Saddam replaces Jesus just in 'Time'

[ROXY]

Saddam Hussein has belatedly replaced Jesus Christ on the cover of Time magazine, resulting in more than a million copies of the latest edition having to be reworked.

The cover with Christ was going to be used to illustrate a feature on the earliest biblical texts.

More than 30 per cent of Time's four-million copies had already been printed when managing editor Jim Kelly saw the news conference in Baghdad announcing Saddam's capture.

He said the photo of the deposed Iraq leader was so remarkable that it had to be on the cover.

So the bearded figure of Christ was replaced by a close up of a bearded Saddam with the Paul Bremer quote: "We Got Him".

 

[jaygordo]

My Time copy arrived with the Jesus and Gospels cover after I heard this story. Guess they'd already sent them by that sunday morn. TOo bad for Time not being "timely". I'm sure that news of the capture on the cover would sell more mags.

 

[Phaedrus]

Hey, you should hang on to the Jesus cover edition, seriously. It might be worth something on the collectors' market as an error edition. I've got some great pre-release media kits from the 1980's for a certain science fiction film that ended up having its name changed to Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, which was not the original name of the film. (10 points to anyone who knows what it was. Points are non-redeemable and in act may be worth less than nothing, as knowing this tidbit will brand you as a scifi geek for life.)


Phaedrus

 

[FloydGondolli]

Color me a geek, but the original title was "Revenge of the Jedi" was it not?

"Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man." - The Dude, 1998

 

[Phaedrus]

Yup. I've got a baseball cap, a couple of posters, and a "making of" book, all of which say "Revenge" instead of "Return" on them.


Phaedrus

 

[FloydGondolli]

Why did they change it? Was "Revenge" too strong a word?

"Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man." - The Dude, 1998

 

[Phaedrus]

Something like that. Lucas can be such a dork.

I don't remember the exact argument (bear in mind this was over twenty years ago) but it was basically that he changed the direction of the film, from Luke returning to confront his father to returning to embrace him (remember the argument he had with Obi-Wan about whether or not there could still be a good side to Darth/Anakin) and attempt to 'convert' him back to good. Lucas felt that this approach was more congruent to those elements of the Jedi philosophy that had to date been laid out in the films and supporting media (books and comic books.)


Phaedrus

 

[jaygordo]

Thanks for the tip Phaedrus- I've saved it with my sports collectibles in a cedar chest after I read the issue. Something to leave to another generation maybe. The article on the lost gospels was actually very interesting. I bought the Saddam issue so I'd have the 2 with the different covers. jaygordo