The Mark Cuban funded movie?

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

I just got some hear-say from a friend, but from what i heard it doesn't sound good. Anyone?

[some_user86]

I thought there were several Cuban funded movies. Wasn't he a producer for Good Night and Good Luck?

[mikeanthony21]

I thought there were several Cuban funded movies. Wasn't he a producer for Good Night and Good Luck?

"Akeelah and the Bee" was his latest.

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

And so what i heard was the latest film is about 4 US soldiers that sexually assault a young woman. Has anyone heard of this particular film?

[The Truth #6]

http://www.magpictures.com/about.aspx

[mikeanthony21]

And so what i heard was the latest film is about 4 US soldiers that sexually assault a young woman. Has anyone heard of this particular film?

It's title is "Redacted," directed by Brian DePalma. Read about it:

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2007/02/outrage_directo.html

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

Is no one else stunned by this?

[mikeanthony21]

Is no one else stunned by this?

By what? The content of the film or Mark Cuban bankrolling it?

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

Both ! shit this is news to me. I dont even know what to say. What do Mavs fans have to say about this?

[Findog]

Both ! shit this is news to me. I dont even know what to say. What do Mavs fans have to say about this?

I don't have a problem with it. Voices of Iraq was a patriotic, sympathetic to the war effort kind of documentary, at least according to reviews, I didn't see it. He bankrolled that. He set up the Fallen Patriot Fund. I don't have any time or patience for the "terrorist sympathizer" angle. Our enemies don't need to watched Redacted to get fired up for their cause. "Aid and comfort to the enemy" is just subterfuge for trying to shut down discussion and debate.

Any organization that's big enough has its bad apples. End of story. If they want to make a movie about it, the first amendment applies. If you don't like it, don't buy a ticket.

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

I don't have a problem with it. Voices of Iraq was a patriotic, sympathetic to the war effort kind of documentary, at least according to reviews, I didn't see it. He bankrolled that. He set up the Fallen Patriot Fund. I don't have any time or patience for the "terrorist sympathizer" angle. Our enemies don't need to watched Redacted to get fired up for their cause. "Aid and comfort to the enemy" is just subterfuge for trying to shut down discussion and debate.

Any organization that's big enough has its bad apples. End of story. If they want to make a movie about it, the first amendment applies. If you don't like it, don't buy a ticket.

If you finance something, your name is ON it. Period.

[some_user86]

I predict this thread is going to dissolve into heavy handed political posturing...

And since I am not above that, I will contribute that this movie is about the real life Mahmudiyah killings (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmudiyah_killings).

Where army recruiters were so desperate to meet their quota, they let a deranged psychopath, with plenty of priors that should have disqualified him on the Army's moral character grounds, become a member of our armed forces (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Dale_Green). That man managed to cajole a few other soldiers into committing the above crime and single-handedly enhance and magnify an air of distrust between Iraqis and American soldiers (besides that which was already there).

The film is not meant to deface our troops. But are we supposed to simply hide the truth that we let some bad elements slip into a proud and noble institution? For all the idiocy Cuban does, this is not one of them. His interests in Los Angeles are probably where he is at his best. He has a laundry list of quality films that he has bank rolled (see: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1171860/).

[mikeanthony21]

Both ! shit this is news to me. I dont even know what to say. What do Mavs fans have to say about this?

Mark Cuban is free to spend his money and say what he wants in any fashion that he pleases. I think he knows that he's a magnet now for controversy so it obviously doesn't bother him.

[Findog]

If you finance something, your name is ON it. Period.

what's the big deal? shun it if you don't like it. it's pretty silly to question his patriotism.

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

what's the big deal? shun it if you don't like it. it's pretty silly to question his patriotism.
I dont know enough of the facts to "shun" it, i just hadn't heard anything about it before. Obviously you all know alot more about it than I. I was just tryin to bring it to everyones attention. Obviously I am niave to whats goin on.

[TDMVPDPOY]

he did somehow fund spurs 07 championsip :):)

[J.T.]

I don't see what's the big deal. For all the great things that the US military has done, there have been a few bad apples like Steven Green over the years. In an era where Hollywood is all about blockbusters, comic book movies, and sequels, it's a good thing to have films that go a little deeper.

Cuban might want to get his money back on Turistas and Black Christmas though.

[G-Nob]

THey made a big deal for a couple days about it on Dallas radio, but it was swept under the carpet. It wasnt meant to be anti-american, just art. (his explanation)

[easjer]

I guess I don't see the issue. Is he directly involved with the movie making, or is his money the only thing in play?

