A day after the producers of Fifty Dead Men Walking (which also stars Ben Kingsley – that’s his POA wife in the pic) distanced themselves from dumb things Rose McGowan said, they were criticized by the guy whose real-life story inspired the script.

Martin McGartland… said that director Kari Skogland should never have allowed former IRA volunteers to provide security and creative input during last year’s Belfast shoot.
“(Skogland) should certainly not have been negotiating with the IRA to be able to film in certain areas of Belfast and she should never have allowed former IRA terrorists to be on set while filming,” he said.
Skogland and her cast last week told the media in Toronto that former IRA volunteers had helped onscreen authenticity by providing tips on how to make bombs and torture IRA informants.
McGartland also fingered the Canadian government [Hee hee!] for investing in a film that was made with the help, and apparent support, of a terrorist organization. [THR]

If you’re keeping score at home, that makes three feature stories about this movie, all covering basically the same non-controversy.  I’m annoyed they’re getting so much press.  Especially while my erotic yet tasteful epic, Fifty Dead Chicks Pissing, continues to be ignored by the corporate media.

A while back, Rose McGowan was allowed to talk, and not surprisingly, she said something stupid.  She told reporters she would’ve joined the IRA back in the day, and she knows all about the struggle because she was in a movie.  Today, the film’s producers are expressing their total support for her.  Ha, just kidding of course.

Guy Collins [one of Fifty Dead Men Walking’s producers] said that he and the other producers “were surprised and disappointed by the comments made by McGowan.”

Added director Kari Skogland: “Rose’s personal opinions of Northern Ireland do not reflect the perspective of the film in any way. Our goal was to present an even, nonjudgmental point of view so the audience could follow the path of an informer with empathy no matter what the politics.” [Thanks to Karen at THR]

So yeah, pretty much your basic, run-of-the-mill insincere corporate apology letter.  Kind of a non-story, but hey! doesn’t Rose McGowan suck?

Rose McGowan recently completed Fifty Dead Men Walking, an adaptation of a book by former IRA informer Martin McGartland.  Naturally, eating free food and reading lines off a script for a couple hours a day really allowed her to identify with the people.

McGowan says she would have joined the IRA if she lived in Belfast during the Troubles.  “My heart just broke for the cause,” she told a news conference ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

She may sound like your typical Hollywood moron, but don’t worry, McGartland’s got her back.

Mr McGartland said her comments were naive. “It’s easy to say this sort of thing when you live in LA,” he added. “Rose McGowan’s comments were insulting to victims of IRA terrorism and she should apologise,” he said.

But obviously, McGartland doesn’t know of the full extent of Rose McGowan’s street cred.

She said during filming in Belfast, advice from former IRA members on how to make a bomb and techniques for torturing informants helped to add authenticity to the project.

“I had many secret meetings in dark places. We were being watched by all sides, phones tapped, that sort of thing,” she told the Hollywood Reporter. [BBC]

In Rose’s defense, if I were an Irish guy, this is exactly the kind of thing I’d tell a really dumb chick I was trying to bang.  “Shh, baby, the government’s watching.  Here, put your head in my lap.  Now find the wire tap.  I think it’s in my balls.”

-Thanks to Bryce for the tip