With no date for the release, questions are being raised about whether political pressure is behind its current status as a stalled or discarded DVD project. The reasons are murky, but the miniseries' writer, Cyrus Nowrasteh, believes it's crystal clear: Powerful forces are out to protect Bill Clinton's presidential legacy and shield Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) from any potential collateral damage in her bid for the White House.
It's all about the money. Isn't what they always say about Hollywood? Doesn't the trope go that they will do anything for the cash? Let's take a quick look at sales for 2006...
According to the MPAA, ticket sales for 2006 in North America reached $9.49 billion and with $9 Billion in DVD and cable sales on top of that. Apparently, DVD sales account for nearly as much money as box-office sales. So, while employing the old trope that Hollywood cares more about the money than anything else, their footdragging on the DVD release of "The Path to 9/11" just doesn't seem to fit their standard mode of operation, does it?
It certainly isn't because they don't think it will sell. It was an award-winning and highly-rated show, after all. As the LA Times article says,the miniseries made $40-million and it "recently received seven Emmy nominations and drew a combined two-night audience of more than 25 million viewers." So, the show ranked as an extremely popular broadcast and DVD sales could only make that popularity grow. Yet, Nowrasteh is still waiting for info on the release.
Initially, Nowrasteh was told by executives at ABC Studios that the miniseries would have a DVD release in January. Then, April. Then, this summer. Currently, Nowrasteh has not been notified of a specific release date for the DVD.
Curious behavior, no?
But, maybe not. You'll remember how the Clintonistas howled with rage and even got ABC to run disclaimers during the original broadcast of "The Path to 9/11."
Even before "The Path to 9/11" aired on ABC late last summer, the docudrama ignited a political firestorm, almost entirely from high-profile Democratic leaders who viewed its account of events leading up to the terrorist attacks as a right-wing hatchet job on the Clinton administration and its efforts to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. Attempts to pressure ABC to cancel the miniseries at the time were unsuccessful, but last-minute network edits were imposed to quell the critical outcry.
So, if it isn't all for the money, why is the DVD release being squelched?
Nowrasteh, also one of the miniseries' many producers, said he was told by a top executive at ABC Studios that "if Hillary weren't running for president, this wouldn't be a problem."
It looks like a certain political candidate's future is more important than either the truth or artistic integrity to the execs at ABC.
"Whatever anyone may think about me or this movie, this is a bad precedent, a dangerous precedent, to allow a movie to be buried," added Nowrasteh, who received death threats even before the miniseries was broadcast last September. "Because the next time they'll go after another movie. The Bush administration may go after a movie. The next administration may go after a movie. No matter who it is, they may go after a movie. I think this town needs to stand up."
Indeed.
It sure seems like just another Clinton dirty trick to which a compliant media is happy to lend an assist.
