The May 1 Variety reported that Warner Independent Pictures has snapped up the domestic distribution rights to Leonardo DiCaprio’s "documentary" "11th Hour," with Warner Brothers Pictures International scooping the overseas rights. The supposed documentary is produced and narrated by the former teen idol turned environmental activist, and based on what he said at a Natural Resources Defense Gala that I blogged about here at Newsbusters, the “message won’t be diluted by our having to yell over oil-company-funded ‘scientists’ .” It will be another so-called “documentary” disguised as propaganda (docuganda) like “An Inconvenient Truth” that is portrayed as legitimate evidence of anthropogenic global warming. Who needs to waste time endlessly debating AGW, when a slickly packaged promotional movie can change more minds? Variety describes the film:
Docu (sic) explores what it will take for humans to make a difference ecologically before it is too late. A variety of leading scientists, thinkers and leaders are interviewed in the film, including Stephen Hawking, former CIA topper James Woolsey and former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev.
Warner Bros. Intl. prexy of marketing Sue Kroll and prexy of distribution Veronika Kwan-Rubinek said the docu is a "compelling exploration of not only the critical importance of climate change but also the myriad global challenges that we face today."
In addition to DiCaprio, producers of "The 11th Hour" are Conners Petersen, Chuck Castleberry and Brian Gerber.
Why not make it a real documentary and include legitimate scientists who accurately represent the field. It’s nice that Gorbachev has something to do now, but where are the climatologists? The movie really dips into the bottom of the barrel using Andrew Weil, who is a popular alternative medicine guru as one of the very, very concerned “thinkers” interviewed. Remember, this is the guy who believed that people can bend spoons with their minds and thinks telekinesis is real, people think of him as a knowledgeable man who understands “alternative” ideas. This film uses well-known people who trigger positive emotional responses or possess an air of authority to disguise the fact that there is not a consensus and there are serious questions, which environmentalists go to great lengths to avoid having to answer.
Lynn Davidson can be reached at tvisgoodforyou2 AT yahoo.com (email changed to prevent spam; just change the “AT” to “@” and send.
