Monthly Archives: July 2016

Hollywood and 9/11: An Uneasy Relationship

NOTE: A slightly different version of this post first was published at FILMINQUIRY.COM, an independent film magazine.

Recently, I had the chance to tour the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City, which, as you can imagine, is quite a somber experience. Amid the thoughtfully presented exhibits, I started wondering about 9/11 as portrayed in film. Now, when I say “portrayed” I’m not talking tangentially, as when 9/11 is used to jumpstart plot (e.g., Zero Dark ThirtyReign Over MeJack Ryan: Shadow RecruitExtremely Loud and Incredibly Close, to name but a few), but rather films that use the terrible events of that day as their plots.

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Forgotten Gem: Steven Soderbergh’s KING OF THE HILL

NOTE: A slightly different version of this post first was published at FILMINQUIRY.COM, an independent film magazine.

Back in 1993, Steven Soderbergh, just off the disappointment that was his ambitious yet unloved second feature, Kafka, turned his attention to a property best described as a sure-thing, a money grab if you will: writer A. E. Hotchner’s despairing, yet uplifting, childhood memoir “King of the Hill”. Of course I jest.

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