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Title: Row over Bush TV 'assassination'
Source:
BBC News
URL Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5302598.stm
Published: Sep 1, 2006
Author: ruthie
Post Date: 2006-09-01 03:07:38 by ruthie
Keywords: None
Views: 131
Comments: 4
Row over Bush TV 'assassination' A British television channel has been criticised as "irresponsible" for making a drama in which US President George Bush is assassinated. Death of a President, on More4, uses actors and computer effects to portray the president being shot dead during an anti-war rally in Chicago in 2007. The makers of the 90-minute film said they used the event to explore the effects of the War on Terror on the US. But John Beyer, of TV watchdog MediaWatch, said it was irresponsible. He said it could even trigger a real assassination attempt and told the Daily Mirror: "There's a lot of feeling against President Bush and this may well put ideas into people's heads." A White House spokesman said of the programme: "We are not going to comment because it does not dignify a response." Shot by sniper The drama will have its world premiere at next month's Toronto Film Festival before a screening on UK digital channel More4. In the drama Mr Bush is assassinated by a sniper after delivering a speech to business leaders. He is confronted by a demonstration against the Iraq war when he arrives in the city and is shot as he leaves the venue. The ensuing investigation focuses on a Syrian-born man. Peter Dale, head of More4, who made the drama, described it as a "thought-provoking critique" of contemporary US society. He said: "It's an extraordinarily gripping and powerful piece of work, a drama constructed like a documentary that looks back at the assassination of George Bush as the starting point for a very gripping detective story. "It's a pointed political examination of what the War on Terror did to the American body politic. "I'm sure that there will be people who will be upset by it but when you watch it you realise what a sophisticated piece of work it is. "It's not sensationalist or simplistic but a very thought-provoking, powerful drama. I hope people will see that the intention behind it is good." However, the Republican Party of Texas was not impressed with the film. Spokesman Gretchen Essell said: "I cannot support a video that would dramatise the assassination of our president, real or imagined." "The greater reality is that terrorism still exists in our world. It is obvious that the war on terror is not over. She added: "I find this shocking, I find it disturbing. I don't know if there are many people in America who would want to watch something like that." Saddam drama Producers of the film, which is directed by Gabriel Range, hope to sell the broadcast rights to the US. Death of a President will be shown on More4 on 9 October. Other forthcoming More4 highlights include The Trial of Tony Blair, starring Robert Lindsay as the UK Prime Minister, and Ghosts, a drama inspired by the deaths of the Chinese cockle-pickers in Morecambe Bay in 2004. British politicians Charles Kennedy and Michael Howard will join forces to present The 30 Greatest Political Comedies, while the drama Saddam's Tribe tells the story of the former Iraqi dictator's regime. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/5302598.stm Published: 2006/09/01 02:17:30 GMT © BBC MMVI
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#4. To: ruthie (#0)
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Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestShe added: "I find this shocking, I find it disturbing. I don't know if there are many people in America who would want to watch something like that."
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