Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Ludi Boeken, King of the Jews

Poop Ruiz, in the comments section, notes that the comparison between Arnold S. and the golem was the observation of one Ludi Boeken, movie producer. I haven't yet confirmed that Mr. Boeken is the spokeperson for the Jews on matters Schwarznegger, but apparently Suzanne Fields has.

And who is Ludi Boeken? He's a Dutch film producer whose credits consist mainly of French films. He's also the director of "Britney, Baby, One More Time," a film summarized as follows:

Singing transsexuals, car crash mayhem, dancing truck drivers, and a certain midriff-baring teen pop idol are all part of the campy fun in Dutch director Ludi Boeken's fairy tale/road movie/drag extravaganza. Mark Borschardt and Mike Schank, previously seen in American Movie, star as independent filmmakers Dude and Mike. Hired by a Milwaukee TV station to interview none other than Britney Spears, they dream of using their pay for the gig to finance their dream project. Unfortunately, the interview does not go well, with the Dude asking Brit a very inappropriate question that gets the interview terminated before it even begins. Despondent, the intrepid -- and incompetent -- pair repair to a restaurant, where they have the good fortune of running into none other than a Britney look-a-like who just happens to be a drag queen (played by Robert Stephens, aka Angel Benton, whose experiences the movie was based on). Before you can say 'not a girl, not yet a woman,' the Dude decides that all of his problems can be solved by having Stephens pose as a the real singer, and to film the drag diva on a road trip whose footage will reap in big bucks. Britney, Baby, One More Time wascreened [sic] at the 2002 Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. ~ Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide

Boeken also co-produced a 1997 film starring Steve Gutenberg, a dog and a dolphin, and a 1998 "French-Belgian-Romanian-Dutch comedy-drama, set in Central Europe during the summer of 1941," in which "Yiddish-speaking Jews purchase a train, forge identity papers, and leave town...[p]osing as both prisoners and Nazis...." The latter film has been described as "a comedy fantasy that resembles Hogan's Heroes crossed with Fiddler on the Roof."

It appears Fields has conflated Mr. Boeken with "Jews" in general. (I can't even confirm that Boeken is Jewish, but if he is, Fields should say "a Jew" or "one Jew" has compared Arnie to the golem.) Maybe Fields didn't want to mention that the quote originated in the Moonie Times' competitor, the Washington Post.

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