It's 'Page Six' Vs. Nick Broomfield in Battle of Current-Events Sensationalists [The Scales Of Gossip]

Knowing what we know about the traction (or lack thereof) among Iraq films these days, it was curious to see Page Six a few weeks back bashing the tense, tiny drama Battle For Haditha. Directed by noted documentary provocateur Nick Broomfield (Kurt and Courtney, Biggie and Tupac) and even lacking American distribution (though it does open a one-off run Friday in New York), Haditha nevertheless triggered a strong reaction from the gossip mavens: "MASSACRE FLICK CALLED FAKE," their headline screamed, sandwiched between items about Russell Simmons and Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester. We know! We were as surprised as you are:One group, Defend Our Marines, states on its Web site that British-born Broomfield claimed he'd show the world the "unflinching truth" about Haditha, but instead had actors improvise phony, obscenity-filled dialogue as they shot innocent civilians. One scene in which an Iraqi is gunned down as he flees through a field is said to be completely fictional. Charges against five of eight Marines involved have been dropped so far. Sure, perhaps it's business as usual at the Post, but still: Kind of a strong gossip-page reaction for such a low-profile underdog, right? Not only strong, Broomfield told us when asked about it Tuesday, but also inaccurate. "That scene was totally based on interviews that I did with the three Marines who shot that guy," Broomfield said. "I talked to them separately; they went into the scene in great detail about what happened. And I recreated it as honestly and accurately as I possibly could. So my reaction to that is that it's written by people who don't know and aren't seeing the bigger picture: We aren't criticizing the Marines. It's about understanding what went through their heads on that day. We're looking at their training — these 17-year-old guys who've never been out of the United States before, who don't know anything about Arab culture or the war they're fighting. It's not a black and white film about good an
	Published: 2008-05-07 Provider: Defamer
Keywords: Battle For Haditha, Nick Broomfield, Page Six, The Scales of Gossip