4.25.2005

"Interpreter" Piece Needs Interpreter

Maybe we put too much pressure on reporters to actually report facts. In the internet age, they are under a lot of pressure. But, c'mon. Check out this line from an E!Online piece about the weekend's movies:

"Debuting in first was the Nicole Kidman-Sean Penn United Nations-based thriller, The Interpreter. The film, the first for director Sydney Pollack, had a strong showing, with $22.8 million over an otherwise sluggish weekend."

It's not the over-the-top super-hyphenate, either. It's the line "first for director Sydney Pollack" that's a bit of a stunner. His first movie? Don't tell Robert Redford... he might not want to know the six movies he did with Pollack don't count. How to tell Dustin Hoffman his Oscar nom for "Tootsie" is, like entire seasons of "Dallas", simply a very lucid dream. And Tom Cruise? "The Firm" wasn't worth remembering, anyhow.

Maybe they meant "the first [insert accomplishment] for director..." But what could that be? The first #1 debut? Nope. "The Firm" did that, if not others. His first movie where he also acted? Nope. He's got 12, though some (including "The Interpreter") are uncredited.

I've decided the reporter must have meant this:
"The film, the first Nicole Kidman-Sean Penn United Nations-based thriller for director Sydney Pollack, had a strong showing."

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