I can’t tell if this clip of Peter Berg on an Israeli talk show (hat tip: Pajiba) makes me like him less or more, but I’m leaning towards more. Either way, I can tell you this: he’s definitely not boring. Ostensibly there to discuss the movie he directed, Battleship, the $300 million board-game-based turd Universal is currently drowning the rest of the world in ads for, Berg, to the astonishment of the host, instead jumped into a subject more dear to his heart: a nuclear Iran.
What the f*ck is gonna happen in Israel? You got Bibi [Israeli PM Netanyahu], and what’s the Secretary of Defense’s name? You have TWO MEN who are now dictating the policy towards Iran. It’s a real mess, because you’ve gotta decide whether it’s better, to allow Iran to be armed, and whether a nuclear Iran is less of a threat, than an attacked Iran. If you attack Iran now, they’re gonna fight you back, right? There’s gonna be blood. Israelis will die, right? No question. Would you rather take that now, or let them get a nuclear bomb. It’s the most serious issue facing our planet today.
And then comes probably the most epic fluff-piece pivot in the history of shitty entertainment show interviews…
More so than the movie Battleship, which, you know, I’m very excited to have directed, I love Rihanna, she’s a great actress, did a wonderful job in the film… My Dad was a Navy historian…
“If Iran gets a nuclear bomb, millions of Israelis are gonna die. Rihanna is great by the way. What were we talking about again? Oh right, those towelheads are probably gonna nuke you.”
Incredibly, the interview gets even better when he pivots back.
BERG: ….have you been in the Israeli army?
INTERVIEWER: No
BERG: What? How’d you get out of that, are you a draft dodger?
INTERVIEWER: Ahhhhh…
BERG: How old are you?
INTERVIEWER: 25.
BERG: You gotta join the army, motherf*cker! How’d you get out of that?
INTERVIEWER: Well, it’s a long story–
BERG: What’s your name?
INTERVIEWER: I’m Jason.
BERG: Jason what?
INTERVIEWER: Holt.
BERG: Jason Holt. Holt doesn’t sound Jewish.
INTERVIEWER: My dad’s Jewish.
BERG: My dad is too. You don’t have to join the Israeli army?
INTERVIEWER: You do.
BERT: So when are you going to join?
INTERVIEWER: …We’re not having this conversation.
That was so amazing I actually had to check to make sure Jason Holt wasn’t a comedian and this wasn’t a bit. As far as I can tell, he’s not, and it wasn’t. As a general rule, I’m against people who play make believe for a living telling others they’re not a real man if they don’t join the military. But I give Peter Berg a lot of credit for making an interview about BATTLESHIP 1. actually about something, and 2. interesting. And if I ever start a secret police force, he’s the first person I’m hiring as an interrogator.
If you think this interview was nuts, you should see how animated he got during a later interview with another Israeli interviewer named “Mr. Roper.”
[via Pajiba, IsraellyCool]
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Imagine Lights, Camera, Jackson interviewing Peter Berg…
[BERG] You gotta grow some hair on your bawls motherfucker!
“You gotta join the army, motherf*cker! How’d you get out of that?”
You gotta eat your veggies, motherf*cker! How’d you get out of that?
You gotta do your chores, motherf*cker! How’d you get out of that?
You gotta do your homework, motherf*cker! How’d you get out of that?
-reminds me of childhood. Happy Mother’s Day Mom.
Did this just birth a meme?
Somone’s looking to join Rihanna in rehab. He sounds a little exhausted.
Interviewer looks like a Dominic Cooper who let himself go.
“You gotta be my twin motherfucker how did you get out of that”
Wow I apologize for that last comment, pretty horrible
on the wikipedia page it says Holt is gay….so not sure if that’s a disqualifying characteristic in the IDF – but to be fair to the chap, who really wants to go to the military anyway?
Nope. Whatever else you may say about it, the Israeli army is actually one of the most progressive on that issue. They’ve had gay soldiers serving openly for decades.
STEVE HOLT!
And of course Peter Berg is the perfect spokesman for the moral necessity of national service, with his own extensive history of dressing Jamie Foxx and Rihanna up as soldiers.
Berg sounds pretty much like Tommy Wiseau with the “motherfuckers” he’s throwing out.
[youtu.be]
I kept waiting for him to stand up and nail the guy with an overhand right.
