Move over Arnold, John Kerry is coming to the Big Screen...
Kerry emerges on big screen
From: The Boston Globe - By Tatsha Robertson - 10/9/2003
NEW YORK -- As a movie star enters the political arena on the West Coast, a presidential candidate from the East Coast finds himself on the big screen. Three documentaries focusing on the life of Senator John F. Kerry and his years as a Vietnam soldier are being produced this year.
"Brothers in Arms," a 68-minute documentary film featuring Kerry and five of his crewmates during the Vietnam War was finished in New York on Tuesday night and was being screened yesterday in New York for reporters. A film about the death of one of Kerry's good friends on a swift boat during the Vietnam War is being played in film festivals across the country and will air on public television stations on Nov. 11. And the documentary filmmaker George Butler, a close friend of Kerry, is making a film about the Democratic presidential campaign.
Two books are also in the works. Douglas Brinkley, a historian, is finishing a biography on Kerry that is scheduled to be released in January. The Massachusetts Democrat is writing a book on policy that is due out Oct. 27.
Will the extra exposure coming from a flurry of multimedia ventures centering around Kerry's life aid him in his presidential bid?
"That remains to be seen," said Kelley Benander, a spokesperson for the Kerry campaign.
Paul Alexander, the director of "Brothers in Arms," said Kerry's life in Vietnam is so visual and dramatic that it's perfect for film.
Brinkley, the author of "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and The Vietnam War," said Kerry's story of a war hero turned antiwar spokesman has the threads of a fascinating narrative.
"For me, I was trying to tell a story of Vietnam, and Kerry's story is a great vehicle," said Brinkley.
What makes Kerry's story especially interesting, Brinkley said, is that the young, Vietnam hero from Massachusetts became a dynamic spokesperson for Vietnam Veterans Against the War, which Brinkley claims had a profound impact on US disengagement of Southeast Asia.
While Benander said Kerry is independent of all the ventures except his own book, he cooperated and participated in interviews for the various projects. And Kerry received a lot of screen time in "Brothers in Arms," a film that does not focus on Kerry alone but on relationships among the crew on the swift boat that he commanded along the dangerous Mekong Delta.
Long-winded but emotional at times, Kerry's comrades in "Brothers in Arms" discuss the dangers and tranquillity of Vietnam and their lives after the war.
Alexander, a journalist and the director of "Brothers in Arms," got the idea about a documentary on Kerry and his crew after writing a book about John McCain in 2002. During his reporting, Alexander noticed McCain and the other men who had been imprisoned with him at the infamous prison dubbed "Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam War shared a unique bond. "I figured it must be because they were in the Hanoi Hilton together," he said. When he wrote a piece about Kerry for Rolling Stone, he discovered that crew shared a similar bond.
"I figured it wasn't because of Hanoi Hilton, but it's this bond these guys have that served in Vietnam, and they all have it. And I figured this has to be a great story too with Kerry," Alexander said.
Starting in July, Alexander along with Iris Rossi, who produced the film, spent weeks traveling across the country interviewing Kerry and his friends. Alexander financed the movie and does not know where the movie will show. He said the film is not meant to be political but a tale about the bond between ordinary men who experienced something extraordinary together.
Kerry emerges on big screen
From: The Boston Globe - By Tatsha Robertson - 10/9/2003
NEW YORK -- As a movie star enters the political arena on the West Coast, a presidential candidate from the East Coast finds himself on the big screen. Three documentaries focusing on the life of Senator John F. Kerry and his years as a Vietnam soldier are being produced this year.
"Brothers in Arms," a 68-minute documentary film featuring Kerry and five of his crewmates during the Vietnam War was finished in New York on Tuesday night and was being screened yesterday in New York for reporters. A film about the death of one of Kerry's good friends on a swift boat during the Vietnam War is being played in film festivals across the country and will air on public television stations on Nov. 11. And the documentary filmmaker George Butler, a close friend of Kerry, is making a film about the Democratic presidential campaign.
Two books are also in the works. Douglas Brinkley, a historian, is finishing a biography on Kerry that is scheduled to be released in January. The Massachusetts Democrat is writing a book on policy that is due out Oct. 27.
Will the extra exposure coming from a flurry of multimedia ventures centering around Kerry's life aid him in his presidential bid?
"That remains to be seen," said Kelley Benander, a spokesperson for the Kerry campaign.
Paul Alexander, the director of "Brothers in Arms," said Kerry's life in Vietnam is so visual and dramatic that it's perfect for film.
Brinkley, the author of "Tour of Duty: John Kerry and The Vietnam War," said Kerry's story of a war hero turned antiwar spokesman has the threads of a fascinating narrative.
"For me, I was trying to tell a story of Vietnam, and Kerry's story is a great vehicle," said Brinkley.
What makes Kerry's story especially interesting, Brinkley said, is that the young, Vietnam hero from Massachusetts became a dynamic spokesperson for Vietnam Veterans Against the War, which Brinkley claims had a profound impact on US disengagement of Southeast Asia.
While Benander said Kerry is independent of all the ventures except his own book, he cooperated and participated in interviews for the various projects. And Kerry received a lot of screen time in "Brothers in Arms," a film that does not focus on Kerry alone but on relationships among the crew on the swift boat that he commanded along the dangerous Mekong Delta.
Long-winded but emotional at times, Kerry's comrades in "Brothers in Arms" discuss the dangers and tranquillity of Vietnam and their lives after the war.
Alexander, a journalist and the director of "Brothers in Arms," got the idea about a documentary on Kerry and his crew after writing a book about John McCain in 2002. During his reporting, Alexander noticed McCain and the other men who had been imprisoned with him at the infamous prison dubbed "Hanoi Hilton" during the Vietnam War shared a unique bond. "I figured it must be because they were in the Hanoi Hilton together," he said. When he wrote a piece about Kerry for Rolling Stone, he discovered that crew shared a similar bond.
"I figured it wasn't because of Hanoi Hilton, but it's this bond these guys have that served in Vietnam, and they all have it. And I figured this has to be a great story too with Kerry," Alexander said.
Starting in July, Alexander along with Iris Rossi, who produced the film, spent weeks traveling across the country interviewing Kerry and his friends. Alexander financed the movie and does not know where the movie will show. He said the film is not meant to be political but a tale about the bond between ordinary men who experienced something extraordinary together.
posted by Pamela J. Leavey at 8:24 AM
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