1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

When will we be ready for a 9/11 movie?

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by schiezainc, Sep 11, 2011.

  1. schiezainc

    schiezainc Well-Known Member

    I thought about asking this question in both of the 9/11 threads running and in the movies thread but the more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion it warranted its own topic.

    Now, before I begin, let me preface this by saying that I understand both "World Trade Center" and "United 93" have been made but my question is this.

    When will we, as a society, truly be ready for a fictionalized look at 9/11?

    As hard as it is for me to truly think about the terror of that day--I recently heard about 0.3 seconds of a 911 call from the South Tower as it was falling and it freaked me out for the rest of the day--the past two weeks of coverage on Yahoo's front page has convinced me that there are a multitude of stories that need to be told in the format that Hollywood offers.

    Take, for instance, the story of Brian Clark and Stanley Praimnath (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Clark_%289/11_survivor%29#Rescue_of_Stanley_Praimnath). As I'm sure most of you have heard, Brian saved Stanley's life that day and the two were two of the last people out before the building came down.

    Then there's this: http://news.yahoo.com/a-family-remembers--hero-of-9-11-gave-life-to-save-thousands.html

    And this ...http://news.yahoo.com/fire-chief-saved-by-9-11-good-deed-.html

    The point is, there are a variety of GOOD to GREAT stories about that day and those stories can only be told, in my opinion, in a comprehensive 9/11 movie.

    The problem is, I don't think we're ready for that quite yet. I don't know if we ever will be.

    United 93 and WTC both hinted at the actual evil of that day and though we saw hijackers kill pilots in U93 and we saw the building collapse in WTC, because no one but the real people saw those events in person, it's easy for us to watch those.

    But seeing a plane come into one of the towers from the view Stanley Praimnath had that day? Seeing the floors collapse onto Jay Jonas and his crew? I don't know if we could ever be ready to go there.

    So my question to you is this. Will America ever be ready for the 9/11 comprehensive film? Yes, we can say it would be an exploitation of the event but, to me, film is a medium that can tell a story unlike any other and sometimes, though it's tough, it's important to remember that.

    As horrible as that day was, I feel there are a variety of important stories that not only should be told but MUST be told.

    I, for one, am ready to see this film. I know it will be difficult and I know it's got to be handled in a very, very sensitive way but I say someone write the script, someone else get a respectable director on this and let's get this ball rolling.

    Thoughts?
     
  2. Brian

    Brian Well-Known Member

    I don't disagree, but I think the directors who could produce a film tastefully and artfully would find it too easy and, yes, exploitative.

    Oliver Stone's attempt wasn't good or bad, it just wasn't memorable.

    I thought United 93 was great, but no one wants to sit down and watch that.

    I'd be scared to death if Jerry Bruckheimer or his ilk attempted a 9/11 movie.
     
  3. schiezainc

    schiezainc Well-Known Member

    I was thinking someone like Clint Eastwood though, of course, the clock is ticking on that one. I would love to see someone like Spielberg direct it. I just don't know how much/little you would have to show to tell the story. I can't decide if it should be an epic three-hour blockbuster that covers everything leading up to, during and after 9/11 or if it should focus on an individual story as the central plotline.

    Sad to see this thread isn't getting more of a response though. Perhaps we're not even ready to talk about being ready for a 9/11 movie?
     
  4. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

    I'd be eager to see what Paul Thomas Anderson would do with it. In my nightmare world, Nora Ephron.
     
  5. KJIM

    KJIM Well-Known Member

    Oliver Stone's movie had no soul.

    United 93 was fantastic.
     
  6. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    Not trying to be a bitch, but I read your first post and really had no idea what you were trying to say. "There have been movies, but when can there be a movie? There have been stories told, but they need to be told!"

    That's why I hadn't commented.
     
  7. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

    Seems that he meant a micro tale, as opposed to a macro tale.
     
  8. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    I just don't think it would be that entertaining, if I can use that word. We've seen the United 93s and the documentaries and read most of the stories (I know there are more, but I don't know if there's anything else that would knock my socks off). Can someone really put something together that people would pay money to see?

    Maybe it would happen 70 years from now. Kinda like Titanic.
     
  9. terrier

    terrier Well-Known Member

    The guy who could have a great story built around him is Rick Rescorla.
    British soldier who came to America and fought in Vietnam (and was the cover subject of "We Were Soldiers...Once").
    Became security director for Morgan Stanley and was warning of the potential fallibility of WTC even before the 1993 attack.
    Took charge of the efforts to get Morgan Stanley employees (and many others) out of the towers, even, according to at least one account, singing Cornish songs to try to keep people school.
    He was last seen heading upstairs in Tower 1 shortly before it fell.
    You don't have to take many liberties with the facts.
     
  10. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    No, I get that. But it's more like he linked to stories that had been told and was like "When will these stories be told??"
     
  11. schiezainc

    schiezainc Well-Known Member

    What I meant to say was that there has yet to be a 9/11 movie that has handled the actual event that took place.

    Stone's movie focused on two firefighters and I enjoyed it but it was easy to write it off as just another movie because apart from a small shot of the towers burning in the reflection of Nic Cage's helmet and the familiar sound of the building coming down, the events depicted in that movie were largely things we never saw.

    Same with United 93.

    I think it would be a lot harder to portray some of the key events of 9/11 in a cinematic way because, in my opinion, audiences still aren't ready to see that and I feel that's a shame because I believe there are stories out there worth telling (Like the three I linked above) that can't be told until we're ready to see the planes hit the buildings in a cinematic way, until we're ready to see the buildings fall in a cinematic way, e.t.c.

    Does that make sense or am I still speaking in a convoluted manner? And, yes, I'm serious. :)
     
  12. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    I mean, I guess I get what you're trying to say. I just don't understand the point of it. U93 was a lot harder for me to watch because it WAS stuff I wasn't privy to. Seeing things I've already seen, only with famous people? Meh.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page