The White House even sent a letter to Warner complaining about what had happened
We're used to it Barack Obama Every year he shares a list of the films he enjoyed most, but even then it was rare for any President of the United States to comment on any feature film. but, Bill Clinton He made it clear in 1997 that he was never happy with something he did Robert Zemeckis in touch'.
Controversy with Bill Clinton
The scene that sparked controversy was the one that used part of a press conference that Clinton himself held in 1996 about a meteorite believed to have arrived from Mars. but, Zemeckis edited the moment to make it appear that the president was talking about messages arriving from alien sources.
In addition, the film also used a brief portion of Clinton's other statements about Saddam Hussein that he made two years earlier to fit the film's theme. Just three days after the premiere of “Contact” The White House sent a protest to Warner about what happened.
Little by little, it began to become clear that the White House wasn't really demanding anything, but it was They wanted to draw a line To prevent other filmmakers from making what they considered an inappropriate use of the president's image.
In fact, Warner had been in contact with them, sending them the script and even a copy of the finished film more than a week before it hit theaters. The problem is that at all times They forgot to ask for official permission to use Clinton's photoespecially the way you did “Contact”.
Let's remember that this was not the first time Zemeckis had used an image of the President of the United States, as archival photographs had already been used to show it. john f. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon interacts with Tom Hanks In “Forrest Gump”. So there were no complaints.
This wasn't the only controversy the film has had to face since then From CNN they ended up regretting it That 13 network anchors appeared in the film – coincidence or not, that remorse did not come until after the White House complaint.
It failed at the time but is now highly regarded
Eventually, more people talked about it for reasons outside of cinema, which certainly helped it become one Box office disappointment. At the moment, it didn't even reach No. 1 in the US – it was completely overshadowed by the success of “Men in Black” – despite its generous $90 million budget – to which we should add all the investment in marketing – and it ended its global run at No. 171 A lot was expected of her.
That doesn't stop “Contact” from being a movie. It is highly regarded by fans of realistic science fiction -Without leaving aside the more emotional aspect-, so much so that it is not unreasonable to say that it was many years before the release of Interstellar and Arrival, the films with which the film is usually associated. .
If you want to (re)watch “Contact,” I have bad news for you since then It's not in any streaming service's catalog. What you can do is get it on Blu-ray and thus stop being enslaved to its availability on platforms.
Image | Zanimation
