BoxOffice® Pro - November 2012

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quite well. Even disabled rights groups criticized exhibition for showing
the comedy Bubble Boy. Indeed, the list of movies that have insulted and
infuriated some group or another is a long one.
My response to these protests has invariably been the same. Show
the movie if you think it will sell tickets. Let the patrons decide. And
bring on the protests. Protests only serve to gain greater publicity for
the movie and sell more tickets. When members call me to alert me to
the existence of protesters outside their cinemas, I typically recommend
that they give the protesters free soda and popcorn, ask them to
stay as long as they are able, and then call the local television station to
complain.
When news of the Innocence of Muslims first erupted, my initial
reaction reflected my traditional views of free speech. A filmmaker
simply shouldn’t be blamed, even in part, for the violent reaction of
fundamentalist religious zealots.
But then I took a closer look, and what I learned challenged my
free-speech moorings in these circumstances. Many and perhaps even
most Muslims believe fervently that modern media should show no images
of the prophet Muhammad, much less derogatory ones. As initial
background, I then researched the violent reaction of some Muslims in
the Netherlands to artistic works that were intentionally derogatory of
the prophet.
Before I could draw any conclusions, I also needed to review the
posted clips from the Innocence of Muslims that had been released on
the Internet. Despite my history of support for the rights of artists
to make, and cinema owners to exhibit, whatever they wanted, I was
disgusted by what I saw. In complete amateur style, the filmmaker
sought very deliberately to malign the prophet Muhammad in base
and unbelievable ways. The movie made out the prophet to be a cheat,
a philanderer and a child abuser. Later I learned that the actors asserted
they were not told about the true purpose of the movie. There
was, apparently, no association with the prophet Muhammad in the
original script. The association of the lead character with the prophet
was disguised until after shooting as voice-overs added his name. The
filmmaker, an angry Coptic Christian with a criminal background, felt
the need to deceive his own cast about the purpose of his movie. Why?
Perhaps because he knew that the movie would incite some violence,
and it did much more than that.
I doubt the movie would fall outside the legal parameters of the
First Amendment were it to be censored in the United States. The
movie has no direct call for violence or treason, and it is not technically
obscene. But it never should have been made, nor should it be exhibited,
by anyone rational enough to understand what the movie might
mean to millions of Muslims around the world.I was disheartened to
learn that a few right-wing cinema operators in Germany sought to
exhibit the movie, and I was not surprised to see the government of
Angela Merkel suggest that the movie might have to be censored. Even
though I deplore the thought of censorship, I understand the rational
need to avoid predictable violence.
At press time, it was still unclear whether the entire movie was ever
completed or would ever be released. But out of respect for a different
culture with very different beliefs, and for the practical desire to avoid
violence, I truly hope we have seen the last of Innocence of Muslims.To
be sure, nothing excuses the extreme violence that has erupted in the
Muslim world. No matter how grave the insults might be, and no matter
how fervently people believe in the tenets of their religion, violence in response
to insult is never legitimate. And the violence that has raged across
Northern Africa and the Middle East has been of such massive scale and
gross distortion as to have seriously undermined—not enhanced—global
respect for what is and should be a respected and historic religion.
But I live and work representing the cinema industry, and I admit
to insufficient understanding of the Muslim world. What I do know in
my own line of work is that our industry could do without filmmaking
like this.
12 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2012