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Another Set Report from Ollie's WORLD TRADE CENTER!
Hey folks, Harry here with a set report from an Extra that's been lucky enough to be cast as an extra officer on Oliver Stone's WORLD TRADE CENTER. I really love how this film seems to not be being all about rhetoric, but one particular story of heroics, true to life, that happened amidst the chaos, tragedy and horror of that day. Here ya go...
Hey Mori, Harry, Quint, et al...
My friend Mikey worked as an extra on the set of World Trade Center last week and just happened to blog about it. He got up close and personal with the Ground Zero set and happened to say hi to Oliver Stone and be in the presence of real 9/11 heroes. Lucky bastard. Anyway, he asked me if I would submit this for him for your approval with his full consent to post should you feel it worthy enough. Thanks!
Here goes it:
Yesterday was my first day as an extra on a giant, whompin', big-time movie. I'm an extra in the Oliver Stone film WORLD TRADE CENTER.
I signed up to be an extra because I'm totally tapped. Two moves and no real job for several months has taken a hell of a toll. So I figured until my full-time gig is in full swing out here, I'll be an extra.
Getting into the extra casting agency and all that was quite boring. Needless to say, they sign up anyone because all types are needed at one time or another for background. "Background" is the dehumanizing term they use for the people that stand or walk around and have no lines. It makes you sound more like a plant or filing cabinet than a walkin' talkin' non-famous person.
That being said, I think regularly-working extras have it made, for here was my day...
I had to be at the set at 3:30.
At 3:15 I arrived at the Universal/Paramount lot near Marina Del Rey. They checked my name at the gate and directed me to a parking lot next to a giant white (heated) tent, in which I was about to spend the next five hours.
There was a line to sign in and that ate up about 25 minutes. I was given a "group" for wardrobing and props. The scene is the evening of September 11th when they actually pull the last few survivors out of the rubble, but more on that later.
From 4:00 to about 5:30 about 80 or 90 of us just chatted, read, played cards or ate from what I thought was the lunch craft services table. While it was a craft services, it wasn't lunch. But it was a very nice spread with fresh fruit, good coffee, muffins, gourmet cookies and granola bars. That's there all the time for the extras.
About 5:30 or so my group was called. There are people cast as firemen, Emergency services working, NY Port Authority, doctors, construction workers, uniformed NYPD and plain clothes NYPD. I was the last category.
I went to wardrobe and they found some fat guy pants, a dark red plaid shirt and a work-area helmet. Just outside the wardrobe area I was directed by a PA to a couple make-up tables. A couple really nice and sarcastic middle-aged chubby women applied make-up to make me look dirty and sweaty.
Back to the white tent with me.
I had met a guy named Justin who just moved here from Boston. We were the youngest two guys in the tent by about 10-15 year on the average, so we hung out the rest of the day and gabbed to pass the time. Justin was also plain-clothed NYPD so that meant we got called at all the same times.
A little while later we were told to go to the prop department by group. Justin was given a pair of gloves, a breathing mask and a flashlight. I got the gloves, mask, and a chain-around-the-neck style cop badge. Bad-ass! I'm a freakin' sergeant!
My badge looked really real. I told Justin that I suspect some of us would be pretty close to the camera because my badge was a Hero-prop level prop. I know they make cheap aluminum badges that are pretty much just the shape of the badge for deeper background props. However mine was totally badass.
We chatted about all sorts of crap until about 6:40 or so. We hadn't really done anything but get dressed and it was 1/2 for lunch. The buffet was as good as any average-quality wedding buffet and there was plenty for everyone. I didn't have much because I can stay on my diet with the fruit from the snacks table.
Finally around 8:45, we were driven to the set. The set was probably about 300 yards away but they loaded us up into shuttles and drove us over there.
The set was -not to sound gay- breathtaking. It was an enormous, 100-yard square reproduction of ground zero for the evening of the 11th.
We were standing around in groups waiting to be told what to do and this is where I lucked out.
"You, you and you come with me". A production manager? told me and two other guys to follow him after a quick scanning of the 30 or 40 faces in front of him.
We walked up a cleverly concealed path up the tower of rubble. At the very top is the hole where one of the main characters is pulled out of the rubble after 13 hours of searching.
All the extras form two shoulder-to-shoulder lines up the path of the rubble to the hole. The vast majority of extras are much deeper in the background, filling out the rest of the line.
When the guy is put on a strecher, he's passed down the line of firemen, NYPD, Red Cross and construction workers. They only pass him down about 30 or 40 rows of people before they cut. I'm the 16th person in line from the edge of the hole.
