Al Pacino Quits Theatre Production After Learning of Author’s Nazi Past

Al Pacino Quits Theatre Production After Learning of Author’s Nazi Past

 

by Kipp Jones 29 May 2015New York, NY

http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/05/29/al-pacino-pulls-out-of-theatre-production-after-learning-of-authors-nazi-past/

Actor Al Pacino is being praised for removing himself from the stage adaptation of a novel written by Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun, after becoming aware of the author’s support for Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

Pacino, 75, pulled out of a commitment last week to film a narration of Hamsun’s dark novel, Hunger, which was intended to be displayed on stage through a hologram, according to the New York Daily News.

After the actor learned of the Hamsun’s support for Hitler’s occupation of Norway and of the personal relationship between him and Hitler, Pacino informed producers at Copenhagen’s Aveny-T theatre he no longer wished to participate.

“It is correct: he jumped at the last minute because he couldn’t come to terms with Knut Hamsun’s support for the German occupation and Nazism,” Aveny-T’s manager, Jon Stephensen, told a Danish publication, per the Daily News. “We must respect that.”

Hamsun, a Nobel prize-winning author who died in 1952 at the age of 92, admired Germany and was sympathetic to the country’s invasion of Norway in 1940.

Hamsun was so sympathetic to the cause, he presented Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels with his 1920 Nobel Prize in Literature as a gift.

The author also published an obituary describing Hitler as “a preacher of the gospel of justice for all nations,” after the German leader’s 1945 suicide.

“If one looks at the impact Hunger made on Hemingway, Kafka, Hesse, Lindgren, Singer and other prominent authors at the time, it is somewhat strange to see to what extent this differs from today’s judgment,” Hamsun Society chairperson Hege Faust said.

“Many people choose not to read Hamsun at all, or when it comes to famous people such as Al Pacino, to risk having their name connected to him.”

After World War II, the author was stripped of his property and fined heavily. He was also placed under a psychiatric hold for a short time, and despite accumulating a great deal of wealth and fame, died broke.

Nazi

Nazi Party was a political party for Germany.

Note: Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Nazi Party, and the fuhrer of Germany.

Josef Goebbels was the chief propagandist for Germany.

Daniel R. Coats was the U.S. ambassador for Germany, and a lobbyist for Cerberus Capital Management L.P.

Stephen A. Feinberg is the CEO for Cerberus Capital Management L.P., and Martin Feinberg’s son.

Martin Feinberg is Stephen A. Feinberg’s and a Newtown (CT) resident.

Newtown (CT) is the location for the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a mass shootings 28 killed, including gunman.

Richard R. Burt was a U.S. ambassador for Germany, an assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of State, a senior adviser for Kissinger McLarty Associates, a senior adviser for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank), and is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Richard W. Fisher was the vice chairman for Kissinger McLarty Associates, and is a director at the American Council on Germany.

Henry A. Kissinger was the secretary for the U.S. Department of State, a co-founder for Kissinger McLarty Associates, a co-chairman for the American Academy in Berlin, is a director at the American Council on Germany, a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank), a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, the founder of Kissinger Associates, Inc. a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Germany was a funder for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank).

Norway was a funder for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank).

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, a board member for the International Crisis Group, and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee, the Climate Reality Project, the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the New America Foundation.

Thorvald Stoltenberg was a board member for the International Crisis Group, and the foreign minister for Norway.

Robin Chandler Duke was a U.S. ambassador for Norway, an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and is a life trustee at the Institute of International Education.

Timothy F. Geithner is a director at the International Rescue Committee, was a researcher for Kissinger Associates, Inc., and the secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury for the Barack Obama administration.

International Rescue Committee is a partner at the ONE Campaign.

Susan McCue was a founding president & CEO for the ONE Campaign, Harry Reid’s chief of staff, and is a trustee at the Third Way.

Ronald A. Klain is a trustee at the Third Way, the coordinator of government Ebola efforts for the Barack Obama administration, and was a partner at O'Melveny & Myers LLP.

William M. Daley is a trustee at the Third Way, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was the chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.

Kathleen L. Brown was an attorney at O'Melveny & Myers LLP, and is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP, and is an advocate for the ONE Campaign.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.           

Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Rahm I. Emanuel is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Chicago (IL) mayor, Ari Emanuel’s brother, and was the White House chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.

Ari Emanuel is Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother, and was an agent for the International Creative Management, Inc.

Al Pacino is an International Creative Management, Inc. client, and a was a Creative Artists Agency Inc. client.

Creative Artists Agency Inc. was a donor for The Climate Project.

The Climate Project was a merged organization with the Climate Reality Project.

Valerie B. Jarrett is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and her great uncle is Vernon E. Jordan Jr.

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).   

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), a trustee at the Institute of International Education, and was the president of the Economic Club of Washington, a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Robin Chandler Duke is a life trustee at the Institute of International Education, was an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and a U.S. ambassador for Norway.

David M. Rubenstein is a co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank), the president of the Economic Club of Washington, was a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank), a director at the American Council on Germany, and a trustee at the American Academy in Berlin.

Germany was a funder for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank).

Norway was a funder for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank).

Richard W. Fisher is a director at the American Council on Germany, and was the vice chairman for Kissinger McLarty Associates.   

