking mine.
But while you're at it, look at some real statistics (like the inverse relationship of gun ownership, with violent crime), and then use a little common sense... perhaps, you could consider that an inanimate object cannot commit an act of violence. Nora, each day that I look at my gun, I watch and wait for it to jump up and attack me. You know something? It hasn't. Not once. Are you tired of hearing "Guns don't kill people. PEOPLE kill people"? Then stop bantering about how an aspirin bottle has a childproof cap, and a gun doesn't. Apples and oranges, Nora. I don't need an aspirin at a moment's notice when someone is trying to break into my house.
For an inimitable twit who has no desire to learn how to protect yourself, perhaps gun ownership is a bad thing, Nora. I would recommend that you invest in a good security system, and refrain from stocking your home with any .38 caliber pistols. As for me, and millions like me, I prefer to rely on myself to secure my premises. The phone call to the police department will not protect what a revolver in the hands of someone who knows how to use it can. So stay away from my desire to provide the security for my home that a firearm provides, and I will stay away from your right to rant about it (while, of course, invoking my right to respond to tripe like yours).Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
10:10 AM
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