We did only two takes with the camera on a crane and then two takes with the background redressed for the wide shots which was a two-camera ordeal.
In between these sets of takes there was another break for food or coffee. They had In and Out burger, soup, fruit, and gormet coffee with a barista attendant. The poor, poor extras.
About ten minutes before the first crane shot, Oliver himself came out from behind a little blind they had the the muckity-mucks and walked to the top to do who knows what. He walked right by me within cock-punching distance. He stopped to talk to talk to one of the exras who was playing a fireman two guys down from me.
They had a hushed conversation which included another fireman. While I could only hear about 30% of it, it was enough to figure out that those firemen weren't extras...they were the real frickin' NY firemen that pulled the people out of the rubble on 911.
Oliver seemed to be asking about certain nuances of how a couple things really were. Shit. I really respect that. Poop.
I was all ready to think Mr. Conspiracy Pants was a real ass. On top of it all, he chatted up the extras as he passed by us all and thanking us for our patience and doing such a good job that it only took two takes.
Granted I was only exposed to him for about five minutes, but the five minutes of Oliver Stone that I saw seemed to be a good guy.
My call time today is 4:00, so I've got to beat feet.
Today the camera is supposed to pass by us for close-ups of the extras. Let's see just how lucky I get again.
Call me Bloggy McBloggerson
SmootchMyStarfish
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Although I certainely make no absolute claime to that, and could indeed be wrong. I have no interest in ths movie whatsoever.
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Check it on google video. Some interesting details about controlled demolition, among other things.
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I mean what is the market here? Who really wants to see a movie about this event? I certainly have no interest. In fact I find the idea very distasteful. I am not offended they made a movie about it, but I think it is inappropriate. Harry made the analogy of the fact that movies were made about WW2 as it was still happening. Apples to Oranges. WW2 was a worldwide war with a clear enemy and a obvious objective. Not to mention the purpose of firtually all of these movies was to raise American spirits and get them motivated to win the war. I severly doubt that is Oliver's purpose with this film. 9/11 wasn't an attack by an agressor nation. IT was an attack by Islamic extremeist. Who really wants to endure watching those events depicted on screen that we have all seen 10,000 times before? Its a foolish idea. With Pearl Harbor it was AT LEAST DIFFERENT because there was no footage of the actual attack. Just the aftermath. This whole film is a completely futile act. With no real purpose other than giving a director whose prime has LONG SINCE PAST a chance to exploit a catastrophic event to give himself exposure once again. I guess this is the kind of things he has been reduced to after Alexander bombed. I predict this will bomb even worse than that. It wont generate strong box office here. I severly doubt it will produce alot of money overseas either. It will bomb, just like it should!
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because Oliver Stone sucks now. He is long past his artistic peak and accelerating rapidly down the opposite slope. Also, a leetle less concentration on the food next time, Bloggy.
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shitcock
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Is this about the movie, or the food they serve to the "props that eat"???
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My first post didn't show up straightaway. Thought I'd been banned or something.
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I agree, Oliver Stone is meaningless and no one cares about this movie. And Rogue_Leader, next time please learn how to construct a proper sentence before attempting to sound intelligent.
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Since no one else seems to be grateful for your time and effort, I will say I enjoyed reading it and it sounded like a cool experience.
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I find it hillarious we are allowed to question the reasoning to go into Iraq(ie: Bush lied) but to even suggest the Bush regime lied about 9/11 is quite ironic. As of 2006, the amount of scientific, intelligence, eyewitness, video, leaks, whistleblowers, etc that point to a COVERUP OF SOME KIND is overwhelming...but th emajority of the public(including 20 somethingers) will shout "conspiracy theorist". When it finally comes ou tinto the mainstream that the US allowed the terrorists to commit that heinous act and explosives brought down the WTC, I wonder what all the skeptics will say then? Bush doctored the EPA health report on ground zero, Cheney ordered pilots to standdown, the CIA was watching the terrorists before 9/11...the whole thing smells fishy...and I guarantee you Osama wasnt the only one who benefitted.
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Since when did using the word 'breathtaking' in a sentence become gay? Bloggy, don't be so insecure next time.
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Pockybot, I agree with you 100%! Oh wait, what I meant to say is, "You're a fucking idiot". I notice you avoided using the words "proof" or "evidence" anywhere in your post, although we'd all be delighted to see if you actually have any.
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have FINALLY PAID OFF!!!!
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"""I really love how this film seems to not be being all about rhetoric, but one particular story of heroics, true to life, that happened amidst the chaos, tragedy and horror of that day.""" That's it. That makes it all better. You can make a 9/11 movie because it's about one particular story of heroics.
