Steven Spielberg has stepped down from his role as "artistic adviser" to the Beijing Olympics, in protest against the Chinese government's failure to use its influence to stop the Darfur genocide. In a letter to Chinese president Hu Jintao that was released to the public last week, Spielberg wrote, "I add my voice to those who ask that China change its policy toward Sudan." Spielberg's decision comes a little less than a year after Mia Farrow, in a Wall Street Journal editorial, hit the Schindler's List director in the soft places by suggesting that for him "to sanitise Beijing's image" at a time when "China is bankrolling Darfur's genocide" would threaten to turn him into the modern equivalent of Leni Riefenstahl. Now that Spielberg has distanced himself from the Chinese government, Farrow told Slate's Kim Masters that she's thrilled about his having had what she calls "a Lillian Hellman moment." (Apparently Spielberg made the announcement while wearing his Blackgama fur and revealing that he had been the model for the character of Nora Charles.)
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