Angelina Jolie thought she was going to make a picture celebrating the life of a much beloved journalist. Then she forgot she was white, banned press from a movie about freedom of the press, and watched as distributor Paramount Vintage, who tried to encourage an atmosphere of religious understanding at a special screening, instead hosted a platform of hatred.

Last night Paramount invited Muslim, Christian, and Jewish groups to a Mighty Heart screening and panel discussion. The likes of The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Progressive Christians Uniting (PCU) came on board as co-sponsors, while Plan B co-producer Dede Gardner and Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak were scheduled to appear on the panel along with the two orgs, and Café Intifada, Friends of Pakistan, USA and Muslim Public Affairs Council were also taking part. (We’re pretty much copy/pasting here.)

That was until Jewish activist Allyson Rowen-Taylor – “who has been involved in orgs such as the American Jewish Congress and Stand With Us” – found out about it in a fit of rage, and claimed, “The only reason they like this film is because it’s about a dead Jew,” reports Variety. The note reached Judea Pearl, father of Daniel, who responded via email: “This is Hollywood’s idea of a ‘dialogue.’”

All this, and then the New York Times goes and argues the movie came too early after the tragedy, and we’re bad people for it. Not even a crappy Esquire cover story can spin this bad press right ’round.

Original post by Jossip and software by Elliott Back