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10 Best Political Passion Projects

By Christopher Campbell posted 1 year ago

Oliver Stone has long been synonymous with political passion projects, but his latest film, W., may be his most ambitious effort yet, if only because of how quickly the thing came together and got made. Now the serio-comic biopic about our sitting president is about to hit theaters, less than ten months after anyone had heard of its inception, and it’s getting a number of favorable reviews, will possibly rule the box office this weekend, and could even garner an Oscar nomination for Josh Brolin, who portrays the man with the titular initial, George W. Bush.

But not all political passion projects are quite as successful as W. is expected to be. Some such films have been banned, while some have simply failed to acquire an audience on more democratic grounds, whether in terms of box office, critical or awards recognition. Yet regardless of the reception of a political passion project, either at the time of release (or intended release) or decades later, it may be regarded as an achievement merely for being made, because it can be a difficult task for a filmmaker, no matter how famous or powerful, to completely, without compromise, express his or her politics using such a collaborative and populist form of art as cinema.

We’ve put together a list of 10 political passion projects that were (and are) successful on both levels. They’ve been embraced by a wide audience, a majority of critics and/or the Academy, and they also manage to be as uncompromising in their political passion as is possible in Hollywood.

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Classics, Featured, Hollywood, Lists

Waiting For Ishtar

By Karina Longworth posted 2 years ago

Today is Dustin Hoffman’s 70th birthday, and as David Hudson notes, the English-language media doesn’t seem to care (today’s #1 Entertainment story, according to Google News? Drunken British celebutards fight for MTV Award.) But because the internet moves in mysterious ways, while looking for Hoffmanania this morning I discovered a documentary-in-progress called Waiting For Ishtar.

The project apparently began when Canadian writer/comedian John Mitchell (who is co-directing the film with Jonathan Crombie), attempted to borrow a copy of the much-maligned 1987 Dustin Hoffman/Warren Beatty flop from his local public library, only to learn that he was #34 on a list of library members waiting to check out the branch’s sole copy of the movie. Mitchell then decided to make a documentary, in which he’d “find and interview the 46 other Toronto Public Library members ‘Waiting For Ishtar’.” The project has since expanded to include interviews with Ishtar director Elaine May and co-stars Charles Grodin and Carol Kane, as well as “film critics, songwriters, Ishtar fans, writers and directors, including well-known Canadian filmmaker, Don McKellar.”

Mitchell maintains a spottily-updated blog in connection with Waiting for Ishtar, subtitled “A love letter to the most misunderstood movie of all time.” The comments section on the blog is really amazing. The most recent post was apparently published in February of this year, but it’s still attracting comments from Ishtar lovers who seem overjoyed to learn they’re not alone. In one comment, dated June 28, Dave Elvin describes screening the first 20 minutes of the film at a party; as a result, a few of his friends “don’t speak to me anymore.” Discovering the documentary, Elvin says, “feels like going home.”

If you’re currently on the Toronto Public Library’s waiting list for Ishtar (or have been in the past two years), Mitchell wants to speak with you. You can contact him through the Waiting For Ishtar website. And if you need an Ishtar refresher course, check out the ten-minute YouTube clip above.

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Indies