James DiEugenio Posted August 22, 2017 Author Share Posted August 22, 2017 (edited) DA I wonder if there is a general trend here. Would people go to the theater to see conspiracy-minded historical films of the JFK type faster than conventional history/biography? I think this is correct. By the figures you quote on Parkland, Bobby, and Jackie I think that is a warranted deduction. If you ask me, those films should have never been made. The Estevez film about RFK was really a dud artistically. From what I understand he got that name cast--Helen Hunt. Bill Macy, Sharon Stone-- by telling them it was about the RFK assassination. But he did not give them the script until a week before the shoot. Too late to back out. Then they find out its not about the RFK case at all. I mean what was the point really? Just a waste if you ask me. Stone's film JFK actually made more money overseas than it did in America. It did close to 200 million abroad. For a combined theatrical gross of about 250 million on a budget of 40 million. You add in DVD sales, video sales, and what is called ancillary rights--cable, network, syndication--and it would not surprise me if that film did well over 300 million, maybe 350 million. So therefore, the logic would be: Why doesn't someone make similar films on the RFK case or MLK case? Probably because no one wants to get STONED. That is, have their film beat up in advance in the press and their reputation savaged like Oliver did. IMO that was what that was all about: a shot across the bow. Stay out there with technotrash like Wonder Woman and The Hulk. Don't upset the power elite or we will do to you what we did to Stone--and Richard Sprague and Jim Garrison. It seems to have worked. Some things are more important than money. Edited August 22, 2017 by James DiEugenio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Newton Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 49 minutes ago, James DiEugenio said: It seems to have worked. Some things are more important than money. Hey Jim, I've believed for a long time that the USS Liberty debacle deserves a big screen presence but the chances of that, with it's potential anti-Israeli theme if the truth were told, are virtually nil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted August 22, 2017 Author Share Posted August 22, 2017 I agree. Never will get made. For one the military will never grant permission to use their ships or planes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Newton Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 16 minutes ago, James DiEugenio said: For one the military will never grant permission to use their ships or planes. If only there was an Arab horse transport ship we could substitute for GTR-5... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bauer Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 There was a green lighted JFK related film that was supposed to start shooting in 2013. The title was to be "Black Bird" and it was to star one of our top A-List actors - Kate Blanchette. This was a David Mamet film and he was to write the script and make his directoral debut. Blackbird was to have an intriguing premise – that of a story of a Hollywood special effects designer moonlighting for the US Government, with a possible link to the assassination of JFK. Blanchett was to star as the granddaughter of the deceased SFX man, whose death sparks off the unravelling of the ‘Hitchcockian’ thriller. The film got shelved. I always wondered if this was due to political pressure. By the way, it has been reported that David Mamet does not believe the JFK assassination was the result of a conspiracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bulman Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 (edited) If Parkland had been cast and directed by Oliver Stone and it had a storyline of... Jack ruby tugging on Seth Kantor's sleeve and asking... Dr. Crenshaw or McClelland saying there's a hole the size of a grapefruit or softball in the back here... the Secret Service pulling guns to take JFK's body and prevent a Dallas autopsy... LBJ running for Air Force 1, Dr. Malcom Perry saying 3 times that afternoon the throat wound was an entrance wound...LBJ calling for a confession as Oswald was dying. It might have stood a chance of success with a public that still doesn't believe the official government story. Edited August 23, 2017 by Ron Bulman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James DiEugenio Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 Joe: was the story that the former special effects guy altered the Zapruder film? I think that was it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bulman Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 4 hours ago, Chris Newton said: Hey Jim, I've believed for a long time that the USS Liberty debacle deserves a big screen presence but the chances of that, with it's potential anti-Israeli theme if the truth were told, are virtually nil. Chris, you and Jim probably know more but I stumbled across The USS Liberty as chapter 14 of Joan Mellen's Faustian Bargains. The Liberty should be an enraging story to any U S citizen. Sailor Harbardier and Marine Lockwood are Military Hero's if ever there where any even if not officially acknowledged. Knowing the context of the following statement, that it had been attacked by allies on our instruction, "I don't give a damn if the ship sinks" by President Lyndon Baines Johnson, makes it one of the sickest lowest moments by a Commander in Chief in Military History. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Newton Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Ron Bulman said: The Liberty should be an enraging story to any U S citizen. Sailor Harbardier and Marine Lockwood are Military Hero's if ever there where any even if not officially acknowledged. You can find many videos of the surviving crewmen on youtube. They also have a site on the ship. The Capt. was the only living MOH awardee not to have a medal ceremony at the WH in the 20th century, or beyond. The crew have been pretty vocal but forces bigger than they are at work here. It is one of the most shameful episodes in our history. Edited August 23, 2017 by Chris Newton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bulman Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 6 minutes ago, Chris Newton said: You can find many videos of the surviving crewmen on youtube. They also have a site on the ship. The Capt. was the only living MOH awardee not to have a medal ceremony in the 20th century or beyond. The crew have been pretty vocal but forces bigger than are at work here. It is one of the most shameful episodes in our history. Our guy's being shot down on deck by unwilling Israeli pilots, Flags and aircraft insignia clear to both "sides". This was not an accident. It was an attempted provocation of <nuclear> war. A pilot was stopped minutes before deployment of missiles. Because the Men of the USS Liberty Fought Back, some Died, but they didn't give up. Thank you to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bauer Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 Jim, I don't know if the alteration of the Zapruder film was a part of the "Blackbird" story line. You'd think however that a film that had our hottest A level actor Blanchett committed and with Mamet as screenwriter and directing that it would have no trouble securing financing and production green lighting. Perhaps Mamet himself pulled the plug for personal reasons. From what general readings of Mamet I have come across, he appears to be an unpredictable and rather complicated fellow although tremendously talented. I can see films with his scripts multiple times and never find them any less interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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