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

[Jonathan Perregaux]

It's hard to imagine making a movie like Titanic about the events of 9/11, but here we have Titanic the movie and it made a gazillion bucks. I'm sure this same movie would be booed out of theaters if shown back in 1912.
But given enough time, when the sting has worn off and new generations replace us, we will have a number of 9/11-themed movies just as we have with Pearl Harbor, the Titanic, the Hindenburg, the Holocaust, etc.

 

[JohnAD]

I would definitely say wait 50 years, so we can get a more detatched movie about the events. Nearly every time I see a '40s or '50s movie about WWII, I want to cringe.

John.

 

[george kaplan]

Why? A number of the best WW2 films were made during WW2 and afterwards in the 40s/50s, including:

Casablanca
To Have & Have Not
The Great Dictator
Stalag 17
Mister Roberts
To Be or Not To Be
Lifeboat
Bridge on the River Kwai
Ashes & Diamonds
Open City

and many others.

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Jay E said,

Steven needs to get off his high horse.

I agree, but I'm sure he's afraid to do that, as the fall would probably kill him.
Frankly, I'm not surprised at this 9-11 pronouncement from Spielberg (that is, if those were his true words/thoughts, un-finessed by someone else); his "special message" segment on the A.I. DVD seems to indicate that he views the majority of the public as small children, in desperate need of his "expert" guidance on matters of morality and science (and probably everything else). That's in addition to his hypocrisy, already well-noted in this thread.
Unfortunately, he's yet another celebrity who's decided to worship at the altar of Pretentio, God of Lead Aprons...

 

[Marc Colella]

Spielberg's an idiot, a hypocrite and a terrible director.

 

[Daniel Swartz]

Nearly every time I see a '40s or '50s movie about WWII, I want to cringe.

I'm with George here. I think the more recent depictions of distant historical events are terrible. We wind up with SFX-laden, mindless drivel (which has its place ) like Pearl Harbor.
Tora, Tora, Tora, The Great Escape, Bridge Over the River Kwai, Midway, A Bridge Too Far, etc. were all critically-acclaimed, well-received by the public (with the war still fresh on everyone's mind), and very good pictures.

 

[Jefferson Morris]

Spielberg's an idiot, a hypocrite and a terrible director.

Great, thanks for coming.
Regarding the issue of dramatizing horrific events, I don't think any subject should be beyond the reach of filmmakers. The noblest purpose of art is to create beauty from ugliness, IMO.
Of course, in the case of a fresh tragedy such as 9/11, a "waiting period" of a few years would seem both sensible and considerate of the feelings of survivors. Nevertheless, the country still has a strong and immediate need to dramatize, memorialize, and otherwise make sense of that day - a need being filled by documentaries at the moment.
I do find it a bit odd that these films, which at heart have the same basic goal as most narrative films (that is, to divert and entertain us by telling human stories), aren't subjected to the same kind of litmus test.
--Jefferson Morris

 

[BryanZ]

The first and only movie that should be made about 9/11 should be titled "Flight 93". I do believe that one flight sums up everything extremely well.

 

[Moe Maishlish]

I'm going to play devils advocate here and try to understand (although not necessarily agree) with Speilberg's point of view.
But first...
(rant)
Let's keep things straight though... I consider Speilberg to be a very talented director. And although I question the context in which the quote was made, and the accuracy of it's communication to the public, I don't think that 9/11 can be compared to Pearl Harbour, D-Day, and especially The Holocaust. Those events were not fully documented on film. The Holocaust spanned a number of years, the enduring horrors of which were directed upon millions of people for a long period of time. The holocaust did not span a single day in September. I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm babbling, but statements such as this one:

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

upset me a great deal. I had two grandparents who went through the holocaust (one in Aushwitz, the other was hid a-la-Anne Frank) and survived. I've heard the stories - they're all different, and they're all terrifying in their own respects, and they're all true. What's more upsetting is that events the of 9/11 could have occurred considering what we, as humanity, might have learned from such past attrocities.
(/rant)
Outside of the plane crash in Penn, and the actual impact on the Pentagon, what about 9/11 did millions of us not see live, on TV? What did several of us not see in person? What about the actual act hasn't been recorded as the events transpired?
How many times have we been subjected to the the Planes smashing into the WTC? How many times have we seen video of people plummeting to their deaths from 100 stories up? How many times have we seen the footage of the towers collapsing? How many times have we seen people running for their lives as the approaching cloud of opaque debris quickly approaches them?
This was not CGI. This was not drama. This was horror, and it was 100% real. We literally have HOURS of fottage, from different angles, vantage points, and sources that have more than adequately covered the topic. The events of 9/11 don't require a film, because we have enough actual footage to produce a dozen documentaries.
So why dramatize it? Why remake the tragedy? Are we attempting to make it look worse or better on film than it really was live, as we've recorded it? In that perspective I agree with Speilberg - we don't need to recount this particular aspect of the story with actors & sets... because any such story would be a slap in the face to the true events that we have full record of. If future generations want to learn about 9/11/2001, why refer them to a dramatization? Why not just access the actual footage of the entire event?
Rather, where I would disagree with the statement would be searching into the motivations of the monsters who committed this act, and the actions taken to bring them to justice. Or exploring the stories of the heros who committed the ultimate sacrifice to save others.
Why not tell tell the stories of the event that were not already captured on film? Let's recount the true stories that have yet to be told.
Moe.

