posted 06-08-2001 03:39 PM            

"Commando Performance

Why Halle Berry went topless in ''Swordfish'' -- Producer Joel Silver says bullets and bare breasts
mean big box office

It may be 2001, but action maestro Joel Silver (''The Matrix'') is making movies like it's
1989. The Über-producer's latest extravaganza, ''Swordfish,'' starring John Travolta and
Hugh Jackman (''X-Men'''s Wolverine), marks a return to the bullets 'n' babes formula
that made him one of the most successful and reviled producers in Hollywood. Like such
Silver staples as ''Lethal Weapon'' and ''Road House,'' the R-rated ''Swordfish,'' which
opens June 8, is chock full of explosions, car chases, and an ample amount of female
nudity.

The latest body on display belongs to Halle Berry, one of the few big-name stars to doff
her top in a Silver picture. Her decision has already raised eyebrows (among other things).
Although she played an eye candy role early in her career -- as an exotic dancer in Silver's
''The Last Boy Scout'' -- it's atypical for an A-list actress to follow an award-winning
dramatic performance (Berry received both the Golden Globe and the Emmy for her 1999
HBO biopic ''Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'') by agreeing to bare her breasts in an action
film.

According to Silver, it was Berry's ''sophisticated'' onscreen image that convinced him she
ought to tackle a sensual role. ''I've known Halle for years, and I felt this was time for her
to do this,'' he says of the actress' first topless scene. ''I think it's cool for the character
and good for the box office.''

And despite some initial trepidation, Berry eventually agreed with Silver's point of view.
''So much of my life I was afraid to [do a nude scene],'' she says. ''With the success of
my Dorothy Dandridge project and the critical acclaim that brought me, I finally felt that I
didn't have to prove myself anymore.'' But Berry has discredited the widely reported story
that she was paid an extra $500,000 for her topless scene (or ''$250,000 per breast,'' as
the film's director, Dominic Sena, told the New York Daily News). She says Sena's remark
was a joke.

But critics have noted that along with the film's various shootouts and other large scale
acts of violence, there's some less than sensitive treatment of its female characters. For
example, Travolta's master spy character, Gabriel, tests ex-con computer pro Jackman's
mettle by forcing him, at gunpoint, to hack into a complex program within 60 seconds --
while he's being fellated by a nameless blonde woman.

Yet Berry insists that ''Swordfish'' is not a
misogynistic movie. ''I think [my character] is as
strong and as intelligent as the men are. She has a
secret weapon that they don't have -- every woman
does.'' Besides, Berry says, the male characters --
thugs, criminals, terrorists -- are hardly paragons:
''Some of the men are just shady characters killing
people. Are they any better than the woman doing
the blow job?''

Even without bare bosoms and sex acts, the movie
would still have earned a solid R rating. But Jonathan
D. Krane, one of the film's producers, argues that ''Swordfish'' -- whose villain is a
politically motivated terrorist -- actually contains NO gratuitous violence. ''Every violent
act has a purpose that connects with the thematic underpinnings, which is patriotism. My
wife asked me if we should let our two children see it. And I said yes, I want the kids to
see it. They see violent stuff anyway. At least I can tell them about the themes in this:
patriotism and terrorism.'' And maybe he'll have time as soon as they stop asking,
''Daddy, what was that lady doing to Wolverine?''"

posted 06-10-2001 08:05 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by abbe:
[B]yo, for a half mill i'd rip my shit off so fast...

B]

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Something about this sentence makes me think that you will probably never have the opportunity to do this.

posted 06-10-2001 08:34 AM            

hey jet,

quote:

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Originally posted by Jet:
Something about this sentence makes me think that you will probably never have the opportunity to do this.

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something about this sentence makes me think you're a real fucking nimrod.

posted 06-10-2001 08:45 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by abbe:
oh and YOUR phone is ringing off the hook, right?

hey jet,

something about this sentence makes me think you're a real fucking nimrod.

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It was a joke dumbass! How about you get a life for Christmas? YO?

Damn some people I swear

posted 06-10-2001 08:50 AM            

see, the way "jokes" work, is that they're supposed to be FUN-NY

it's kinda part of the DEFINITION

YO, jet

posted 06-10-2001 08:57 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by abbe:
uh, noooooo

see, the way "jokes" work, is that they're supposed to be FUN-NY

it's kinda part of the DEFINITION

YO, jet

now i KNOW you're a real fucking nimrod.

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Ohhhh, FUN-NY! You mean funny as in how your mamma and pappa are also brother and sister or funny as in the way you look?

posted 06-10-2001 09:02 AM            

you're taking all the fun out of this, really.

posted 06-10-2001 09:10 AM            

sorry, didn't mean to stump you (pun intended)

uh, let' see

posted 06-10-2001 11:55 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Sandwiches of the Gods:
They're beautiful, so delicious I would want to slice them off and fry them for breakfast.

Oh, did I say that ou loud?

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ew.

posted 06-11-2001 07:54 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Jet:
So was nimrod like word of the day at your special learning class or something cause you seem to lack variety in your lame insults.

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right, who needs impact when you can have VARIETY?

posted 06-13-2001 05:21 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Americano:
Millions of little girls want to be her--that's what she told me anyway.

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no nimrod,

i said "...why don't you ask the slew of little girls that LINE UP to learn to be 'like me'?"

NIMROD

posted 06-13-2001 05:28 AM            

i used to teach martial arts classes to little girls.

posted 06-13-2001 12:10 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by abbe:
hey americano, are you at all selective when you take it up the ass, or will any ole big dick do?

just curious

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ABBE IS LONELY.

posted 06-13-2001 12:32 PM            

But here's my gripe: Why does an actress getting naked have to be any kind of news flash? If that's what the story calls for, then that's the story.

And I do not care for movies that "objectify" women or men. But if tits and guns sells box office, that's what we're going to be seeing.

That "objectification thing" was a major big mistake on the part of porno makers. They never considered that women get horny, too, but what's in it for us to go see a porno movie where women are just the exercise equipment that men are working out on?

I wouldn't mind seeing at least one porno flick made from a woman's point of view.

posted 06-14-2001 05:56 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by bigfish:
Nice to see some things never change.

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oh shut up