"The Big Dance" and the fall of Bush*

[wellstone_democrat]

A friend in the movie business saw a rough cut of the forthcoming Sept 11 movie "The big dance" airing in a few weeks on TV (probably actually a final cut come to think of it). In any event, my more or less apolitical techie friend said a startling thing:

"Bush and his WH might think this is Christmas but it just might be the opposite"

Seems that the movie presents Bush* on Sept. 11, 2001 as (and I quote): "Like that old SNL skit about Reagan where he goes from genial moron to hard-charging, brilliant, leader." Pressed on this, although I knew the characterization was going to be flattering, he said: "In every moment Bush* is mature, amazingly articulate, and endlessly heroic"---He went on to say that even if Bush* had acted that way the movie portrayal would get flack for being a hagiography. The fact that he was somewhat slower to react to events is going to rip the lid off.

I thought it over the top but...then I considered that the film had actually *politicized* this guy who was not exactly a Bush* supporter but who had thought he did "OK" in Sept 2001 and didn't see what I got so "upset" about. Guess who is upset now. We could not shut him up about it---suddenly he *remembers* the first video appearance that day where Bush* (In Louisiana or someplace on the run) looked like he was taken hostage+). Interesting no? Wouldn't it be a hoot if the "heroic" character does what lies and scandals have not---wake people the hell up?


+funny note: due to where I was and what I was doing on Sept 11, 2001, I didn't see much on TV---one moment I did see "live" was that odd appearance in a windbreaker at some AFB. I honestly thought that things had escalated and that he WAS a hostage somewhere. Then the scroll on the bottom cleared it up but...it was and remains hilarious in retrospect.

[Minstrel Boy]

1. I think this film will prove a huge misstep

for the reasons you've articulated. This is ham-handed, Soviet-style propaganda, the kind even unsavvy media consumers can see through.

[Doug Decker]

6. It would be a big mistake to think a movie...

would help us at all, even if he shows the truth about 9-11. We should all give up and go home and let * handle everything, they know what's right.

They know what's right They know what's right They know what's right They know what's right They know what's right They know what's right da;ljdfarueiuerpou error error danger will robinson danger



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[unblock]

2. everything bush did that day was DISGRACEFUL!

-proceeding with a pr event after plane #1 crashes into wtc. EVEN IF IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, HE SHOULD HAVE CANCELLED AND HEADED STRAIGHT TO NYC.

-continuing with a pr event after place #2 cashes into wtc and is told "america is under attack". DO SOMETHING, ASSHOLE!!

-hopping from afb to afb, going nowhere near nyc, dc, or pa. WTF??

-taking forever to get on the air to calm us down. when he did, he added to our fear by proving us to be without capable leadership. i think his first statement was more or less that he would have a real statement later....

-letting clinton and gore, one of whom was in AUSTRALIA, beat him to nyc. again, WTF??

-talking about revenge instead of sympathy and rebuilding. cold-blooded shit.


the following days were no better

-promising nyc $40B, then claiming he only ever said $20B, then only coughing up $10B.

-taking 3 days to get to ground zero. when he did, he stood over some entombed victims and spoke further of more violence.

-squashing any investigations. what do you have to hide??

-claiming bin laden did it while offering zero evidence.


WORST.

PRESIDENT.

EVER.

[wellstone_democrat]

3. I'm going to kick this myself

and give it a chance to live and run free!

[Skittles]

4. Now there's a terrible pilot

will that be in the movie? How about the warnings he received - while he was on the longest vacation in presidential (sic) history?

[maggrwaggr]

5. it's horrifying to me that anyone thought this was a good idea

We are so BEYOND SATIRE.

It's almost like a really weird, bad dream

[thebigidea]

7. apparently its called "DC 9/11: Time of Crisis" now

there's a teaser up at http://www.showtimeonline.com/movies/movies_product.cfm?titleid=119354

just looking at the cast list frightens me. I can't believe they got that guy from the "Trancers" flix to play Wolfowitz.

It could go down in sleazefilm history, possibly might even approach BATTLEFIELD EARTH levels of bad.

And holy shit, some lonely bastard could write a huge dissertation on the PoMo aspects of it - Timothy Bottoms' deconstruction of Dubya... passing from satire in "That's My Bush!" to NePlusUltraSatire in "DC 9/11".

Better sharpen those pencils, grad students.

--

on edit: Oh man, I gotta quote from the PR:

"The production consulted three political columnists to review the script. The notes of Morton Kondracke of Roll Call, Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post and Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard were incorporated into the script to ensure it portrayed a balanced and accurate account of the events."

but was it FAIR?

"He further explained that "the White House had agreed to interviews, but they wanted no role in the film. They were not interested in pushing propaganda and Showtime was not interested in being an instrument of the White House."

and it is VERY well researched. He got to spend 10 minutes with the chimp!

"Lawrence Pressman plays Dick Cheney and found him "a very difficult guy to research. There's no biography of him. There were facts but not mindsets." What was fascinating to Pressman about Cheney was his body language. "He's very linear and so I've relied a lot on body language," Pressman explained. "

Fascinating:

[Old and In the Way]

8. Righto

"The notes of Morton Kondracke of Roll Call, Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post and Fred Barnes of The Weekly Standard were incorporated into the script to ensure it portrayed a balanced and accurate account of the events."

Yes...and fair, too!

I think it will backfire too. The bottomline is that they do not want anything that redraws attention back to 9/11. Even if this tries to portray Bush as some kind of superhero, the stark facts of the known reality will contrast nicely against this poo. No, I think the movie will fire up those that know better and will just lead to more questions and public revelations about what really happened that day.

The more exposure, the better, I say.

[pretzel4gore]

9. yep! truth is toxic...

to this plague of liars...

[gully]

11. Michael Moores film should be released before election 2004...

could be interesting ... indeed.

[bicentennial_baby]

12. ...

I still can't get over the fact that Timothy Bottoms is playing *...and Mr. Sulu as Mineta? Is this a comedy or what?

[Minstrel Boy]

13. I'd forgotten George Takei was playing Mineta

Does this mean they'll explain the breakdown of Standard Operating Procedures on the hijackers having used Romulan cloaking devices?

[Mari333]

10. Lets just wait for Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11

to be released right before the Nov election.

Now that should be good.