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Some good interviews with Charlie Wilson
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CWW DVD date determined
The CWW DVD will be out April 22, according to a Universal press release.
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CWW not coming to HD DVD
“Atonement” will be Universal’s final release on HD DVD, despite earlier claims that CWW would be released in that format, according to The Man Room:
“Previously we were led to believe Charlie Wilson’s War would bring a close to HD DVD at Universal after the studio had released cover art and disc specs prior to an official title announcement. Now Universal has removed any sign of an HD DVD version of Charlie Wilson’s War from their website, passing the last title honors to Atonement.”
Campaign commercials
They speak for themselves.
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Writer praises Wilson’s campaign commercials
A writer with the Houston Chronicle talks about Charlie Wilson’s great campaign commercials:
“The hardware should be female in form, of course, but it should be called “The Charlie.”
I say this because several blogs have directed me to a series of Wilson’s old commercials on www.youtube.com. (Go to that site and search for “Charlie Wilson’s Campaign.”)
They are, quite simply, brilliant. They set the standard.
And in light of what everybody now knows about Wilson’s extracurricular activities, they are also deliciously amusing.”
I’ll have a look at those videos and start publishing some of them here.
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Opinion: CWW deceived
An article on OpEdNews.com says CWW didn’t give Jimmy Carter proper credit:
“The film hides President Carter’s having secretly funded, armed and trained the fundamentalist hill tribes, attacking a modern women emancipating government in Kabul, in order to sucker the Soviets into entering Afghanistan SIX MONTHS LATER - as his National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski would later BRAG to a French Newspaper in 1998.”
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NBC newsman says CWW broke copyright laws
The New York Post has a blurb about how Arthur Kent is upset at Universal for using clips from his Gulf War reports on CWW. He also says parts of the film are “emphatically false.”
Opinion: Book and film don’t tell the whole story
From The Independent Institute:
“Both the book and movie Charlie Wilson’s War glorify the ‘colorful,’ liberal, Democratic congressman’s successful crusade to bludgeon the reluctant, neoconservative Reagan administration into dramatically escalating funding, arming, and training of radical Islamists fighting against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Although the zestful life and escapades of Wilson make for an entertaining and true-to-(Wilson’s)-life movie, both the book and movie give short shrift to the dire, long-term policy consequences of Wilson’s and Reagan’s proxy war.”
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Oscar talk
Philly.com’s Steven Rean and Carrie Rickey don’t think Philip Seymour Hoffman has much of a shot at the Oscar:
“No one’s had a better year. Hoffman demonstrates his comic chops in Charlie Wilson’s War, hides his anxiety behind a mask of composure in the devastating Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, and is a repressed sadsack in the black-comic The Savages. He should get an award not only for the quality of his acting, but the breadth of his talent.”
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Om relished working with Hanks, Hoffman, Roberts
IndiaFM has an interview with Om Puri, who played Gen. Zia Ul-Haq:
“In this war epic, Om plays the former Pakistani President Zia-Ul-Haq. ‘It turned out to be a very small role. But Mike Nichols is a ‘huge’ director. At first, I refused the role because of its brevity. But he insisted, and I couldn’t say no. Besides when would I get a chance to work with Hollywood legends like Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, and the enormously gifted Philip Seymour Hoffman?’”
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Hoffman pulls off upset!
A fan poll by Blockbuster gives Philip Seymour Hoffman the Oscar over Javier Bardem. Experts say Bardem is about the only lock in the Oscars this year.
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JMW?
The Baltimore Sun says John Murtha has his own war stories worthy of film-material.
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Filmmaker who helped raise awareness of Afghan conflict dies
telegraph.co.uk
At the beginning of CWW, Joanne Herring hosts a party to showcase a film that told the story of the Afghan Mujahideen and their fight against the Soviets. That film was made by Charles Fawcett, who died on Feb. 2. This from The Telegraph:
“Fawcett’s film featured the glamorous, ultra-conservative Texan socialite Joanne Herring, portrayed by Julia Roberts in the current Hollywood blockbuster Charlie Wilson’s War. In typical Fawcett style, he had alerted her by sending her a note he had scribbled in crayon on the back of a child’s notebook: ‘Come immediately. Bring film equipment. The world doesn’t know what’s going on here.’”
