- LOS ANGELES (Reuters)
-- Irking both Democrats and Republicans, CBS on Tuesday dropped plans
to air "The Reagans" and sold the controversial mini-series to
pay-cable network Showtime in moves it insisted had nothing to do with
conservative complaints that the film was unfair.
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- The network, which earlier this year sparked an uproar
for broadcasting a TV movie about Adolf Hitler, denied that it was bowing
to pressure, but said producers of the Ronald Reagan film biography failed
to deliver a balanced portrayal of the 40th U.S. president.
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- Rather than air the four-hour mini-series as originally
planned on Nov. 16 and 18, the height of ratings "sweeps," the
network it had sold the program to Showtime, a subscriber-based cable channel
with a fraction of the audience commanded by CBS. Both are owned by Viacom
Inc.
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- "A free broadcast network, available to all over
the public airwaves, has different standards than media the public must
pay to view," CBS said. "We do, however, recognize and respect
the filmmakers' right to have their voice heard and their film seen."
A Showtime spokesman said "The Reagans" would likely air early
next year.
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- The CBS decision drew an immediate denunciation in Washington
from both ends of the political spectrum. Senate Democratic leader Tom
Daschle told reporters on Capitol Hill, "It smells of intimidation."
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- Likewise, Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie
said moving the film to Showtime "does not address the central concern
over historical accuracy."
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- "Misleading a smaller audience of viewers is not
a noble response to the legitimate concerns raised about this program,"
Gillespie said in a statement.
-
- Repeating demands the RNC had made of CBS last week,
Gillespie said Showtime should allow a panel of experts "and people
who know the Reagans" to review the program for accuracy before it
airs, or run a disclaimer informing viewers that the film is a fictional
portrayal of the former first family.
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- Political conservatives, reacting to snippets of the
TV movie that have circulated in the media in recent weeks, have branded
the dramatized biography of Reagan and his wife, Nancy, as part of a campaign
by liberal Hollywood to smear his legacy. Some Reagan supporters had urged
a boycott of CBS by viewers and advertisers.
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- FAIR AND BALANCED
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- Those close to the production, however, have defended
the film as fair, balanced and well-documented, saying it showed both Reagan's
foibles and his strengths.
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- CBS said its 11th-hour decision to cancel the mini-series
was "based solely on our reaction to seeing the final film, not the
controversy that erupted around a draft of the script." The network
added that the version of the movie delivered to it by producers "does
not present a balanced portrayal" of Reagan and his wife, Nancy, and
that subsequent changes that the network had considered "did not address
those concerns."
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- Two weeks ago, CBS defended the production, saying the
film "has been meticulously researched and offers a respectful and
balanced portrayal of the Reagans." A network insider said that assessment
was made before top executives at the network had seen the final product.
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- Showtime said it would collaborate with the filmmakers
on a final version of the film to be shown in conjunction with an on-air
forum "that will provide a dialogue for those who agree and disagree
with its content."
-
- The furor arose after the New York Times reported last
month that the film portrays the Reagans in an unflattering light while
omitting much of what Republicans and other supporters of the former president
regard as his key achievements.
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- In one scene from the film's final script, Reagan says
of AIDS patients, "They that live in sin shall die in sin." But
there is no evidence he ever expressed those views.
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- Some Republicans also were incensed that Reagan, now
92 and severely ill with Alzheimer's disease, is played by actor James
Brolin, who is married to singer Barbra Streisand, a leading Democratic
activist in Hollywood.
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- Nancy Reagan is portrayed by Judy Davis. Both she and
Brolin are self-described liberals, as are the two executive producers
of the film, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, whose credits also include the
hit film musical "Chicago."
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- http://news.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=3754912
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