Eli Roth: A Neo-Nazi Sarah Palin?

Hold your horses ladies and gentlemen, because something fairly facinating has taken place. It appears as if Eli Roth as managed to offend someone who's in no way easy to offend: himself. In an interview with MTV movies, the horror director gave some details on his Nazi propaganda film-within-a-film for Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds -- and boy, if you were already put off by Roth in the past, get ready for Stolz der Nation (The Nation's Pride). The thing is so full of Nazi power, Roth (a Jew) is surprised to have kind of offended himself a little.

Back in November, I reported the writer-director-actor would be stepping behind the camera to make a propaganda mini-movie for Tarantino while also starring as Sgt. Donnie Donowitz, "a baseball bat swinging Nazi hunter". Well, Roth is chatting about it now, and despite being awfully proud of his work -- even he was a little shaken up a bit by the outcome. During the film's first audience screening, Roth tells MTV, "... [the actors] were in character, but the Germans were screaming 'Heil Hitler!' and 'Kill the Jews!' and it was terrifying, we watched it over and over, and we were all friends and joking around by the end of it. But there was still something very powerful about that. I looked at Quentin and said, 'What have I done?'" He adds, "We shot with the actor Daniel Bruhl, and put together this Nazi propaganda film...[as we shot] I was thinking 'God, I didn't think I could be more offensive after 'Hostel 2,' but how can I upset people more than that?'"

After the jump Roth compares himself to a Neo-Nazi Sarah Palin...

Considering this is the same guy who usually revels in horrifying his audiences, it's a little strange that he would suddenly be concerned about offending people's sensibilities. But, I will give him credit for at least considering the possibility that Stolz der Nation could wind up in the hands of viewers who aren't there for the irony. Roth has one sick sense of humor -- so to him there's nothing funnier than the idea that a Jewish filmmaker could inspire legions of Neo-Nazis; telling MTV, "I'm going to, like, resurrect the Nazi party, they are going to make me their Sarah Palin. They will be like, 'We love his movie. But he's a Jew! But it's such a good movie. But a Jew made it!" I guess in the end it all comes down to the fact that Roth lives to offend people, and even though there are some topics that aren't fodder for entertainment, a trouble-maker like Roth just can't resist the chance to mess with us.

Inglourious Basterds will arrive in theaters on August 21st.