Rob Edelman: Bad Publicity Versus No Publicity

UNBROKEN, a high-profile biopic directed by Angelina Jolie which came to movie theaters at the tail end of last year, is the saga of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who became a B-52 bombardier during World War II. After his plane crash-landed in the Pacific and he survived for 47 days in a raft, Zamperini, who is played by Jack O’Connell-- one of the emerging film stars of 2014-- spent more than two years in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, where he was mercilessly tortured.

Today, of course, the United States and Japan are long-time allies. Pearl Harbor and World War II are distant memories but, during the war, the U.S. and Japan were adversaries and Zamperini’s treatment in the camp is no overexaggeration.

So in other words, cinematically-speaking, there are no overblown dramatics here. Yet prior to the film’s release, it was reported in the media that some Japanese were troubled by the depiction of the torture that Zamperini endured. Some were demanding that UNBROKEN be boycotted, and even were insisting that Angelina Jolie herself be shunned.

One has to wonder: Why is UNBROKEN controversial, and why did that controversy garner headlines? For after all, other films set in Japanese P.O.W. camps have graphically depicted the mistreatment of prisoners. One recent example is THE RAILWAY MAN, which was released in the U.S. this past spring. THE RAILWAY MAN, which also is fact-based, tells the story of Eric Lomax, played by Colin Firth, who like Louis Zamperini was incarcerated and tortured in a Japanese P.O.W. camp. Yet I do not recall a massive amount of media reports that the Japanese were outraged by THE RAILWAY MAN.

With this in mind, it is important to understand that UNBROKEN is not a franchise film with a built-in audience who will eagerly shell out big bucks to see it during its theatrical run. In other words, it is not THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB, or THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY- PART 1. These film do not have to depend upon critical kudos or award nominations or any sort of media coverage to draw in audiences. They accomplish this on name recognition alone.

These days, there is much pressure on filmmakers to score big at the box office. This is especially so for industry bigwigs who make major films with huge budgets. If their films do not produce huge box office numbers and do so immediately, well, they will be quickly relegated to the Tinseltownscrapheap. They will be written off as failures. And in a “what-have-you-done-for-me lately” industry where being a winner is directly connected to the box office your film earned last week, your career will be damaged if you do not produce consistently, and produce big time.

For after all, Jennifer Lawrence is not riding high as Hollywood’s “It” girl because she is a fine actress, or a good looker, or an Academy Award winner. She is on top because her movies are box office gold.

But getting back to UNBROKEN: it is easy to understand why its makers would welcome reports that the Japanese are displeased with the film. For that matter, they likely would revel in any controversy. That is because any additional media coverage only will increase viewer awareness of their product, and those who otherwise might pass on the film just may want to shell out for a ticket to see what the controversy is all about.

Yes indeed, these days, any kind of publicity and any kind of controversy is better than no publicity and no controversy.

The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.