Hard, Cold Reality

Being at the White House screening their film for the president is an acceptable excuse for the studio chiefs missing the L. A. premiere.

Such was the case Wednesday when Miramax’s Bob and Harvey Weinstein were showing “Welcome to Sarajevo” to the Clintons while their company’s drama centering on war correspondents covering Bosnia premiered at the Motion Picture Academy where the film generated strong reactions.

Thursday morning, Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein said Clinton saw the film seated alongside Natasha Nicholson, the 9-year-old Bosnian girl portrayed in the film. Afterward, the president said he wanted to arrange a bipartisan congressional screening. “He said it transcends Republican and Democrat,” Weinstein said.

“It kind of makes the movies I’ve been doing seem inconsequential,” said Oscar-winning producer Mark Johnson at the Los Angeles event. “This film couldn’t be more topical and disturbing. It reminds you of what film can do and how we owe it to ourselves to own up to that responsibility.”

Most guests (the 1,000-strong audience included Sylvester Stallone, Holly Hunter and Juliette Lewis) used words like “riveting” and “breathtaking” to describe the true story of a British TV director who became personally involved in Natasha Nicholson’s life.

Billy Connolly first saw the film in Cannes and thought some of the more harrowing scenes would be cut before the U.S. distribution, but that didn’t happen. “They didn’t lighten it up at all,” said the star of “Mrs. Brown.” “It’s nice to see film used to such powerful effect.”

Since this was a premiere, there was a reception after the screening, a tricky social situation following a film like this. On the one hand, guests have just been rattled by death and destruction; on the other, this is L.A. and no matter what the movie, guests are accustomed to schmoozing with buffets nearby. “I get confused,” said Howard Hesseman. “The images are so strong and horrifying and now we’re all eating hip finger foods.”

Hesseman also expressed mixed feelings--though he’s glad the film was made--about “gut-wrenching” tragedy being filmed and sold as another product in the film marketplace. It’s an issue that concerns the film’s producers as well.

“The danger of exploiting the situation was one of the things we questioned,” said producer Graham Broadbent. “We had to ask on what basis the film was being made and for whom. It’s real easy to be virginal and say ‘Let’s not do anything.’ Or you can say ‘Let’s try to do something that has integrity and begins to represent what Sarajevo was like during the siege.’ ”

The other justification for making the film came from director Michael Winterbottom who mentioned that 8,000 of the 35,000 peacekeeping troops in Bosnia are from the U.S. and their presence will be required for some time to come. So, here, “this isn’t a film about a dead issue,” said the director. “It’s very much alive.”