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..the Rudy Gulliani and his secret gay romance as a sub story..wait..wrong movie.
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Why are people so anal about a 9/11 movie being made? I live very close to the city and it isn't bothering me. It's art.
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For films/tv/art.music simply because it's a major point in our history. I realize it's still a sore spot, and will be for our entire generation at least, but it has been nearly 5 years. It's ok to make films or tv shows about the war in Iraq, or other just as recent tragic events, but for some reason this is off limits? Sorry, I don't think it works like that. And I don't think it SHOULD work like that. And I disagree that no one wants to see these movies. There is a huge audience for this... Just look at the recent TV Movie about Flight 93. Huge ratings for A&E. I happened to catch the last half of it and while it was almost too melodramatic for my tastes (then again, it almost has to be to do it justice) with the last half being almost exclusively tearful goodbyes on cellphones, it was completely respectful of the people who died on 9/11. I think media is a great outlet for exploring things like this that have completely rocked our society. If it's done well and, above all else, respectfully... I think it's acceptable. In alot of ways, America lost it's innocence on 9/11, and to not explore, simply out of fear of exploiting it, that would be a missed opportunity.
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Because if a distasteful movie were done, there would be a msasive backlash. Studios know this and they know how sensitive this topic is for alot of people, and they're not just going to shit all over that. Even if you think they're all money grubbing heartless bastards, recognize the fact that a film that truly exploited 9/11 would be so gone against by the public that it would be a failure for studios. Either way, it's not worth the risk for them. They're practically forced to treat this topic with alot of care.
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Nope.
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Sorry about my last post. Heres the link http://www.youtube.com/?v=8lFuxbj7Hp0
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And to say that someone who wasn't even there couldn't make a reasoned and intelligent presentation 5 years after the fact is ludicrous. No one liked what happened, but not everyone was so affected by it that they lose all ability to see it objectively for years.
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It's taken about 3 years to fix this system.
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I'm not even an Oliver Stone fan. The only movie of his that I've seen is JFK and I haven't even see it all the way through. I'm indifferent towards the man. My original comment above was simply saying that I didn't think we should shy away from making movies about 9/11. Will Stone's movie be good? I have no idea. Will I see it in theaters? It really depends on how it looks in future trailers and such. And keep in mind the slur throwing started with "dipshit".
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Novaman and Moviemack secretly want to make sweet love to each other. Flame on!
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The secret's out.
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oooh! he might be conspiracy movie-ing us! hilarity.
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Can't we just get some more clerks 2 news so we can all be entertained by reading the talkback?
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Hey, it's not "my city" or "my tragedy", and I hate all the injustices it has allowed to take place.
What on Earth does that have to do with making a movie about it? Honestly, tell me. -
While Im not a fan of Oliver Stone ( JFK is a masterpiece though) this sounds really interesting. For everyone already denouncing saying nobody will see it I will. It sounds like it will be a really respectful film and I appluad it. Also whats with the hate for the blog article. I thought it was interesting. I guess people are just jealous they werent extras too.
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allowed to make before the studios say fuck em? seriously. as my old man said to me when i lived at home: "What're ya doin' in the bathroom all the time? give someone else a chance!"
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even though movies about other current events are not a big deal is that this event was to each person in this country a very intense personal experience. Even if you weren't in New York, that day was a long string of hours and emotions that are tied up with how you experienced the news and who you were with and what you did. If you actually lost someone or were there, this is true tenfold. I resist that day being codified by a fictional movie on the big screen because it's too complex personal to me to be fit into a two-hour set of fabricated images. The event is still mythic to us. Putting it on screen will kill some of that and make it a bad movie-of-the-week. Who has the right to document this event for us? Oliver Stone would be my last choice.
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If this movie was made and the profits were given exclusively to a 9/11 fund, would it still be 'exploitation'? Just a hypothetical.
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Yeah, ultimately it would be, because for a rich person like Stone, it's not about making money.. it's about hype and "relevance" for a director who just isn't "important" anymore.
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Really.
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Really?
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But Natural Born Killers was tha shit dawg! I hope there's a scene where the terrorists start puffin on some hashish in the airplane and start having visions of boning a bunch of hot virgins in heaven. It could be all trippy looking and stuff.
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I'm sure those that lived through vietnam weren't thrilled with "Apocalypse Now", either, and that came right on the tail of the ending of the war. The question is: what separates 9/11 from every other tragedy in our history that has been, in one form or another, documented by media? I say nothing, it's just still to raw for some of us to recognize that. Also, how many would object if someone made a movie about the Indonesia Tsunami in a couple years? I bet not nearly as many as object to a 9/11 movie, even though over 200 times the amount of people died. Why? Because it didn't affect them personally. It's selfish, yeah, but it's also a natural human reaction.
