Path to 9/11 writer: my fictions were the truth
The criticism of The Path to 9/11 revolved around several scenes that were either pure conjecture or were openly contradicted by the public record. Before it aired, ABC removed any reference to the film as a documentary (it wasn't) based on the 9/11 Commission report (it wasn't) and edited some of the controversial scenes-- although they left others intact. Now the screenwriter has spoken out, declaring that his fictionalized scenes were a more accurate depiction of reality than, uhhhh, reality. The Wall Street Journal's opinion page was more than happy to provide a forum for this remarkable declaration.
His argument is apparently that 'the media' is actually a Clinton-dominated conspiracy to protect his record-- something that is clearly true based on their refusal to cover stories like Whitewater or his dalliance with an intern.
Cyrus Nowrasteh, who penned the screenplay for the recent ABC miniseries “The Path to 9/11” – widely criticized for factual inaccuracies and concocted or conflated scenes – hit back today at critics, including reporters at The New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
His column, “The Path to Hysteria,” appears online today at the Wall Street Journal's site. Its subhed: "My sin was to write a screenplay accurately depicting Bill Clinton's record on terrorism."
The movie was edited at the last minute under orders from ABC after complaints of inaccuracies and alleged unbalanced treatment of the Clinton and Bush administrations, which came from liberals, former Clinton aides, an FBI agent who quit as a consultant to the film, 9/11 Commission co-chair Lee Hamilton, and some conservatives, as well. The movie also lost its original description as being primarily based on the 9/11 Commission report.
“Clearly, those enraged that a film would criticize the Clinton administration's antiterrorism policies--though critical of its successor as well--were willing to embrace only one scenario: The writer was a conservative hatchetman,” Nowrasteh writes.
His argument is apparently that 'the media' is actually a Clinton-dominated conspiracy to protect his record-- something that is clearly true based on their refusal to cover stories like Whitewater or his dalliance with an intern.
Cyrus Nowrasteh, who penned the screenplay for the recent ABC miniseries “The Path to 9/11” – widely criticized for factual inaccuracies and concocted or conflated scenes – hit back today at critics, including reporters at The New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
His column, “The Path to Hysteria,” appears online today at the Wall Street Journal's site. Its subhed: "My sin was to write a screenplay accurately depicting Bill Clinton's record on terrorism."
The movie was edited at the last minute under orders from ABC after complaints of inaccuracies and alleged unbalanced treatment of the Clinton and Bush administrations, which came from liberals, former Clinton aides, an FBI agent who quit as a consultant to the film, 9/11 Commission co-chair Lee Hamilton, and some conservatives, as well. The movie also lost its original description as being primarily based on the 9/11 Commission report.
“Clearly, those enraged that a film would criticize the Clinton administration's antiterrorism policies--though critical of its successor as well--were willing to embrace only one scenario: The writer was a conservative hatchetman,” Nowrasteh writes.
posted by Matt Sandwich | 7:21 AM
<< Home