From what I've heard of it, Redacted, while uncomfortable, is not off the mark in terms of things that happen in our armed forces. I don't see why movies shouldn't be made from it, and possibly expose it.

Crash was also an uncomfortable movie on many levels, but it isn't wise to pretend that racism doesn't exist in a hundred different ways and levels all around us.

[jmard5]

"Akeelah and the Bee" was his latest.

Ah, he funded that movie?

I liked that movie, though.

[doldrums]

who cares what movies he produces. He's free to do what he likes.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Cuban is a republican and it's just a movie. if you don't want to see it don't go.

[Geezerballer]

We live in an age where scenes from this movie will be distributed all over the Muslim world. It’s inevitable that it will be used as very effective propaganda to recruit ignorant and disaffected youth and as a result, someone’s boy will die.

Fuck Mark Cuban.

[easjer]

We live in an age where scenes from this movie will be distributed all over the Muslim world. It’s inevitable that it will be used as very effective propaganda to recruit ignorant and disaffected youth and as a result, someone’s boy will die.

Fuck Mark Cuban.


That's going to happen whether this movie is made or not.

And I do care, because that person dying could be my brother or my husband's best friend in the world. They've both been to Iraq and both could go back.

But that doesn't mean that the movie shouldn't be made, or that Mark Cuban is an ass for helping to fund the project (and it's stupid to assume that he is personally responsible for it and that it wouldn't have had funding without him).

[Geezerballer]

You're right! That's why I sell crack to little kids. It's stupid to assume that if I didn't do it somebody else wouldn't.

Ask your brother how he feels about that nancy boy billionaire funding the image of GI's as raping murdering thugs?

Are you really trying to make the point that Mark Cuban isn't an ass?

[SenorSpur]

There are two other "lesser known" Cuban-funded disaster movies that have come out over the past 2 years:

"Meltdown in Miami"
"The Revenge of Nellie's Renegades"

[George Gervin's Afro]

You're right! That's why I sell crack to little kids. It's stupid to assume that if I didn't do it somebody else wouldn't.

Ask your brother how he feels about that nancy boy billionaire funding the image of GI's as raping murdering thugs?

Are you really trying to make the point that Mark Cuban isn't an ass?


take this to the political forum. by the way your an idiot.

[Mark in Austin]

We live in an age where scenes from this movie will be distributed all over the Muslim world. It’s inevitable that it will be used as very effective propaganda to recruit ignorant and disaffected youth and as a result, someone’s boy will die.

Fuck Mark Cuban.

Pretty silly logic. There are PLENTY of REAL images and video of innocent deaths in Iraq that are a lot more powerful as propaganda than some American film.

Do you honestly think somebody who lives in a war zone and is in a constant struggle to survive gives a shit about an American movie, or would consider that movie as the reason for him to become a terrorist?

If you want to talk about actions that have as direct results our soldiers being killed or wounded, let's talk about the lack of body armor, or the inability to get IED-resistant patrol vehicles out to the troops in a timely way.

[easjer]

You're right! That's why I sell crack to little kids. It's stupid to assume that if I didn't do it somebody else wouldn't.

Ask your brother how he feels about that nancy boy billionaire funding the image of GI's as raping murdering thugs?

Are you really trying to make the point that Mark Cuban isn't an ass?


In this instance, the GI's WERE raping murdering thugs, you fucking moron.

And my brother feels that freedom of speech is extremely important. And he feels that horrors like the one that this movie is based on should be exposed and corrected rather than covered up in some bizarre definition of patriotism, because bullshit like that is the reason people despise the military and the government.

And while I think Mark Cuban is an ass, I don't think it has anything to do with some of his money being used to make a movie, because that is one of his business ventures. It is not at ALL the same as being personally involved.

And I am done. Don't see the movie if you don't support it, but stop pretending that you are coming from some high moral ground, because that argument is horse shit at best.

[TradeManu4Kobe]

The comments have become so moronic, I wanted to proactively say many, if not most will be "redacted" if they are not on topic and substantiative. I guess I should have expected this.


I also want to give those of you who would rather condemn before evaluating an answer to your question, "Is this film, anti troops". The answer is no.

The movie is about what soldiers of every walk of life go through on a daily basis in Iraq. The challenge of facing 99pct of the day bored to tears, while at the same time being terrified that you never know who the enemy really is. Kids can be just kids, or they can be placing IEDs. Women can be just wives, or sisters or mothers, or they can be suicide bombers. Telling each from the other is impossible.

The movie is about this impossible position that soldiers are put into. No amount of training can prevent the humanity that comes from our soldiers , yet is the very trait that puts them in harm's way. No amount of training can prepare them for seeing their friends die. This film recognizes that 99.9 pct of our forces cope with it and do their jobs. That each knows that among their peers , some may have a breaking point, and they do all they can to prevent them from reaching that breaking point. But they arent, and cant always be successful.

