Airport

Published by

Clarissa

January 24, 2016

So remember the story of the Donetsk Airport? A Russian journalist wrote a novel titled Airport on the subject of the heroic defense of the airport by Ukrainians. I haven’t read the book and I’m not planning to because it’s a very painful issue and I can’t deal with knowing more about it than I already do.

The novel is gaining popularity, though, and the author received an offer from Hollywood to sell the rights to the novel so that a movie can be made.

After a negotiation, the writer refused. He said that the idea of some overfed idiot from Hollywood turning this tragedy into a stupid dime-a-dozen blockbuster was intolerable.

“Of course the money would help,” the writer said, “but there are more important things. Let this be my penance for what my people have done to Ukrainians.”

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12 responses to “Airport”

Dreidel

January 24, 2016

Your post about the combat at the airport is over a year old (Dec 2014). Can you give us an update on the current status of the airport and the men there?

There’s been no specific mention of the airport — and in recent months with the American election season underway — virtually no news in U.S. media of the situation in Ukraine at all. It’s like that part of the world completely dropped off the map.

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1. Clarissa
  
  January 24, 2016
  
  Yes, gladly. I will write a separate post on the subject. Thank you for the interest!
  
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cliff arroyo

January 24, 2016

What’s wrong with a movie starring Tom Hardy as an American ex-GI visiting Ukraine to connect with his heritage and then leading the defense of the airport?

Or better yet Charlize Theron?

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1. Clarissa
  
  January 24, 2016
  
  I don’t think the poor writer even imagined anything quite as scary. 🙂
  
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el

January 24, 2016

\ After a negotiation, the writer refused. He said that the idea of some overfed idiot from Hollywood turning this tragedy into a stupid dime-a-dozen blockbuster was intolerable.

The writer is completely wrong here and not modern enough in his thinking. What Ukraine needs (among other things) is to win a place in American and European consciousness, to make people in those parts of the world more interested in what’s going on in the region while ditching support of Putin, which some liberals probably still practice. Movies are indispensable for this purpose.

Right now many Americans heard of f.e. Israel and Palestinians, but have no idea what airport you are talking about. A popular movie would change that and affect people’s feelings more than 1001 posts on the subject would. If one wants to fight for a change as opposed to “taking a high moral ground,” one should be pragmatic.

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1. Clarissa
  
  January 24, 2016
  
  And how does one know that the Hollywood writers don’t turn the story around to glorify the Russians? And to present Ukrainians as Nazis? The author has no control once the rights are sold.
  
  You are right in that it’s crucial to get the story out. But this isn’t the kind of work that can be outsourced to somebody else. We have to do it on our own.
  
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  1. el
    
    January 24, 2016
    
    \ And how does one know that the Hollywood writers don’t turn the story around to glorify the Russians? And to present Ukrainians as Nazis?
    
    Are you serious? Is there anythng in his book that would support such reading? If not, I am sure it wouldn’t happen and that before selling the rights, the author could get some guarantees. Besides, if it’s not about the money for him, the author could say “I agree to give you rights for free as long as…”
    
    \ You are right in that it’s crucial to get the story out. But this isn’t the kind of work that can be outsourced to somebody else. We have to do it on our own.
    
    Good luck competing with Hollywood.
    
    I even thought about Ukrainians shooting the movie themselves, but then remembered that most Americans probably watch only Hollywood movies.
    
    Without your blog, I wouldn’t hear about the story myself, I think. Since I don’t read Ukrainian news or a lot of Russian ones.
    
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    1. Clarissa
      
      January 24, 2016
      
      That’s not how it works with Hollywood. Even a Nobel Prize winning writer doesn’t get any guarantees or any control after the rights are sold, let alone some schmuck from Russia. That’s just Hollywood for you. And how does anybody know that there isn’t some Russian money behind the whole project?
      
      Of course, getting the truth out is an uphill battle but it’s not hopeless. If we compare the public mood in the West in 2014 to what there is right now, the transformation has been enormous. And of course it’s not just the bloggers, the journalists, the Facebookers, the Twitterers, etc. It’s also the two-year campaign of the Ukrainian government to present the country to the world in a positive way. It actually worked, which is shocking because Russia was pouring so much money and resources into winning the ideological battle. Plus, there are historical reasons why it’s easier for Russia to be seen positively.
      
      We are winning here, and it’s a very inspiring and uplifting thing.
      
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  2. valter07
    
    January 24, 2016
    
    I would not worry about possible pro-Russian stance… Nobody in Hollywood so far made any movie about good Serbians, although in the last couple of years Albanians are occasionally depicted as criminals trading in human organs (British Backdraft series) or jihadists.
    
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    1. Clarissa
      
      January 24, 2016
      
      A pro-Russian stance doesn’t necessarily involve good Russians. Presenting the conflict as a civil war or erasing the Chechens from the story would be even more powerful.
      
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      1. valter07
        
        January 25, 2016
        
        http://andreistp.livejournal.com/7122322.html
        
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        Clarissa
        
        January 25, 2016
        
        I wish I’d seen it but I detest Lucy Liu.
        
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