Weinstein Makes Changes to 'Crossing Over' After Complaints
Filed under: Drama, Celebrities and Controversy, The Weinstein Co., Politics
The Weinsteins always enjoy a bit of controversy when it comes to their films, which is probably why it seems a little odd to see the larger than life Harvey Weinstein keeping so uncharacteristically quiet this time. The Guardian reports that the Weinsteins have been fielding complaints from the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) over a scene in their upcoming immigration drama, Crossing Over. Resulting in writer/director Wayne Kramer making some changes to the screenplay.The complaint originated with "an actor of Iranian descent not on the project but who read the screenplay took umbrage over the scene, in which an Iranian-American man kills his sister after discovering she has been having an affair with a Latino man." According to the president of the NIAC, the reason they made a formal complaint was that "Honour killings are accepted in some Middle Eastern cultures but not accepted in Iranian culture," and that, "They sometimes happen in remote areas of Iran, but there are no cases of Iranians doing this in the U.S." So far, no one on the production has commented on the revised screenplay or who the actor in question was.
Crossing has an all-star cast that includes; Harrison Ford, Sean Penn, Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd, and neither they or the Weinsteins have commented on the changes, or what took place during discussions with NIAC. But a spokesperson for The Weinstein Co. was quoted as saying, "While we believe strongly in freedom of expression, we also believe in the importance of constructive dialogue between artists and the communities they seek to portray." Maybe in the end, it's just not that big of a deal. Don't most screenplays go through all sorts of changes before they make it to the screen? I guess we'll never know; that is, unless someone starts talking.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-06-2007 @ 7:14PM
marty said...
If The Weinsteins change the film to appease Iranians then they are spineless. After all, this is only a film and while honoru killings may not be as common in the US, they do happen in the UK and elsewhere. Why is it that any films depicting anti-US or anti-Iraq sentiments are fine but the same can't be done for Iranians who live in the most oppressed dictatorship ever?
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8-06-2007 @ 8:04PM
John said...
Change Iranian to fundamentalist Christian and any Hollywood producer making a movie in which a Christian fundamentalist was the villain (quite a few) would have answered back that they had the right to exercise their freedom of expression and that the writer could exercise theirs by not watching the movie.
Can you say double standard?
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8-06-2007 @ 8:11PM
Eugene said...
Thats because when christians get mad, they do things like picket and boycott. When muslims get mad, they tend to do things like picket, boycott and fire bomb. Sure, there's some crossover, christians like to fire bomb abortion clinics, for instance. But it's rare to see a christian kill someone over a movie but considering we've seen muslims kill over soccer matches, bakeries and cartoons... I can't say I blame hollywood for not wanting to piss off the muslims.
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8-06-2007 @ 10:01PM
Gina said...
A very few Christians, or those who call themselves Christians, like to firebomb abortion clinics. Most of us regard them as way out on the fringe and want nothing to do with their activities.
But not to worry, Eugene, I have no desire whatsoever to commit an honor killing over that remark. :-)
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8-14-2007 @ 3:11AM
Aaron said...
Changing the script because any one person and/or group utters anything resembling either a legitmate claim or a "boo-hoo", is completely inappropriate.
For my ten dollars at the movie house, I'd prefer some artistic integrity to a film that "takes its audience's special needs into account". But oh well, integrity's the real on-screen minority.
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