Turkey rejects Julianne Moore as tourism face over ‘poor acting’

Umut Erdem - ANKARA

Hollywood star Julianne Moore may have won the 2015 Best Actress Oscar, but Turkish officials have rejected a bid to make her Turkey’s tourism face by citing her “poor acting.”The Culture and Tourism Ministry disapproved of the acclaimed actress' performance in a film promoting tourism in Turkey and demanded a reshoot. However, Moore declined the ministry’s offer, ultimately leading to the cancellation of the project, daily Hürriyet has learned.Sources told Hürriyet that the ministry ended up rejecting the film, citing Moore’s "poor acting."Last month, Moore won the Best Actress award at the Oscars for her performance in the film “Still Alice” after four previous Oscar nomination disappointments.Ministry officials declined to release an official statement about the cancellation, stressing that the Moore promotional film was an advertising agency’s project and the ministry does not comment on unfinished projects.Emre Yücel, the owner of the agency partnership Iconisus & I Mean It, took a $1.5 million hit due to the cancellation of the $4 million project.The agency announced that it had chosen Moore for the “Home Of” promotional film project after it had won the tender last year. In the film, Moore was seen revisiting her childhood journeys to Turkey while traveling on an airplane.The promotional film was shot in Los Angeles with the Hollywood star last year. It was expected to be aired in Turkey in February 2014.The choice of Moore had been criticized by a number of prominent figures in Turkey, from advertisers to politicians, with many slamming her "depressive persona."The ministry sources said there was nothing unique about the project, emphasizing that “over 30 similar films” with other actors have been made.In an interview with Hürriyet last year, Yücel said Moore was the right choice, as she would appeal to American and British people, women, middle-aged people, and wealthier potential tourists who Turkey is trying to woo.“I can’t understand why she is not liked here,” he had said at the time.