The American TV network CBS admitted yesterday it had abandoned plans to broadcast a major two-part film about the life of Ronald Reagan.
The move follows protests from conservatives who claimed that the mini-series was biased and dwelled on the former president’s gaffes.
The network has recently tackled biographical films about Jesus and Hitler, but neither proved as controversial as America’s 40th president and his legacy.
Reagan is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease but his former supporters mounted a campaign on his behalf on radio talkshows and internet sites to stop the film, The Reagans, being shown, denouncing it as an unflattering portrayal by the liberal media establishment in Hollywood.
CBS executives initially vowed to stand by the film on the grounds of freedom of artistic expression, but the network yesterday issued a statement saying it had dropped The Reagans, which had been due to air on November 16 and 18.
Some film-makers have warned that the success of the campaign against the Reagan movie represented censorship and a new political correctness, but the CBS statement said: ”This decision is based solely on our reaction to seeing the final film, not the controversy that erupted around a draft of the script.
”Although the mini-series features impressive production values and acting performances, and although the producers have sources to verify each scene in the script, we believe it does not present a balanced portrayal of the Reagans for CBS and its audience.
”Subsequent edits that we considered did not address those concerns.”
CBS executives argued that a free broadcast network had an obligation towards political impartiality. The Reagans would instead be on a subscription channel, Showtime, which like CBS is owned by the media conglomerate, Viacom.
”We believe this is a solution that benefits everyone involved,” the network statement said. ”This was not an easy decision to make. CBS does tackle controversial subjects and provide tough assessments of prominent historical figures and events, as we did with films such as Jesus, 9-11 and Hitler.”
According to various accounts of The Reagans, the film follows the lives of Ronald and Nancy from their first encounter in the film industry to the pinnacle of their power in the White House. It reportedly portrays President Reagan as principled and even visionary in his dealings with the Soviet Union.
But Reagan supporters alleged that it makes no mention of the country’s economic growth under his presidency. There was also uproar over a line uttered by the president’s character in the film about Aids sufferers: ”They that live in sin shall die in sin.”
The president never made such a remark in public, although one of his biographers has written that he expressed similar views in private.
Conservative suspicions were aroused from the start by the show’s cast, which includes James Brolin in the lead role. Brolin is an outspoken Democrat and the husband of Barbra Streisand, one of the Democratic party’s principle fundraisers on the west coast. – Guardian Unlimited Â