Commentary: 'Seattle' battles real as can be

September 18, 2008 First time filmmakers tend to start their careers with movies that tell small personal stories, but that's not always the case. Consider, for instance, Stuart Townsend, an actor best known for films like "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" opposite Sean Connery and "Head in the Clouds" opposite Charlize Theron. For his writing and directorial debut Townsend, a native of Dublin, Ireland, chose to make the highly ambitious action drama "Battle in Seattle," whose gripping police versus protestors set pieces would have posed big challenges even for an old-hand at directing.

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