thursday, february 5, 2004
entertainment
the university daily kansan 5F
5B
Actress says film not anti-Semitic
Morgenstern says Gibson's 'Passion' is art, not political
The Associated Press
BUCHAREST, Romania The actress who plays Mary in Mel Gibson's passion-stirring biblical epic The Passion of the Christ says her parents were Holocaust survivors, but she does not consider the film anti-Semitic.
If there is a message, it's more about how people can be manipulated by their leaders, Maia Morgenstern said Tuesday.
"Mel Gibson is an artist, a director. He never imposed his religious convictions on anyone." Morgenstern, who is Jewish, said in an interview with The Associated Press, rejecting criticism that the film will fuel anti-Semitism.
The film is to be released Ash Wednesday, Feb.25. Gibson, who directed, co-wrote and financed the $25 million film, has denied that his movie maligns Jews. However, it has drawn complaints from those who say it blames Jews for Christ's death.
"When people go and see the film, they will (primarily) see a work of art," Morgenstern said. Muslims, atheists, Christians and Jews worked on the film but race
and religion were never an issue,
said the 42-year-old actress.
Any political message the film offers is "about the responsibility and impact political and military leaders can have in manipulating the masses and interfering in people's conscience, particularly at a moment of crisis as it was then," said Morgenstern.
"The Roman occupation was terrible and people were very poor. Pontius Pilate was very afraid that there could be a real revolution," she said, referring to the Roman governor of Judea who caved to the pressures of a mob and allowed Jesus to be crucified.
Morgenstern, known both for
her outstanding work in theater and film, is Romania's most renowned actress, but her popularity has been generally restricted to Europe.
She has starred in about 30 movies, the best known being The Oak Tree, a Romanian-French production, and Ulysses' Gaze, a Greek film.
Morgenstern, whose grandfather died in the Auschwitz death camp, spoke glowingly of Gibson, praising his professional abilities and the kindness he showed when her daughter became ill in Romania. Gibson sent her home to spend time with the child, and then allowed the 3-year-old to join her on the set.
'Passion'ad accepted with changes
The Associated Press
DALLAS — Fear, anger and deceit will replace torture, murder and adultery on a 30-second screen ad produced by the Baptist General Convention of Texas wording changes that prompted AMC Theatres to drop its objections to the ad yesterday.
The 2 million-member convention produced the ad to coincide with the Feb. 25 opening of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.
However, AMC had refused to accept it, saying it violated the company's screen advertising guidelines.
"We're pretty serious about keeping our pre-feature materials G-rated, so to speak," AMC Entertainment Inc. spokesman Rick King said yesterday. "The guideline conflict that we had was that we had language that used violent and sexual terminology."
The changes should make the ad "suitable for all of our screens," King said.
Becky Bridges, communications director for the association of 5,700 Texas Baptist churches, said King called and offered the compromise Wednesday, a day after The Associated Press reported on the ad dispute.
"The guideline conflict that we had was that we had language that used violent and sexual terminology."
Rick King
AMC Entertainment Inc. spokesman
"It's a great result and I'm very excited," Bridges said.
Baptist leaders had offered last week to soften the ad wording, but that did not appease AMC officials at the time, Bridges said. King told her he was unaware of the earlier efforts at compromise.
King said AMC, based in Kansas City, Mo., was "very concerned that this was being perceived as an unfriendly message from AMC to the Baptist community. That's certainly not reflective of our posture and certainly not what we intended to convey."
Like many Christian groups, Texas Baptists hope to take advantage of the publicity generated by Gibson's film, which is set to open on 2,000 screens nationwide on Ash Wednesday.
The black-and-white ad opens with a young man asking: "You want to see the most scandalous story ever?"
In the original version, these words then flash on and off the screen: "Betrayal. Sin. Adultery. Greed. Envy. Weakness. Poverty. Torture. Murder."
"Redemption," the actor says.
The ad ends with the message "Now playing at a Baptist church near you" above a Baptist General Convention of Texas logo.
Regal Entertainment Group of Knoxville, Tenn., whose holdings include United Artist theaters, earlier accepted the ad.
"The advertisement meets all of our standards and guidelines." Regal spokeswoman Lauren Elf said this week. "There's no reason why we wouldn't run it."
Texas Baptists plan to run the ad—with the original wording—on about 200 Regal theater screens in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, Bridges said. At a cost of about $40,000, the ad will run for four weeks starting the Friday before the opening of Gibson's movie.
Once the compromise is finalized, the convention also hopes to show the modified ad on about 150 AMC screens in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Bridges said the convention approached theater chains that it knows accept regional advertising and don't require a national contract.
After news of AMC's concerns arose, officials with Cinemark theaters called and offered to work out a regional deal, Bridges said. Whether that happens will depend on costs.
Gibson's movie, with dialogue in Latin and Aramaic and English subtitles, is set to open on 2,000 screens nationwide — an unusually large release for an independent religious film made in dead languages.
Super Bowl exposure makes 'ER' remove scene
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Janet Jackson's revealing Super Bowl halftime moment has created fallout for ER, with NBC removing a glimpse of an elderly patient's breast in today's episode.
The network said yesterday it had "unfortunately concluded that the atmosphere created by this week's events has made it too difficult for many of our affiliates to air this shot."
