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Bush Assassination Film to Debut at Toronto Film Festival James Hirsen
THE LEFT COAST REPORT Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories): 1. Bush Assassination Film to Debut at Toronto Film Festival It's the political equivalent of a snuff film. At best irresponsible, at worst morally reprehensible, a British filmmaker has created a docudrama that begins with a realistic looking depiction of an assassination of President George W. Bush. The movie presents images of Bush being shot to death in Chicago, Ill., in the year 2007. The plot then focuses on the investigation of the assassination.
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In a world where militant extremists have already expressed the desire to extinguish our leader and annihilate the rest of us, it is beyond the pale to create and exhibit such a piece of cinema. Worse yet is the fact that filmmaker Gabriel Range uses computer generated imagery and special effects to conjure up an aura of stark realism. Range might feel a bit differently if the docudrama being aired at the Toronto Film Festival was one that depicted his own demise at the whimsy of a fellow filmmaker. Over the past several years Bush has been called a liar, tyrant, dictator, and criminal, among other slurs. This film is the pathological end result of the raw Bush hatred we have been witnessing. You may recall that in 2004 a book titled "Checkpoint" featured a primary character that wanted to assassinate President Bush.
In another Bush-hating instance, about John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald and John Hinckley Jr. a columnist for the Guardian wrote, "Where are you now that we need you?" In 2005 an art exhibit called "Patriot Act" displayed a postage stamp with a picture of Bush on it. Upon closer examination one couldn't help but notice that the president had a pistol pointed at his head. And in 2006 the far-left group, Code Pink, carried a sign that called for a Bush assassination. "Death of a President" is scheduled to be shown at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 10 and is set to air on BBC television in October. The Left Coast Report expects that Range & Co. will get the film distributed in Tehran and Damascus. 2. Barbara Walters and Rosie O'Donnell Lock Horns Will Rosie O'Donnell be able to continue through her one-year contract to appear on ABC's "The View" without a show-stopping brawl with the program's impresario, Barbara Walters? Walters' recent reaction to O'Donnell's blogging doesn't bode well for the "View"-mates becoming best gal pals. "I didn't like the blog," Walters told Newsweek. A post on O'Donnell's Rosie.com Web site, in which the new cast member expressed her desire to be in charge of "The View," evidently rubbed Walters the wrong way. "I saw the new 'View' promos," Rosie wrote. "found myself . . . in the position . . . I loathe the most . . . powerless." According to Walters, Rosie sent her flowers and an apology. "I'm counting on Rosie's intelligence and sensitivity and humor," Walters said.
Sensitivity was not exactly what Rosie demonstrated to Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt in the same magazine article. O'Donnell blamed Tom Cruise's couch-leaping event and PR problems on Oprah Winfrey. "I was mad at Oprah," O'Donnell said. "Oprah, couldn't you have said, ‘Tommy, come here! Don't jump.'" She added that she would have re-taped the segment if it were her show. Revealing way too much information, O'Donnell also let the world know, "My Angelina Jolie crush was much more sexual than my Tom Cruise crush ever was." 3. Jessica Simpson and John Mayer Manipulating the Media? Grammy winning balladeer John Mayer recently had so much traffic on his Web site that it crashed. Fans visited the site in droves. Why? Because of a rumor that Mayer had posted something about Jessica Simpson on his blog. He hadn't. The rumor had legs because weekly celebrity magazines had been circulating a story that Mayer and Simpson were in a romantic relationship. Not to be cynical but in their respective careers both Simpson and Mayer are in publicity-seeking season. Mayer just launched a joint tour with singer Sheryl Crow, his third studio album, "Continuum," will be released shortly and Simpson just released her new CD, "Public Affair." A source close to Mayer told Us Weekly, "They've only gotten together a handful of times over the last few weeks." At her release party held at the New York Roxy, Simpson would not confirm whether she is dating Mayer. "I'm trying to keep my private life private," the singer-actress said. "That's a first time in my life," Simpson added. 4. Next Week's ‘Hollywoodland' Flick and Others — Go or No Go? Here's what Hollywood is delivering to your local movie theater next weekend:
