Monday, July 28, 2003

I saw this on Drudge this morning. The new Harry Potter director, Alfonso Cuaron had this to say.
Cuaron’s outspokenness is also new to the franchise. Does the evil wizard Voldemort still remind him of George W. Bush, as he said recently? “In combination with Saddam,” he says. “They both have selfish interests and are very much in love with power. Also, a disregard for the environment. A love for manipulating people.

You can argue about environmental policy and whether someone takes it seriously, but Cuaron saying Bush is in love with power is just a cliché we attribute to any powerful person. To compare Bush the liberator to Hussein the enslaver is a typical third-world intellectual behavior. While the Millionaire proletariat will cheer, that statement is as empty as Cuaron’s 2001 film, Y Tu Mama También.

If you read the article it treads very lightly on the idea that Cuaron is moving back and forth in his career from children’s films to soft porn. Y Tu Mama También was shock value marketed as a charming coming of age tale (without the charm). It was too much Todd Solondz and not enough Giuseppe Tornatore.

Cuaron’s 1995 film, Secret Garden was well done. I didn’t see Great Expectations, but Tricia lists it as one of her favorites. He is no doubt talented. But it is funny what reporters are interested in. Here you have a story of a guy who likes to take swipes at Middle Class values as witnessed in his statements about Bush and even his Mexican film. Agreeing to direct a middle-class project like Harry Potter seems to be a great angle in which to cover this article. I would have asked Cuaron if he was just doing Harry Potter for the big payday. I would have asked if he is selling out to the same audience that voted for Bush.

Instead they let the Producer give the typical publicists answer about how both films are really about teenagers. Oh, then they are just alike, I suppose. It’s not that I dislike hearing Hollywood leftists rant. It’s actually interesting to know what they think. I just wish that reporters would question their inconsistencies.

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