Conspiracy beliefs come back to haunt Marion Cotillard
Normally, it takes Oscar winners at least a few months or years to land in trouble, but Marion Cotillard could set a new record thanks to some bizarre comments she made last year that are now triggering a hubbub just days after her best-actress victory.
A past interview suggests Cotillard believes that the U.S. government may have fabricated the 9/11 attacks because the World Trade Center towers were outdated "money-sucker" buildings needing major renovation.
She may even embrace more conspiracy theories — one of them truly out of this world. Cotillard says Uncle Sam may have faked that whole Apollo 11 bit back in 1969.
"Did a man really walk on the moon?" she asked on French TV program "Paris Premiere, Paris Derniere" ("Paris First, Paris Last") last year. "I saw plenty of documentaries on it, and I really wondered. And in any case I don't believe all they tell me, that's for sure."
She made the comments a year ago on French TV, but they're suddenly popping up all over the Internet, including Drudge Report, which links to this article in the London Daily Mail. There are additional reports by the New York Daily News and Agence France Presse. A transcript of the TV interview is at the website of French magazine Marianne2. Video clips appear on You Tube.
Cotillard is well known for believing in the fantastic. In her Oscar acceptance speech she said that her best-actress victory was proof "there is some angels" in Los Angeles.
This is how low news print has sunk in our culture. Slinging bseless, McCarthy-istic slander at innocent actors.
Notice how all of these articles about Cotillard show the same pattern: the headline that suggests that Cotillard is in DEEP trouble, facing slings and arrows and deep criticism; a couple quotes about her 9/11 views; a quote about the moon landing; and NO ACTUAL CRITICISM.
If Mme. Cotillard is facing career-threatening criticism, where is it?!?
It is articles like this one that are generating the "criticism" simply by suggesting it in the headlines. I've yet, in any articles about this, to encounter what these supposed "harsh criticisms" are!
Most shamefully, Mr. O'Neil, in your final paragraph you insinuate that Cotillard is "well known for believing in the fantastic."
First: Her comment about angels was a good-natured pun on Los Angeles being Spanish for "The Angels," something I have seen done countless times in taglines on TV news and in print. It is almost cliched.
Second: Belief in angels, far from being considered fantastic, is considered mainstream religious belief in this country. I'd like to see your paper do a piece assaulting US Christians and Jews for their "fantastic" belief in angels. That'd be the day!!!
Third: Your statement, that Cotillard is "well known for believing in the fantastic," cannot be applied to her 9/11 views, as this article is supposed to be exposing these new views. Her pun about angels is hardly fantastic. So you must, as a so-called journalist, retract or substantiate your libelous statement. I see no evidence to establish a pattern of odd or fantastic behaviour on Mmme. Cotillard's part.
Posted by: Enjneer | March 03, 2008 at 03:04 PM
What do you folks think about zeitgeistmovie.com? Anybody seen it? - It's almost 2 hrs. long but it sure can be food for thought.
Posted by: Mikki | March 03, 2008 at 03:03 PM
I just saw a picture of Dr Judy Wood and want to know if she got her teeth from Condi Rice.
Where did this nitwit get her decree? From some matchbook coupon?
And as to the great intellect French star: do you still move your lips when you read?
This is great nonnews and the paper shows its lack of integrity again.
No wonder your circulation is dropping.
The Weekly Reader rides again!!!
Posted by: velvel in decatur | March 03, 2008 at 02:16 PM
It's normal, she's FRENCH ! !
Posted by: robinia | March 03, 2008 at 01:59 PM
Our government thinks it is acceptable to lie. They admit to lying later, telling us it was for our own good. Remember, what is past is prologue. And patriotism is the virtue of the viscous.
Posted by: robert | March 03, 2008 at 01:37 PM
I think that those are just her beliefs and that she is getting so much crap because she is in the spot light... What about all the others who actually believe similar things.. do we publicly slander them too?
There are many things that the government doesn't tell the american people, or at least they don't tell the full truth.
I think that there was a lot of things for our government to gain by having terrorists attack US soil. War? Retaliation agendas?
Look at other victories in history... lots of loss for what... land.. religion..power. However allowing collateral damage is never okay in my eyes.
