Director Mike Figgis detained: 'Shoot a Pilot' taken literally (TSA at LAX)

Monsters & Critics ^ | 5/30/07 | By Stone Martindale

[Lurking in Kansas]

I can’t believe TSA is that stupid.

I can believe it. My experience with TSA ‘screeners’ are that they are a joke. They are that stupid.

I was in line last fall to screen (at Tampa) with my minor daughter (age 12). My daughter is large for her age and people often take her for being 16 or 17. The screener asked for her ID, I made some joke about her age and not as old as she looks. Frankly, I forgot exactly what I said, but the ‘joke’ was about her age, not the flight, flying, or security. The screener got bent all out of shape and started ranted about joking with her. She ranted about how she could pull us out of line if she wanted, blah, blah, blah.

These TSA people are little morons with power. I no longer speak to them or acknowledge them unless I must.

[magellan]

"The TSA employee reacted to a very volatile statement the way that he/she was trained."

It was not the TSA. It was immigration. The author of the article apparently does not know the difference between the two.

[ColdWater]

, the article says Figgis was questioned by TSA

Nowhere in the article does the term "TSA" appear.

[6ppc]

TSA spokesmen finally admitted that Staff Sergeant Daniel Brown was placed on the no-fly list, and ultimately detained, because they had detected gunpowder on his footgear

Now I'm starting to worry. I have a bag that travels with me to shooting matches and absolutely has gunpowder residue on it. I've travelled by air with it a couple of times, and in both cases found a TSA notice inside the bag saying they searched it. Now I'm wondering if I might wind up on this same list.

[Old Professer]

A 2 minute google search (including scrolling past several versions of this story) landed me on 43things.com where this was posted about a year ago:

“I’m going to shoot a pilot for TV today after work. — 11 months ago
No, it is NOT paid, but it will be my first screen appearance, if I don’t get mt 3 seconds cut. I don’t even know what we’re doing. I just asked when and where. I hope it works out!

Jun 12, 2006, 10:17AM PDT 1 cheer “

It took TSA 5 hours to do an Internet search?

[Romulus]

Immigration does not ask the purpose of a returning citizen or resident, but may ask the purpose of their overseas trip.

I have been interrogated thus, and it creeps me out.

[Paco]

Last week in Omaha, a woman set off the metal detector and before she could be rechecked, she walked away. How does that happen??? So what does the TSA do? They forced about 700 people to go through security again! They unloaded planes and took everyone who had previously passed through and rechecked them. People missed flights, etc., because of the TSA screwup.

[null and void]

Yeah. They are the only group that doesn’t think my Osama bin Laden California Driver license is funny.

[null and void]

Not to be outdone, I suspect the TSA didn't really need 5 hours to figure it out. He wanted to be a smart ass. They wanted to teach him a lesson.

Yup. Just a little extrajudical punishment, Citizen.

[null and void]

They don't even need a H.S. diploma to work in the TSA deciding who gets on planes and who doesn’t.

Nor, IIRC, do they even need to be US citizens.

[null and void]

Now I don’t know about everyone else on this forum,but movie/tv industry slang is not high on my list of adaptive vocabulary.

Yeah, but you don't work at the closest major airport to Hollywood, either.

[null and void]

Now I just ask them what in the hell they just said.

That, sir, is the exactly right thing to do. Not only does it force them to think about what they are saying - in plain English - which both improves their ability to effectively communicate, and clarifies their own internal thought processes. You also will learn more, making you a smarter person as well.

[null and void]

Security does not ask this question. Immigration does. TSA is not ICE. Immigration does not ask the purpose of a returning citizen or resident, but may ask the purpose of their overseas trip.

Security asks anything they damn well please, Citizen.

[r9etb]

we are DOOMED

And the proof of that is the ridiculously stupid responses by many on this thread.

[null and void]

It took TSA 5 hours to do an Internet search?

The point doesn't have anything to do with truth, justice, or safety.

The point is only about cowing the Citizens into nice compliant little serfs.

[CholeraJoe]

I have a 14-inch metal rod in my left leg that occasionally sets off airport metal detectors. This incident is EXACTLY why I never explain to TSA by saying, “I’m packing a rod.”

[null and void]

If I had a 14” rod in my pants, I’d be tempted to talk about it more often...

[CholeraJoe]

I’d never be able to convince anyone that my package consists of a 14” rod.

[null and void]

In the internet, no one knows you’re a dog...

[vaudine]

Sounds like the beginnings of an urban legend.

On the other hand, I CAN believe they could be that stupid.

vaudine