The ‘offensive’ films Iran could sue

The Iranian government could be gearing up to bring lawsuits against a number of filmmakers, after it revealed earlier this week it was preparing to sue the makers of 'Argo'.

[Related story: Iran may sue Hollywood over 'inaccurate' Argo]
[Related story: Iran blasts Argo Oscar win]

French lawyer Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, who is acting on behalf of the Iranian authorities, said: “I'll be defending Iran against films that have been made by Hollywood to distort the country's image, such as 'Argo'.”

The key being use of the plural 'films', Coutant-Peyre, who both represents and is married to the infamous Venezuelan terrorist Carlos The Jackal, has so far not revealed which movies might be targeted.

But the regime has been vocal about which films it deems disparaging in the past:

The Wrestler

Officials were angered by the appearance of The Ayatollah, who grappled with Mickey Rourke's Randy 'The Ram' in Darren Aronofsky's Oscar-nominated drama. Wearing a traditional keffiyeh and a leotard emblazoned with the Iranian flag, the film was accused of being anti-Iranian, particularly when The Ram snaps a pole with the Iranian flag over his knee. The cultural advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanded an apology from the Academy for the portrayal, and for other derogatory portrayals of the Islamic republic in other films.

300

The very same cultural advisor to Ahmadinejad, Javad Shamaqdari, also objected to Zach Snyder's CGI-tastic '300', and it was banned in Iran for its portrayal of Persians, and branded 'hurtful American propaganda' and 'American psychological warfare against Iran'. Anger intensified - there were embassy protests - over demons and other creatures being part of the Persian army, and that it was released on the eve of the Persian New Year. It was also deemed disrespectful that Persian Prince Xerxes was portrayed as effeminate.

Alexander

Oliver Stone's film about 'Alexander The Great' was never going to go down well. Ahmadinejad himself called the director 'part of the Great Satan' when it emerged that he wanted to make a biopic of the Iranian premier. Such feeling may have been due to Stone's portrayal of Persians in his Colin Farrell-starring epic, and that Alexander is much-despised in Iranian culture following his conquering of the lands in 331 BC.

Not Without My Daughter

It wasn't just Iran which was offended by the Sally Field-fronted drama, which saw a mother and daughter seeking to flee the country and her violent Iranian husband after being taken and held there on false pretences. The New York Times accused it of exploiting 'the stereotype of the demonic Iranian...it is an utter artistic failure, and its reliance on cultural stereotype is a major cause', while critic Roger Ebert added: “If a movie of such a vitriolic and spiteful nature were to be made in America about any other ethnic group, it would be denounced as racist and prejudiced.”