Thanks to the magic of editing, President Obama will have a starring role in a television drama about one of his biggest accomplishments — the killing of Osama bin Laden — that will be shown just two nights before the presidential election.
But the star turn is virtually certain to bolster claims that the approximately 90-minute film amounts to a political stunt. Set for a prime-time debut on Nov. 4 on the National Geographic Channel, and a release the next day on Netflix, the film — “SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden” — is being backed by Harvey Weinstein, a longtime Democratic contributor and one of the Obama campaign’s most vigorous backers. Mr. Weinstein bought the rights to the film for about $2.5 million at the Cannes festival in May.
It tells the story of the hunt by intelligence operatives and Navy commandos for Bin Laden, who was killed on May 2, 2011, in Pakistan.
But promotional materials and a copy of the movie provided to The New York Times this week also show that the film has been recut, using news and documentary footage to strengthen Mr. Obama’s role and provide a window into decision-making in the White House.
Here's the trailer when the film was originally titled: Code Name-Geronimo.
Didn't Obama refuse to authorize the mission on 3 occasions and only reluctantly agreed to it when they got some Army General to sign a paper taking responsibility if it failed?
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ReplyDelete"The New York Times reveals today--in a classic buried lede--that Harvey Weinstein's film about the killing of Osama bin Laden, set to air on the National Geographic Channel two days before the election, originally included a scene showing Gov. Mitt Romney "appearing to oppose the raid," a complete fabrication of history.
The film, SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden, grants President Barack Obama a "starring role," and was edited--apparently at Weinstein's suggestion--to embellish Obama's involvement: "the film has been recut, using news and documentary footage to strengthen Mr. Obama’s role and provide a window into decision-making in the White House." The director claims, in his defense, that the edits reduce Obama's on-screen time.
The Romney scene was cut at the insistence of National Geographic Channel CEO Howard T. Owens..."
Hey, but isn't code naming the operation, Geronimo, racist?
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