"Cold Mountain" Boycott (Long)

[McDuck 0]

My agent sent me this, so I thought I would share it with the crowd:

"Cold Mountain," the highly-promoted movie based on the best-selling novel, opens Christmas Day. Americans need to know that this film, set in Virginia and North Carolina against the background of the Civil War, the most wrenching period in our history and a time whose impact is still felt today, was shot almost entirely in Romania.

In a recent interview on the ABC newsmagazine show "20/20," Anthony Minghella, director of "Cold Mountain" and partner (with Sydney Pollack) in Mirage Enterprises, one of the film's producer, told Barbara Walters he shot the film in Romania because he had looked at locations all over the American South and could not find any large expanses which "had not been touched by the twentieth and twenty-first centuries." Anyone familiar with Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia knows that that is completely untrue. What is true is that wages for workers in Romania are considerably less than wages anywhere in America. Interestingly enough, the producers of "The Patriot," the Mel Gibson movie set during the Revolutionary War, were able to find plenty of places in South Carolina which were apparently untouched by the nineteenth century as well as modern times.

There is currently a great deal of discussion about outsourcing and its impact on our economy. We are outraged that many companies have exported their customer service and technical support jobs to English-speaking foreign countries or that American furniture manufacturers now send American hardwoods to China to be made into furniture for the American market instead of making it domestically.

"Cold Mountain" is no different. This movie represents many hundreds of jobs, not just in Hollywood, but in the well-established communities of film workers throughout the Southeast and in the cities and towns in the region whose stores, restaurants, hotels and countless other small businesses would have benefited had it been shot in the part of our country where it is supposed to take place.

When such an American story is taken away from its roots it loses its soul. Those who have already seen the film and know the South say that Romania does not really look like the Blue Ridge Mountains, and have observed other discrepancies as well. Daily Variety's December 8, 2003 review of "Cold Mountain" says it best: ". . . there is an intangible something missing . . . . It's impossible to say ether this stems from the fact that the film was mostly shot in Romania, from its being made mostly by foreigners, or from the variability of the accents by a significantly Anglo-Aussie cast, but there's something of a void at the bottom of things where bedrock ought to be."

You can send a message that these economic losses and artistic choices compromised in the name of saving money are not acceptable to Americans. Do not contribute to "Cold Mountain" profiting literally at your expense by buying a ticket (or buying the DVD or renting the cassette when they become available.) Because of its ripple effect throughout the economy, even if you are not directly employed in the film industry your job could still be ultimately impacted.

You can also send a message directly to the people responsible for the decision to take the production of this most American story and the many jobs it generated to a completely foreign country by writing the producers of "Cold Mountain:"
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PM me if you want the names and addresses of the people and companies you can write to.

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

[PhillyKev 0]

I'm not a fan of boycotts. If it's something worthwhile for me, and there's not some really disturbing reason to boycott that would make me feel ashamed not to, I won't. Plus they don't work that often anyway.

That being said, his excuse is a crock of shit. I've driven through almost every square inch of real estate east of the mississippi, and there's plenty of locations available. Hell, if it came down to it, Valley Forge Park, 20 miles from Philadelphia, could be used.

[Lee03 0]

Welcome to globalization, world socialism/communism, one world government and the New World order! Jobs cannot be found in this country because they have all been sent overseas! This is just more proof of it!

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To put your life in danger from time to time ... breeds a saneness in dealing with day-to-day trivialities.

--Nevil Shute, Slide Rule

[Mirage63 0]

Hollywood needs to be really upset about this, I mean if a manufacture takes jobs out of the country it's a crime-but when the movie industy does nobody (much) says a word.

Makes you wonder

[DivaSkyChick 0]

Okay, I'm soooo going to get flamed for this but haha, I have very little access to a computer this week so I prolly won't get to read the hate letters! lol

So here's my thought. If we look at the world as full of human beings, all presumably deserving of human rights and the right to pursue a living and raise families, etc., what makes us as Americans more worthy of gettings jobs - even from American owned companies? We want free markets so that we can sell American goods overseas without undue taxation, so why should we be against the free market of labor? It seems we are all for globalization as long as it benefits America, but not when it benefits anyone else. Romanians are not the enemy, they're humans trying to make a living.

