Via Dana at CSPT and Brian at Iowa Voice, comes news that HBO is making a "fair" movie about the 2000 presidential election.
HBO is planning to make an unbiased film, titled "Recount" and scheduled to premiere early next year, about the 2000 presidential election.
That could be difficult, if not impossible, to pull off, because the director, executive producer, and writer of the movie are all Democrats. Oh, and Colin Callender, the president of HBO Films, is also a D.
The Hollywood Reporter this week quoted Callender as saying the movie won’t take sides and instead would be "a fascinating look at democracy." Callender has made political donations to then-Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.), Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).
Executive Producer Paula Weinstein, who has given to Sens. Clinton, Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), praised Sydney Pollack for being the only director able to deal with the "dramatic twists and turns of the story with honesty and truthfulness."
Pollack has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats over the years. Some of the recipients were Clinton, Boxer, and California Reps. Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters. In 1999, however, he gave to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Daniel Strong, the writer of "Recount," has claimed he did detailed research and conducted numerous interviews with the people involved.
That is news to one Republican operative who was in the middle of the hanging-chad controversy, who said he knows of no Florida Republican — including former Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) — who was interviewed by Strong.
Len Amato, the senior vice president of HBO Films who gave $2,000 to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in 2004, said he can understand the concerns, but noted that his company has a long track record of thoroughly researching its historical topics before filming them.
"Our main intention is getting the story right," Amato said.
He said the political donations to Democrats will not affect the film, claiming HBO will "bend over backwards" to make the movie fair.
Harris was not interviewed because she was in the midst of a Senate campaign last year, Amato said, adding that several high-profile Republicans were interviewed for the film, including Ben Ginsberg and James Baker III.
Remember the fuss liberals made over The Path to 9/11? There was great consternation that ABC was going to air a movie about the lead up to the worst attack on American soil that didn't spend the whole time blaming George Bush. Yes, they were angry that "Socks" Sandy Berger didn't come off well, and that even a veiled threat from Democrats didn't stop its airing.
I wonder if Republicans will try such strong arm tactics? I doubt it. They're used to being slandered by Democrats who can't face up to the fact that Al Gore lost.
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