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9/11 policemen join Oliver Stone in France for 'timely' film launch
2006-09-02
US film director Oliver Stone presented his emotional tale of the September 11 terror attacks on New York to French film-goers, joined by the two policemen whose extraordinary ordeal the film documents. Despite its mixed reception the day before at the Venice Film Festival, Stone told journalists at the film's French premiere on Saturday, nine days before the fifth anniversary of the attacks, that the film was timely. "From my point of view, it's time because the consequences of that day in the United States are far worse now," Stone said. "That day is gone. Now we have far more death, far more terror and constitution breakdown." Set on the day when Al-Qaeda terrorists flew hijacked passenger jets into buildings including the twin towers of New York's World Trade Centre, the film focuses on the real-life experiences of two policemen who survived being caught up in the attack. Stone was accompanied, on the second day of the festival of US films in this northwestern French seaside resort, by the two men themselves, John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno. "It's done accurately, that's why it's so emotional," said McLoughlin, who still walks with a limp from an injury he sustained when he was trapped under the rubble of the World Trade Centre (WTC) as he tried to help victims. "I broke down because it's so emotional," McLoughlin, who is played by the actor Nicholas Cage, said of the film. Jimeno supported the view of Stone, who has drawn fire from critics who say the 2001 attacks are too recent to be used as the subject of a film. "As a survivor, I think it's never too soon to honour the memory of the people who gave their life," Jimeno said. "When they attacked WTC, they didn't attack (just) the USA, but the world." Almost 3,000 people were killed in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania by the September 11 attacks, which were claimed by the leader of the Al-Qaeda network, Osama bin Laden. "The film was not about politics. We were looking for the metaphysical aspects that kept them (the policemen) alive," Stone said. "It's less about the tragedy of that day than the ability of human spirit to survive," added Maria Bello, the actress who plays McLoughlin's wife. The film opened in the United States on August 9 and made 60 million dollars (47 million euros) in three weeks at the box office, according to Stone, who said the film had received critical success despite some scathing reviews. "I had my best reviews in the US since 'Platoon'," the director added, referring to his 1986 picture about the horrors of the Vietnam war. Stone has won three Oscars, including best director for "Platoon" and another war film, "Born on the Fourth of July."
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