Joseph McBride Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 (edited) I am now hearing of a film project in preproduction about Walter Cronkite and the assassination. Supposedly about Uncle Walter's anguish reporting the story as it unfolded that day. It's called NEWSFLASH. The director is David Gordon Green. The writer is Ben Jacoby. IMDB says Seth Rogen (!) will play Cronkite, but another source says not. Edited July 26, 2019 by Joseph McBride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bauer Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 On 7/19/2019 at 11:11 AM, David Andrews said: http://scriptshadow.net/screenplay-review-blackbird/ See link to review of script re: JFK. I'd love if someone could alert me if they find a copy of the David Mamet Blackbird script online. I'm not sure it's in line with our POV on film alteration, though I'm a Mamet fan. Perhaps his comments in the article below are the reason Blackbird wasn't made: https://www.thedailybeast.com/americas-cassandra-david-mamet-speaks-on-the-lies-of-obama-and-war David. I just accessed that first link you provided. Interesting review of and thought provoking commentary on Mamet's BLACK BIRD script. Intertwining the UFO story with the JFK assassination one would be a tricky credibility risking endeavor however imo. Doug Caddy does this and with enough real life high political and agency character connected gravitas ( William F. Buckley, E. Howard Hunt, etc. ) that it isn't automatically dismissible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Andrews Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 8 minutes ago, Joe Bauer said: David. I just accessed that first link you provided. Interesting review of and thought provoking commentary on Mamet's BLACK BIRD script. Intertwining the UFO story with the JFK assassination one would be a tricky credibility risking endeavor however imo. Doug Caddy does this and with enough real life high political and agency character connected gravitas ( William F. Buckley, E. Howard Hunt, etc. ) that it isn't automatically dismissible. Joe - see Mamet's 1991 film Homicide, and you'll see why the Blackbird project might have been going in a different, more skeptical, direction. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102048/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bauer Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 I never heard of this film. Just viewed the trailer. Can you share your thoughts about the connection you make with this film and the non-production of BLACKBIRD and Mamet himself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bauer Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 9 hours ago, Joseph McBride said: I am now hearing of a film project in preproduction about Walter Cronkite and the assassination. Supposedly about Uncle Walter's anguish reporting the story as it unfolded that day. It's called NEWSFLASH. The director is David Gordon Green. The writer is Ben Jacoby. IMDB says Seth Rogen (!) will play Cronkite, but another source says not. This would be a TV movie right? Seth Rogen as Walter Cronkite? Any thoughts on this casting choice J. McBride? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Andrews Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, Joe Bauer said: I never heard of this film. Just viewed the trailer. Can you share your thoughts about the connection you make with this film and the non-production of BLACKBIRD and Mamet himself? I could PM you, but that would spoil the ending of the film, Homicide. That film suggests why Blackbird might not be pro-CT, not why Blackbird wasn't made. Nobody knows why the red light went up for Blackbird after 2015, but the project was first announced in 2013, so there must have been some development troubles over the intervening time. Perhaps the production company crapped out. Mamet isn't listed as a writer or director on any film since 2014. Edited July 26, 2019 by David Andrews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph McBride Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 I don't know if that project will be made, but evidently it's planned as a theatrical film. The writer and director mostly work in TV. Rogen seems an odd choice. Just focusing on Walter doing his job that day seems myopic, but we probably couldn't hope the film would be more revealing of his role as a US government propagandist, e.g., in those shameful TV specials he turned out with Dan Rather upholding the Warren Report. But I always hold out judgment until I see what they do onscreen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Andrews Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 (edited) Rogen had better bring a bitchin' Cronkite to get away with this, or he'll have to answer to Albert Brooks. Edited July 27, 2019 by David Andrews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Goldberg Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I can't really imagine anyone pulling off a good Cronkite for anyone who saw him on television. If you've only seen clips of Walter, maybe, but he was such a fixture for so many Americans - it's hard to imagine any actor doing a good job of pulling off his likeness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kozlowski Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 (edited) Apparently the script was well received. I remember reading an entertainment site last year that the script made some list as one of the best screenplays not in production. Mark Ruffalo and Bryan Cranston were also cast to star in the movie. I haven’t heard anything since then but am curious to see who they have playing Dan Rather. Edited July 27, 2019 by John Kozlowski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Bulman Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 23 hours ago, Stephanie Goldberg said: I can't really imagine anyone pulling off a good Cronkite for anyone who saw him on television. If you've only seen clips of Walter, maybe, but he was such a fixture for so many Americans - it's hard to imagine any actor doing a good job of pulling off his likeness. True. For many of us for many years Cronkite was the truth on nightly news. Before the world wide web, tweeting, and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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