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Hollywood takes swipes at Bush

Hollywood takes swipes at Bush

HOLLYWOOD – Sunday’s Oscars was an opportunity for Hollywood stars to slam President George W Bush and the US-led war in Iraq.

The first salvo came from master of ceremonies Billy Crystal, who opened the show with a reminder about the first Oscar show he hosted 13 years ago. “Everything was so different,” the comic said.”Bush was president, the economy was tanking and we’d just finished a war with Iraq.”Of course, he was referring to the current president’s father, the first Gulf War and the economic downturn in 1991.Crystal compared his absence from the Oscars in the last few years with the controversy over accusations that Bush did not always show up for duty during his military service.”They let me come and go as I please,” Crystal said.”It’s kind of like the Texas National Guard.”Other Republicans and Bush officials were fair game.Comparing newsmakers with titles of Hollywood films, Crystal associated Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with the George Clooney flick ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’.California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who still speaks English with a heavy accent from his native Austria, was compared to Sofia Coppola’s ‘Lost in Translation’.Crystal was not the only one taking shots.Director Errol Morris, who won an Oscar for his Vietnam war documentary ‘The Fog of War’, compared the Vietnam conflict with Iraq.”Forty years ago this country went down a rabbit hole, and I fear we’re going down a rabbit hole once again,” said Morris, who was visibly moved.Sean Penn, who won the best actor award for ‘Mystic River’, took a shot at the Bush administration’s failure to find Iraq’s suspected weapons of mass destruction.”If there’s one thing that actors know — apart from the fact that there were no WMDs — is that there are no bests in acting,” he said.Despite being a frequent critic of the Bush administration, Tim Robbins, Penn’s colleague in the Clint Eastwood-directed movie, did not attack Bush as he accepted an Oscar for best supporting actor.Instead, Robbins, who played a man who was abused as a child, encouraged victims to reach out for help.”In this movie I play a victim of abuse and violence and if you are a person who has had that tragedy befall you, there is no shame and no weakness in seeking help and counselling,” he said.”It is sometimes the strongest thing you can do to stop the cycle of violence.”Robbins told reporters after the ceremony he decided to make an appeal to abuse victims because he and his wife Susan Sarandon had been criticised for their fierce opposition to the war in Iraq.He said he was surprised to win since his position on Iraq had been so controversial.”The real significance for me at this moment in time (is) I never would have dreamed it a year ago, because so many negative things were being written when Susan and I opposed the war,” Robbins said.- Nampa-AFP”Everything was so different,” the comic said. “Bush was president, the economy was tanking and we’d just finished a war with Iraq.”Of course, he was referring to the current president’s father, the first Gulf War and the economic downturn in 1991. Crystal compared his absence from the Oscars in the last few years with the controversy over accusations that Bush did not always show up for duty during his military service. “They let me come and go as I please,” Crystal said. “It’s kind of like the Texas National Guard.”Other Republicans and Bush officials were fair game. Comparing newsmakers with titles of Hollywood films, Crystal associated Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with the George Clooney flick ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who still speaks English with a heavy accent from his native Austria, was compared to Sofia Coppola’s ‘Lost in Translation’. Crystal was not the only one taking shots. Director Errol Morris, who won an Oscar for his Vietnam war documentary ‘The Fog of War’, compared the Vietnam conflict with Iraq. “Forty years ago this country went down a rabbit hole, and I fear we’re going down a rabbit hole once again,” said Morris, who was visibly moved. Sean Penn, who won the best actor award for ‘Mystic River’, took a shot at the Bush administration’s failure to find Iraq’s suspected weapons of mass destruction. “If there’s one thing that actors know — apart from the fact that there were no WMDs — is that there are no bests in acting,” he said. Despite being a frequent critic of the Bush administration, Tim Robbins, Penn’s colleague in the Clint Eastwood-directed movie, did not attack Bush as he accepted an Oscar for best supporting actor. Instead, Robbins, who played a man who was abused as a child, encouraged victims to reach out for help. “In this movie I play a victim of abuse and violence and if you are a person who has had that tragedy befall you, there is no shame and no weakness in seeking help and counselling,” he said. “It is sometimes the strongest thing you can do to stop the cycle of violence.”Robbins told reporters after the ceremony he decided to make an appeal to abuse victims because he and his wife Susan Sarandon had been criticised for their fierce opposition to the war in Iraq. He said he was surprised to win since his position on Iraq had been so controversial. “The real significance for me at this moment in time (is) I never would have dreamed it a year ago, because so many negative things were being written when Susan and I opposed the war,” Robbins said. – Nampa-AFP

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