Spielberg: September 11 Film Should Never Happen (1 Viewer)

[Daniel Swartz]

From IMDB.COM:

Legendary director Steven Spielberg has called on filmmakers to ensure a movie about the terrorist attacks of September 11 is never made. The Schindler's List Oscar winner believes the horrors of the airborne attacks on Washington DC and New York and the plane crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, should be kept from a celluloid dramatization. He says, "There should never be a film about September 11. It was the 21st century's moment of infamy and we should all make sure it never happens again."

Do you agree? I'm not sure I do. The easy answer is of course to say, "No way. It was a tragedy. Let's not make it entertainment." But how is it any different than Pearl Harbor? Or Black Hawk Down's depiction of the debacle in Somalia? Or D-Day for that matter? In fact, I would argue that Spielberg is being a bit hypocritical. D-Day but not 9-11? What is one "moment of infamy" different from the other? A tragedy occurred. A country, and indeed a world, rose to the occasion.

Please keep this discussion constructive (e.g., no one-line snide remarks) folks. What do you think?

 

[John Torrez]

I say make a film about it, just not anytime soon.

 

[Chuck C]

I'm with SS on this one. 9/11 was so horrific and traumatizing to most Americans that if a film were made, it might frighten some people. The only way to do a 9/11 film w/o offending people is to wait years and years.

 

[Eric Samonte]

Time heals all wounds.....but there will always be scars.

 

[Steve Christou]

Films will get made, whether Spielberg likes it or not, but they should wait a few years, the tragedy is still far too vivid in peoples minds.

There are several different films that can be made from Sept 11, the WTC attack, an entire film can be made from the NY firemen's perspective, in fact it already has, witness the excellent 9/11 documentary.

Another film can be made focussing on the jet that crashed in trees in Pennsylvania, when the heroic actions of passengers on board thwarted a possible attack on the White House.

The tricky part is getting ethnic actors to play the terrorists, who would want to play those parts?

It's only been a year, they shouldn't even be discussing making films about it.

 

[AllanN]

I agree makeing a film about 9/11 will make sense in 2045. The same way that all the WWII movies have come out in the past fiew years.

 

[likestowatch]

SS, is being quite the hypocrite. There will be plenty of made for tv films and theatrical releases of what happened. I predicted last year that the first film about the events will be out in under ten years. It's just a matter of time.

 

[Jay E]

Give me a break!!

This coming from a film-maker who made a film about the Holocaust, a horrific tragedy that I'm sure nobody thought should be made into a film back in 1945. [sarcasm]Okay Steven, I guess 9-11 was more of a tragedy than this[sarcasm/off].

Like Eric said, "Time heals all wounds". If done intelligently & tastefully, I see no reason why a film can't be made about the event. Steven needs to get off his high horse.

 

[george kaplan]

Spielberg is right. And we should also make sure no one makes a film about Hiroshima or Watergate or JFK's assassination or Martin Luther King's assassination or the crucifixtion of Christ or Gettysburg or Slavery or the Holocaust or Pearl Harbor or any other tragedy. :rolleyes
In other words, I completely disagree with him. Not making a film about it isn't going to make it go away. I simply do not understand that mindset.
My only wish is any films made about it be well-done and make a clear distinction between fundamentalist extremists (of all religious persuasions) who are the terrorists, and the vast majority of Muslims who abhor such violence as much the majority of those from all other religious persuasions.

 

[Adam Barratt]

The Schindler's List Oscar winner believes the horrors of the airborne attacks on Washington DC and New York and the plane crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, should be kept from a celluloid dramatization. He says, "There should never be a film about September 11. It was the 21st century's moment of infamy and we should all make sure it never happens again.

I think the IMDB author that wrote this slipped in a little clue as to his/her opinion on the matter.

"There should never be a film about September 11. It was the 21st century's moment of infamy and we should all make sure it never happens again"

Well, I would say the Holocaust is near the top of the infamy list when it comes to the last century, but that didn't stop Spielberg from making a film about it.

History belongs to future generations. It's not for us to say what events they can and can't dramatise on film. However, any attempt to cash in on the tragedy any time soon would certainly be in bad taste.

