British Director Feels The Pressure and Uneasiness About 2008 Olympics

Recently, Daryl Goodrich, a director from Great Britain has now questioned his role and involvement with the Olympic Games. He has just recently made a promotional film for the Olympics. Steven Spielberg had stepped down from his post as a creative director to the Olympic Games in Beijing. In his resignation statement, Spielberg had said that China was not doing enough to end the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.

During last year’s CNN Democratic Debate, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a former United States Democratic presidential hopeful explained that China is Sudan’s number one customer in buying oil. Richardson explained that China has economic control over Sudan. He had given the suggestion that the United States threaten to boycott the Olympic games as a means to pressure China to do more.

China has tried to keep the games and politics separate. But, it was easier said than done.

In the case of Goodrich, his film helped London win the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games. He was invited to make a promotional film for the Beijing Olympics. His film and the films from four others premiered on Sunday night.

His film was called “Belief.”

Talking with BBC, Goodrich said that he was feeling uncomfortable.

“We need to think about exactly what’s happened over the last couple of days,” Goodrich said to BBC.

“Neither of us has anything like the reputation or the stature or the public profile of a person like Steven Spielberg,” said Caroline Rowland, Goodrich’s producer.

She adds: “(So) it would have been enormously arrogant to have made any kind of judgement call.”

The issue of Sudan has been one of the issues plaguing the Olympics. Before his Africa trip, US President George W. Bush said that he has no intentions of boycotting the Olympics. He said that he would attend the ceremonies and remind China’s President that there is more he can do.

John Prescott, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister warned that relations with China must not go bad because of Sudan. He said that China alone cannot end the violence in Darfur.