There was a time when labor was cheap in America. Evolution happens. If we are not able to compete for cheap labor, we need to evolve to provide better technology, better services, better something. Because no amount of boycotting is going to change the fact that it's cheaper to make a movie in Arkansas than California, and cheaper still to do it in Canada, and cheaper yet again to do it in Romania. I say, don't get mad, get better.

It's just a thought. Merry Christmas from your friendly neighborhood liberal!

---
www.facebook.com/mandyhamptonfitch

[Mirage63 0]

well my point was more to the fact of a double standard in Hollywood. If it's cheaper elsewhere-go there and do the movie. But when the Hollywood elite bitch and moan about other companies going over sea's they need to clean up there bed room.

Merry Christmas

[sdgregory 0]

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It seems we are all for globalization as long as it benefits America, but not when it benefits anyone else.

I am not for globalization. I believe we should stay a world of independent nations. Screw the UN. Screw jobs leaving overseas. Screw this whole We are all on the same planet mentally!

American companies enjoy being in MAerica keep their jobs in America. Charity begins at home. You want to send your labor to another country, then you go live in that country and give all your resources to improving it. Do not send your labor over their and then sit over here and live your fat life. It is not about anything but lining some bonehead's pockets who has nothing better to do than think "How can I squeeze another dollar out of honest people's pockets and stuff them in my own."

And blah blah blah, blah blah. Hmmmph grumble blah. Woofa wolla blah. Blah Blah blah. Blah. Blah lah blah blah blah. Hookitt's a fucker. Blah blah blah, blah. Wollp hunk flah. Blah blah blah. Enough said

[wzettler 0]

you said that it was "mostly shot in Romania." Do you know where the rest of it was shot? I would be interested in the percentages of where the film was shot by location. My sister lives in Charleston SC and she saw a good deal of Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, etc during the shooting of the movie. I agree that the movies should have been totally shot in this country, but if you have any info about how much was shot here vs other countries, I would be interested to know...

I think when Jesus said "love your enemy" he probably meant don't kill them.

[happythoughts 0]

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I say, don't get mad, get better.

College educated software contractors. Hourly rate in the US, $35 an hour. Indians in the US? When they come here? $25 an hour. The person doesn't make more, the contract firm takes an extra $10 for cutting our throats. Worse yet? They stay in India for $11 an hour. I've got 20 years experience, I am the best. No one cares. They go for the cheap option.

Bank of America loan department call center - India.
AOL help desk call center - India.
Title searches - Singapore.
Engineering departments of US universities trying to pull in Indian students? - take a guess.

Here is the deal. There is no jobs at the bottom. Entry level call center jobs for $10 an hour are going overseas. People in the US can't find entry level jobs.

Any college level job is also going overseas.

If you have no job at the bottom or the middle, where do you expect to work?

You have an industry that won't go overseas?
Who is going to buy your product? Other people have to have jobs in order to spend money.

If I don't have a job? I don't buy. Then the people that I used to buy from don't have jobs.

TVs, stereos? No electronics jobs here.

[base698 20]

Hopefully they won't outsource riggers soon

[flyangel2 2]

I say "What's wrong with letting the Romanian people put money in their wallet?"

So, in your Christmas shopping, you weren't looking for the best price? If the director could get a better price, then why shouldn't he be able to? Those people need the money too.

I for one am looking forward to seeing the movie, the book was great.

Let the flaming begin.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[Push 0]

Keep in mind also that, more than likely, they need a particular type of terrain. It is more than possible that the terrain they need is simply unavailable in the US. Or, like oil, it's available but reserved.

BTW, lots of American movies are shot in downtown Toronto because it looks the same and is cheaper. Why don't you complain about those?

-- Toggle Whippin' Yahoo
Skydiving is easy. All you have to do is relax while plummetting at 120 mph from 10,000' with nothing but some nylon and webbing to save you.

[payback462 0]

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lots of American movies are shot in downtown Toronto

BLAME CANADA!!!

its all their fault!

[Remster 30]

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American companies enjoy being in MAerica keep their jobs in America.

BULL!

