‘Rathergate’ Drives ‘Truth’ Film; Robert Redford To Play Dan Rather, Cate Blanchett To Play Producer

[RockaFowler]

http://www.deadline.com/2014/07/rathergate-movie-robert-redford-dan-rather-cate-blanchett-george-w-bush/

Redford is attached to play CBS News icon Dan Rather and Cate Blanchett is attached to play his producer Mary Mapes in Truth, a film that will mark the directorial debut of James Vanderbilt, the A-list screenwriter behind the first two installments of The Amazing Spider-Man. The film will explore the scandal that erupted after Rather reported on 60 Minutes II that George W. Bush had gotten preferential treatment that put him in the National Guard to avoid the Vietnam War draft. The ensuing scandal during Bush’s reelection campaign left Mapes fired and Rather’s storied reputation in tatters.

SNIP

Mapes, who’d worked in TV news 25 years and won the Peabody Award, was subsequently fired for what the network called lapses in judgment. Strangely, the Bush campaign benefited from the scandal, and exploited Kerry’s military service by getting some of his former soldiers to speak against him. When the current Secretary of State could not win that issue—he served while Bush didn’t—his campaign was doomed. Mapes maintained her belief that the documents were real, and that she and Rather were done in by a right-wing internet smear campaign that put the focus on “Rathergate” instead of the issue of whether the president benefited from his father’s powerful relationships to avoid service in Vietnam.

[hlthe2b]

1. WoW This will be SOMETHING with Redford/Blanchett-I will be in the front of the line to see it

[PearliePoo2]

2. Holy shit...this should be good. I'm STILL pissed over this.

I wonder if Rather is being consulted and has input, hope so!
(I'll read the link now for more details)

[retired rooster]

42. Rather, hero or traitor...

...I still confused about him. He was the only reporter to see the Zacutor (sp) film. He was the one that described Kennedy as going "down and to the front", backing up the official narrative before the body was cold.

[CBGLuthier]

3. A-list screenwriter behind the first two installments of The Amazing Spider-Man.

That statement makes me kind of sad. A-List writing bad comic book movies. Sad.

[calimary]

9. Remembering this entire sordid episode makes me sad.

They had such a hard-on about Dan Rather. He was a voice for truth, sanity, reality, and the rest of us. Speaking truth to power on our behalf to the nixons and bushes of the world - when nobody else had the balls to do so. They HATED him. They were determined to get him sooner or later, and they laid in wait, biding their time. GOD I hate these people! They consciously, deliberately, set about trying to ruin him. They carry grudges and hold them close and never forget. Guess an elephant will be that way...

[jwirr]

29. Agreed. Watched him all the time. He was our weather vane after Walter Cronkite retired.

[thesquanderer]

14. Hey, I thought the first Amazing Spiderman was one of the better comic book movies! (n/t)

[CBGLuthier]

34. I have to admit to not seeing it.

I thought ten years was a stupid amount of time to do a reboot. I liked the second one with Toby Mcguire a fair amount.

My problem with this guy being A list is he had fifty years of Spiderman stories to draw upon. He did not create anything that new that helps the story. From what little I have heard about it he even added some strange bullshit about Peter Parker's father ala the way they have retconned the shit out of the Hulk's origin because every lazy writer knows that make everything a daddy issue and young men are hooked.

[thesquanderer]

40. Superhero movies

FWIW, I thought Amazing Spiderman was better than any of the three Toby McGuire movies. I haven't seen the newest Spiderman movie, though. I know what you mean about it being soon for a reboot and not being anything new, but taken on its own terms, I found it easily the most enjoyable of the four Spiderman movies I've seen.

I see lots of superhero movies, and I'm not sure why, since I'm usually disappointed! Besides that Spiderman, other ones I"ve liked include the Batman one with Heath Ledger, Avengers, the first Thor movie, and Kick-Ass.

[CBGLuthier]

43. I have seen more than a few of them myself.

Saw the first set of 80's Batman films, 70's Superman films. I even mostly liked the last two Superman movies. Saw the ones you mention liked most of them enough except for Thor which I thought was a sloppily made movie.

I completely loved Watchmen, both the original graphic novel and the movie. I got the 66 Batman on BluRay because that was my first. I guess the truth is I am kind of burned out on them and they really have taken the form to its limits both in CGI effects and emotional complexity, although the latter seems to be diminishing.

[thesquanderer]

44. Haven't seen Watchmen yet.

Definitely on my "to watch" list.

[CBGLuthier]

46. Try to get the directors cut.

It may hurt the pacing a pinch but the extra detail is worth it.

