� 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
As more Reagan supporters begin mounting boycott
efforts, CBS President Les Moonves says the network is adjusting the
script of its upcoming miniseries on the former president and his wife to
present a more balanced view.
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Les
Moonves |
In an interview with Tina Brown to be broadcast tonight on CNBC,
Moonves said criticism of a film nobody has seen is "rather odd." But in
an apparent response to growing criticism generated by publishing of
script excerpts by the DrudgeReport. and the New York
Times, he indicated changes would be made.
"We've looked at the rough cut, there are things we like . . . there
are things we don't like . . . there are things we think go too far," he
told Brown, according to the New York Post. "So there are some edits being
made trying to present a more fair picture of the Reagans."
The miniseries, set for airing Nov. 16 and 18, includes scenes of
Reagan cursing at his staff and his wife slapping her daughter,
according to the script excerpts.
Other scenes show the former president declaring he is the
anti-Christ and, in response to AIDS, stating, "They that live in sin
shall die in sin" � though there is no record of him saying such things.
A former chief of staff to a U.S. congressman has teamed with
colleagues to set up a website
urging television viewers not to watch the
two-part series and to boycott its advertisers for 30 days during the
peak of the holiday shopping season.
Meanwhile, Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, sent a letter to the
top 100 corporate advertisers in the U.S. yesterday, urging them not to
support the production.
"The miniseries has blatantly distorted history and is nothing more
than a partisan political attack against one of America's most beloved
presidents," Bozell wrote. "New York Times reporter Jim Rutenberg, one of
the few people outside of CBS who has read the script, noted that the
miniseries completely omitted the unprecedented economic expansion of the
1980s. That glaring oversight is not nearly as unfair, however, as the
historical fictions that have been added to make the program more
dramatic."
Bozell said the picture of Reagan as a hateful religious zealot is
completely unfounded, noting biographer Lou Cannon "has flatly stated that
the depiction is unfair, telling Rutenberg in no uncertain terms that
'Reagan is not intolerant.'"
Other protest campaigns include grass-roots efforts with online
petitions such as NoMoreCBS.com
and "Boycott
of 'The Reagans,'" which had 599 signatures at press time.
According to Variety magazine, the series is a production of Hallmark Entertainment, a
subsidiary of Kansas City, Mo.-based Hallmark Cards Inc.
In a news release issued in August, Hallmark described the miniseries
this way:
First Family: The Reagans � From the bright lights of
tinsel town to the Oval Office and the U.S. presidency this true story
follows Ronald Reagan's (Emmy and Golden Globe winner James Brolin) rise
to notoriety, celebrity and world power. The four-hour dramatic
miniseries chronicles Reagan's years as a Hollywood movie star, his
marriage to his devoted wife Nancy (played by Emmy and Golden Globe
winner Judy Davis), his tumultuous role as a father of two, and the
political controversies that plunged him into the darkest chapter of his
presidential life.
A call by WND seeking comment from Hallmark Entertainment spokeswoman
Beth Nussbaum was not returned.
