CNN, NPR Turn Down Ads for Death of a President

CBC Arts

The American news networks CNN and National Public Radio have refused to accept ads for the controversial British film Death of a President, about the fictional assassination of U.S. President George W. Bush.

CNN sent an e-mail to movie distributor Newmarket Films on Tuesday, saying it would not air ads for the film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Gabriel Range accepts the International Critics' Prize in Toronto for Death of a President. It will open on only 100 screens in the U.S. and some media outlets have refused ads.
(Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)

CNN said it "has decided not to take the ads because of the extreme nature of the movie's subject matter."

The film is shot as if it is a documentary, looking back on the 2007 shooting of Bush during an anti-war rally in Chicago. Real news footage of Bush is mixed with acted segments to create the story.

Filmmaker Gabriel Range has used the same technique in two films that cast light on British politics.

But projecting the death of a sitting president has been too controversial for many critics in the United States and two theatre chains there have balked at showing the film, which opens Friday October 27.

Ads could taint news coverage of film: NPR

National Public Radio (NPR) said it refused the ads because it did not want to give listeners the idea that it was reporting about the movie because it took the sponsorships, an NPR spokeswoman said.

"The movie is fairly likely to generate significant controversy and we'll cover it as a news story," said NPR spokeswoman Andi Sporkin.

"To take a sponsorship spot would raise questions and cause confusion" among listeners, she said.

Newmarket Films co-founder Chris Ball objected to the refusals by CNN and NPR, saying major newspapers such as the New York Times and Washington Post have run ads.

"To refuse to accept ads for a movie is tantamount to saying it shouldn't be seen, and this runs counter to everything we are supposed to believe in as a free society," Ball told the Los Angeles Times.

He defended the film's premise, saying it is an appeal for tolerance.

"Death of a President is the opposite of a call for violence," Ball said.

The largest U.S. theatre chain, Regal Entertainment Group, and a smaller competitor, Cinemark USA, have said they would not screen the movie. It will open Friday October 27th on about 100 screens nationwide.

Maple Pictures is releasing Death of a President in Canada, also on Friday October 27th, and has a promotional campaign that features a picture of Bush, with his birth and fictional death date(October 2007).

The ads have been accepted by Canadian media outlets.

Some U.S. Cinemas Balk at Showing Death of a President

CBC Arts

Some major U.S. cinema chains are refusing to play the film Death of a President, which depicts the fictional assassination of President George W. Bush.

The film, which won the international critics' prize at the Toronto International Film Festival, mixes real news footage of the president with dramatized segments to tell the story.

The film has been controversial since its subject matter has been known and director Gabriel Range reported getting death threats.
 
Now cinema chains in the U.S. are balking at releasing it.

"We would not be inclined to program this film," Regal Entertainment Group chief executive Mike Campbell said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.

"We feel it is inappropriate to portray the future assassination of a sitting president, regardless of political affiliation."

Texas-based Cinemark USA and its unit Century Theaters, which has cinemas in northern California, have also refused to book the film.

Boston-based National Amusements is still in negotiations over whether to release it.

Newmarket Films of Los Angeles bought rights to distribute the film at TIFF and plans to open it Oct. 27, ahead of the U.S. congressional election Nov. 7.

Range says the film is meant to provoke debate on today's U.S. political climate.

The fictional Bush assassination occurs in Chicago in 2007 against a background of anti-war protests, and Range depicts a xenophobic rush to judgment as an American of Middle Eastern descent is accused of the crime.

Range said he could have told the same story with a fictional president who looks or acts like Bush, but feared it would not have the same impact.

Newmarket co-founder Chris Ball agrees the film is controversial, but says it's a compelling political thriller.

"In many ways it is sympathetic to George Bush. It talks about a rush to judgment. In no way is it a call for violence," Ball said.

The film has an R rating, which will keep away some movie-goers.

But Newmarket distribution consultant Richard Abramowitz insists it will open widely in the U.S. with at least 700 screens booked for Oct. 27.

"We're getting a good reception in a lot of places. No matter how tight the screens are, once a film has success, it's always easier to get more screens," he said.

Politically controversial films such as Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 and Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth have done well in the U.S. in the past.

Death of a President was a hit with audiences as well as a critics' favourite at TIFF, with crowds lining up to see it.