Lancemc, guilty as charged. I find it ironic that Zack Snyder didn't have a neocon sensibilty and just wanted to adapt a really good comic. Iran wasn't even a blip on the radar, in conventional war terms, a year and half ago so I don't think he had a political ideology in mind. The fact that some people would interpret it in different ways might have crossed his mind but really in 2005 or so Iraq was already old news. I mean, it's not the first time films were "political."
( I mean, even The Ten Commandments was "political", Cecil DeMille even filmed that Prologue where he comes out on the stage and spells it out as an anti-Communist thing. "Are men the property of the state, or are they free souls under God? This same battle still exists in the world today." But you'd never know that if he hadn't told you. Granted, he was working n the midst of the McCarthy scare--in light of the current era, how quaint and tame that seems!--but he was still true to his own vision. The film itself is as true visually to the facts as possible, and seems to honor both cultures. DeMille didn't slam you over the head with it. So his film is timeless. ) Interestingly, the reason why Demille even had access to film in Egypt was b/c Nasser was a HUGE fan of his, and Nassar was a huge fan b/c when he was a teen he saw a Demille film called "The Crusades" where Moslems seemed to be shown in a positive light, and he walked out of the theater in a daze and saying, "I want to be like Saladin!" Of course, we all know what Nassar later became, and Saladin had a tad more tolerance than he did, let's say. But let's not go there. The imprtant thing is the East-West exchange, and it;s difficult to thinkof such a thing happening today in the current climate. Sadly, Demille is a relic.)
Frank Miller, on the other hand, is something else, and with Iran in the news daily, with Cheney beating the drums, it's no wonder that jerk in Teheran (for the love of God I can't spell his name) got pissed. Not that I love the regime in Teheran (I DON'T!) I can see why they had a s**t fit and are making their own cinemtic reply "The Glory of Persepolis." I'd love to see a pirate version of this when it comes out, BTW....just for the heck of it.....are they gonna go the whole hog and paint Jewish stereotypes? Wouldn't put it past them....I wonder how we'd react if we saw some of the more visious anti-American visual sterotyping. I could care less personaly, of itself, but if it's a huge international success THAT would bother me.
Miller is working on a sequel.....wonder what it will be since history offered a ready -made sequel, Salamis 3 weeks lateer, but 300 ends more than yr later. So no battle of Salamis? I always wanted to see THAT on the screen....and if Snyder makes it he won't be working in a political vacuum this time, it should be interesting to see.
Esp if Cheny gets his way and either we or Israel, our proxy, is a t war with Iran before Bush leaves office!