Sun Jan 23, 2005

Even a documentary pays the price of involvement in Iraq

The Age
By Craig Mathieson

It seems that nothing ever runs smoothly, or turns out as expected, when David O. Russell is involved. The maverick film director, whose slapstick philosophical treatise I ¢¾ Huckabees is now in cinemas, has turned a minor DVD extra into a political talking point on the American invasion of Iraq.

Notoriety is nothing new to Russell. Actor George Clooney described him as, "insane to the point of stupidity" while recalling an incident on the set of Russell's third feature, 1999's Three Kings, which ended with the pair in a fistfight. On the set of Huckabees his frenetic, impassioned shooting style saw him urge Australian actor Naomi Watts to "get crazy, you bitch!" Watts construed it as playful banter and has been full of praise for Russell.

His 35-minute documentary is called Soldiers Pay. Warner Bros commissioned it in 2004, with the Hollywood film studio viewing it as an interesting addition to the DVD re-release of Three Kings. An acerbic, irreverent drama set during the first Gulf War, Three Kings has become a cult classic and the 46-year-old auteur's anarchic, pessimistic take on the liberation of Kuwait is now considered prescient. More...

Posted on Jan 23, 05 | 9:04 pm | Permalink | Three Kings

Mon Nov 01, 2004

'Three Kings' director looks at Iraq war

CNN
David O. Russell documentary to air on IFC on Election Eve By Stephanie Snipes

(CNN) -- In 1999, director David O. Russell showed the world a different side of battle in "Three Kings," a film set during the first Persian Gulf War.

The film tells the story of four frustrated soldiers (George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube and Spike Jonze) serving in Iraq who set out to steal Kuwaiti gold originally stolen by the Iraqis. Clooney and his colleagues are looking for a little something extra for their service, but they get tangled in the chaos of the postwar period.

With the current Iraq war making the film relevant again, Warner Bros. -- the film's studio and, like CNN.com, a division of Time Warner -- planned a rerelease of "Three Kings" in theaters and DVD.

With no additional footage from the film available for DVD bonus features, Russell joined with directors Tricia Regan and Juan Carlos Zaldivar to make a new documentary called "Soldiers Pay," about the current war, to be added to the DVD. (The title is a reference to William Faulkner's first novel, called "Soldiers' Pay," which concerns World War I and its aftermath.)
More...

Posted on Nov 01, 04 | 2:08 pm | Permalink | Three Kings

Director struggled for film's release

Boston Globe
By Rhonda Stewart, Globe Staff | November 1, 2004

Director David O. Russell's work is getting plenty of attention with the release of ''I [Heart] Huckabees," but he's equally passionate about ''Soldiers Pay," one of his films that almost didn't see the light of day.

Russell had hoped to release the 35-minute documentary on a DVD rerelease of his earlier Gulf War drama ''Three Kings" before the presidential election. But the Warner Bros. studio refused to release the film.

For ''Soldiers Pay" -- which airs on IFC tonight and has been showing at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline -- Russell, along with codirectors Tricia Regan and Juan Carlos Zaldivar, interviewed soldiers, politicians, journalists, and Iraqis who appeared in ''Three Kings" about their opinions of the war. More...

Posted on Nov 01, 04 | 2:06 pm | Permalink | Three Kings

Thu Oct 28, 2004

Russell wants ‘Soldiers Pay’ to make a difference

MSNBC
The film airs for the first time on election eve on IFC By John Hartl

Disney refused to distribute Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11.” Wal-Mart won’t place Jon Stewart’s current No. 1 best-seller, “America (The Book),” on its shelves. And now Warner Bros. is declining to release David O. Russell’s potent new documentary about Iraq, “Soldiers Pay.”

Is this a free country or what?

Actually, all three are available anyway. Moore’s movie was successfully distributed by another company, and it’s now a DVD smash. Most book stores carry “America.” And Russell’s film, which has had limited theatrical play through a small company, will probably reach its widest audience when it turns up on the Independent Film Channel (http://www.ifctv.com), at 9:35 p.m. and midnight (ET) on Election Eve (Nov. 1).

