WORLD TURNING ITS BACK ON BRAND AMERICA
Kevin Allison in NY / UK Financial Times
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0802-02.htm
The US is increasingly viewed as a "culture-free zone" inhabited by arrogant and unfriendly people, according to study of 25 countries' brand reputations. The findings, published online today, will add to concerns that anti-Americanism is hurting companies whose products are considered to be distinctly "American". The Anholt-GMI Nation Brands Index found that although US foreign policy remained a key driver of hostility, dissatisfaction with the world's sole superpower might run deeper. "The US is still recognized as a leading place to do business, the home of desirable brands and popular culture," said Simon Anholt, author of the survey. "But its governance, its cultural heritage and its people are no longer widely respected or admired by the world."

NORTHERN ROCK
Ian Nathan / EMPIRE MAGAZINE Sept 2005
When it comes to the rugged bad guys, no-one in Hollywood is as hard as Sheffield's sharpest. Sean Bean has a scar above his left eye from the time Harrison Ford hit him with a boat-hook. It was an accident, of course. A miss-timed shot on the set of Patriot Games. And, in the long run, it just added to his nascent, rugged charm. A visible reminder that Bean has, over the last few years, become the best looking bad guy in town … Don't say a word, Equilibrium, National Treasure, you can argue Odysseus in Troy and poor Boromir had their character flaws, and he is at it again for future-shock thriller The Island.

"They are not just bad guys" implores Bean. "They're very enjoyable characters. They stretch a bit more, they go beyond the limits. And I wouldn't stop doing it because I think I'm putting out a bad image or something. I go by my gut instinct."

Let's talk about Merrick. He is the cold-eyed scientist who runs the cloning experiment that cultivates perfect body parts in The Island. "He's a very intelligent guy, very driven and medically very informed," he says, giving the case for the defense. "He believes in what he is doing - saving people's lives. Which he is, to some extent."

The problem is, he's doing it illicitly. He wasn't meant to birth fully-formed adults, and when two breaks out he orders their immediate termination. "I just tell people to do things," says Bean. "Merrick keeps his hands clean. Still, $200 million-worth of product, as he calls them, has to be removed."

There's a cunning sub-text to the character. If he has no faith, no religion, just a belief in the pioneering influence of science, then he will go untroubled by moral qualms. Thus, is he actually bad? "They're not humans to him, just pods," concludes Bean, who has researched and been quite unnerved by the extent of cloning science... "It will be possible to do that in five years" he marvels.

By current estimates, this 46-year-old, Sheffield-born, humble-as-pie actor, (really "Shaun"), who rose to fame as swashbuckling hero Sharpe and the lead Lothario in TV's Lady Chatterley alongside Joely Richardson, is assuredly the toast of Hollywood casting directors. He's got another three films in the bag -The Dark, Flightplan and Class Action - and is currently shooting horror videogame adaptation Silent Hill.

"The Dark is quite disturbing. It's a ghost story about kids and other worlds. Very challenging, that one. Flightplan, with Jodie Foster, is a thriller set on a massive plane. She loses her child onboard. I'm the captain, and I'm not sure if she's telling the truth. Class Action, with Charlize Theron, is by Niki Caro, who did Whale Rider, and is a real-life political drama, a true story, real characters, and you know what?" What? "They're all good guys."