Variety on "The Path to 9/11"

[madmusic]

Pols pound 'Path'
Under fire, ABC mulls yanking mini

By WILLIAM TRIPLETT

'The Path to 9/11'
Democrats accuse ABC of painting a partisan portrait of events in its miniseries 'The Path to 9/11,' airing Sunday and Monday.

"The Path to 9/11" is looking a lot like "The Reagans, Part II."

Bill Clinton loyalists are demanding wholesale changes to the upcoming miniseries -- and while ABC is making some snips, the alterations, insiders say, may not please the Dems.

But a bombshell decision may happen anyway: Sources close to the project say the network, which has been in a media maelstrom over the pic, is mulling the idea of yanking the mini altogether.

snip

One thing ABC doesn't need to worry about: advertiser defections. Net decided to air the five-hour mini sans commercials after failing to find an appropriate sponsor for the project (Daily Variety, Sept. 5).

http://www.variety.com/VR1117949675.html

[joemurphy]

1. Let's hope the "mulling" ends in a yank.

It would be highly appropriate. Airing a partisan documentary (now labeled a "dramatization") written and directed by extreme right-wingers and attributing it all to the 9-11 Commission Report would be a moral and financial mistake for Disney/ABC. One has to wonder how this got commissioned in the first place.

Why this was pre-viewed by Rush Limbaugh and no Democrats also speaks volumes about it. The whole thing smells of politics. How ABC will have any credibility if it elects to air this abomination is beyond me.

[Julius Civitatus]

2. No sponsors, but ABC still wants to air it? Smells of AGENDA!

The only "sponsor" ABC responds to is Karl Rove. Period.

[laconicsax]

3. Loyalists?

The changes are being called for by 'loyalists?' Obviously the only people who would have a problem with a docudrama filled with false and misleading parts are 'loyalists.'

[OneBlueSky]

4. "Net decided to air the five-hour mini sans commercials after . . .

failing to find an appropriate sponsor for the project" . . .

yeah . . . right . . . ABC is GIVING AWAY five hours of prime telecast time on a Sunday night and receiving no compensation whatsoever? . . . I don't believe that for a second . . .

SOMEONE is paying for this, and I'd sure like to know who . . .

[madmusic]

5. Yeah, same here.

More:

Perhaps the most ambitious programming initiative is ABC's attempt to dramatize the 9/11 Commission Report with the two-night, four-hour miniseries "Path to 9/11."

Conceived two years ago, the production stars Harvey Keitel, Shirley Douglas and Patricia Heaton. It sports a cast of 247 and lensed in 20 countries.

"It was an enormous undertaking," said ABC Entertainment prexy Steve McPherson, who consulted former network chief Brandon Stoddard, producer of 1983's "The Day After," the net's nuclear cautionary tale.

The first two hours of the mini will air on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 8 p.m. Part two, also two hours, goes the next night at 8, followed by a 60-minute ABC News special hosted by "World News" anchor Charles Gibson.

Miniseries will air with limited commercial interruption. "Some things you do for commerce and some things because they are the right thing to do," McPherson said.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117948403?categoryid=14&cs=1&query=path+and+to+and+9%2F11&display=path+to+9%2F11

[madmusic]

6. Could it be that ABC got suckered?

Maybe they really thought it was going to be a public service film and didn't know of the lies in it. Meaning, they didn't know they were lies. Let's face it, a lot of people still think Iraq had WMD's, and if ABC itself didn't know any better, it is possible they were duped.

Would the Right trick ABC like that? They sure as hell would if they could. Here is more:

Because "Path to 9/11" will air without sponsorship, whatever audience it attracts won't be officially recorded by Nielsen.

To spread the word about "Path to 9/11," ABC is sending 100,000 high school educators a letter from 9/11 Commission co-chair Tom Keane informing them of the various platforms on which the mini is available. ABC and Scholastic have pacted to produce an online study guide.

Because the miniseries' actual length is less than the six-hour, two-night block in which it's scheduled to run, ABC has had to make other plans to fill the time following the conclusions of both parts.

ABC News has already prepared a special documentary hosted by Charlie Gibson to air following the end of night two of the mini, just after 10 p.m. on Sept. 11. Alphabet is still finalizing plans for the roughly 10 minutes of airtime left at the conclusion of night one, on Sept. 10.

Marc Platt exec produced "The Path to 9/11," with Cyrus Nowrasteh writing the script. David L. Cunningham directed.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117949477?categoryid=14&cs=1&s=h&p=0

[Selatius]

7. But Disney is a big corporate donor to political campaigns

Most of the senior executives donate their money to Repubs. In my view, it's likely they knew going into the project what was coming. They simply miscalculated what the reaction would be from the Democratic Party, and who can blame them? They've been rolling over Democrats for years now without too much opposition. They probably thought, "Why would they fight now?"

[madmusic]

8. Sadly, you're probably right.

Well, SURPRISE! :toast:

[Nikki Stone 1]

9. What character is Patricia Heaton playing?

Can't imagine...

[frylock]

10. us ambassador to yemen, barbara bodine..

she's the one who impeded John O'Neill's investigation into the USS Cole incident. From Wiki:

Ms. Bodine's career was marked by controversy when details of her conflict with the FBI investigation of the Cole bombing came to light. According to a PBS Frontline documentary, Ms. Bodine's actions -- in particular her conflict with FBI agent John P. O'Neill -- may have contributed to the intelligence failure that resulted in the 9/11 bombing of the World Trade Center.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Bodine

[Nikki Stone 1]

12. Thanks. I guess they must be spotlighting Bodine since Heaton is a name

I wonder how much airtime Heaton will get.

[EstimatedProphet]

11. Yeah, we're "Bill Clinton loyalists"

That's the real reason we oppose ABC lying about what happened so that they can protect their little Nazi. It's because we're still pissed off that Clinton didn't get a third term. Kepp telling yourself that, Variety.