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CWW won’t be shown in Russia
“The Hollywood film Charlie Wilson’s War, which has been nominated for four Academy Awards, will not be shown in Russia. Head of the rental division Universal Pictures International Russia Vlad Efremov was quoted by information agencies as saying that the film, which deals with the Soviet war in Afghanistan, was withdrawn because of its anti-Soviet point of view. He said the decision was made in conjunction with the company’s main office. UPI Russia executives called it ‘commercially unprofitable.’ The film was scheduled for release in the spring of this year.”
HD DVD
I don’t know much about HD DVDs, but apparently it’s a big deal that CWW will be released in HD DVD. This from Product News:
“Universal isn’t giving up on HD DVD yet. The studio just announced that it’s planning an early April release for the HD DVD version of ‘Charlie Wilson’s War.’”
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DVD artwork revealed
Movieweb.com
Movieweb.com reports on what they know of the CWW DVD:
“Special Features - Making-of featurette - Who is Charlie Wilson featurette which profiles the real Charlie Wilson, and features interviews with Charlie Wilson, Joanne Herring, Tom Hanks, Aaron Sorkin, and Mike Nichols”
Just a little side note: A friend of mine recommends I wait a year to buy this. He said Universal is notorious for releasing “special edition” DVDs.
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Interview with cinematographer
Moviemaker has an interview with CWW cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt:
“We had about three months of prep time. It began with Mike and me speaking about the script and working out a visual style with the rest of the creative team. It was like a family reunion, because we had worked with many of the same people on our previous films, including Albert Wolsky (costume designer), Michael Haley (first AD), John Bloom (editor) and Richard Edlund, ASC (visual effects supervisor), to name a few.”
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Set your DVRs
The CBS affiliate for Lufkin and Nacogdoches will apparently have an “exclusive report” on Feb. 4, 5 and 6. It will be “A Chat with Charlie Wilson.” At least that’s what they’re advertising in the Sunday Lufkin Daily News.
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Viewpoint: Not just Charlie’s war
Intellectual Conservative gives credit to leaders all over the world for the end of the Cold War:
“First, the world owes a great debt to many historical global leaders who helped contain Soviet advances and who articulated the threat to freedom imposed by Soviet aggression in the post-World War II era. It must start with Winston Churchill, who, in his famed “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946, awakened the world to this new struggle, saying: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe, Warsaw, Berlin, Praque, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere.” Successive U.S. Presidents from Harry Truman at least through Richard Nixon, and the Congresses during those administrations, admirably understood that the Cold War was a battle for the future of the world and that holding Soviet advances at bay — what was known as “containment” — was essential to the West’s freedom and security.”
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Reader offers rebuttal
A reader of Cincinnati.com offers a rebuttal to a previous column:
“First, Charlie Wilson’s efforts supported the Mujahideen, the Arab-Afghan freedom fighters that fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980’s, not the Taliban who gained control of Afghanistan in the 1990’s.
While I’m sure elements of the Mujahideen later joined the Taliban, Mr. Baker’s statement, ‘Wilson is about to provide hundreds of sophisticated Stinger missiles to the Taliban,’ is inaccurate.”
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Doc Long
The JHU Gazette has a little article on Doc Long:
“Professor Long, known as “Doc Long” in Congress and in the movie, received some advice about the situation in Afghanistan from an experienced military officer, his son, Clarence D. Long III, a 1965 Johns Hopkins ROTC graduate.”
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Latest comments
I suspect Lumbearstang is a friend, or possibly spouse to, Jeff Awtrey. Or perhaps, Awtrey, himself…..
... read the full comment by Chris | Comment on NBC newsman says CWW broke copyright laws Read NBC newsman says CWW broke copyright laws
Well, I guess I wont be seeing the Lukfin Daily News’ favorite movie for a while then.
... read the full comment by Chris | Comment on CWW not coming to HD DVD Read CWW not coming to HD DVD
Big shout out to Jeff Awtrey for doing a super job with this blog over the past 5 months. It’s been really great to read this every day and keep up with the ins and outs of CWW. I look forward to seeing what’s next in your bag of goodies.
... read the full comment by Lumbearstang | Comment on NBC newsman says CWW broke copyright laws Read NBC newsman says CWW broke copyright laws
Was it really nominated for 4 Academy Awards?
I just remember the one for best supporting actor.
Hoffman did not win a BAFTA for that role. It instead went to Bardem for No Country.
... read the full comment by Lumbearstang | Comment on CWW won't be shown in Russia Read CWW won't be shown in Russia