According to Russell, the deal was made less than two weeks before the IFC showing. It doesn’t appear on monthly cable schedules, which are printed too far in advance.

Trying to ‘make a difference’
The ambiguously titled “Soldiers Pay,” which focuses on the sacrifices of participants in the second Iraq war, started life as a DVD supplement to a reissue of Russell’s 1999 Gulf War classic, “Three Kings.” He began shooting in June and finished the documentary in August, when someone at Warners spotted a New York Times interview with Russell.

“I thought I could perhaps make a difference before the election, let people see the situation, how Iraqis wanted to get rid of Saddam, but also show what war does to people,” Russell told The Times. Warner Bros. instantly decided the 35-minute movie was too political and dropped it.

“They hadn’t even seen the film, which is not inflammatory,” said Russell in a phone interview. “They had asked me if I had any ideas for extras [for the DVD], and I proposed that we talk to some vets and others who had been directly involved, including some actors from ‘Three Kings’ who have since become U.S. citizens.”

He was also intrigued by a newspaper story about American soldiers, including Supply Sergeant Matt Novak, who had discovered millions of dollars in gold and cash in Iraq last year. The plot of “Three Kings” revolves around three soldiers who find Iraqi gold during the 1991 war. More...

Posted on Oct 28, 04 | 3:58 pm | Permalink | Three Kings

Wed Oct 27, 2004

Soldiers Pay on IFC Election Eve

IFC
It airs at 9:35pm, 12am, and 2:15am ET

Also check out Soldiers Pay's official site!

Posted on Oct 27, 04 | 7:36 pm | Permalink | Three Kings

Tue Oct 26, 2004

IFC Celebrates First Amendment on Election Eve, with "Soldiers Pay" and a "Fahrenheit" Special

Indiewire
by Shilpa Mankikar

While voters prepare to line up at nationwide voting booths, the Independent Film Channel will cast its ballot for freedom of speech and documentary film on Monday night. IFC's pre-election programming comes to a grand finale with "Soldiers Pay," the 35-minute documentary from David O. Russell ("I ♥ Huckabees"). The film was originally shot as an extra for the intended DVD re-release of his Gulf War film "Three Kings" (1999). After Warner Brothers balked on the controversial election season release in August, Cinema Libre picked up the documentary in time for an October theatrical debut and now there will be a national IFC broadcast on the eve of the presidential election. Other IFC election picks include "The War Room" and "Fahrenheit 9/11: A Movement in Time."

"Soldiers Pay" was directed by David O. Russell, Tricia Regan, and Juan Carlos Zaldîvar, made for $207,000 in 6 weeks. Voices included in the doc range from Persian Gulf Veterans, Iraqis who rose up against Saddam Hussain after the Gulf War, journalists, psychologists, and a two-star general who led the Marines to victory in the Gulf. On August 16th, Russell was quoted in the New York Times, saying, "I thought I could perhaps make a difference before the election, let people see the situation, how Iraqis wanted to get rid of Saddam, but also show what war does to people." Those comments were enough to raise the hackles of studio lawyers and Warner Brothers quickly dropped both "Soldier's Pay" and the entire "Three Kings" re-release project, returning the rights to the filmmakers who pursued the deal with Cinema Libre.

"Soldiers Pay" will air with "The War Room" (1992), legendary documentarian D.A. Pennebaker's first foray back into political documentary since 1977. Pennebaker followed Clinton's 1992 election campaign, focusing on the adventures of spin doctors and strategists James Carville and George Stephanopoulos. The campaign managers try to stay on top of a maelstrom of events - from scandals (Gennifer Flowers) to the rise of quixotic spoiler Ross Perot. They also develop catch phrases, "It's the Economy, Stupid!" and veer the domestic policy debate in favor of Clinton. More...

Posted on Oct 26, 04 | 8:36 am | Permalink | Three Kings

Mon Oct 11, 2004

Soldiers Pay to Woodstock Film Festival

Variety via Yahoo
Back to the garden BY ANTHONY KAUFMAN

(Variety) Synonymous with three days of peace and music during the epochal summer of 1969, Woodstock still survives as an arts colony in upstate New York. And if the organizers of the Woodstock Film Festival (Oct. 13-17) have their way, this rustic upstate burg will become equally known as a stress-free showcase for music-related films and offbeat indie offerings.

