GabrielRange Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Hey, remember that film that received so much hype and controversy only to be released with a whimper and a lot of negative reviews? I'm talking about Death of a President, a non-comedic mockumentary focused on the (fictional) assassination of George W. Bush. I thought it was a terrible movie, and not because I thought it was tasteless. I actually thought the idea was interesting; I just didn't think it was executed well in the style in which it was done. But plenty of others, including my friends and colleagues, liked the darn thing. It even played for a few months (mostly on Saturday nights) at the Pioneer Theater here in New York. Most astonishing, though, is the fact that it won an Emmy Award the other night. Actually, it was an International Emmy, for Best TV Movie/Mini-Series.

I didn't even know the International Emmys existed until the other night. I was walking down a Manhattan street and saw all these people in tuxedos walking up the red carpet to the ceremony. I didn't recognize anyone, but now, for all I know, one of the monkey-suited gents I walked past was DOAP filmmaker Gabriel Range. Not that I would have told him I disliked his movie -- once he had the statue in hand he wouldn't have cared what I thought anyway. Still, Robert DeNiro was apparently at the event, presenting a special award to Al Gore. Others who not only attended but also won include British actor Jim Broadbent, Dutch actor Pierre Bokma, French actress Muriel Robin and Stephen Fry, who features in the Best Documentary-winner Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive.

One of the most overly-buzzed movies recently was last year's Death of a President, the faux documentary by Gabriel Range. A big, fictional what-if movie that dealt with the possibility of President Bush being assassinated, it ticked off a lot of people well before anyone ever saw it. It was considered terribly controversial, etcetera, etcetera. But the thing was, it really wasn't. It was much more procedural than political, and I wasn't the only one to walk out of the theater wondering what the fuss was about. But that's how things often work these days -- react to the what-if, and not the what-is. Now Paramount has tapped Range for a new project, which he will write and direct, and since it isn't about the leader of the U.S. biting the dust, hopefully we can check it out without overly-crazy buzz and uproar.

The project is an untitled drama about a young man who turns up at a home and tells the couple who live there that he is their son, who had disappeared long ago. It's also based on a true story. Note that the plot doesn't say that he returns home, something that becomes even more intriguing when you see Range's discussion of the project: "Of all the stories I covered while making documentaries, this was the most extraordinary story I've ever come across, with the most extraordinary central character, whom I'd spent hours interviewing in a federal detention center." The director says that the story goes through a lot of twists and turns, so it could be an interesting project. Since the word so far is quite insinuating about certain aspects of the story, I imagine that what we can infer is only the beginning. Or, at least, I hope so!

Netscape's Karina Longworth sat down with Death of a President director Gabriel Range, and has intertwined the interview with her own thoughts and criticisms of the faux documentary and the controversial buzz surrounding it. The most important point addressed in the video is probably the fact that the film is actually the opposite of anti-Bush. Karina even goes so far as to say it is, "definitely sympathetic," in its treatment of the president and, "it manages to truly humanize him," turning him into a "misunderstood hero."

You can watch the video right here, or go to Netscape and download it.

More on DOAP:

Cinematical Buzz Reviews: Death of a President

Death of a President: There's No Publicity Like No Publicity

Canadians Want You to See Death of a President

There has been a lot of press over Death of a President, and we've been following this fictional documentary since it made its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Controversy has also been following this film from day one -- of course, this is a movie that features images of the assassination of President Bush, so said controversy should come as no surprise.

Some of the latest buzz surrounding Gabriel Range's film revolve around the difficulties he has had with advertising and distribution, but a Canadian distribution company thinks they might have the answer. Maple Pictures has produced an ad campaign for Buffalo NY newspapers to encourage Americans to make the drive to Canada to see the film. The ads will be running on October 27 -- the same day the film will open both in Canada and the US.

Maple hopes to spread their campaign to other neighboring American cites like Seattle and Detroit once the film has opened to try and boost it's visibility. An admirable idea, but I doubt whether people are willing to make a border crossing just to see what all the fuss is about.

[via Variety]