2008 Woodie Awards
Nation in Chaos after Bush Assassination
JD Casto
Issue date: 10/2/06 Section: Opinions
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Chicago, Illinois - President George W. Bush was shot and killed as he was leaving his hotel after delivering a speech. The shot came from a nearby building. Police later determined that the shot came from a Palestinian sniper. The Palestinian man was convicted on flimsy evidence that points to someone else having committed the crime.
This is the general plot for Gabriel Range's fictional documentary "Death of a President." The film opened in the Toronto Film Festival and was quickly one of the most talked about entries. Range producer/director/creator of the film used archive footage of President George W. Bush and used new visual effects that digitally superimposed the President's head on the actor portraying Bush being shot.
Range has told reporters that he has had five or six death threats for making this film, and large protests in the States, mostly from conservatives.
The film has yet to show in America, but as of September 13, 2006 Newmarket Films bought the film's U.S. distribution rights for $1 million. Newmarket Films dealt with Mel Gibson's equally controversial "The Passion of the Christ."
The film's focal point of controversy lies on the fact that "Death of a President" shows the assassination of our current President using archival footage and his real face. Range's technique of telling a story is different than most filmmakers. He uses the future to tell a story about the past.
He uses the death of Bush to show how our nation has changed since 9/11. The film doesn't promote assassinating President George W. Bush; it shows the horror of assassination that few have lived through.
As of now, the film hasn't been given a U.S. release date. It hasn't been banned either. It's in a limbo that needn't exist. In a world where we are constantly distracted by the futile wars on terror, drugs, premarital sex and high gas prices, we rarely get to see a film depicting a worse case scenario.
Children learn to do fire drills and tornado drills at an early age in our education system. They know what happens when the alarms sound. When 9/11 happened, we weren't prepared - I myself thought it was a movie trailer when I first saw it on CNN. We have an Emergency Broadcasting System that to my knowledge wasn't even used on 9/11. By seeing this film, people will have some notion of what could happen.
This is the general plot for Gabriel Range's fictional documentary "Death of a President." The film opened in the Toronto Film Festival and was quickly one of the most talked about entries. Range producer/director/creator of the film used archive footage of President George W. Bush and used new visual effects that digitally superimposed the President's head on the actor portraying Bush being shot.
Range has told reporters that he has had five or six death threats for making this film, and large protests in the States, mostly from conservatives.
The film has yet to show in America, but as of September 13, 2006 Newmarket Films bought the film's U.S. distribution rights for $1 million. Newmarket Films dealt with Mel Gibson's equally controversial "The Passion of the Christ."
The film's focal point of controversy lies on the fact that "Death of a President" shows the assassination of our current President using archival footage and his real face. Range's technique of telling a story is different than most filmmakers. He uses the future to tell a story about the past.
He uses the death of Bush to show how our nation has changed since 9/11. The film doesn't promote assassinating President George W. Bush; it shows the horror of assassination that few have lived through.
As of now, the film hasn't been given a U.S. release date. It hasn't been banned either. It's in a limbo that needn't exist. In a world where we are constantly distracted by the futile wars on terror, drugs, premarital sex and high gas prices, we rarely get to see a film depicting a worse case scenario.
Children learn to do fire drills and tornado drills at an early age in our education system. They know what happens when the alarms sound. When 9/11 happened, we weren't prepared - I myself thought it was a movie trailer when I first saw it on CNN. We have an Emergency Broadcasting System that to my knowledge wasn't even used on 9/11. By seeing this film, people will have some notion of what could happen.
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