Thinking about the potential for a film on September 11, I can see why films like Pearl Harbor are so offensive to some. The thought of future generations making a low quality film about these events and people buying copies on some future home video system just for the sound quality and the special effects of the planes flying into the towers makes my skin crawl.

Adam

 

[Malcolm R]

What a bizarre statement. As others have said, we have films about every other tragic event throughout history, not to mention fictional films full of violence and terrorism. I hardly think 9/11 deserves special "kid gloves" treatment. Though I agree that it should not be done for several years.

 

[Geoff_D]

History belongs to future generations.

Nicely put, Adam. Basically, there will be 9/11 movies, teleplays and the like. But not for years. Decades even, as the scars of the biggest terrorist attack on US soil have not yet begun to heal.
For us in Britain and our own deadly terrorist menace, we have lived with it for a generation. Decades after important events, movies can be now be made. Dramatizations can be tolerated. But this is not 20 or 30 years for America and 9/11, it is just over 365 days. (Sorry for the rhetoric!). And when, a year on, the last moments of Flight 93 have still not yet been revealed to the public, there are many true stories yet to be resolved, let alone 'dramatizations' of the myriad horrible events of 9/11. My $.02.

 

[RobertR]

I agree with what others are saying. If films about the Holocaust and WWII can be made, then films can be made about ANYTHING. As bad as the 9/11 attacks were, the horrors of WWII were FAR worse.

 

[Rain]

:rolleyes
This from the guy who not only made Schindler's List, but 1941!
Cinema has always reflected major historical events, both positive and tragic. I don't see why this should be any different.
Regardless of what Mr. S has to say on the matter, a film will eventually get made. It's inevitable.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

IMDB news frequently misquotes or misrepresents, so I am curious as to his exact wording. But I agree with the opinions of most posters above. If he did say it, it's a bit hypocritical. That said, one can only hope future filmmakers treat these events with the same respect SS treated some of the historical events he dealt with.
I have no doubt that good and bad stories will be told, and much sooner than 4 decades.
Take care,
Chuck

 

[Benson R]

I hope Spielberg was misquoted. I was just beginning to think of him as one of my favorite filmmakers again after disaggreeing with my friends for so many years by proclaiming he had lost his edge. Not that if this is truly his opinion his films can't be good, just that he is beginning to not look at film as art but purely entertainment.

 

[Jefferson Morris]

Did Spielberg just say this recently? I seem to remember an old interview with him, conducted very shortly after 9/11, when he said that he could never make a film about the events of that day. He did not call for any kind of permanent moratorium on dramatic films about 9/11, as I recall.

I suspect that old interview is just being trotted out and sensationalized a bit here, although I could be wrong.

--Jefferson Morris

 

[Luc D]

Like most of you, I find this quote to be very bizarre. How could a filmmaker like Spielberg, who has pillaged traumatic events in American and world history to become one of the richest and most successful film directors of all time say this with a straight face?

Let's look at his body of work:

Saving Private Ryan
Amistad
Schindler's List
Empire of the Sun
The Color Purple
1941

How could someone who has adapted the Holocaust, one of the worst atrocities of the last century, into a classical three act structure with clear protagonists and villains, make a claim like this?

The more I think about it the less it surprises me. I always respected Spielberg as a craftsman, but his moral and ethical footing has always been irrelevant to me.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Did Spielberg just say this recently? I seem to remember an old interview with him, conducted very shortly after 9/11, when he said that he could never make a film about the events of that day. He did not call for any kind of permanent moratorium on dramatic films about 9/11, as I recall.

I suspect that old interview is just being trotted out and sensationalized a bit here, although I could be wrong.

I was told by someone who saw a documentary a few days ago about Spielberg making some comments about him not making a film about the event. The reason cited was that this is already one of the highly documented events in recent memory and perhaps he doesn't have anything more to add.

Without seeing the entire context of the interview and when it was made (Spielberg's comments could have been made last year and just included in this documentary that recently aired), it's hard to take this IMDB article seriously.

~Edwin

 

[Rain]

The reason cited was that this is already one of the highly documented events in recent memory and perhaps he doesn't have anything more to add.

Well, it's a good thing he made Schindler's List then, since there have been so few films made about the holocaust.