Can we get this douchetard and Mel Gibson in a room together, pronto? They can start with discussing which names are Jewish enough and work their way up from there.
Wow that was awesome. If the IDF doesn’t adopt “You gotta join the Army motherfucker” as its new recruiting slogan there are passing up on the opportunity of the century.
Why are people giving Berg a hard time? He was refreshingly off-the-cuff in this interview, and being a half-Jewish man whose father was a naval historian and who has spent years researching the military, he has a little more of a stake in these issues than Mel freaking Gibson.
Are you saying that Peter Berg has a dog in this fight?
Peter Berg does have a dog in this fight.*
*a Hebrew National hot dog
Blamco, I’m saying people have the right to have informed opinions about topics they care about. Although I suppose Holt might have avoided service due to a valid but private medical reason, and that could be why he hedged on talking about it.
Having a cleft asshole has been a disqualifying factor since at least the Yom Kippur War,
I call all movies after Young Guns 2 “Sutherfuckers”
Wow, not that I would’ve ever wanted to see Battleship to begin with, but Berg ranks as a world-class piece of shit in my book now, for several reasons:
1) He’s more hawkish than the Likudniks on Iran. Which is very safe for him to do, being neither an Israeli citizen (as far as I could find) nor a member of the IDF. He’s basically saying, “Hey, other people should fight and die based on my uninformed opinion!”
2) He’s a colossal fucking idiot. Only the Likudniks and their American right-wing Evengelical/Christian sycophants seriously think that attacking Iran is a good idea. (one example of the counter-argument: [www.rand.org] )
3) There is no “draft” in Israel. Technically, it’s conscription (“drafts” are for selecting a portion of the citizenry for immediate, active duty). All able-bodied Jews are obligated to serve in the IDF. There are numerous ways to defer/avoid service, though. Including medical exemptions and criminal records.
4) How hypocritical is it for a civilian to call out another civilian for not serving in the military of a foreign country? Berg-level hypocrisy, to be sure.
5) Holt’s dad being Jewish does not mean Holt is a Jew (in fact, by Jewish law, he wasn’t born a Jew), nor does it mean he’s an Israeli citizen. If he’s not a citizen (or a Jew), he’s not obligated to serve in the IDF.
6) He’s provoked me to make a political post on a movie site. Great.
Fucking idiot.
oh, I forgot #7:
7) HE MADE A FUCKING FEATURE-LENGTH MOVIE FROM A FUCKING BOARD GAME, “STARRING” A BORDERLINE RETARDED SINGER AND FEATURING ALIENS FIGHTING AGAINST MILITARY VESSELS THAT WERE DECOMMISSIONED DECADES AGO!
What a weird interview. I want to side with Berg but everything Lothar said makes me want to punch Berg in the face. Reminded me of when civilians scoff at reserve soldiers for being in the reserves(8 years in the reserves, activated twice, spent almost 3 years on active duty) like “You weren’t in the REAL army” oh really? What fucking army were you in fuck face?
Yeah but when a guy joins the Marines for 3 entire years and spends his time in administration…well it’s blowjobs all around because he was a hardcore Marine.
Dear “Lothar of the Hill People”
1)He isn’t pushing anyone to attack Iran, He is presenting the dilemma Israel is facing, in a very simplistic but correct way.
2)See #1.
3)You’re right, there is no “draft”. And this fact only emphasizes that the interviewer dodged from a mandatory army service. So WTF?
4)Are you for real? It’s pretty obvious that the interviewer IS Israeli citizen!!! He wouldn’t say “…it’s a long story…” otherwise.
5) See #4.
6)It wasn’t too hard to provoke you ha? Next time turn on your brain and google for facts before you make a fool of yourself!
Whilst “Lothar” was being OTT there is still this…
“3)You’re right, there is no “draft”. And this fact only emphasizes that the interviewer dodged from a mandatory army service. So WTF?”
The guy was just conducting an interview with some other guy about his crappy film, there are numous reasons you can be exempt from service (which doesn’t automatically amount to having “dodged” it) none of which are any of Berg’s business. He basically got pissy because a total stranger wouldn’t reveal personal information to him, during an interview about his BOARDGAME MOVIE.
I am confused as to what wing of media this is so I can’t have an canned opinion ready to attack or deflect these opinions.
It seems that the *braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahms* in the newest prometheus trailer are actually just Peter Berg yelling “butt whipaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!”
I can’t wait to see this movie!!!!!!