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Just an example.
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Your point is valid. But, I think people are going way overboard. The movie is getting made and maybe it will actually turn out alright.
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I can kiss away you pain, i can stand by you forever, you can take my breath away. from enrique
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I can see it now, the arab muslim terrorist will have their race and religion changed in the film to be terrorist from some former soviet union country. They don't rampage and kill if they see a cartoon about them. See for yourself at:http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004448.htm
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I hope the cgi for when the planes hit the buildings are top notch, and not just file footage of the actual crashes..I hate when they use file footage in movies..I really do..
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That we wouldn't be seeing the planes hit at all?
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Forget about the politics of it all. That will still be as polarized 100 years from now as it is today....the fact still remains that Oliver Stone is responsible for many of the worst financial film flops in cinematic history. Hollywood keeps complaining about the big losses at the box office, and many fanboys say its because most stuff they churn out sucks. Actually its because most stuff they churn out sucks and Oliver Stone. And yet they will still keep handing him work on a silver platter....Sad, but also....funny as hell. Funny because it fun watching an egotistical bloated industry burn itself to the ground with a fire they gladly set on themselves.
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Alexander and Nixon bombed. All his other movies were successes, no? Oh noes, movie attendance is down 10 PERCENT SOUND DA ALARMS! CODE RED!
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I'm sure he was there to whisper "secret conspiracies" into Stone's ear. I'll bet Charlton Heston had something to do with it all.
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... all i keep reading on here is the exploitation of 9/11, but as much as we may be an opportunistic and capatilistic bunch, Stone doesn't strike me as a filmmaker who takes a project to make money. Like him or hate him, he's usually in it because he wants to tell a story. I'm ready to give him a break and actually see what he puts on the screen before I'm prepared to judge its value. Isn't that the way it should be?
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Both were there and did a lot for the people that were hurt or needed help.
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What should they call it?Hmmm...let's see now, how about "9/11 Returns," or maybe "September Again," I've got it, what about "Hollywood Loves Blood Money," yeah that'll do. Why can't they leave these type of real-life tragic events out of movies/TV, and write some original fucking material for once? I wonder if Osama Bin Laden will check this film out, it's right up his alley. Hollywood is drained of ideas. You know this to be true.
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"Stone doesn't strike me as a filmmaker who takes a project to make money." - Whoa, "Alexander" wasn't about the money? Well, it certainly wasn't about art. "World Trade Center" will be a piece of garbage, and you all know that.
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That said I'm not against it being made. The reason I think so mant people are nay-saying this or are against it is because unlike films about WW2 (which the Allied forces won, and therefore the US and UK made films about in abundance, unlike Germany) there has not been any clear winner in the current "War On Terror". The same reason a lot of State-Side folk don't like 'Nam films. The USA didn't exactly win that war either. Just my two cents...
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http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2023320890224991194&q=loose+change
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More stuff in the mainstream about total government foreknowlege of the 9/11 attacks:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0211abledanger.html
When will people realize the government is not telling the full truth about September the 11th, 2001? -
Feb 14, 2006 10:49:46 AM CST
It'll be like all Stone flics, individual, compassionat
by watashiwadare
Alexander is great, Platoon is great, all of them push for understanding of the things that drive ppl to live.
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9/11 was shot on a soundstage in New Mexico! The Bush administration has learned to control the weather, and is using hurricanes to kill democrats! Oliver Stone was murdered and replaced with a clone programmed with a hidden conservative agenda--thus this current piece of right-wing propaganda he's working on. Wake up!
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Stone's JFK thesis is that the military industrial complex assassinated JFK in order to make sure he couldn't prevent them from lining their pockets during the Viet Nam war. Now, one problem with this thesis is the fact that this thesis asks you to believe that the man who started the Viet Nam war was going to magically change his mind and end it. But I don't expect you to understand that. Too many of you have been raised to believe that JFK was a saint and there's no way to break through the mythmaking that began with his televised funeral to make you see reason. Instead, let's just do what Stone suggests and follow the money. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/pdf/hist.pdf In 1959, before JFK's election, the military budget was 49.015 billion. In 1962, it was 52.345 billion. In 1965 [two years after the man's death] it was 50.620 billion. In other words, military spending WENT DOWN after Kennedy's assassination. Large Viet Nam war expenditures didn't start to be made until 1967 and 1968. That means that not only would the "military industrial complex" have had the 1964 election to use to get rid of JFK if they so desired, prior to the 1968 election [where JFK had to leave no matter what] they managed to get in ONE defense budget with a 35% increase. Stone is asking you to follow the money, and if you do in fact follow the money the motive he pretends existed just wasn't there.
