Stone's Ripper joke shocks audience

RTE ^ | December 14, 2006

[beaversmom]

Hollywood film-maker Oliver Stone shocked the audience at the British Comedy Awards with a bad-taste gag about the Suffolk murders.

The director of 'Platoon' and 'Born On The Fourth Of July' was attending the ceremony to present the best comedy film prize to Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park.

Taking the stage, he quipped: "It's great to be back in England. I feel like Jack The Ripper days are back. Nothing ever changes here."

But his attempt at comedy was met with jeers and gasps of horror from the celebrity audience.

Realising his joke had bombed, Stone sneered: "You're a lovely crowd."

One audience member said: "If he was trying to be funny, then he failed.

"To make a joke like that when five young women have been murdered and the killer is still on the loose was in unbelievably bad taste."

[American in Singapore]

Thanks for that. He'll always be the Great Rodney Dangerfield to me.

[Chewie84]

Technically, he's not 'Still on the loose,' as the audience member said, since whoever the Ripper was, he's almost certainly been dead for decades. Still, Stone's joke was done in incredibly bad taste, and didn't even make much sense. It's good that the audience didn't take his crap.

[OldFriend]

If only he would have insulted President Bush he'd have been cheered instead of jeered.

[Canard]

"Technically, he's not 'Still on the loose,' as the audience member said"

Yes he is, the murders Stone was referring to have happened in the last three weeks and the murderer has not yet been caught.

[MarkL]

Agreed. Have you noticed that in most stand up acts there are always "jokes" that are merely expressions of politically-correct thought, and the audience chuckles a little...and then APPLAUDS? They're applauding the political point of view, which their weak laughter admits isn't very funny.

Well, if it's on TV, it's because the "Applause" lights came on... While is why I always liked "The Man Show." Their light said "Clap You Bas**rds!" Well, that and for other reasons too...

Mark

[visualops]

It was a bad tasteless joke and to go on about "libs not having a sense of humor" or it's Britain's fault for their gun laws etc, is ridiculous. I don't think anyone here would be cracking jokes about the Atlantic City murders or any other recent murder case where the killer is still on the loose.

[hnj_00]

stone went to the j f'n kerry school of comedy!!!!!

the joke....well it sank like a stone!!!!

[finnigan2]

Stone is a movie director whose career is barely treading water. His last two films (World Trade Center and Alexander) grossed just enough, world wide, to recover their production costs and I'm not sure if that includes the advertising costs.
In other words, Stones financial backers may have made a bit of a return, but not enough to justify the risks taken.
Basically, the passions that animated his early success were based on his Vietnam experience and adoration of JFK. Those events are now an inspirational empty well and he is now older and less energetic and, from what I hear, has developed an excessive fondness for cocaine and teenage fashion models.
He better pick his next project with care. While the jury is still out, I think he is about one movie bomb short of being washed up in Hollywood.

[beyond the sea]

No. This was the seventies. People didn't do jokes about crap like that back then. Not on the Carson show anyway.

I'll be 60 years old next month. I remember the bit. It was not accepted by the audience because of the subject matter (as you suggest) ................ AND because it was a poorly constructed joke. How does one "demand an abortion" AFTER the baby is born?

Get real. Joan Rivers blew it two different ways.

[ßuddaßudd]

You'll soon shake with fear
Never knowing if I'm near
I'm sly and I'm shameless
Nocturnal and nameless
Except for "The Ripper"
Or if you like "Jack The Knife"

[chemicalman]

Taking the stage, he quipped: "It's great to be back in England. I feel like Jack The Ripper days are back. Nothing ever changes here."

Mr. Stone, try this one:

"It's great to be back in England. I feel like I'm outside the Green Zone. Nothing ever changes here."

[WorkingClassFilth]

Even if they are a dissapated lot of sniveling leftist art-trash, Stone is still a fool even by their yardstick - good on them. However, I would've preferred to see Mr. Stone pelted with rotting vegetables and spittle in the best fashion of true British rabble.

[csvset]

From the BBC, here's a story about the latest victim. She was seen on CCTV.

Murder victim CCTV reveals clues

Anneli Alderton was pictured on a train from Harwich on 3 December

Detectives investigating the murder of five prostitutes in Suffolk have received more than 60 calls after CCTV footage of one victim was released.

The images showed Anneli Alderton, 24, on a train in Essex a week before her body was found near Ipswich.

Police are also following up leads from 400 motorists and pedestrians who were quizzed in the town's red light area.

The police declined to confirm or deny reports a senior officer had been a client of two of the murder victims.

Assistant Chief Constable Jacqui Cheer told the BBC: "We've said repeatedly that we have not interviewed anybody. We have spoken to a number of people.

"I'm not prepared to be drawn into how many and who and what types of people we are speaking to."

Map: Where the bodies were found

Miss Alderton was captured on CCTV on a train from Harwich to Colchester on 3 December.

From information received, police now believe she got off the train at Manningtree station at 1815 GMT, and may have got on a train from there to Ipswich at 1843 GMT.

Satellite images of key locations

Officers have asked for people who were at Manningtree at that time to come forward.

Det Ch Supt Stewart Gull said: "We are now confident that we can begin piecing together the jigsaw of Anneli's last movements."

Suffolk Police has received 186 reports from people about items of clothing found across the county.

Meanwhile, officers are sifting through information gathered from stopping motorists and pedestrians in the Burlington and Handford Road areas of Ipswich on Saturday evening.

It is believed another victim, 24-year-old Paula Clennell, was working in the area seven days earlier.

Her naked body was found in woods at Levington on 12 December.

Abduction attempt

The other murder victims are Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, and Annette Nicholls, 29.

ACC Jacqui Cheer said officers hoped to stage a reconstruction of the last known movements of one of the victims later this week.

Police confirmed officers had questioned a man in relation to an "attempted abduction" in the town.

Det Ch Supt Gull said the man had been detained and released on police bail without charge following the alleged incident last month.

POLICE PHONE NUMBERS Suffolk hotline: 0800 096 1011 Crimestoppers: 0800 555 111

He would not say whether officers were linking the incident to the murders, but he added: "Nobody has been eliminated at this stage.

"We know who that individual is. He has been released on bail. We will take further action if we think it is appropriate."

Det Ch Supt Gull said at a press conference on Sunday: "During the last 24 hours we have received a further 1,526 calls from the public offering information.

"I think that now takes us to somewhere in the region of 10,000 calls - that's a phenomenal response."

Suffolk Police said more than 500 officers were working on the investigation.

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[Rockiette]

Good point and very well made.

[RegulatorCountry]

"It's great to be back in England. I feel like Jack The Ripper days are back. Nothing ever changes here."

I don't get the Brit bashing. This truly is not funny.

[hinckley buzzard]

The land that brought us George Galloway is lecturing US on bad taste?

When it comes to Oliver Stone, anyone has standing.

[hinckley buzzard]

Yes, some things are just intrinsically not funny. I would say abortion and serial murders are two of those things.

[Teacher317]

An amazing number of liberal "jokes" are bombing and being seen as offensive lately... heck, the standards for public speaking just might be becoming equal for both sides! (Well, one can dream anyway.)

[SauronOfMordor]

Oliver Stone, like many if not most Leftists, cares nothing for the "little people". He inhabits a different world. He does not fear criminals -- he has lots of armed bodyguards.

Now, if some nutcase had just murdered some fellow members of the Elite, he would be among the first to be highly offended at any joking about it

[He Rides A White Horse]

"To make a joke like that when five young women have been murdered and the killer is still on the loose was in unbelievably bad taste."

I doubt Jack the Ripper is still on the loose.