…And A William Ayers Script Makes The Rounds
Posted by Dirty Harry on Monday, October 6th, 2008
Hey, if Hollywood can lionize a mass-murderer like Che, why not thank the terrorist who put Obama on the road to the White House from his living room:
A new script about the life of former Weather Underground leader William Ayers is making the rounds in Hollywood, and the co-screenwriter hopes that the recent hubbub surrounding Barack Obama’s ties to the Sixties radical will “at least get people interested” in it.
Director John Hancock finished writing the screenplay titled “Fugitive Days” over the summer with longtime partner Dorothy Tristan, and his agent has just begun sending it to producers and production companies. Adapted from Ayers’ 2001 memoir of the same name, the script has received “nibbles but no bites,” said Hancock, who is hoping to direct the film if it is eventually produced. …
A handful of movies have been made about Ayers and the Weather Underground, including a 2002 Oscar-nominated documentary, a 1975 TV movie starring Sissy Spacek, and the 1988 feature film “Running on Empty,” which co-starred Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti as a fugitive couple loosely based on the two antiwar bombers, with the late River Phoenix as their GenX teenage son.
Hancock, who is 69 and a former Vietnam protestor himself (though not involved with the Weather Underground or affiliated groups), said that Ayers is “trying to ignore and not read about” the recent attempts by conservatives and the GOP to tie him to the Democratic presidential nominee.
Roger L. Simon has more on the Ayers connection to Running On Empty (which is a very good film):
1988 was the same year that Barack Obama entered Harvard Law School. It was highly unlikely he did not know about Running on Empty. It was one of the most talked about movies of the year for serious people, like Ivy League law students. The subject of the film was clearly the ramifications of a life of violence on friends and family. And yet he chose to start his career in politics via Ayers-Dohrn (note the emphasis). And now he denies knowing who Ayers was or what he did. Well… as the saying goes… I lost it at the movies.
And yes, I’m assuming Hollywood will treat Ayers sympathetically based on a little piece of evidence I call The History Of Hollywood These Last Thirty Years.
Filed in General |
whiskeyon 06 Oct 2008 at 4:41 pm 1Yes of course. Hollywood LOVES killers, as long as they are the “correct” kind of killers. Ayers yes, Eric Rudolph, no.
Raoul Ortegaon 06 Oct 2008 at 4:46 pm 2Was there any stage in his live when Senator Oblivious was aware of what was going on around him? How does one go through life never noticing anything inconvenient? Is this ability of his to ignore everything an acquired trait on one that comes naturally?
Audietooon 06 Oct 2008 at 4:46 pm 3It was a good movie and the one that made River Pheonix look like a future STAR. Treated the ‘reformed’ radicals sympathetically and made like they just became ‘regular folks’ after their little youthful stint as terrorists. If Ayers could keep his mouth shut and stop stomping on the flag he would get that good old American Second Chance too. Some might say he already has.
The Ugly Americanon 06 Oct 2008 at 4:46 pm 4Running on Empty is another liberal film I love to hate.
Love the acting & storyline.
Hate the irresponsible parents.
Johnny Ed's Babyon 06 Oct 2008 at 5:25 pm 5Maybe Katie Couric should ask Obama what newspapers and magazines he was reading back in the days he met and worked with Ayers and Dorhn.
I say he only mentions MAD magazine.
billypaintbrushon 06 Oct 2008 at 6:42 pm 6asking what O! reads would be racist.
maybe you need to spend some time with Public Allies and get your mind right
Tom Aricoon 06 Oct 2008 at 6:52 pm 7Maybe I missed the boat on Running On Empty. I thought it was a great film. Two fugitaves destroy their own lives with their terrorist activities, now forever on the run, living underground, come to the relization that it’s not right to destroy their childerens lives as well
Videos: The Ayers connection; Update: Obama doesn’t read newspapers? | OBAMA AYERSon 06 Oct 2008 at 7:08 pm 8[…] Dirty Harry’s Place… » …And A William Ayers Script Makes The Rounds […]
Johnny Ed's Babyon 06 Oct 2008 at 7:18 pm 9billypaintbrush:
I apologize for offending Dear Leader.
I will do penance by working for Acorn and registering 100 felons and 100 illegal immigrants.
I love our Dear Leader.
Striker Zon 06 Oct 2008 at 7:32 pm 10The thing that stuck with me from this movie was a certain reaction the parents had. Several times in the movie, when the parents’ crimes came up, they would justify their actions, as if they had no regrets. And when it was mentioned that they maimed a janitor, they would always immediately fire back with a sullen ‘he wasn’t supposed to be there!’
