Martin Scorsese's Last Temptation of Christ opened to long lines and sold out theaters in 1989. There was a statement from Mother Teresa who said, Our Blessed Mother Mary will see that this film is removed from your land. A cinema in Paris that was showing it was actually firebombed. In America it was a moment where the religious right needed something to rally around. And they kind of organized their agenda around this movie. So it became a puppet for them to preach from.
In this episode we're bringing you a live recording from our Intelligent Times event series which took place in collaboration with The New York Times. Recorded in 2019, award winning actor Willem Dafoe speaks to the New York Times European culture editor, Matthew Anderson. Together they discuss Dafoe's long and varied career, his approach to acting, and his understanding of the changing film industry. Part two of this event is available ad free, for subscribers now. And for our listeners who don’t subscribe part two will be available in our next episode.
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