Henry A. Kissinger is a director at the American Council on Germany, a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank), a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, the founder of Kissinger Associates, Inc. a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), was the secretary for the U.S. Department of State, a co-founder for Kissinger McLarty Associates, a co-chairman for the American Academy in Berlin, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Timothy F. Geithner is a director at the International Rescue Committee, was a researcher for Kissinger Associates, Inc., and the secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury for the Barack Obama administration.

International Rescue Committee is a partner at the ONE Campaign.

Matt Damon is an advocate for the ONE Campaign, and a William Morris Endeavor Entertainment client.

Ari Emanuel is the co-CEO & director for William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother, and was an agent for the International Creative Management, Inc.

Rahm I. Emanuel is Ari Emanuel’s brother, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Chicago (IL) mayor, and was the White House chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.

Al Pacino is an International Creative Management, Inc. client, and a was a Creative Artists Agency Inc. client

Creative Artists Agency Inc. was a donor for The Climate Project.

The Climate Project was a merged organization with the Climate Reality Project.

Albert A. Gore Jr. was a donor for The Climate Project, is the chairman for the Climate Reality Project, and senior adviser for Google Inc.

Eric E. Schmidt is the chairman for Google Inc., the chairman of the New America Foundation, was a funder for the New America Foundation, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Google's Eric Schmidt talks about how to run the world

June 9, 2008 | 3:48 pm

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/06/googles-eric-sc.html

Despite its famous motto of "Don't be evil," there are some in the dark corners of the Web who speculate that Google's real plan is to take over the world. Google Watch features headlines such as "Google Must be Stopped," and "Is Google God?" The site Google World Domination even has a countdown clock, which indicates that the Skynet-type moment when we will all be slaves to the mighty Google algorithms will take place in roughly 6 years and 192 days. (Interestingly, the site, which includes a creepy video, features ads by Google, demonstrating how insidious that plot actually might be).

With that type of speculation out there, it's news any time a Google executive talks about running the world.

And that's exactly what Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt did today, sort of.

He didn't say that Google wanted to run the world. But he did offer an interesting suggestion to a crowd of power players in Washington about the best way to do it: Just like Google.

"It is possible to build a culture around innovation. It is possible to build a culture around leadership. And it is possible to build a culture around optimism. Google is an example, but by no means the only example, of a culture that can be built based on relatively scalable principles. We could run our country this way. We could run the world this way."

It was meant to be an inspiring moment ...

...as Schmidt wrapped up a speech to the Economic Club of Washington during a luncheon in a packed ballroom at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Click here for an audio clip of Schmidt's comments.

The appearance was a homecoming of sorts for Schmidt. Vernon E. Jordan Jr., the club's president and a former President Clinton advisor, noted that Schmidt was born a few blocks away from the hotel at George Washington University Hospital, and grew up in the Northern Virginia suburbs. His mother, Ellie Schmidt, was in the audience.

Schmidt talked about cloud computing and the promise of mobile devices, all the while plugging some Google products. For the journalists sitting in the back of the room (no lunch of seared beef filet with Cabernet reduction and lemon and thyme glazed salmon filet for us), Schmidt did commisserate about the state of the newspaper industry.

"We all care a lot about this. Newspaper demand has never been higher. The problem is revenues have never been lower. So people are reading the newspaper they're just not reading it in a way where the newspapers can make money on it. This is a shared problem. We have to solve it. There's no obviously good solution right now."

One possible solution some have have floated has been for Google to use a sliver of its approximately $175 billion market cap to buy a newspaper, such as the New York Times, but Schmidt recently downplayed such an idea.

Like many Silicon Valley executives who come to Washington, Schmidt spoke broadly about technology (his speech was titled, "The Future of the Internet: Engine for Economic Growth") and did his best not to make any major news. He didn't even come close to mentioning Yahoo, let alone comment on the possibility of Google cutting a deal to place ads next to Yahoo's search results.

Schmidt opted to talk less about the nuts-and-bolts of one of the world's largest companies than the ways in which technology can shape the future. Noting that the United States was founded "by people who saw a better model," Schmidt concluded his speech with this call to arms:

"So let's be revolutionaries. Let's take this opportunity, this huge change that is before us, with technlology, and let's change businesses, communications and the way we interact, on some new principles that reflect the very best of America."

Those sound like the words of someone who might be considering a run for higher office one day, assuming Google isn't running everything by then.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. was the president of the Economic Club of Washington, is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), a trustee at the Institute of International Education, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Robin Chandler Duke is a life trustee at the Institute of International Education, was an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and a U.S. ambassador for Norway.

Norway was a funder for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank).

Germany was a funder for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank).

David M. Rubenstein was a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank), a director at the American Council on Germany, a trustee at the American Academy in Berlin, is a co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the president of the Economic Club of Washington.

Henry A. Kissinger is a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (think tank), a director at the American Council on Germany, a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, the founder of Kissinger Associates, Inc. a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), was the secretary for the U.S. Department of State, a co-founder for Kissinger McLarty Associates, a co-chairman for the American Academy in Berlin, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Timothy F. Geithner is a director at the International Rescue Committee, was a researcher for Kissinger Associates, Inc., and the secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury for the Barack Obama administration.

International Rescue Committee is a partner at the ONE Campaign.