Who wants to go to the movies? Well, here is an interview I recently did with John Cusack about his new film War Inc., and contest information if you want to go to the screening - courtesy Raw Story... follow me after the flip...
Here are some snips from the interview and info regarding the upcoming screening:
Actor, writer, director John Cusack has a lot to say about the Iraq war and the current state of US politics. Although he frequently uses such forums as the Huffington Post to express his criticism of the Bush administration, it is in his new film, "War Inc." in which he really pulls out all the stops to shine a damningly aggressive light on the privatization of war.
Cusack sat down with Raw Story's Larisa Alexandrovna to discuss the film, his political views, and his take on the state of mainstream media, which he feels has failed in its role as the public watchdog.
"I think in a way you can almost respect the criminals more than the enablers in some sick way -- I mean, I think what the Bush administration has done is criminal, should be treated as a crime, but the idea that people who call themselves journalists let these lies go on unchecked and endorsed them time and time again is [unpardonable]. Don't get me wrong, I think great journalism is heroic, I am in awe of great journalists."
--snip--
"War Inc., is not subtle as far as satire goes, but it is precisely the sledgehammer hit, the "shock" of the totally outlandish and suffocating all-over the place bombing of the viewer's senses that makes the film a truly onomatopoeic visual to the audacious crimes it is ridiculing on screen.
The plot revolves around a corporate hit-man , Brand Hauser (Cusack) who is hired by a corrupt US defense contractor called Tamerlane to assassinate the oil minister of a fictional Middle Eastern country called Turaqistan, which has been invaded by the United States. Tamerlane's CEO is a former United States Vice President, played brilliantly by Dan Aykroyd, and obviously based on the current real life Vice President and former Halliburton CEO, Dick Cheney.
Asked what Cusack would say to Vice President Dick Cheney if he had the opportunity, Cusack responds, "You have the right to remain silent."
Now for some snips of the interview:
"Raw Story’s Larisa Alexandrovna: So what made you want to make a film? I mean what possessed you to wake up one day and say to yourself I want to make a dark comedy about the Iraq war and corporate greed?
John Cusack: Well, I think there is like a great tradition of satire or absurdist comedy that mocks and tries to take down power elites and orthodoxies whether it’s the church or the aristocracy or the state. It is not really a new idea ... for example the carnival, or the Marx Brothers, Preston Sturges, Terry Southern, [Bertolt] Brecht... are all obviously great influences ...
RS: Is Terry Gilliam an influence here? Because stylistically War Inc., resembles that sort of gritty visual that combines a WWII-era setting, that is actually taking place in some detached and random future where technology has advanced significantly, but society is still set in the past, like in his classic Brazil...
JC: Oh yes, absolutely and even [Franz] Kafka. There is so much... I would even say the incendiary political cartoons of George Grosz or the writings of Hunter S. Thompson... there are so many influences and traditions of this type of thought, satire with teeth or comedy as serious business to escape and laugh at things that are not supposed to be funny. It is supposed to make you think but not overtly. You are not sure if you should be laughing or what it means to laugh.
--snip--
RS: And the mask or the will to go on to do what he does is located in this drink you have him constantly imbibing in the film, "Donny Loo's Fever Juice". Is that the point of the drink, as a transformative device?
JC: We thought it would be really funny that he has this thing that he takes that blocks out but also gives him a kick start. It’s a public show, a test too. Remember [Watergate burglar] G. Gordon Liddy used to put a flame to his arm, to burn his flesh to prove that he still had the discipline kind of thing...
RS: At parties no less...
JC: Really?
RS:: Yeah, he would stand around at parties and put his hand over a candle, holding it there without flinching. Or at least that is what Deep Throat tells us in All the President’s Men [Pulitzer Prize winning book about Watergate by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein]. Yes, it is one hell of a party trick for a sociopath.
JC: [laughs] So this is our G. Gordon Liddy party trick. I mean it was for him, Hauser, that he does it and it is this mixture of jet propulsion and self flagellation...
--snip--
JC: I think in a way you can almost respect the criminals more than the enablers in some sick way...I mean, I think what the Bush administration has done is criminal, should be treated as a crime, but the idea that people who call themselves journalists let these lies go on unchecked and endorsed them time and time again is [unpardonable]... Don’t get me wrong, I think great journalism is heroic, I am in awe of great journalists. But the criminals... Like the other day it was on TV that Bush had admitted to approving meetings in the White House about enhanced interrogation techniques...
RS: You mean torture...
JC: Well yes, that is where I was going...
RS: [Laughs] Sure, sure.
JC: Those are the semiotics...
RS: State sanctioned even...
JC: Right. And so here you have the President of the United States admitting on television that he not only authorized torture but has made it a for-profit industry. So at least he, these people, have the courage to be the criminals that they are. The media, the journalists... nothing, no follow-up questions. You can see them going, "Oh let’s just go back to talking about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama" and considering how to knee-cap them both, or talking about how Obama is or is not an elitist. Don’t get me wrong, I am not making a blanket condemnation of all journalists...
RS: Yes, well thank you.
Go read the whole thing over at Raw Story. Here are the contest details and you need to enter your limerick over there:
Enter contest to attend screening with film's writers!
War Inc., is being shown at two screenings on May 19. One screening in New York will be attended by two of the writers on the film Mark Leyner and Jeremy Pikser. Air America’s Rachel Maddow will be on hand for a Q&A following the screening. And Raw Story’s Larisa Alexandrovna and Lindsay Beyerstein will be attending.
The show starts at 7:30 PM EST at:
New York Film Academy 100 E. 17th Street New York, NY 10003
The second screening is in Los Angeles, also on May 19 and starts at 7:30 PM PST at:
Laemmle Music Hall 3 903t6 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Do you want to attend either screening for free?
If you want to attend either of the screenings for free all you have to do is write a limerick about the Iraq war in the comments section for the interview and indicate which screening you want to attend. We will pick winners based on their limerick writing abilities only (so no paying off the judges). Be on your best behavior because John Cusack will be reading your comments (just like the NSA is probably already doing). Good luck!