Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
Jan 20 2007
Stallone’s New Armenian Film Angers Turkish People
Saturday , 20 January 2007
Famed American actor Sylvester Stallone’s possible screen adaptation
of the controversial so-called Armenian genocide novel `The Forty
Days of Musa Dagh’ has Turks in an uproar.
English daily The Independent reported that the movie based on
Austrian author Franz Werfel’s 1934 novel has attracted the wrath of
the Turkish community in Hollywood.
The issue has long been a contentious topic in Turkey, which claims
the 1915 events were not genocide. The group `Association for the
Struggle Against Armenian Genocide Acknowledgement’ is attempting to
block production of the film.
`The book is full of lies, since the author got his information from
nationalist and radical Armenians,’ the association’s chairman Savas
Egilmez told The Independent.
`We have already sent necessary documents about the mentioned days to
the producer of the film. Our allies will urge the producer not to
produce this film.’ Stallone retorted:
`Talk about a political hot potato. The Turks have been killing that
subject for 85 years.’
Stallone is currently on a promotional tour for his latest film,
`Rocky Balboa,’ the sixth and final installment of the `Rocky’
series.
More than 520,000 Turkish and Kurdish people were massacred by the
armed Armenian groupd during the 1914-1918 years.