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Hilt9By Vernon Scott UPI Hollywood Reporter HOLLYWOOD (UPI) -In a community and industry noted for its liberal cant, Hollywood has found it easier to make and market a film with a leftist-leaning message rather than right-wing propaganda.The reactionary maunderings of “Rambo” on the right fall short of such films as “Salvador,” “Coming Home,” “Missing” and “Siikwood.”The imbalance almost suggests a formula: liberal films are made for the in-telligensia, conservative films for the hard-hat crowd.The most politically controversial film around today is “The Hanoi Hilton,” focusing on the notorious Hoa Lo Prison, the prisoner-of-war camp where captured Americans were tortured and slaughtered.The subject is touchy because many in the film industry did not support America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. But “The Hanoi Hilton” shows the other side of the coin with a scenario that many liberals deny existed.The film is largely the work of writer-produeer-director Lionel Chetwynd, who spent 10 years trying to find backing for his picture.On a budget of less than $5 million, the English-born Chetwynd finally brought it off, with the help of Cannon Films.“It’s been a struggle getting this picture made,” he said. “The story has never been told on screen. Many people didn’t want to see it made.“First, they didn’t want Cuban officers depicted because of possible objections from the American Hispanic community . Those Cubans, under the direction of Castro, killed a good many of our POWs.“Second, they wanted no reference to the peace HAWntinns fJane Fondaand others) that visited North Vietnam while our POWS were being tortured and killed by the Viet Cong.“Third, objections were raised to the picture being an ensemble piece, not a star vehicle.”But despite the objections, Chetwyndpersevered, and the result is a picture he said portrays the unvarnished truth with no thought to politics,“My picture deals with undeniable facts ofhistory,” he said. ‘ 3utmany people I tried to se1! my film to wanted to distort history. As it is, I trned down the torture because it was too brutal for anyone to see.“But I refused to compromise on authenticity. I took the picture to every studio and independent at least twice. At last, Cannon became enthusiastic and agreed the true story of American POWs in Vietnam should be told.“At first ABC was in-More talks scheduledNEW YORK (UPI) -Continuing talks between the Writers Guild of America and negotiators for ABC and CBS were spurring some hope in the 12-day-old contract dispute today, despite a lack of reported progress on substantive issues.The latest round of talks, scheduled for today, was a continuation of a six-hour “informal” session held on Thursday.Meanwhile, some legislators voiced concern about the impact of recent corporate restructuring trends on network news and called for congressional hearings on the issue.Network and union spokesmen declined to com-ment on Thursday’s meeting but sources said the continued talks bodedwell for a settlement with 525 Guild members who walked off their jobs March 2.“1 can’t characterize the session except to say that the fact that they’re continuing to meet this way indicates they feel there is some value to this approach,” said Martin W a 1 d m a n, a union spokesman.The dispute, which also affects editors, researchers and graphic artists, centers on job security, benefits and the' networks’ use of temporary and part-time workers.In Washington Thursday, two lawmakers joined the chorus of critics questioning network budget slashing •and called for congressional hearings to determine the impact of corporaterestructuring on broadcast news coverage.“We are deeply concerned that with tne rush for9profits the public interest has been trampled,” Rep. Dennis Eckart, D-Ohio, told a news conference outside the CBS News bureau. “It has simply become a business and not a commitment to the public.”Rep. John Bryant, D-Texas, said, “These corporate takeovers have made America’s basic source of information a chip in a poker game.”CBS was the target in April 1985 of a failed but costly takeover attempt by media magnate TedTurner. In January 1986, ABC was acquired by Capital Cities Communications in a friendlv takeover.liticaltatoterested in making it a four-hour miniseries. But they said the American public wasn’t ready for this kind of storv on the war. The network said the brutality and cruelty couldn’t be true.“The hell it wasn’t. The Vietnamese are seen as a Spartan, militarist society based on the information given us by more than 100 veterans and POW survivors.f fChetwynd said he alsorelied on basic research and government figures to solidify the film’s authenticity.“The latest government statistics show there were 6,000 American POWs and that only 539 have been returned,” he said. “There are still 2,428 unaccounted for. The difference in arithmetic is explained by the large number of missing-in-action victims being changed to killed-in-action.“We accumulated asmuch data and as manyfacts as we could. LeoThorsness, a retired AirForce colonel and a Medalof Honor winner, was ourtechnical advisor.”The movie stars Michael Moriarty, Paul Le Mat, Jeffrey .Jones, Lawrence Pressman and David Soul. Most worked for their less than usually high salaries. “It was a labor of love,”Chetwynd said. We meticulously recreated theoriginal 1875 prison. Vietnam boat people who live here in Southern California played the North Vietnamese.” /Chetwynd said he hasn t seen “Platoon,” the Oscar-nominated Vietnam warfilm, but he believes “The Hanoi Hilton” may provide a good contrast to it and other movies depicting the war and its effects.“At Home in Princeton, Indiana
Newspaper Details
Mount Carmel Daily Republican Register
Mount Carmel, Illinois, US
Fri, Mar 13, 1987
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Jon C.
NJ, USA 16 Jan 2020
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