From: Rusty�Bullethole, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Times 26.8.00 Brothers in small-screen gun battle IT IS traditional for American Presidents to have an embarrassing brother - Billy Carter and Roger Clinton performed the role splendidly - But it seems that First Brother Syndrome also affects those who merely play the President, as Martin Sheen has found out. The star is a notable leftie with an abhorrence of the gun culture. Only last year he was arrested at an anti-handgun protest. He also starred in Apocalypse Now, one of the great anti-war films. Sheen's brother, Joe Estevez, holds different views and has had a different career path. Bimbo Movie Bash and Slaves of the Vampire Werewolf are among his credits, as is Breakaway, a made-for- cable movie in which he starred opposite the disgraced skater Tonya Harding. This B-list r�sum� turned out to be a boon to the right-wing Hunting and Shooting Sports Heritage Foundation. It meant that it could afford to hire Estevez to do the voice-over for its commercial, lashing out at city mayors who are suing gunmakers. As a voice-only actor, Estevez is a bargain - he sounds just like his pricier brother. A firearms industry rep admitted that the choice of Estevez, brother of a famous liberal campaigner, was not an accident. "We really liked the voice because we thought it would be recognisable for people to associate with." The uninformed could think that it was Martin Sheen regaling viewers with: "We were the patriots who fought for this flag at Gettysburg. We were with the soldiers who bled for these stripes at Normandy . . . We are the makers of America's firearms." As the words are spoken, a man in shirt sleeves lays the US flag over a table and rips off the Stars and Stripes. "We are being blamed by big-city mayors whose greedy lawyers are using your tax dollars to sue us for criminals they won't prosecute," Estevez says. Viewers will be even more confused when a second commercial appears, this one featuring a very similar voice, but promoting gun control. Martin Sheen has volunteered to tape a rebuttal to his brother's advert, supporting the stance of big-city mayors. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