I cant even begin to give a theory for 9/11 that gives answers for everything that happened because whatever groups took part they were able to cover their tracks with enough reasonable doubt.
If you want to know some sort of truth in anything you must look at many different forms of information and beliefs and then you will get a bigger picture upon which you base your beliefs.
Want to know what's (really) happening in America read foreign press....
Posted by: Jen | March 03, 2008 at 12:39 PM
9/11 was an inside job...is that too far-fetched a concept?...No. I always say connect the dots and follow the money....Ask yourself...who has benefited a great deal from 9/11? The widows? the Saudis? Bush and family? Cheney and family? Corporate America? The terrorists? Israel? Bush/Cheney's cronies?....connect the dots and follow the money....you'll get your answers and it's not pretty...in fact downright treason and just disgustingly ugly....Impeach Bush/Cheney--War Criminals!!
Posted by: Frankie R. | March 03, 2008 at 10:33 AM
If these bizarre comments had been publicized before the Academy voted, Julie Christie would have the Oscar she deserved in the first place.
Posted by: Mark | March 03, 2008 at 09:09 AM
"These are not unfounded opinions. Not only is there a worldwide movement of scholars..."
Your definition of "scholars" may diverge radically from that of most people here. It took me about 90 seconds to discover that Wood theorizes that the Twin Towers were destroyed by a space-based death ray.
Arguing that a group of well-educated people believes (or claims to believe) something, and that they therefore have a point, constitutes a formal fallacy. It does not establish a valid argument.
Look up "Dr. Greg Jenkins interviews Dr. Judy Wood" on Google Video for an interview with her, see how credible you think she is. A PhD does not mean the person holding it is mentally stable, or, more importantly, that you should listen to them if they simply don't make even cursory sense.
"This is a media smear against the actress. It will be interesting how she responds."
Her attorney has responded, saying it was "out of context". He declined to provide that context.
You cannot smear someone with an accurate, representative quotation of their own words. She said she "tends to believe" in a conspiracy theory whereby the WTC was deliberately destroyed as a cost-cutting measure for real estate developers. By her own words, she believes a goofy conspiracy theory about 9/11. That's what I've seen widely reported, and what people are mocking her for. Correctly.
That doesn't mean she's a bad actress, but come on. She smeared herself.
Posted by: Aaron | March 03, 2008 at 06:47 AM
Did someone here even bother to read the interview ? of course 3 sentences out of the context are misleading. She was just saying she don't trust what people are telling us, and What if .. giving example of what is maybe not completely true. She don't even say she thinks so.
Posted by: mike | March 03, 2008 at 05:07 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7SwOT29gbc
Why did WTC 7 fall down then and why was it reported before it happenened?
Posted by: G | March 03, 2008 at 02:46 AM
Anybody who still thinks this conspiracy is only a theory is living in the dream world. Two towers did not topple but were blown into pieces; no, to be more accurate, the towers were blown into particles. These past 7 years, the mainstream media avoided replaying or showing the pulverization of the twin towers and the vertical implosion of WTC 7 at all cost. As far as the moon landing, I think there might be moon landing taken place, but the many pictures I came across are fake. The moon soil had foot prints all over; yet there was no blast crater, and zero sign of disturbance underneath the rocket. It's time for persons with courage such as Marion Cotillard, or Charles Sheen, or Rosie O'Donnell to come out and say the government is full of it.
Posted by: Mike | March 03, 2008 at 02:23 AM
Do everybody a favor, don't believe everything you read in the newspaper or see on TV ... And please, let it go with these anti-American theories. Do you have any idea how many Europeans actually love your country and take your defense on a daily basis ? Plus, I don't think all Americans have a very fair opinion on Europe. Correct me if I'm wrong. So, let the press do their job, and report whatever they think will be read. This is getting way out of proportion !!!
Posted by: Flo | March 03, 2008 at 01:25 AM
Nothing wrong with having a personal point of view, that is why she is an actress, an artist. Except when you chalk 3,000 deaths up to what was so eloquently described as "money-suckers" too lazy to destroy a building. Conspiracy theories abound and I've no problem with any of them. Free speech, truth or not. But when America wants to "re-wire" a system, we blow it out AFTER we evacuate the workers and WITHOUT the use of planes, federal airspace, and a confession from a wealthy intelligent Saudi.
