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Omen Director Responds to 9/11 Criticism
By John Marrone
May 19, 2006, 10:30

On May 16th, 20th Century Fox hosted a large press screening at the Walter Reade Theater in the Lincoln Arts Center in New York City - for The Omen (review).  In attendance were about 150 writers, radio reporters and critics alike.  This is a common thing that studios will do when they think their movie will get good ratings.  In order to start the buzz.

In this case, and during these particular times, in New York City no less, The Omen was screened before a live audience - tossing around religious speculation and reflecting on current world atrocities to indicate that the apocalypse is indeed upon us, right now.  Tsunamis, famine, torture.  Mass mutilation and murder, as in the case of September 11th.  A dark event that could indeed fit into:

Revelation 8:7 - The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood.

John Moore, being the visionary and brave filmmaker that he is, did not shy away from incidentally becoming the first person to use footage of 9/11 in a piece of mainstream fiction not about that day - but instead to enhance the story of a horror film.  I, for one, a native New Yorker who is sensitive about those events, was not offended.  Another freelance reporter was, however, and blew up just as the open discussion was started.

In the event that this point of view gets out of hand upon its release, I wanted to give you all a chance to hear director John Moore's side of it, and share with you all the response he gave to this one particular "gentleman".  Here's how it all played out.

MC:  John, were there any special kinds of concerns that drew you to this remake of The Omen?

JOHN MOORE:  Well - it interesting that you mentioned speculation and religion.  I'm partial to the idea that unless God walks in this door right now, that all religious belief is speculative.  And thats something that interested me greatly in the story because it requires what would be, within a religious-free society, a massive leap to totally believe in the unbelievable.  In a film like this, in a story like this, I find that the anxiety and the plot become quite believable, and that interested me.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I have a question.

JOHN MOORE:  Yes?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Are you from New York?  John?

JOHN MOORE:  No, Im Irish.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Why did you think it was OK to use an image of 9/11 to manipulate the audience's emotions for your horror movie?

JOHN MOORE:  Well, I didn't manipulate them.  The emotional response that an indivdual has isnt necessarily up to me.  Uh...  but I believe that-

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Using that event-

JOHN MOORE:  Can I answer the question?  Or do you wanna come up here and take the microphone?  Cause I can see you're angry, sir, I can see it from here.  Let me answer the question ya asked me.  What happened on 9/11 was a world event.  I understand that its particularly sensitive to New Yorkers.  And, what happened on 9/11 deeply affected me, also.  I happened to be in America when it happened.  And it left a lasting impression on my mind, and the impression that I had when it happened, was that we were in a very dark time, and it seemed to me to be the beginning of a very dark series of events, and that's why I put it in the movie.

MC:  Well speaking of that, maybe it would be-

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Well its a good thing that the movie is such a piece of shit that nobody's gonna see it.

(widespread audience grumbles)

MC:  Maybe you can address-

JOHN MOORE:  You know what?  You wanna come back and actually finish your thought or do you wanna be like most thugs, make your statement, and then leave before anyone has a chance to talk about it?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (from afar)  I've said everything I have to say.

JOHN MOORE:  Well then can you expand on why you think the movie is a piece of shit?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (returning to the microphone)  You lost me at the beginning because you used something that hurt a lot of people to manipulate our emotions.  That's what I think you were doing.  You know, on the news-

JOHN MOORE:  All art-

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  What?  What was that?

JOHN MOORE:  The point of art is to manipulate and stimulate emotion.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I'm glad you think your movie is art - I dont happen to think so.

(incoherent arguing)

JOHN MOORE:  ... what happened on 9/11 was a global event.  Believe me, as an Irishman, its in the movie to signal to you, that I felt it was as dark and evil a moment as you might have felt. 

MC:  (flustered)  All right, well, thank you...

It was a tense moment that came out of nowhere, and adrenalized the entire crowd, not because of Moore's usage of the footage, but because this man was speaking up, seemingly as if for everyone, and 95% percent of the audience disagreed with him.  Not all remakes suck.  That's prejudice.  And not all usage of September 11th footage in fiction is going to be distasteful.  Look at the context of what you're speaking of.  The Omen is a good remake, and this man's outburst was out of context with his otherwise good defensive position, because Moore is not glamorizing it in any way.  In fact, he's doing the opposite.  He's giving it, actually, an Irishman's (foreigners, to Americans) public concordance that it was an evil event, and that anyone behind it is in league with death and should be stopped.

We will soon be posting the roundtable interview that House of Horrors sat down to with Omen director John Moore within the next couple of days.  Moore delves deeper into the metaphors within the film, and expands further on why he used the 9/11 footage - as well as what he and other non-Americans truly think of America.  I think his answer will surprise you.  Stay tuned to House of Horrors for all the latest.

TRAILER (quicktime)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE for The Omen - opening 06/06/06