disgustedSony Pictures was happy with the film, and did all of the usual preparation - making posters, trailers, and the like - and then, suddenly, backed out.
Why? As John Stossel tells the story, because they decided they couldn't release the film with the title it's had the entire time it was being made: "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World". They objected to the use of the word "Muslim". Never mind that Muslims themselves do not object at all (among other things, they were invited to have the world premiere at the Dubai Film Festival).
Sony wimped out. Fortunately, Warner Independent Pictures has agreed to release it with the title intact.
Godfrey Cambridge, the pioneering black comedian and actor, once said that "we won't be equal on the screen until a black actor can play a villain." (Which he did, in an episode of I, Spy.) The same goes for Muslims: sanitizing them is as ultimately demeaning as is portraying them all as villains. They're people, dammit.
