The United Nations has backed a $100 million film fund. The idea behind the project, Variety reports, is to combat stereotypes in movies.
"For a lifetime, it seems, I have agonized over the way stereotypes, reinforced by popular culture and the media, can set the emotional and political stage for policies that result in chronic misunderstanding," Queen Noor, the U.S.-born wife of the late King Hussein of Jordan, was quoted as saying in Variety. It's unclear whether the United Nations is providing financial, or simply emotional, support.
In other news, Oliver Stone has announced that his next project is "Bush," a movie about the life of President George W. Bush. Here's what Stone told Variety about the project:
"It's a behind-the-scenes approach, similar to "Nixon," to give a sense of what it's like to be in his skin," Stone told Daily Variety. "But if "Nixon" was a symphony, this is more like a chamber piece, and not as dark in tone. People have turned my political ideas into a cliche, but that is superficial. I'm a dramatist who is interested in people, and I have empathy for Bush as a human being, much the same as I did for Castro, Nixon, Jim Morrison, Jim Garrison and Alexander the Great.
"Here, I'm the referee, and I want a fair, true portrait of the man. How did Bush go from an alcoholic bum to the most powerful figure in the world? It's like Frank Capra territory on one hand, but I'll also cover the demons in his private life, his bouts with his dad and his conversion to Christianity, which explains a lot of where he is coming from. It includes his belief that God personally chose him to be president of the United States, and his coming into his own with the stunning, preemptive attack on Iraq. It will contain surprises for Bush supporters and his detractors."
Before you scoff, it's worth remembering that World Trade Center was a pretty good piece of filmmaking.