This movie is so far from being anti troops. You can't watch this movie without it smacking you across the face that the battles that come with serving our country are as much mental and emotional as they are physical. That the weight and burden of survival they must carry every minute of every day is incomprehensible . You cant watch this movie without your heart going out to each and every serviceperson who is put in harms way.

When a couple of the servicepeople crack from the pressure, they dont become the story. They become one more burden that everyone else associated with them must carry. They become one more obstacle to be conquered, and that is conquered.

I recognize what the Director Brian DePalma set out to do . He wanted to make a movie about the horrors of war. He did it. He wanted to send an anti war message. Whether or not he accomplished that, will probably depend on your perspective before you saw the movie.

The horror comes not from generalizing about the troops in some negative way as some would have you believe. Not at all. The horror in this movie is a demand that we all respect the fact that those who serve our country face a ubiquitous pressure to survive against insurmountable odds. That those of us at home have no earthly idea just how horrific that pressure to survive is. That this understanding of what our troops go through has been "Redacted" from the media here at home.

In DePalma's eyes, if this understanding had not been kept from us at home, the masses would stand up to fight the war. I don't think it works that way. I think we as Americans want to, and do support our troops as much as we possibly can. In every situation, in every way possible. This movie helps us respect them and understand what they go through more than we did before. This understanding, IMHO, wont push people to call for an end to the war, but it can push people to .honor those who survive the horrors of war in service to our country even more than we already do.

This movie is incredibly powerful. No matter your position on the war, it will have an emotional impact on you.

That is where I stand with Redacted.


This movie has made me respect what our troops go through even more than I did in the past. I felt that way the first time I saw it, and even more so every time since that I have watched it since.

So now you know where I stand with this movie. Exactly

http://www.blogmaverick.com/2007/11/11/bill-oreilly-just-a-wonderful-confused-guy/

[some_user86]

EDIT: Oh. Nevermind. Read easjer's post wrong. I thought easjer said 'they were raping murdering thugs' as in they were raping those thugs who were murderers, not as in Green was a murdering thug himself. I think it's because a comma is missing between raping and murdering.

[Geezerballer]

Pretty silly logic. There are PLENTY of REAL images and video of innocent deaths in Iraq that are a lot more powerful as propaganda than some American film.

Do you honestly think somebody who lives in a war zone and is in a constant struggle to survive gives a shit about an American movie, or would consider that movie as the reason for him to become a terrorist?

If you want to talk about actions that have as direct results our soldiers being killed or wounded, let's talk about the lack of body armor, or the inability to get IED-resistant patrol vehicles out to the troops in a timely way.


Let's review.

My logic:
1) Mark Cuban funds a movie that portrays American GIs raping and murdering innocent Muslims.
2) I submit that this will be used as propaganda in the Muslim world to inspire fanatics to kill Americans.
3) Therefore, Mark Cuban is an asshole.




Marks logic:
1) A professionally made Hollywood movie can’t be effective propaganda. (so why did the US Govt. sponsor those cheesy “pro-war” movies during WWII?)
2) Cuban’s not an asshole because for the first time in military history, some soldiers were not equipped w/ every single piece of equipment they would have liked to have had.


Got it.

[ChumpDumper]

I submit that this will be used as propaganda in the Muslim world to inspire fanatics to kill Americans.I think the actual story was propaganda enough. That ship has sailed.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Its a scene in the movie and unfortunately its based on events that actually took place in Samarra. Its an overall commentary concerning the censorship our governments puts on information coming from the region. This is not pure fiction.

[Geezerballer]

take this to the political forum. by the way your an idiot.



When criticizing someone else’s intelligence, it’s always more effective if you can keep the grammatical and spelling errors in your two sentence post under four or so.

[Geezerballer]

In this instance, the GI's WERE raping murdering thugs, you fucking moron.

And my brother feels that freedom of speech is extremely important.

What the hell does this have to do w/ “freedom of speech”? I’m not the US Government! Cuban can spend his money however he wants to. I’m just hoping it’s a dismal failure at the box office and I’ll try to convince as many people as I can not to spend money on it.




And he feels that horrors like the one that this movie is based on should be exposed and corrected rather than covered up in some bizarre definition of patriotism, because bullshit like that is the reason people despise the military and the government.

You do know that the soldiers this movie was based on were tried and convicted by the US Military right? I think two of them were sentenced to death. Is that your idea of a cover up? Do you think other countries seek out and punish their own like we do? Are you up to speed on the UN Peacekeepers raping of children in Africa or are you still waiting for that movie?