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http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5137581991288263801&q=loose+change+2nd+edition
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Oh boy....The wolves have definately pulled the sheet over the sheeps eyes. BUCK FUSH!!! Our president has sent honorable men and women over seas to die for such a well orchestrated cover up and most of the American Public has bought the fact that our Government had no involvement. Let's all worship "JAHBULAN" hail the "FREE MASONS", hail the "KNIGHTS TEMPLAR", hail the "SKULL AND BONES". Our leaders thrive on these occult systems and beleifs and we unknowingly embrace them. You want proof of these things? Do your own research don't be lazy and ask it from anyone, you will learn more on your own. You can start however by doing a www.clusty.com (this search engine is just as good as google and they don't track every thing you do)search for "bush nazi" and witness the vast amount of information that pops up on this subject alone. Think for yourself, question authority.
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I'm so sick of people whining over it being "too soon." Americans are so fucking egotistical that they think their tragedy should be protected from the same things every other tragedy experiences...i.e....movies being based on them. I was devastated by Katrina (lost my house, friends and family) but I don't think anyone should have to clear it with me before they make a film about it. If I feel its too soon for me to see a film I simply won't watch it. I'm certainly not offended by the prospect of the film being made. I'm sure a film based on the Tsunami (which killed more people than 9/11 times 2 hundred) will be made within the next 2 years. I wonder if the same cry babies will be whining then.
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...the government is completely incompetent until it comes to elaborate conspiracy plots. That's apparently the only thing they CAN do right. Also anyone that says BUCK FUSH is not to be taken seriously. I mean, c'mon.
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If it was a big govt. executed plan, how do you get literally thousands of employees who played a part in it - military, FAA, airline, WTC services, Nasa, etc. - to keep their mouths shut about the murder of thousands of innocent people? Not tell a soul, even their spouses, children, best friends?
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Sadly POACHER and BUNKYBOO are some of the sheep in the herd. A few good examples. Now, I used the wise crack "BUCK FUSH" to take some of the seriousness out of my post seeing as how this is a site for movies and fun. However I do find it necessary sometimes (when the opportunity arise's) to get a message across to people that may be beneficial. A message by which I am not the originator by the way. And by the looks of all of the posts before me I wasn't the only one of like mind that brought this subject matter to the table. Do a little research fella's. You're smarter than that. Start with these keyword searchs: Free Masons, Illuminati, Knights Templar, skull and bones Pentagon where's the plane, and Alex Jones. There you go. Theres your homework assignment. Think for yourself but be open to these other posibilities. As Dick Cheney says, "Happy Hunting".
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Reading the elaborately detailed lunacy of conspiracy theorists online isn't that compelling if you haven't already "drunk the Kool-Aid", so to speak. Although given how much of that pabulum is out there, are you sure you aren't traveling in a herd? I mean, really: Free Masons, Illuminati, Knights Templar? Do you really expect mature adults to take you seriously?
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I'm tired of these 9/11 dramas/reconstructions that spend the entire time talking about how heroic the emergency services were (I'm not saying they weren't, its just extremely boring to have it drilled into you over and over).
Yes they were brave but the fact is, it was pretty clear the towers were going to collapse, the firemen should not have been allowed to enter. What's worse, when they released how many firemen were in danger, the radio system failed and they couldn't convey the order to pull out. That horrible lack of communication cost a good portion of those firemen their lives yet I've never seen any critisism over it -
You know I wasn't even going to respond to your post but after visiting your website, (catching a few laughs) I realized that you are indeed "one of those". I did however assume you were much younger judging by your post. I will not revel in my own wordship here so I will not retort with an itmeized list of my opinions versus yours. But I will say this to you. Mature adults do take this very seriously and if you are a registered voter the chances are very good that you voted for someone who is a memeber of one of these groups or a combination thereof. These men and women in power (who are mature adults) take these things so seriously in fact that they strategically plan, on a global level mind you, the events that help to shape this country and the world powers that be, based on the beleifs of these "Orders". So Mr. Willis it is up to you to take a step further, stop being a pseudo intellectual whilst gloating about your untraveled opinionated columns and do travel, talk to people and see first hand the gravity of the situation. And to let you know, although many of us have and agree on most of the same facts we've discussed here, that does not qualify anyone one us as belonging to a herd. It takes individuals to seek out the truth and people who are blind like yourslf to follow. Like I said the opinions on your column speak much about you and it's time to wake up. You are a writer aren't you?
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