 

[Terrell]

Spielberg's an idiot, a hypocrite and a terrible director.

Nice thread fart.
As to the film, I'd have no interest in seeing it. But if someone down the line wants to make a tasteful film about it, I guess I'd have no problem with it. They need to wait a long while before doing it.

 

[NickFoley]

Im certain that a film will be made about it, but Spielberg is hypocritical for saying it shouldn't be made.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Why? A number of the best WW2 films were made during WW2 and afterwards in the 40s/50s, including:

Very true, and Grande Illusion, although made 20 years after WWI, became fresh, given the tenor of the times in 1937. All Quiet on the Western Front was made only 13 years after the end of WWI.

 

[MickeS]

I don't see how relevant Spielberg's statement, or this discussion, is since there already IS a movie about 9/11 out right now: 11'09''01

If the discussion is about a wham-bam action movie about 2 firefighters who are in love with the same woman, and one of them die in the WTC attack, and the surviving fireman later joins the army to fight against Al-Qaida in Afghanistan... well, I agree THAT movie shouldn't be made.

 

[ollie_k]

I just hope that theres no biopic about Lisa Beamer

I agree, to hold off on a movie for now. But Bruckheimer cant wait that long! He needs his next schlockbuster film!

 

[David Oliver]

I certainly think you could make movies related to 9/11 right now, if not about 9/11 directly.

 

[Marc Colella]

Spielberg's an idiot, a hypocrite and a terrible director.

Nice thread fart.

Sorry, didn't mean to thread fart. I put in one too many descriptors.

I think he's being a hypocrite since he's made films about unfortunate events - which is also why I called him an idiot. It's frustrating to see celebrities use their fame to convince others - especially when they're being hypocrites themselves.

The "terrible director" part shouldn't have been included in this thread since it has nothing to do with the topic.

Please ignore that portion. My bad.

 

[Terrell]

No problem Marc. Although I wouldn't say he's an idiot either. Hypocrite? Yes, that is if he said that and wasn't taken out of context.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

This statement really baffles me. I would really like to hear/read this statement in its entirety and within context to make sure I am not missing something.

If I'm not missing anything, I certainly agree with the other comments here accusing Speilberg of being hypocritical. I could understand it if he was saying to wait to make a movie about 9/11, but to say that it should never be made just doesn't make sense, especially coming from a director who made arguably one of the best movies ever, which just happened to be about one of the most horrific events in history!

 

[Anders Englund]

I hope noone takes this wrong, but there is another good reason this movie should be made:

The 9/11 attacks were aimed at specific targets, not random ones. The WTC was a symbol of one of the things the west, and especially USA, stands for: Capitalism.
Making a movie is about telling a story, yes, but as we are fequently reminded, it's also about making money. Making money of a movie about WTC would really be a slap in the face of the men behind this terrible deed.

Now, I don't say this to belittle the heroes of 9/11, nor the memories of the victims. I truly mean this in the most positive way. And if anyone is offend, I deeply apologize.

--Anders

 

[Lars Larsen]

Much has been said about this already, and I think most of you are focusing too much on the images of the planes crashing into the WTC - the tragedy itself.
I think Steve Christou touched upon something quite important in his post. This tragedy can be observed from a number of perspectives! I would like to see a movie about 9/11 from the terrorist point of view. What motivated these people to commit such horrible acts? I want to get into the mindset of these people and, if not understand, then at least learn how they think. Because this I still don't understand and probably never will, but I think a movie with this perspective would provide an explanation and add a more personal view of the terrorists and at least make an attempt to explain what makes them tick --- a movie with powerful terrorist characters with multi dimensional personalities instead of the Hollywood stereotypes.
I realize it's very controversial and I'm not sure there should even be any American involvement in such a project. But this kind of movie, I would go see! I have seen the crashing planes over and over again on CNN, I don't need to see anymore of that. Give me the background story instead!