[some_user86]

The most effective propaganda we can make to create insurgents are the actions that have already been committed in the region. When you are not liked already in a region and you commit yourself to action that propagates the reasons why (Iraq) instead of solving the actual problem itself you have with the region (al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan), every mistake and accident you make is exponentially magnified. I don't see how a movie designed to educate the American public of our mistakes can be more effective than that.

People don't know the story. They should know. We messed up. Those guys should have never been allowed to represent us in the Army, and our reputation took a hit for it. The recruiters messed up and those soldiers' commanding officers messed up. Are you saying we shouldn't know why some people in the world don't like us?

I am pretty sure that we have hit a saturation point in negative opinion in the Middle East. I don't think we can possibly be hated any more than we already are. I think we have a right to know why we are hated. And no, the answer is not "because they hate our Freedoms(TM)."

[leemajors]

Both ! shit this is news to me. I dont even know what to say. What do Mavs fans have to say about this?
he owns a production company :rolleyes

[George Gervin's Afro]

When criticizing someone else’s intelligence, it’s always more effective if you can keep the grammatical and spelling errors in your two sentence post under four or so.


it's a movie. the wild one's don't need any extra motivation to blow themselves up. there is a war going on right now that has done wonders for stop acting like a clown.

[AmarilloDoc]

I'm all for freedom of speech, but I think the proper decision would be to wait until the conflict is over, just in case it could potentially increase the danger our soldiers are being exposed to.

[Nbadan]

I'm all for freedom of speech, but I think the proper decision would be to wait until the conflict is over, just in case it could potentially increase the danger our soldiers are being exposed to.

In 30 years no one will care to see this movie....

[ChumpDumper]

Truthfully, I don't think anyone will care to see this movie now.

[rasho8]

Im not going to watch this movie mostly because I spent I think 13 hours watching that damn "Black Dahlia" movie and screaming for it to freakin end after it faded to black the 97th time.

Im never watching another DePalma movie after that nightmare. He gets no more of my money. Im suing him to get my time back for the "Dahlia" crap.

[remingtonbo2001]

I predict this thread is going to dissolve into heavy handed political posturing...

And since I am not above that, I will contribute that this movie is about the real life Mahmudiyah killings (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmudiyah_killings).

Where army recruiters were so desperate to meet their quota, they let a deranged psychopath, with plenty of priors that should have disqualified him on the Army's moral character grounds, become a member of our armed forces (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Dale_Green). That man managed to cajole a few other soldiers into committing the above crime and single-handedly enhance and magnify an air of distrust between Iraqis and American soldiers (besides that which was already there).

The film is not meant to deface our troops. But are we supposed to simply hide the truth that we let some bad elements slip into a proud and noble institution? For all the idiocy Cuban does, this is not one of them. His interests in Los Angeles are probably where he is at his best. He has a laundry list of quality films that he has bank rolled (see: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1171860/).

No, I also agree that the TRUTH (what used to be known as NEWS) should be of public knowledge. Do I think it should be a movie. NO. There is too much subjectivity to an issue which is time-sensetive. It's just not wise. Just like downing 15 beers in one night isn't wise. But, hey some people still do it.

[some_user86]

True, there is a problem with making real events into drama-based movies. It makes people doubt what is real or not, and so they discount the entire thing.

[SpurOutofTownFan]

We live in an age where scenes from this movie will be distributed all over the Muslim world. It’s inevitable that it will be used as very effective propaganda to recruit ignorant and disaffected youth and as a result, someone’s boy will die.

Fuck Mark Cuban.

You come across like a moron. If US marines commited crimes they have to be punished. Period. How can you say you defend freedom and liberty if you commit the same crimes you are supposed to fight? This movie shouldn't hurt you if your conscience is clean. I didn't watch it and won't probably do it but I heard many self-proclaimed "patriots" started crying because it seems the movie attacks our troops.

When you have a position of authority and power such as that of our troops you need to have some kind of accountability; otherwise, you will lose yourself in the process. If that was the intent in releasing this movie, they we all should welcome it.

[sprrs]

This is my favorite Mark Cuban funded movie:

http://images.zlio.com/product/large/8063635.jpg

[DubMcDub]

Both ! shit this is news to me. I dont even know what to say. What do Mavs fans have to say about this?

I've spoken with Cuban (not too extensively, but enough for him to fill me in on his philosophy as a film producer) about how he approaches these things.

Basically, there is very little in terms of subject matter that he will pre-emptively blackball. He mentioned the only film he's ever failed to green light because he was uncomfortable with the subject matter was a film centered on beastiality. He feels that film is an art and that art often necessarily concerns sensitive, or possibly even offensive subject matter.

