Topic: WorldNetDaily
Since last July, WorldNetDaily has been trying to crowdfund preproduction costs (not actual production costs, mind you) of a film based on Anita Dittman's WND-published book "Trapped in Hitler's Hell." It's even invoked the film "Dunkirk" as something its film could be, conveniently ignoring the fact that, unlike "Dunkirk," WND has no prospect of landing a $100 million budget and/or Christopher Nolan as director.
In the eight months since the crowdfunding drive first began, WND has raised just over $16,000 -- a small fraction of what it claims it needs. But it's still at it, and a new pitch showed up earlier this month, invoking yet another film:
How long does it take to get a movie made? It depends on the story, often the budget. It also requires patience. For a big budget biographical film about heroic figures, it can sometimes take decades. The most recent example is the film “Unbroken” about the life of World War II hero, Louie Zamperini. Universal Pictures bought the book rights in January 2011 to augment the film rights to Zamperini’s life story, which it had already acquired at the end of the 1950s.
WND Films is looking to fast-track this process as it undertakes to make the movie version of “TRAPPED,” based on the book “Trapped in Hitler’s Hell” by Anita Dittman and Jan Markell. “TRAPPED” is the true story of teen-ager Anita Dittman’s harrowing journey of survival during the Holocaust. Anita escaped twice from Nazi prison camps as she fought to reunite with her mother who was sent to a death camp hundreds of miles away.
[...]
The team is endeavoring to make “TRAPPED” as an independent film as much as possible. The main reason for this is to preserve the critical faith elements of Anita’s story.
The movie “Unbroken” was mentioned as an example of big budget biographical film. That movie was financed and released by Universal Pictures in 2014. If you saw the movie, you would remember that it revolved around Zamperini’s life as an Olympian representing the U.S. at the Berlin Olympics. It also centered on Zamperini as an army officer who survived a crash landing of his bomber, along with a handful of others. They drifted in a raft for 47 days before a Japanese vessel picked them up only to send to a series of prison camps. The rest of the movie is how Zamperini endured the deprivations and extreme physical torture meted out personally against him by a sadistic camp commander.
What you didn’t see was Zamperini’s fight against alcoholism and PTSD, and most significantly his conversion to Christ after attending Billy Graham evangelistic crusade.
The team behind “TRAPPED” does not want God’s work in Anita’s life ignored or set aside as was done for “Unbroken.” That’s why it wants “TRAPPED” to remain an “independently” financed film. That’s why it is seeking donors and investors to support the movie financially.
That's because the film of "Unbroken" focused on Zamperini's wartine experience, not events that happened years later. Besides, another faith-based filmmaker is already making a film telling the rest of Zamperini's story.
The article also doesn't mention that Dittman once likened President Obama to Hitler, while also denying that Donald Trump exhibited Nazi-esque tendencies despite the obvious narcissism and cult of personality he's cultivating.
The article then quotes WND Films vice president George Escobar repeating an earlier claim that the film needs to be made because "All the critical issues young Anita faced in the 1930s and ’40s are resurfacing today," citing as an example "Fake news being perpetrated like Nazi propaganda, undermining our freedoms."
Um, Escobar does know who he works for, doesn't he?