NBC's decision was criticized by John Wells, the executive producer of the popular and longrunning medical drama, who said
such "affiliate overreactions" have a "chilling effect" on dramatic integrity.
In a statement, Wells called the jackson incident at last Sunday's SuperBowl "inappropriate and deplorable on a broadcast intended for viewers of all ages."
But "the incidental exposure of an elderly woman's breast in the context of a medical trauma is not comparable," he said.
Viewers advised of a show's adult content are capable of "making the distinction and adjusting their viewing habits accordingly," he said.
"This type of network behavior
is one of the primary reasons that so many of today's producers and viewers are increasingly turning to HBO and other cable outlets that do not censor responsible storytelling," Wells said.
In its statement, NBC agreed that the scene, in which an 80-year-old woman receives emergency treatment, is "appropriate and in context" and noted it would have aired late in the evening, after 9:30 p.m.
But the network said it couldn't ignore the furor that followed a musical number in which Justin Timberlake pulled off part of Jackson's costume, exposing her breast to 89 million viewers.
After consulting with its affiliate board, the network asked the producers of ER to remove the nudity.
Jackson took responsibility, saying it was a surprise stunt that went too far.
The one-second nudity provoked complaints from viewers and an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission which, potentially, could expose CBS and its affiliates to millions of dollars in fines.
CBS, which is airing Sunday's Grammy Awards, said it would implement a video delay system to avoid similar problems.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A generation of Americans doesn't know the exhilarating win dubbed the "Miracle on Ice" or the tale behind sportscaster Al Michaels' breathless call, "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"
The Associated Press
Movie 'Miracle' focuses on coach
Jim Craig wants an upcoming movie to change that.
"It's a wonderful love story about guys who have this dream, a coach who has a vision and a country that needed uplifting," said Craig, the goaltender of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team.
The star of the movie is not the scrappy team, but its legendary coach.
"Miracle," which opens Friday nationwide, tells the story of 20 fresh-faced college kids who upset the seemingly unstoppable Soviets 4-3 en route to a gold medal at the Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.
"It's the Herb Brooks story and we just happened to be a part of it," team captain Mike Eruzione said.
Director Gavin O'Connor wanted real hockey players to portray the athletes, so most of the "actors" are former college or junior league hockey players. Longtime hockey player and first-time actor Patrick O'Brien Demsey took on Eruzione's role. Left wing Buzz Schneider is portrayed by his son Billy.
Kurt Russell portrays the icy intensity and calculated aloofness of Brooks, who died in last August in a car crash in Minnesota. Eddie Cahill, best known for his recurring role as Rachel Green's assistant on "Friends," plays Craig.
Just six months before the 1980 Olympics, Brooks stitched together players from Minnesota, Boston and frozen places in between.
"We played 60 games in three months. An NHL season, at least when I played, had 80 in nine months, so you can envision how vigorous the training was," Craig said after a recent appearance at a Columbus Blue Jackets game to promote the film.
The significance of the victory during the Cold War extended beyond sports.
Iranian revolutionaries were holding 52 Americans hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Watergate, the Vietnam War, high interest rates and a gasoline shortage led President Jimmy Carter to say America was experiencing a "crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of
our national will."
"When you're in the Olympics and you're playing another country the intensity is incredible. It's our way of life versus someone else's," Craig said.
The Americans only hoped to avoid being embarrassed at home by the mighty Soviet machine. The Russians had won gold medals the last 20 years with waves of robotic squadrons that didn't even smile after scoring goals.
Three days before the opening ceremony, the two teams played an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden. The Soviets won 10-3.
"We were way strong. Nobody doubted that. We were professionals and they were just students." Soviet starting goalie Vladislav Tretiak said in the 2001 HBO documentary "Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team."
"Simply put, we did not respect their team and you cannot do that in hockey," he said.
On Feb. 22, 1980, the Americans were down 3-2 going into the third period. Mark Johnson netted a goal to even the score, and 81 seconds later Eruzione added another. The frenzied crowd of 8,500 chanted "USA! USA!" But the players and Brooks could only bite their lips and glance nervously at the scoreboard.
There were still 10 minutes left.
"The Russians had won so many games in their careers in the last two minutes, last five minutes, so 10 minutes _ it was like a lifetime," Craig said.
Many people still get chills when they remember the last seconds of the game ticking away, the famous call by Michaels, the young team spilling onto the ice with sticks and fists raised, mouths wide with screams of victory.
They didn't realize the rest of the country was celebrating, too.
"We weren't allowed to talk to the media, so we didn't even know people were watching. When we got out in the countryside, that's when we realized it was pretty special," Eruzione said.
"Seeing people lining the streets in Washington, the letters, the fan mail _ it was kind of shocking."
Producers Gordon Gray and Mark Ciardi said they were inspired by the victory that Sports Illustrated named the greatest sports moment of the 20th century.
NELOFER PAZIRA
Star of the acclaimed Kandahar and co-director of the awardwinning Return to Kandahar speaks on the realities in Afghanistan and Iraq under the American occupation.
See Pazira's Return to Kandahar Feb. 9 @ 8:00 PM, Woodruff
KABUL TO BAGHDAD: TELL US ABOUT DEMOCRACY!WOODRUFF AUDITORIUM, KANSAS UNIONFebruary 10 @ 7:30 PM
Sponsored by February Sisters Association, Student Senate, SUA, Chancellor's Office, University Departments and Cole