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‘Battle in Seattle’: Interview with Actor/Director Stuart Townsend |
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The new film “Battle in Seattle” opened yesterday in selected theaters around the country. What makes this film unique is that it celebrates the power, solidarity and commitment of union members and other activists to create a better world.
If the initial two-week limited release attracts a large audience, the film will be distributed nationwide.
Actor Stuart Townsend, who wrote and directed the film, says, in a Point of View column on the AFL-CIO website, he wants the movie to motivate people to take action against a global economy that is not working for ordinary people.
I want to inspire a new generation to look at these groups and activists that stood up together and actually shut something down. Ultimately, it’s about empowerment of individuals. I hope that kind of solidarity inspires people to go and do the same thing.
The movie depicts the massive 1999 demonstrations that brought to light the need for open trade talks that include workers’ rights, human rights and protections for the environment. The full DVD version includes interviews with AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, United Steelworkers (USW) President Leo Gerard, Machinists (IAM) President Tom Buffenbarger and Teamsters (IBT) President James Hoffa, all key figures in the 1999 march.
This is a movie that Hollywood did not want to be made, Townsend says. So it’s up to working people to make the movie a success.
We have to keep this film out there for the first two weeks [after it premiers Sept. 19]. If people go out to see the film in those first two weeks, then we get to go nationwide.
The movie, which features a star-filled cast with Woody Harrelson, Charlize Theron, Andre Benjamin, Ray Liotta and others, opens Sept. 19 in Minneapolis; New York; San Francisco; San Rafael, Calif.; Seattle; and Washington, D.C. On Sept. 26, it begins playing in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Sacramento, Calif. On Oct. 3, it hits Denver; Nashville, Tenn.; Philadelphia; Plano, Texas; and Santa Barbara, Calif. On Oct. 10, it opens in Olympia, Wash. To find out what theater in your area is showing the movie, click here or call 1-866-758-1258.
Gerard says this movie is labor’s story:
It’s rare for a feature film to celebrate union power—or how activists of any stripe can trounce the world’s largest corporations.
Just like we organized turnout at the Seattle protests—telling our friends, posting information in our union halls, sending out e-mails and fliers—we can create another Seattle surprise! The fat cats in the big Hollywood studios are just like those CEOs sitting pretty the day before the Seattle summit started. I urge you to see the film and bring your friends, family and union brothers and sisters.
Townsend hopes the movie sparks debate and makes people think about the impact the global economy has on our everyday lives.
The movie is about solidarity and it’s a film you can talk about afterwards. At the end of the movie, there’s kind of a global montage of protests of people protesting all over the world. You don’t hear about these protests in the mainstream media. It’s a very powerful thing to see. All these different people out there protesting the same power, the same system that doesn’t seem to work for anybody.
Click here to read the full interview with Townsend.
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