[JustAnotherGen]

4. I'm allllll

Over this movie!

[PearliePoo2]

5. If this film really depicts the TRUTH...

then is it too late to court- martial W for being AWOL? (because he was!)
(just one of MANY things the war criminal should be imprisoned for.)

[Rstrstx]

6. Of course the papers were fake

Karl Rove made sure they looked that way. Wouldn't be hard to do, just take the original letters and retype them on a later typewriter. I consider it by far his most brilliantly dirty campaign trick ever pulled, and that's saying something.

[JDPriestly]

26. But the secretary who typed them stated that their content was true.

[starroute]

30. They were absolutely not retyped on a later typewriter

I studied those documents at the time -- and posted extensively about it here -- and they were definitely typed on a proportional-space 1960s IBM Executive typewriter. Everything from the fonts to the irregular baseline to the way one letter would be slightly distorted by the dent in the paper caused by the letter before it was of the period and couldn't be reproduced using present-day equipment.

The real problem was that the documents weren't originals. They were photocopies. And that was what opened the door to claims that they were faked.

[hughee99]

7. I'm curious how this will be portrayed.

Will there be an attempt to portray the documents as authentic, falsified as part of a republican setup, or carelessness on the part of Mapes and Rather?

[McCamy Taylor]

8. Squeee! Here's a link to my thread from 2007. Finally someone's doing the movie!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3539083

I knew that this was gonna make a great film. Jeb Bush will wait have to wait at least another four years.

[PearliePoo2]

12. Nice, nice work indeed.

I took the liberty of copying that post to use as reference material. I hope you don't mind!
wish I could rec your post!

[jmondine]

41. You copied the post? Then it must be fake!!1!

[blm]

17. Yep - the media's protection of Bush was a priority when Kerry became the Dem nominee.

Note the dates:

blm Thu Feb-12-04 11:53 AM
Original message
Corporate media fears Kerry presidency.


Is this why Kerry's candidacy was declared dead for months, thereby drying up Kerry's fundraising? Why the media focused on rivals and downplayed the truth about Kerry's support on the ground? Kerry's big Iowa win PROVED the media was lying to us for months.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2003


Kerry Seeks to Reverse FCC's "Wrongheaded Vote"
Commission decision may violate laws protecting small businesses; Kerry to file Resolution of Disapproval

Washington, DC - Senator John Kerry today announced plans to file a "Resolution of Disapproval" as a means to overturn today's decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to raise media ownership caps and loosen various media cross-ownership rules.

Kerry will soon introduce the resolution seeking to reverse this action under the Congressional Review Act and Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act on the grounds that the decision may violate the laws intended to protect America's small businesses and allow them an opportunity to compete.

As Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Kerry expressed concern that the FCC's decision will hurt localism, reduce diversity, and will allow media monopolies to flourish. This raises significant concerns about the potential negative impacts the decision will have on small businesses and their ability to compete in today's media marketplace.

In a statement released earlier today regarding the FCC's decision, Kerry said:

"Nothing is more important in a democracy than public access to debates and information, which lift up our discourse and give Americans an opportunity to make honest informed choices. Today's wrongheaded vote by the Republican members of the FCC to loosen media ownership rules shows a dangerous indifference to the consolidation of power in the hands of a few large entities rather than promoting diversity and independence at the local level. The FCC should do more than rubber stamp the business plans of narrow economic interests.

"Today's vote is a complete dereliction of duty. The Commissioners are well aware that these rules greatly influence the competitive structure of the industry and protect the public's access to multiple sources of information and media. It is the Commission's responsibility to ensure that the rules serve our national goals of diversity, competition, and localism in media. With today's vote, they shirked that responsibility and have dismissed any serious discussion about the impact of media consolidation on our own democracy."

[Jackpine Radical]

19. Thanks for the refresher, Doc.

It was interesting that this Buckhead guy was lying in the weeds had the debunking of the Rather documents all ready to go:

Guess what — in 2008, eight years after the fact, the key guy behind the political hit admitted the argument used to do it was bogus:

The first person to publicly question the memos was an Air Force officer in Montgomery named Paul Boley, who posted on the conservative online forum Free Republic under the handle TankerKC. Boley’s comment popped up while the program was still going on.

But the man officially credited with inspiring a fusillade of blog attacks was Harry MacDougald, known on message boards as Buckhead, a GOP lawyer in Atlanta who missed the segment but downloaded the Killian documents from the CBS website later that night. He specifically claimed that the memos used proportional spacing and superscripts that didn’t exist on typewriters of the early seventies.

