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Plethora of 9/11 Films on the Horizon
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By
Dilshad D. Ali**
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Sept.
18, 2005
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Now that the “hands-off” period has come to an intuitive end Hollywood film-producers are standing in line to re-create the personal dramas behind the events of 9/11.
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It
seems the respectable “hands off” period concerning the terrible events of
9/11 by Hollywood dramatization standards is about to end.
And
end in a big way.
A
flashy pairing of controversy-seeking director Oliver Stone (of such
attention-grabbing films as Natural Born Killers and Born on the
Fourth of July) and popular actor Nicolas Cage has brought forth a new
project about the lives of two police officers trapped in the rubble of the
collapsed World Trade Center’s Twin Towers.
Though
Paramount Pictures, which is backing the deal, says the film will be released
next year, the screenplay is still being finalized, making the promised release
“iffy” by Hollywood standards. Still, the buzz on this film is pretty strong
at this early stage with Stone and Cage both furiously talking up the project to
various media outlets.
The
announcement could not have been piggy-backed to a more unfortunate event—it
was made the day after the three subway and one bus bomb attacks in London,
which left more than 50 people dead in the worst attack on the capital city
since World War II.
Though
not the first film to tackle 9/11—a number of independent movies have
addressed various aspects of the day’s horrific events—it has perhaps the
largest scope and scale, not to mention star catch. It will focus on the lives
of Port Authority officer William J. Jimemo and Sgt. John McLoughlin (to be
portrayed by Cage), the last two officers to be rescued from the collapse of the
Twin Towers.
Will
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expect? Share your view in our discussion forum. Click here
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In
a statement released by the film’s producers, Stone said the project is “a
work of collective passion, a serious mediation on what happened and carries
within a compassion that heals.” He added that it is also an “exploration of
heroism in our country, but it’s international at the same time in its
humanity.”
Documentaries
focusing on 9/11 have been more prevalent and quick to come, most notably
Michael Moore’s hugely successful Fahrenheit 9/11. The small screen of
television has also closed the “mourning” period of 9/11 much more quickly
than expected with a number of specials immediately after the attacks, followed
by a dramatic series focusing on terrorism in general as well as the aftermath
of 9/11.
Terrorism
is the meat-and-potatoes of the Fox Network’s popular 24 series, now in
its third season. And last year they brought out Rescue Me, which starred
Denis Leary as a member of a New York Fire Fighting squad dealing with its
losses from the attacks of 9/11. The ABC network also has a series exclusively
dealing with 9/11 in the works.
But
why the four-year waiting period for Hollywood to address the 9/11 angle in a
big way? The industry has taken a fairly cautious approach to this day, which
has the potential for numerous heroic natured and gripping films, treating the
emotions of the attacks with a certain necessary reverence as demanded by the
American public.
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Star actor Nicholas Cage will portray Sgt. John McLoughlin, one of the last two officers rescued out of the Twin Towers, in the upcoming Oliver Stone film on the events of 9/11.
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Still,
as Stone and Cage have hit the media junket to tout their new project, numerous
other 9/11 projects are rumored to be on the horizon in Hollywood, including the
possible development of a film by Columbia Pictures—which bought the rights to
102 Minutes, a best-selling book by New York Times reporters Jim
Dwyer and Kevin Flynn.
The
book reconstructs the collective rush of heroism, panic, fear, destruction, and
bravery experienced by office workers and rescuers in the Twin Towers. Columbia
studio executives in a released statement said they have not officially okayed a
film yet, but are keeping their options open by drafting various screenplays
from the book.
As
par for the course, documentaries continue to be the preferred, safe venue for
addressing 9/11. After Stone announced his upcoming project, Oscar-winning
actors Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) and Kevin Costner (Dances
With Wolves) released statements saying they will be narrating the upcoming On
Native Soil: The Documentary of the 9/11 Commission Report.
This
feature-length film examines the findings of the 9/11 Commission and tells five
survival stores. It is directed by former NBC news producer Linda Ellman and
will feature interviews with some of the victim’s families, the former head of
the CIA’s “Osama bin Laden desk,” and Sen. John McCain.
Between
9/11 and the war in Iraq, the future will hold no shortage of event-driven films
coming from Hollywood.
**Dilshad
D. Ali’s writing reaches across the
United States to address lifestyle topics pertinent to Muslims and non-Muslims
alike. Ali has covered movie premieres, film festivals, art exhibitions,
concerts, and numerous other cultural stories, including the effect of September
11 on New York’s cultural landscape for IslamOnline. Ali, a 1997 University of
Maryland journalism graduate, resides in New York with her husband and two
children. You can reach her at
bridge@islamonline.net.
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