Remster

[billvon 3,072]

Hmm. I think this happens a lot. MASH was filmed in Southern California. A lot of movies are filmed nowadays in India. Ford imports some of its cars; many Hondas are made in Ohio. I had an odd experience in a Circuit City a while back - I was watching "Pearl Harbor" on a bigscreen TV, and listening to two older men as they watched.

"My father was at Pearl Harbor that day," said one. "It's hard to believe that was over 60 years ago."

"It's hard to believe we're watching it on a Japanese TV," said the other one. Yep.

It's all part of having a global economy, I think. If we want other countries to buy from us, we have to buy from them. Sometimes it's oil, sometimes it's electronics, sometimes it's movies. A phone I designed a while back had a circuit board made in the US, a battery pack made in Mexico, battery cells made in Ireland, a charger made in China, and an LCD made in Japan. It's hard to get away from that nowadays.

[newsstand 0]

In the past we bitched about products from Japan then Taiwan and Korea, now the Caribbean, China, India, you name it. Do I think it sucks, yes, but as long as we let Wal-Mart and other deep discounters drive the economy that is what is going to happen. I really have to laugh when I hear about how the Mexican economy is suffering because of NAFTA, which was supposed to be a big boost for them. Now many Mexican farmers can't compete with the subsidized American farm products. So we bitch when manufacturing jobs go south but we don't seem to care when our farms wipe out their farms.

"Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at evening."
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes

[MagicLou 0]

Quote

Quote

lots of American movies are shot in downtown Toronto

BLAME CANADA!!!

its all their fault!

How many times do we have to apologize for Brian Adams ? (or Celine Dion)

Lou
___________________________________
. . . now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb - Dark Helmet

[Remster 30]

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or Celine Dion

never enough.....

Remster

[usedtajump 1]

I have a farm in Kentucky that would've been a great location for this movie and they never contacted me, dammit!! Would've made 'em a smokin' deal, too.

Just went to the theatre 2 hours ago to see "Cold Mountain" and it was already sold out on 2 screens when we got there. Guess the boycott needs a bigger push.

The older I get the less I care who I piss off.

[DJL 235]

The production group probably just got it in their head that they were going to do it in Romania and didn't look back. There are plenty of big name American Era movies that took advantage of US land AND US towns. For example, Sommersby. Several parts were filmed in Lexington, VA. A quaint town, but having spent several college years there, I know that they had to do a lot of work to hide, for starters, the paved roads and traffic lights, non of this (I think) was done digitally. I know for fact that they laid soil over the roads.

Here's another (although I really don't care). Last of the Mohicans was supposed to be near Lake Champlain but was mostly done in the Carolinas. Hey, at least it was

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[tunaplanet 0]

Not really sure this post was neccessary. Anyways, there is nothing wrong with a movie going to another country to shoot it. Budgets are critical for movies and shooting scenes overseas is cheaper. This is nothing new. Many American movies are filmed overseas.

People are extremely hypocritical. They want to boycott a movie because it wasn't filmed over here, but I bet the same people drive foreign cars and have gobs of electronics at home from other countries.

It's like the old saying goes. "If people aren't bitching they aren't breathing."

Why must people want to stir the hornet's nest every chance they get. Eat a twinkie, smoke a joint and go to bed.

Forty-two

[DJL 235]

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I bet the same people drive foreign cars

Forgot to say, "...or drive domestiic and don't admit that the quality sucks."

I didn't see the movie or even read most of the first post but I'm surprised they filmed it there for the reasons they stated. I don't have a problem with it, just think that if that's really the reason then they don't know what they're talking about.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[misskriss 0]

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Eat a twinkie, smoke a joint and go to bed.

the world would be so much better if everyone did this....

[smiles 0]

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Eat a twinkie, smoke a joint and go to bed.

thats...
smoke a joint
eat a twinkie and go to bed.

SMiles

[Nightingale 0]

virtually every movie out there is filmed at least in part somewhere else. If you want to boycott movies that are filmed outside the US, boycott every single major movie.

The US is becoming more and more industrialized. It is VERY difficult to find large open spaces that permit filming. Getting permits to film on government land, especially a national park, which contain a lot of the wide open spaces that are left, is extraordinarily difficult.