Posted by: Ben Levy | March 03, 2008 at 12:54 AM
Aaron claims:
"She's gullible and prone to forming and repeating unfounded opinions."
These are not unfounded opinions. Not only is there a worldwide movement of scholars seeking to generate a more informed debate on this matter, there are also two lawsuits brought on behalf of the USA (by Dr Judy Wood and Dr Morgan Reynolds) that will test the truthfulness of the 'official' explanation for the destruction of the twin towers.
This is a media smear against the actress. It will be interesting how she responds. I suspect this will end up being an own goal by the media as it will raise issues in the mass media that ordinary folk cannot.
Posted by: Rory Ridley-Duff | March 03, 2008 at 12:12 AM
Can any of you people actually say you are a structural engineer. well i am, all i can say is this, when analysing the collapse of the twin towers, i can definitely say it was not fabricated. i will not go into details as it bore many people. and to her comment about a building that can burn for 24 hours, please can somebody tell me what material they use, so i can use for all the buildings that i design. to many people like marion cotillard just expressing their opinions and thats what it just is, and opinion.
Posted by: D | March 03, 2008 at 12:05 AM
I admire her because of her critical thinking. She's smart. Go to the actual interview before judging.. don't let the American media fool you...it didn't fool her!
Posted by: Reem | March 02, 2008 at 10:42 PM
As an American resident in France and Spain, I hear these sort of (9/11) conspiracy theories all the time.
Yes they are ridiculous but, despite what we might think, they are not motivated by anti-Americanism. We are all capable of viewing foreign nations in sometimes a very bizarre way. Just ask our fellow Americans what they think of French, English or even Chinese history and even the present day, and you will hear from startlingly bizarre tales!
That makes us a bit naive but I wouldn't exactly burn a good actress at the stake for holding flimsy views of recent history.
A bad actress is another matter...
Posted by: Victor | March 02, 2008 at 10:31 PM
Take it easy people. Holocaust deniers claim it didn't happen. The WTC was blown up by Bush. She didn't say it wasn't blown up.
Posted by: Corrine | March 02, 2008 at 10:24 PM
9/11 was a total inside job, all she's doing is adding to the list. Willie Nelson came out last week. Andreas Von Bulow, former German minister of Research and Tech came out saying inside job. Italian presidents, Japanese congressional hearings. US intelligence officials. WAKE UP! It was an inside job.
Posted by: Eddie | March 02, 2008 at 09:42 PM
"Nowhere in that interview does she express any anti-American sentiments, her own conspiracy theories, or any disrespect to the victims."
Read the AFP version of this story, from an actual French newspaper: They explicitly quote her as saying that she personally tends to believe the conspiracy theory. If there's additional "context" here, her attorney would be doing her a service to provide it.
He won't, because there isn't any. Still, in her defense, this DOES NOT mean she's anti-American, it just means she's gullible and prone to forming and repeating unfounded opinions.
That, of course, is usually sufficient for someone to get themselves into this kind of hot water.
Posted by: Aaron | March 02, 2008 at 09:10 PM
Nowhere in that interview does she express any anti-American sentiments, her own conspiracy theories, or any disrespect to the victims.
Tom, you should be ashamed of yourself, eating into this tripe. And why don't you patrol your forums every once in a while, where people are going NUTS with this. Don't feed the fire -- get the facts. And the facts say that The London Daily Mail is a notoriously anti-French tabloid that twisted her words into something awful.
If you want to condemn someone, Tom, condemn Peter Allen for sparking this fire. This is a disgusting story, which has been addressed by Cotillard's publicist, and makes me think so low of the media. They will stop at NOTHING to sell a paper.
I thought you were above all this.
Posted by: k_obrien | March 02, 2008 at 07:23 PM
Everyone knows Dick Cheney did it.
Posted by: JD | March 02, 2008 at 07:06 PM
She might join the club with Tom Cruise.
Posted by: JD | March 02, 2008 at 07:00 PM
ugetserved, your comment should be directed to Goodbye_Marion, who wrote about having viewed the documentary that you allude to. I have been reading some information, and I support your position. So kindly, refrain from attaching yourself to MY rear. :)
Posted by: Élyse Addams | March 02, 2008 at 06:46 PM