1. "Hollywoodland": An auspicious return of Ben Affleck portraying the first television Superman, George Reeves, who was shot to death in 1958 (Hollywood has long been haunted with the question of whether it was suicide or murder); Rated R due to some foul language, a little violence and some sexually oriented scenes. Go (for adults — even though kids are attracted to anything involving Superman, they should see the following film instead) 2. "Lassie": The venerable collie is back with a big-name star (Peter O'Toole) and a familiar plot (when a family falls into money problems they are forced to sell their dog, Lassie, but the canine escapes from her new masters and begins a long journey back to the family she loves). Like all Lassie films, the collie who stars in this one (Lassie the 9th) is a direct descendant of the original Lassie, a dog named Pal. Rated PG for some semi-violent action and some rough language. Go (bring everyone in the family, except the cat) 3. "The Convenant": Four teenage warlocks attempt to save the world from an evil force they unwittingly inflicted on the planet four years earlier. Rated PG-13 for very violent scenes with disturbing images. Profanity, partial nudity, and sexual content also accompany the horror. No Go (except for Goth horror fanatics) 4. "Broken Bridges": Limited engagement movie that features the acting debut of country singer Toby Keith and an acting part for actress Kelly Preston. Keith lands the perfect role, a country music star who has a reunion with his childhood sweetheart, which leads to him meeting his 16-year-old daughter for the first time. Rated PG-13 for some violence, some sex, and teens consuming alcohol. Go (for country music fans and Toby Keith-military backers) 5. "The Protector": Originally titled "Tom Yum Goong," a follow up for Thai martial artist Tony Jaa who starred in "Ong-bak". An exhibition of Jaa's formidable Thai martial arts skills. Rated R for lots of violence and some sex in between fights. No Go (except for die-hard martial arts devotees) 5. ABC to Shine Light on ‘Path to 9/11' "The Path to 9/11," a six-hour miniseries that is scheduled to air Sept. 10 and 11 on ABC, has certain former members of the Clinton administration in a panic.
The docudrama is thoroughly sourced and exposes information that former members of the Clinton administration had previously tried to suppress; that there was a failure on the part of the administration to respond to terrorism, inaction that ended up being partly to blame for the tragic events that took place on 9/11.
"Path" is based on the 9/11 Commission Final Report and the 2003 book "The Cell: Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It." New Jersey Governor and Commission co-Chairman Thomas H. Kean served as a consultant for the miniseries. Cyrus Nowrasteh, the writer and producer of the project, told Jamie Glazov of FrontPageMag.com that he was given "an incredible amount of research materials and [access to] high-level advisors from the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, Diplomatic Security, etc." The miniseries stars Oscar nominee Harvey Keitel ("Pulp Fiction," "The Piano") who plays the role of FBI agent John O'Neill. O'Neill is the FBI terrorism chief who attempted to convince the Clinton administration that it needed to deal with the danger that Osama bin Laden posed. Ironically, after having left the FBI, O'Neill took the job of security director for the World Trade Center. Along with thousands of others he died on that fateful September day. The ABC Web site refers to the production as "an epic miniseries event," and the plan is to air the program with limited commercial interruptions. Because the program specifically deals with the Clinton administration's failure to act when bin Laden was offered, a left-wing outcry has erupted on the Internet along with attempts to vilify the miniseries before it is even shown.
Pressure from the left and from Clinton allies may account for an unusual posting by director David L. Cunningham titled "Clarification," which was placed on the "Path" Web site. It stated that the series "is not a documentary," nor is it "a right-wing agenda movie." "The team of filmmakers, actors, and executives that are responsible for this movie have very different political views. There was no emphasis given to one party over another. By the way, we are also being accused of being a left-wing movie that bashes Bush," it also read. The posting has since been removed from the ABC Web site. In a 2002 speech to a Long Island business group, Bill Clinton detailed a 1996 offer from Sudan for bin Laden's extradition. The speech was recorded by NewsMax.com as well as the Long Island association that hosted the event. In 2004 the former president admitted on CNN that he once publicly confessed to turning down an offer to have bin Laden arrested prior to the 9/11 attacks. But in true Clintonesque fashion, he unabashedly asserted that his admission was "not accurate." "What I said there was wrong, what I said was in error," Clinton told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "Path" highlights the pivotal moment when the CIA and Northern Alliance had bin Laden surrounded and sought the necessary approval from the Clinton administration to go in and arrest the al-Qaida leader. The administration's refusal to authorize bin Laden's capture was apparently for political reasons.
The Left Coast Report believes "Path" may provide some long awaited illumination to an event that has been partially shrouded in mystery — until now. The Left Coast Report is put together by James L. Hirsen and the staff of NewsMax. For The Left Coast Report archives go here
Get your FREE copy of James Hirsen's new book "Hollywood Nation" — Go Here Now. Editor's Notes:
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