Despite (some of) the mainstream media coverage of the Occupy Wall Street protests painting the participants as a bunch of unemployed, left wing socialists who hate America, for anyone who has actually been down to Zuccotti Park (or to the various places where demonstrations have been taking place worldwide), they know that it’s a remarkably wide ranging group of people. From teenagers to the elderly, with parents bringing their young children to see free speech in action, it’s pretty inspiring stuff to witness first hand and it seems Hollywood is taking notice, albeit in some completely different ways.
One person who has been tweeting frequently on the ground from the protests in New York City is filmmaker Michael Moore. Talking recently to The Wrap, the director inflates his ego a bit, and reveals that now that other people are starting to voice their concerns against corporations and the government, he can return to filmmaking again. Of course, he’s being cagey on the details, revealing that his next project won’t be about Occupy Wall Street but that “it will be something that’s not being addressed. It will be funny and shocking and hopefully will help move the ball down the field.”
So there you go, it will be another issues movie, which isn’t a surprise. We just hope that whatever it is, it’s more well formed than his completely half-assed and tiresome “Capitalism: A Love Story,” which turned an important issue into a series of sketch “comedy” stunts all in a vain attempt to make a point. We’ve seen him do better, and we know he can do better, but at least it’s a step in the right direction that he’s not making a reactionary documentary on that is currently ongoing in Zuccotti Park and around the globe.
Meanwhile, Batman nerds got all aflutter today with 24 Frames reporting that with “The Dark Knight Rises” now headed to New York City to continue filming, cast members have been told that locations on the two week shoot may include scenes at the Occupy Wall Street protests. ZOMG. Of course, this could be misdirection, total bullshit or merely some accurate info being blown out of proportion. This writer really doesn’t see any significant scenes suddenly being written into the script and shot down among the throng of protesters. Could a second unit crew surreptitiously shoot the crowd to add some background flavor? That seems more realistic. But hey, who knows. If Bale is comfortable doing his thing among the crowd at Austin City Limits, maybe he will go incognito with Christopher Nolan and Wally Pfister and shoot something. Or not.
Oh, and here’s one more “The Dark Knight Rises” nugget. Cillian Murphy was recently interviewed on Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode‘s “Wittertainment” Film Review show, where he was badgered about whether or not he’ll appear again as Scarecrow in the movie. Here’s a video of the embarrassing scene and his non-answer below. And yeah, we’re guessing he’ll be in the movie, but that’s hardly a surprise.
Well, no, they\’re not the same. I think most of what the OWS says is stupid, and I think the \”radical redistribution of wealth\” idea is horrible.
I just don\’t want to attack people and rail against them as idiots. And I do think there are some similarities to the grudges–there are lots of reasons to be upset right now, and I think the Tea Party and OWS have a couple reasons–not all, certainly–in common, while opposing each other in pretty much every other way. I also think it\’s safe to say the majority of people in each movement are regular people you meet on the street, so it\’s interesting that two such different grassroots protests have been going on so close in time to each other–that doesn\’t happen much.
But mostly, I just wanted to register that there are conservatives who read this site, and it\’s always irritating when you think you\’re reading about one thing, be it movies or books, or I dunno, fashion, and then the person writing assumes that everyone agrees with their political viewpoint. I\’ve seen others go off on much worse rants before, so since this one didn\’t offend me overmuch, I wanted to be polite about it. But it\’s always good to have a writer who is offering his political opinion out of the blue say something like \”In this writer\’s opinion\” to let the reader know that he/she isn\’t obligated to agree and that the writer doesn\’t think he/she is an idiot.
Uh, sorry. OWS and Tea Party are not the same in the slightest.
\”From teenagers to the elderly, with parents bringing their young children to see free speech in action, it’s pretty inspiring stuff \”
Well, you\’re entitled to your political opinion. I don\’t completely disagree, but I found the Tea Party protests to be a lot more inspiring, personally–grandmothers, soccer moms, dads and kids, people who\’d never been to a protest before demanding the government keep its hands off their lives and stop piling debt onto the future generations.
Interesting how both movements seem largely caused by the Wall Street bailouts–as well as the recession, of course. They just have different ideas about the solutions.