by Jerome du Bois
From this morning's New York Times:
Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore was stabbed to death on a city street last night by a self-styled "aesthetic militant," according to a note stuck into his chest with the murder weapon, a barbecue skewer.
The note went on to demand the revocation -- "in the name of Truthful Art" -- of all of Moore's awards, "especially the ones from Cannes, otherwise Quentin Tarantino is next."
By morning, sixteen private jets from Hollywood dotted the airports around the city, and fifty-eight producers, actors and directors converged at the Paramount to prepare for a spontaneous outpouring of grief.
Tarantino, his hotel door flanked by bodyguards wearing all black and derby hats, remained in his room, reportedly festooned with crossed bandoleros. Reached for comment, spokesperson Rob Reiner expressed outrage: "This is terrible, horrible, disgusting. He was a great man, and a brave one."
And he added, "I've never heard of anything like this before."
Okay, I made it all up, but this Nov. 24th post by Roger Simon --
Meanwhile, have a look at this piece in the WSJ, which confirms what I've been saying on this blog for some time regarding the strange silence of Hollywood on the murder of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh.
-- reminded me of something Greg Allen, of greg.org, said in a comment to me about three weeks ago, when I started writing about Theo van Gogh. (The article Mr. Simon refers to is the excellent one by Bridget Johnson, "Look Who's Not Talking.")
I had slammed Mr. Allen for writing a facetious post about van Gogh's murder, and he came at me with his nose in the air. You can go read it here if you want, but the part I want to repeat concerns a list of people I included in my post:
. . . here's a short list of so-called luminaries who have as yet not weighed in -- had nothing to say -- about Mr. van Gogh's death: Doug Aitken, Alec Baldwin, Matthew Barney, Bjork, David Geffen, Jeaneane Garofalo, Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Sherry Lansing, Penny Marshall, Robert Redford, Rob Reiner, Tim Robbins, Kurt Russell, Julian Schnabel, Steven Speilberg, Oliver Stone, Susan Sarandon, Lars von Trier, and John Waters.
This is Mr. Allen's comment on my list:
Do you not see that the specific list of people you're so quick to condemn are possibly only imporant to YOU? I mean, come on, Matthew Barney?? Who could possibly care what he thinks about Islamicist hate crimes in Amsterdam? Or, taking a purely pragmatic view, what possible purpose besides your own would be served by his statement of outrage over a prima facie violation of individual rights?
Let's fisk.
Do you not see that the specific list of people you're so quick to condemn are possibly only imporant to YOU?
No, I don't see that. I think they're important to a lot of people, especially those who hire them. And Roger Simon thinks they're important, too, and I respect him. He's paid dues, he's got a broken heart. Yours is stone.
I mean, come on, Matthew Barney?? Who could possibly care what he thinks about Islamicist hate crimes in Amsterdam?
Why didn't you pick Doug Aitken, who is even more "obscure" than Barney? Barney is platinum in Europe, he knows many people in the art and film world there, and his raised voice would resonate.
Or, taking a purely pragmatic view, what possible purpose besides your own would be served by his statement of outrage over a prima facie violation of individual rights?
Another stupid question. My voice is one. The twenty-one people on my list are megaphones, reaching thousands. It appears that you personally feel powerless, otherwise you would know: Everybody counts. Every voice matters, even your wavering one.
Another commenter, another "nobody," on that posting asked, "What can I say?" I told her she's not nobody and that every voice counts.
And where is your common sense, Mr. Allen? You know damned well if Steven Speilberg or Tim Robbins organized a foundation or a prize or any kind of enduring memorial for Theo van Gogh, it would be nationwide -- worldwide -- news.
Mr. Allen takes me to task for ignoring his posts about van Gogh:
Frankly, your willful distortions of my posts--and there continue to be multiple posts about Van Gogh, the content and context of which should make it obvious to anyone that, yes, I'm pissed about and opposed to militant fundamentalist terrorism...I can't even believe I need to write that, it's so self-evident--just to polish your own armor of indignation pisses me off, too.
Horse manure. Go read his posts, if you want, which are short and innocuous, and most of them were posted after the above little snitfit.
Where are your backbones, people? And how dare you keep silent, as Holland and Europe begin to stink of the abbatoir?
Because Islam loves blood, and wants more.
Related:
Theo van Gogh Calls On Yasser Arafat
and the "I SLAM ISLAM" sidebar on the right.
Posted by Jerome at November 26, 2004 09:20 AM | TrackBackJerome and Catherine
On the subject of Theo Van Gogh, I agree with you. I am extremely distressed about his murder and even more distressed by the apparent lack of concern, or interest, from the Arts community in general.
Once again, I invite both of you to come by my studio (#11) on First Friday to see the painting I am working on for January's FF as a tribute to Mr. Van Gogh. The title of the piece is "Dear Theo". Yes, It's a used title, but appropriate none the less. No, this is not a set up as you interpreted my last invitation to be. I don't even know most of the people you regularly "Fisk". You were way off base on your previous assumptions of who and what I am, I'd love to set the record straight. Perhaps you might see that there is much more to me then a Google search will tell. I don't always agree with your opinions, but I enjoy the fact that they tend to be well researched and written: something that is woefully lacking in today’s mainstream media.
I hope you and Catherine had a good Thanksgiving.
Sincerely
Ian Wender
P.S. If you are not comfortable around Holgas on First Friday, I would be happy to open my studio at your convenience.