Battle in Seattle (2007)

Activists arrive in Seattle, Washington en masse to protest a meeting of the World Trade Organization. Riots and chaos ensue as demonstrators successfully stop the WTO meetings.

Director:

Stuart Townsend

Writer:

Stuart Townsend

Stars:

André Benjamin, Jennifer Carpenter, Isaach De Bankolé

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
André Benjamin	...	Django (as Andre Benjamin)
Jennifer Carpenter	...	Sam
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Abasi (as Isaach De Bankole)
Woody Harrelson	...	Dale
Martin Henderson	...	Jay
Joshua Jackson	...	Randall
Ray Liotta	...	Mayor Jim Tobin
Tzi Ma	...	Governor
Ivana Milicevic	...	Carla
Connie Nielsen	...	Jean
Michelle Rodriguez	...	Lou
Rade Serbedzija	...	Dr. Maric (as Rade Sherbedzija)
Channing Tatum	...	Johnson
Charlize Theron	...	Ella
Christopher Jacot	...	Michael

Storyline

In late November 1999, masses are descending upon Seattle for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Conference, the first ever held on American soil. Beyond the several delegates, career protesters are also coming to Seattle, they who believe the non-elected organization only exists to support corporate interests at the expense of the poor, working class and the environment among other things. Before the conference, the lead known protesters vow that their demonstrations will be peaceful, while Seattle Mayor Jim Tobin promises that if that be the case that no arrests will be made and no aggressive action, such as the use of tear gas, will be issued. On day one of the conference, tensions on both sides escalate the confrontation between police and protesters, with many innocent people caught in the crossfire. As such, what was promised ends up not happening during the remainder of the conference, where many on both sides work not for the greater good of their side, but rather for their ...

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Plot Keywords:

world trade organization | tear gas | protest | political unrest | police arrest | 

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Taglines:

Hell on Earth is about to begin

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violence

Details

Country:

Canada USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 May 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

Battle in Seattle

Filming Locations:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$46,903, 21 September 2008

Gross USA:

$224,169

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$908,847

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hyde Park Entertainment, Insight Film Studios, Remstar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writing and Directing debut of actor Stuart Townsend.

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Goofs

When Lou is arrested at the protest, the police are shown handcuffing her hands with a zip tie. In the next shot while she is being held on the bus, she is shown wiping the bus window with her hand, her hands are no longer tied. Police would keep her hands secured until she was booked into a proper holding cell.

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Quotes

Mayor Jim Tobin: Be tough on your issues but be gentle on my town.

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Crazy Credits

A Special Thanks to AWI and Ben White (who passed away in July of 2005) for the creation of the sea turtle costumes and the coordination of their use in protests against the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle, Washington in 1999. We are indebted to various non-profit organizations and individuals who aided with manufacturing the costumes, and to the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and Ben White for creating the idea for the sea turtle costumes. It was AWI's international coordinator, Ben White, who created those costumes and came up with the idea to put hundreds of people in sea turtle costumes on the streets of Seattle. We will miss Ben and his dedication to make the world a better place.

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Connections

Edited from Trade Off (2000)

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Soundtracks

Fake Empire
(Matt Berninger (as Matthew Donald Berninger), Bryce Dessner (as Bryce David Dessner))
Bug House o/b/o/ Val Jester Music
Performed by The National
Courtesy of Beggars Group

User Reviews

if you're living in America, it would be advantageous to read this...

i expected the polarized opinions this film received from some of the commentators here... there's one that said something about '10 years later/very little progress'. something about 'small steps'... but they're wrong. LARGE steps have been taken by the businesses. how many of you know about the limited access corridor being constructed from Mexico to canada through the midwest? a turnpike that will carry goods made outside of US to places nearby this route. the contract was given by bush's people to a very, very wealthy construction firm from spain. the owner is one of the richest men in the world. the materials used to build this turnpike will be shipped into Mexico ports and then dispersed where needed. probably using mostly non American labor.

now maybe some of you will understand part of the point of this movie. there IS no such thing as countries anymore. not with administrations such as the present one. it's big business interest. and if you're a big business the bush's will do business with you. witness the bin laden family, which have been 'buddies' with the bushes from 'way back'... witness grand daddy bush doing business with the Nazis as they began their quest for world cleansing and domination. all this is documented and accessible if you just do a little work looking for it... why not start with Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur's(democrat/Ohio) explanation of the corridor on u tube? that'll help make believers out of the skeptics. this isn't some 'quack' with a conspiracy theory.

my location is listed as netherlands. i left the US b/c i don't like what the people in control are doing and this is my way of protest. not paying them with my tax dollars. each of us have to find a way to react to this piecemeal sale of the US...hopefully non violent no matter what the response... the people with the money do, after all, control the militaries. and not just the American one. or you can just not believe...not do ANYthing and be surprised at what transpires... no review of a movie will MAKE you do anything. that's up to you. good luck.

ps remember how easy it would be to check this out. as easy as it was to 'get HERE', internetwise...