Final Word from Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The magic of film makes it possible to turn Prague into Moscow, but it's the magicof money that makes such a transformation desirable. It was money (in the form ofincentives) that brought Tom Cruise to Prague to shoot the latest installment of "Mission:Impossible," and it was money that convinced the people at Prague Castle toallow Russian flags to be flown there. It was also money (again in the form of incentives)that caused the producers of the new "Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy" film to movethe action of part of John le Carre's Cold-War novel from Czechoslovakia to Budapest.On one level it's a pity the Czech Republic didn't get to play itself, while on anotherlevel it's better not to remind the world how drab the country was and how cruel itssecret police were. It's okay to let the Hungarians induce such images. Sometimes it'sbetter to say No to the money and to let the filmmakers take their magic elsewhere.
Glossary of difficult words
incentive - a payment or concession (such as a tax break) for stimulating greater output or investment;
installment - any of several parts of something that are published, broadcast or made public in sequence at intervals;
drab - lacking brightness or interest; drearily dull;
to induce - to bring about or give rise to; to engender or kindle.