cecilia peck Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Ever since the Dixie Chicks went off on George W. Bush at a concert in the UK back in 2003, the musical trio have been almost as well known for their politics as for their music. Country music fans, who tend as a group to lean to the right side of the political aisle, took great umbrage to the Chicks making their opinion on the president -- is is from their home state of Texas -- be known to the world. In Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing, directors Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck take a look at the fallout of the Chicks refusal to shut up: The radio stations refusing to play their music, the right-wing bloggers urging fans to boycott them, the letters from fans, one of which inspired both a Dixie Chicks song and the title of this documentary, by telling the women to just "shut up and sing." Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck sat down with Cinematical's James Rocchi and Netscape's Alexia Prichard to discuss their controversial film. You can download the video here (60.9MB, 9: or watch it over on Netscape.

Those clever little (actually, they're not so little) Weinstein boys are hoping to turn political controversy into box office gold, as they've gone and picked up the worldwide distribution rights for the documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing. Directed by Barbara Kopple (who also helmed the Oscar-winning strike doc Harlan County, U.S.A.) and produced by Cecilia Peck and Kopple, pic follows the singing group around, while documenting the aftermath of Natalie Maines' heavily publicized anti-Bush comments.

Now, I'm far from a rabid Dixie Chicks fan, but I was certainly surprised to see how hated these girls became after Maines simply stated that she was ashamed President Bush was from Texas. I mean, we're talking radio boycotts and death threats -- all because she decided to speak her mind and be truthful? Not surprisingly, the Weinsteins are looking to shove the film into theaters this November, right in time for elections. Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing will officially debut in a Gala Presentation next month at the Toronto International Film Festival.