[...]

In any case, MacDougald’s arguments about the documents turned out to be inaccurate. He acknowledged as much in an interview with me in 2008. And in a speech given that same year, Mike Missal, a lawyer for the firm that CBS hired to investigate its own report, said, “It’s ironic that the blogs were actually wrong. . . . We actually did find typewriters that did have the superscript, did have proportional spacing. And on the fonts, given that these are copies, it’s really hard to say, but there were some typewriters that looked like they could have some similar fonts there. So the initial concerns didn’t seem as though they would hold up.”

http://my.firedoglake.com/phoenix/2012/04/17/remember-rathergate-a-key-instigator-admits-the-killian-memos-cant-be-debunked-via-the-fonts-argument/

[JustAnotherGen]

51. Agree and Weinstein

Is a huge leftist - this will open on at least 1000 screens.

[Paladin]

10. I hope this movie rips CBS a new sphincter for their shameful treatment of Rather and Mapes.

And I hope it drives a final stake through the hearts of those Swift-Boaters for their repulsive actions against John Kerry. Looks like this project has the potential for some major payback on a number of matters. It's long overdue.

[Cha]

49. Rather's Revenge?! I certainly hope so!

[blackspade]

11. That was an intensly sad day for reporting

Rather and Mapes were fucked by the M$M establishment.

[2banon]

13. this should be interesting...n/t

[tularetom]

15. Screw Dan Rather

He went on the Letterman show a few days after 9/11 and tearfully pledged his loyalty to Bush.

And why haven't we heard any more about the Bush National Guard stuff from him after all these years? He chickened out after the republicans had a shit fit over the original report.

He's a tool like most of the rest of the current media and he should never be portrayed as some sort of journalistic hero.

Walter Cronkite is spinning in his grave.

[McCamy Taylor]

21. Dan Rather went on cable. Other folks in the MSM--including KO--gave him him the kiss off

because he was suddenly "untouchable." That was my first clue that KO might not be as bright as the glasses made him look. He could not see through the pack of lies that Viacom was selling about Rather.

Everyone who knew anyone in NYC got teary eyed in the wake of 9-11. That was why Hillary had to vote "yes" for anything that was gonna possibly keep her constituents a tiny bit safer. Very few of us did not act like idiots. But, by 2004, Rather had stopped being fooled. That was why he had to go.

[DAMANgoldberg]

50. After KO left...

Rachel would make it a point to have Dan Rather on a semi-regular basis. So did Larry King when he was @ CNN.

[mwooldri]

52. Whenever something of extreme significance happens...

...the vast majority of the people will rally around the country's leadership. For us, it was a bunch of Islamic militants hijacking a few planes and deciding to fly them into buildings in a coordinated effort on 11th September, 2001. Other countries have their own "9/11" in their history and the pattern is repeated... the vast majority will rally around their leaders in the immediate aftermath. It's only later on that the truth comes out.

Dan Rather isn't a journalistic hero in my book but I believe his original report had some truth to it. Considering what happened, it just appeared that Dan touched a "third rail" and other mainstream journalists have been reluctant to touch it.

I think the film will be touching that same third rail but with rubber gloves on.

[rhett o rick]

56. But you don't know what he possibly went thru. Most likely threatened. But easier to

blame the victim.

[UTUSN]

16. R#26 & K for, EXCELLENT!1 n/t

[JDPriestly]

18. K&R.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. Remember folks, there's no such thing as a "vast right wing conspiracy".

[Enthusiast]

31. That's right. It doesn't exist and it isn't happening right now.

[MissDeeds]

22. Holy hell!

About time the truth comes out. I never for a second doubted the validity of Rather's reporting on the issue. Republican heads will explode over this. I can't wait.



BIG K&R!!!

[BlueMTexpat]

23. This is LONG, LONG overdue!

Glad to see it. I personally never doubted the truth behind it then ... and do not doubt it now.

[Damansarajaya]

24. The simple fact is that what Rather and Mapes did

wasn't journalism.

The source, Bill Burkett, was never believable because he never had a credible chain of ownership of the documents back to the writer of the documents, Lt. Col. Killian.

Burkett was already on record as having retracted claims that he refused to scrub Bush's TANG records. He LIED when he said that he got the documents from George Conn, and CBS should have caught that lie by checking with Conn.

CBS should have had several sources. They should have had unimpeachable original documentation. I used to write for my college newspaper, and we wouldn't have run this story on the sources they used.