As for how I feel, Cuban's approach is absolutely, 110% correct. The great thing about independent filmmakers is that they don't feel the same pressures as the Hollywood guys to stick to "p.c." topics. Cuban is just trying to further that cause by making sure any film gets its due consideration from him.

[Geezerballer]

You come across like a moron. If US marines commited crimes they have to be punished. Period. How can you say you defend freedom and liberty if you commit the same crimes you are supposed to fight? This movie shouldn't hurt you if your conscience is clean. I didn't watch it and won't probably do it but I heard many self-proclaimed "patriots" started crying because it seems the movie attacks our troops.


OK Dipshit let's review,

The evil bastards who committed this crime were tried and convicted by the US Military. Two of them were sentenced to death! WTF else do you want? A sensationalist movie that helps keep the Arab world fired up to punish the "Great Satan"? Yea, that'll teach em.

I am not a "self-proclaimed patriot" but I am a former Army Officer and I didn't say this movie "attacks our troops", I said it provides graphic footage that can be cut and played to impressionable muslims to help inspire more violence against our troops.

One more thing, I never said we have soldiers in Iraq to "defend freedom and liberty". We are there because that's where the oil is and we need it to maintain our economy and way of life. Even so, the soldiers and Marines there are the sons and brothers of your neighbors and this movie will inspire more fanatics to try to kill them. It's an unecessary and irresponsible risk by a coddled billionare jocksniffer.

[JustSpurs]

Cuban Funds alot of stuff: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2929_Entertainment

[Dalhoop]

This is really simple. You can take any movie made in the US, cut and splice it to be something that is anti-American and not what was intended. the actual content of the movie is not important, only that if yo want you can do it to any movie.

Will it be done? I don't see why. All they have to do is bring back some footage of the bomb that landed in the school, maybe some footage of the bodies of children ... You see humans know what is a work of fiction and what is fact.

The terrorist know that a rape happened, but do they really have to look that far back in time to find something to be mad about us at? A US made movie? Went all they have to do is turn on one of the hundreds of anti-American television channels to see something newer?

People do not blow themselves up because some woman got raped, they blow themselves up because they are disenchanted with the way life is going for them and see martyr as a way out. They join the Jihad movement not because a woman was raped, but because an enemy army is occupying their country and they have no way to fight back.

It an American movie worth blowing yourself up over, or are the events that are actually happening in their country more worthy?

[SpurOutofTownFan]

One more thing, I never said we have soldiers in Iraq to "defend freedom and liberty". We are there because that's where the oil is and we need it to maintain our economy and way of life. Even so, the soldiers and Marines there are the sons and brothers of your neighbors and this movie will inspire more fanatics to try to kill them. It's an unecessary and irresponsible risk by a coddled billionare jocksniffer.

Well! thank you for saying it that way! Now we can start understanding each other - at least this is coming from an officer which is good. So we arent over there to defend freedom and liberty which is very true but we are there because of oil, something everybody knows but doesn't care to admit. Now the problem starts here: "we need it to maintain our economy and way of life". THat's where the whole wrong starts. Think about it.

Anyway, it's just sad that our soldiers are dying for this cause altogether. It's pathetic.

[remingtonbo2001]

Well! thank you for saying it that way! Now we can start understanding each other - at least this is coming from an officer which is good. So we arent over there to defend freedom and liberty which is very true but we are there because of oil, something everybody knows but doesn't care to admit. Now the problem starts here: "we need it to maintain our economy and way of life". THat's where the whole wrong starts. Think about it.

Anyway, it's just sad that our soldiers are dying for this cause altogether. It's pathetic.

Unfortunately, a vast proportion of the nation has a simplistic view of the Iraqi conflict, as with the War on Terrorism. (Regardless of political affiliation) Are we there to secure and spread democracy to nations deprived of such? Yes. Does democracy ensure freedom? No. An example of this would be the elections held in Palistine only a short time ago. Is the U.S. government recieving Iraqi oil as payment. Yes. This is to help fund military action taking place in Iraq.

Another perspective is stategic placement. What country is between Iraq and Afganastan?

Iran.

Iran is a threat to globalized democracy and to the stability within the region.

History would indicate that this region has been unstable for a lengthy period of time. So, concluding that such violence is the cause of the U.S. military occupation of Iraq is quite ignorant.

However, I will agree that it is more than a possibility that our military occupation may led to the further progression of such violence . But, honestly, this shit wasn't going to resolved on it's own. I think 1,000 years is more than enough time to settle your differences. It was past due someone step in and fix the situation.