Now in its fifth year, the WFF is coming into its own as a cultural haven for local celebrities, weekend getaway for Gotham industry insiders and significant event on the film calendar.

"We're proud to have the tagline, 'fiercely independent,' " says Woodstock co-founder and executive director Meira Blaustein. Citing the fest's fifth Honorary Maverick tributee Mira Nair, Blaustein adds, "We embrace filmmakers that have an independent spirit and do work their own way."

This year, the festival is living up to its rebel roots with a political program. In a programming coup, the WFF landed the fest premiere of David O. Russell's 35-minute Iraq (news - web sites) docu "Soldiers Pay," which was dropped by Warner Bros. for fear of its anti-war content.

"David O. Russell has a kinship to the area," Blaustein says. "And the film deserves to be shown, and what better arena than Woodstock, less than three weeks before the national election and in a place known for its progressive thinking and social awareness."

Posted on Oct 11, 04 | 6:10 pm | Permalink | Three Kings

Fri Oct 08, 2004

'Three Kings' Director Says Warner Nixed DVD Due To Politics

MTV News
He'd wanted special edition with anti-war documentary out before election.

Filmmaker David O. Russell was set for a fall release of a special-edition DVD pairing his 1999 Gulf War film, "Three Kings," with an anti-war documentary he directed called "Soldiers Pay." Instead, he received a surprising bit of news from Warner Bros., the studio behind "Three Kings."

"Once I said in The New York Times that I hoped it would be released before the election, Warner Bros. said, 'Not from Warner Bros. — it won't be released at all by Warner Bros.,' " recalled the director, who is currently in theaters with "I Heart Huckabees". "They canceled their plans to release 'Three Kings' before the election, so now 'Soldiers Pay' is being released by Cinema Libre."

The 35-minute anti-war documentary features interviews with veterans fresh from Iraq as well as refugees, human-rights workers and even military brass. "I interviewed a two-star Republican general who has a lot of questions about this war and doesn't like it," Russell said. The documentary is currently in limited release on a double bill with "Uncovered: The War on Iraq." Both will hit stores on DVD on October 19.

But even without "Soldiers Pay" attached to it, Russell isn't optimistic that a new DVD edition of "Three Kings" — starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube — will ever see the light of day. "They say they'll re-release 'Three Kings' after the election — they say. I don't know that they'd make 'Three Kings' today. They weren't owned by AOL five years ago, and they were more independent. I went to them and said, 'Are we really going to make this movie?' And they said, 'We make Oliver Stone movies; we're not afraid of this.' I haven't seen too many of those movies coming out of Warner Bros. lately."

— Tanya L. Edwards

Posted on Oct 08, 04 | 1:55 pm | Permalink | Three Kings

Russell's 'Soldier's Pay' a commentary on Iraq war

Philadelphia Daily News
By GARY THOMPSON
thompsg@phillynews.com

David O. Russell's "Three Kings" is the rare Hollywood movie so well-made and provocative it's still a hot potato six years after its release.

Russell was reminded of this a few months ago when he lerned that Warner Bros. would release "Three Kings" on DVD, but not the 35-minute documentary that Russell made to go with it - "Soldier's Pay" canvasses U.S. soldiers, Iraqis and aid workers to assess the situation there.

"These guys have a lot of questions about the way the war has been handled and that's why I don't think Warner Bros. was comfortable with it," said Russell, whose newest theatrical release, "I Huckabees," hits area screens today.

Russell points out that the studio, to its credit, did not sit on the documentary. They encouraged Russell to find another distributor, and he has - Cinema Libre, which has made "Soldier's Pay" available on DVD (and is also distributing Robert Greenwald's "The Truth About the Iraq War"). More...