Rather is a news reader, he's not a journalist. Just because he's right for the wrong reasons doesn't make him believable.

[riverbendviewgal]

27. Hmmmmm . DU what do you think?

[Enthusiast]

33. I don't like it. Action should be taken.

[Damansarajaya]

61. I know that questioning the orthodoxy often

gets one banned around here.

Maybe you can do a screen save and start a whole new thread about me.

[Enthusiast]

35. Funny that the rest of us consider Rather to be an excellent journalist.

[Damansarajaya]

60. Have you ever worked as a journalist?

There are ways of evaluating and checking sources that every beat reporter knows.

Rather apparently didn't.

[Enthusiast]

65. His sources were sound. Bush was AWOL.

Rather was right.

[Damansarajaya]

66. I totally think that Rather was right.

The problem was that the evidence was so badly handled that it couldn't be proven right.

And that's all the RW needed to discredit the story. My take on TV news in general is that they are lazy. Sy Hersch or Greg Palast wouldn't have screwed this up, but then they don't make multi-millions reading the news on big networks.

[CatWoman]

36. too bad you weren't available to do a better job

[Damansarajaya]

59. Damn right. There are standards in journalism

the same as in medicine or scientific research.

They did NOT follow them.

Do I think that Chimpy McCoke spoon blew off his TANG service? Yes. Do I think he had daddy pull strings to make sure that he didn't have to fight in a war that he claimed he supported? Oh, hell yes. Do I think he was not only the worst ever President, he was the worst President possible.
Yes, yes, ten thousand times yes.

So no one wanted the BFEE busted more than I did.

But you have to do it right--they didn't.

[cry baby]

39. Was he reading the news from Vietnam?

He was always a journalist.

[Damansarajaya]

64. He also did the play-by-play for high school football games.

[Bonx]

55. Speaking an unpopular truth

will get you a lot of grief.

[Damansarajaya]

62. 10-4, good buddy. nt

[notundecided]

57. Yah, I saw that news reader in the jungles of Nam

reporting on that terrible war. Some news reader.

[Damansarajaya]

63. The simple fact is Rather had a chance to nail Bush

for once.

The creep (Bush) slid by his entire life.

Instead, Rather and Mapes totally blew it.

[FourScore]

25. This should be GREAT!

I smell an Oscar.

[mopinko]

28. hmmm. wonder if we will get a hat tip for exposing buckhead.

i was just telling this story to a friend who doesnt hang online. she hears a lot about du.
i told her this whole story.
i cant wait to drag her to the movie.

rather and redford have ranches very close together out there in one of those square states. not surprised to hear this.

[Enthusiast]

32. Kicked and recommended!

We already know the truth. But maybe the rest of the nation will finally know Bush for what he is.

[mnhtnbb]

37. Oh, boy. This should be good.

[KrazyinKS]

38. I will never forget that-

Rather got fired and Bush and Cheney got away with it. They were both a couple of draft dodgers starting another stupid war. Just like a couple of spoiled brats.

[Cha]

48. More like spoiled deadly rats.

[Hekate]

45. KnR. I hope to be able to see that!

[Cha]

47. Thanks RockaFowler!

[Robbins]

53. Rathergate

If Robert redford Is playing Dan rather considering Redford's politics and fact he probally made Bob Woodward In All the president's men
look more like a hero than he was hints at film will show rather was right on Bush.

Remember back In 1988 Rather was hard on Poppy Bush with regards to his claims on Iran-Contra so apart for immedate aftermath of 9-11 he was never much of friend of Bushes.

The far right had attacked Rather as part of liberal media In part due to his supossed support of Texas Democratic party.

Rather's more a journalist than say those who work at fox.

CBS probally got a hold of copy of records which allowed rove to spin they were fake.And of course the MSM accepted that even CBS.

[myrna minx]

54. Excellent! What CBS and Rove did to Rather and Mapes was disgusting.

[RockaFowler]

58. There is a response now from Dan Rather . . .

From Dan: News broke yesterday that Robert Redford is to play me in the movie "Truth," based on a book by my former producer, Mary Mapes. A long life has taught me that he who lives by the crystal ball learns to eat a lot of broken glass; so who knows if the movie will actually get made. I do know that Mary Mapes wrote a great book and that Redford and Cate Blanchett (who is to play Mapes) are incredible talents. I've always been impressed by what Esquire magazine described as Redford's "faith in film as truth telling." And partly because of that I am pleased that he's agreed to take on the challenge of trying to make a film about political and corporate interference with truth-telling investigative journalism.


Great story here . . .