Now, along with making me assume that they hurt poor Dante Hicks, I felt it interesting how, with one sentence, all the bravery and wisdom got stripped away, and you were left with a whining 18-year old who couldn’t believe that the world doesn’t always work the way they want it to.
RWAon 06 Oct 2008 at 8:14 pm 11John Hancock showed tremendous promise with BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY, but for some reason, his career never took off the way it should have.
Kon 06 Oct 2008 at 8:17 pm 12I don’t think McCain and company are going to get much traction out of the Ayers connection. Kerry was a radical who made it a strategy to slander the Vietnam vets in order to end the war and yet almost won the last election, being friends with a former Weatherman isn’t going to cut much ice.
This strikes me as a desperation move by the McCain camp.
SteveBrooklineMAon 06 Oct 2008 at 8:17 pm 13I thought it was cowardly script writing that the parents in “Running on Empty” hadn’t actually killed anyone. The bombing was reminiscent of the Sterling Hall Bombing (Madison WI), in which a researcher was killed. But in the story he was only injured. Why pull that punch?
(Spoilers ahead) But it’s a good movie. I haven’t seen it in 20 years, yet many scenes have stuck with me: the scene with the father in the restaurant, the pizza delivery scene, bugging out ahead of the FBI, kicking Phoenix out of the car, etc. Not many movies can do that.
a. acaciaon 06 Oct 2008 at 9:14 pm 14K,
As I wrote here, negative ads work. They worked for Hillary when she questioned Obama’s “patriotism,” nailed him to the wall with “guilt by association” and painted him as a “cultural elitist.” And of course her camp leaked that shot of Obama dressed in Somali garb that sent everyone into fits of PC dementia. Still, it worked!
She ended up winning six of the last nine Democratic primaries — Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Puerto Rico, and South Dakota, while Obama only won only three — North Carolina, Oregon and Montana.
When Dem voters realized how how *unelectable* Obama was, they voted for Hillary. Her mistake was not starting the attack sooner. All told, it was STILL a tight race, with Clinton winning something like 48% of the vote and Obama winning 48.1%. Earlier strikes against The One’s character and judgment - traits that even Democratic voters hold in high regard - would’ve put her on top. She made lots of mistakes - ignoring the Obama threat early on being the most greivous of all.
SpideyTerryon 06 Oct 2008 at 9:25 pm 15Oh brother. I know I should know better, but I’m still amazed that Hollywood props up slime like Ayers as heroes while condemning real heroes like the fine men and women in the military as insane, sadistic baby killers.
Oh, I can just see it now - “Coming to theaters, ‘Misunderstood - The Osama Bin Laden Story.’”
Growltigeron 07 Oct 2008 at 5:50 am 16“Was there any stage in his live when Senator Oblivious was aware of what was going on around him? How does one go through life never noticing anything inconvenient?”
What an idea for a comic film. This, of course, is how Stone will portray “W”, but a gifted screenwriter could script it so that those who know the truth would get a few giggles AND feel very superior to the useful idiots who would assume the film was about a Republican/Conservative. There were some moments of hilarity in “Carol” when the clueless Michael Malone had no clue Davi was an arch-terrorist.
Of course, the clueless senator would have to be white. There are few African-American villains. Too bad, because villains always have the best roles and the black actors who make it are always extremely gifted. Think Forrest Whitaker, Morgan Freeman before he started playing only Morgan Freeman, Denzel (who stood out among the entire cast of “St. Elsewhere” even tho’ he had a small role).
Growltigeron 07 Oct 2008 at 5:56 am 17Doesn’t Ayers have a job at the U of Chicago? Seems like Obama isn’t the only clueless liberal in the pack.
I’m not surprised the Ayers script isn’t getting any bites.
The Reds in Hollywood won’t want to upset the applecart now that one of them is poised to become president of the US.
It’s been a long, bloodless revolution. The last thing they need now is the useful idiots waking up.
For a great history of Hollywood’s flirtation with Communism, read “Red Star Over Hollywood”. Don’t remember who wrote it, but it is a well-done, well-researched book that names names.
Full Metal Deer Platoonon 07 Oct 2008 at 7:45 am 18What is the name of the 2002 documentary? Has anyone here seen it & can review?
Jillon 07 Oct 2008 at 7:58 am 19OMG I know John Hancock. I went to college with him. He was a good looking sonofagun back then. He also did that Alamo movie that rewrote history. And I believe wrote the screenplay for A Perfect World.
Interesting.