Death Of A President - Redux

Early this morning I blogged about the hightly controversial film, Death of a President, which screened at The Toronto Film Festival Sunday nite. I thought this film was a waste of my time and a waste of celluloid. Michael Philips, of The Chicago Tribune, was also not impressed. Here is an excerpt from his review aptly titled " A slow Death Of A President"

Having seen it, I can say that "Death of a President" keeps its tone civil and its pace measured, to a fault. It's a bit of a grind. While Range certainly has a political agenda, he's going for a brand of hushed realism bordering on the mundane. It's best considered as a well-sustained technical experiment in a certain style.

The film was greeted with polite applause and, in a post-screening discussion, director Range thanked Bush for "very kindly [coming] to Chicago twice" while Range and his crew were there filming.

Gabriel Range, the film's director, admitted in an interview in the LA Times, that he deceived the White House officials in order film footage of the President on his visit to Chicago.

And it what has to be one of the most delusional and twisted attempts to justify portraying President Bush as the assassination victim, Gabriel had this to say:

"I can understand how some people will find the premise offensive. But I think it's absolutely justified. The whole point is for the film to be about America today. And it couldn't be about America today - not the real America- if it didn't involve the real president. You just react differently to this as an audience than you would if it were, say the president, on "24"

Kevin Costner, a rather savvy knowledgeable person when it comes to how audiences react, came out in strong opposition to D O A P saying that Range failed to consider how the Presidents family would react to scenes of the President being assassinated.

It's awfully hard if you're his children, his wife, his mother, his dad: thee a certain thing we can't lose as human beings, which is empathy for maybe the hardest job in the world. Whether we think it's being performed right or not we can't, like, wish......or think that's even cute"

Thank God someone in Hollywacked has the intelligence and sensitivity to understand how completely offensive this premise is.

Critically this film has flopped - but that hasn't stopped Newmarket Distribution - the company that distributed Mel Gibson's "The Passion Of Christ" - from ponying up the ludicrous sum of $1 million dollars for the North American distribution rights to this piece of boring overhyped waste of celluloid.

Thanks "OC Boy" for the tip about Kevin.
Read more at World Net Daily.