Posted on Oct 08, 04 | 11:11 am | Permalink | Three Kings

Tue Sep 28, 2004

Soldiers Pay at LA Sept 30th

Silver Lake Film Festival
DAVID O. RUSSELL’S CONTROVERSIAL ANTI-WAR DOCUMENTARY ‘SOLDIERS PAY’ TO PREMIERE IN LOS ANGELES DURING CLOSING NIGHT OF 2004 SILVER LAKE FILM FESTIVAL
September 30 Gala At Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood To Include Robert Greenwald’s UNCONSTITUTIONAL

LOS ANGELES – September 28, 2004 – David O. Russell’s “Soldiers Pay,” the controversial
documentary about Iraq that he directed with Tricia Regan and Juan Carlos Zaldivar, will make its Los Angeles premiere on Thursday, September 30 during the Closing Night program of the 2004 Silver Lake Film Festival. “Unconstitutional: The War On Our Civil Liberties,” a documentary indictment of the Patriot Act directed by Nonny de la Pena and executive produced by Robert Greenwald, also will screen.

Originally scheduled to be included with the DVD re-release of Russell’s Gulf War film “Three
Kings,” “Soliders Pay” was pulled by Warner Bros. when its executives reportedly objected to the film’s political content. Warner Bros. then recanted the explanation after being accused of
censorship by the director and 1st Amendment advocates, offering instead that it was logistical problems that prevented its DVD release. Subsequently, Cinema Libre Studio, the Los Angeles based independent film distributor, picked it up for both theatrical and video-DVD distribution.

“Silver Lake Film Festival is delighted to host the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Soldiers Pay’ for its
Closing Night,” said Greg Ptacek, festival director. “The film expands the arena of discussion
about the war in Iraq, an issue that will likely decide the presidential election. The information
in ‘Soldiers Pay’ is far too important to be thought of simply as a sales and marketing decision. We are honored to provide a vehicle for its dissemination.”

Made in only six weeks, “Soldiers Pay” poses the question whether the invasion and occupation of Iraq by forces led by the U.S. was a mission of democracy or a mission of profiteering. The film documents how American soldiers routinely “requisitioned” consumer items left by fleeing Iraqi citizens. In one shocking incident, a case of reality paralleling the plot of Russell’s “Three Kings,” the filmmakers speak to soldiers who had found 300 million in U.S. currency. The film includes a wide range of interviews – U.S. soldiers and officers, their Iraqi counterparts, and veterans on both sides from the prior Iraqi conflict. More...

Posted on Sep 28, 04 | 9:06 pm | Permalink | Three Kings

Mon Sep 27, 2004

Soldiers Pay

Variety
Docu 'Soldiers' on Russell pic to play alongside 'Uncovered' By GABRIEL SNYDER

After Warner Bros. declined to include David O. Russell's Iraq war documentary on an upcoming "Three Kings" DVD re-releasere-release, Cinema Libre has announced it will play the doc, titled "Soldiers Pay," in theaters on a double bill with Robert Greenwald's "Uncovered: The War on Iraq."

"Soldiers," which runs 35 minutes and was directed by Russell, Tricia Regan and Juan Carlos, will start playing in front of "Uncovered" today at San Francisco's Roxie; on Friday at the Oaks in Berkeley; and next Friday at Gotham's Quad.

Decision to play "Soldiers" is left with exhibs, but Cinema Libre's distrib head Adam Chapnick said he expects all current and future "Uncovered" engagements to add "Soldiers" to the bill.

"Uncovered" is booked on 19 screens this weekend. More...

Posted on Sep 27, 04 | 7:18 pm | Permalink | Three Kings

Wed Sep 22, 2004

Soldier's Pay has a distributor

AP Wire
Coolness it's playing near me!

Anti-war documentary by 'Three Kings' filmmaker finds distributor

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Filmmaker David O. Russell has found a distributor for a new anti-war documentary that was supposed to be featured on a new DVD of his George Clooney film "Three Kings" before Warner Bros. rejected it.

Cinema Libre Studio announced Wednesday it plans to release Russell's film, "Soldiers Pay," on a double-bill with the separate documentary "Uncovered: The War in Iraq." More...

Posted on Sep 22, 04 | 6:36 pm | Permalink | Three Kings

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