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| Christine, film about presenter's on-air suicide, is 'cashing in' says brother Christine, film about presenter's on-air suicide, is 'cashing in' says brother | |
| (4 months later) | |
| The brother of a 1970s Florida news presenter who committed suicide live on air has attacked a new film about the episode, calling it “despicable and deplorable”. | The brother of a 1970s Florida news presenter who committed suicide live on air has attacked a new film about the episode, calling it “despicable and deplorable”. |
| Christine Chubbuck was 29 when she shot herself in 1974, while presenting the Suncoast Digest morning show on the Sarasota-based WXLT-TV channel. British actor Rebecca Hall stars as the news anchor in the drama Christine, which premiered to positive reviews at last month’s Sundance film festival. | Christine Chubbuck was 29 when she shot herself in 1974, while presenting the Suncoast Digest morning show on the Sarasota-based WXLT-TV channel. British actor Rebecca Hall stars as the news anchor in the drama Christine, which premiered to positive reviews at last month’s Sundance film festival. |
| Chubbuck’s brother, Greg Chubbuck, 69, described the film as “despicable and deplorable” in an interview with the Mail on Sunday and attacked producers for failing to contact him prior to its release. | Chubbuck’s brother, Greg Chubbuck, 69, described the film as “despicable and deplorable” in an interview with the Mail on Sunday and attacked producers for failing to contact him prior to its release. |
| “I have not seen the movie and nor do I intend to,” he said. “To me, this is nothing more than a cynical exploitation of my sister’s death. How can someone like Rebecca Hall cash in on a family tragedy, and in particular a suicide that was so public and upsetting? It’s been more than 40 years since my sister killed herself but the pain we feel is still raw.” | “I have not seen the movie and nor do I intend to,” he said. “To me, this is nothing more than a cynical exploitation of my sister’s death. How can someone like Rebecca Hall cash in on a family tragedy, and in particular a suicide that was so public and upsetting? It’s been more than 40 years since my sister killed herself but the pain we feel is still raw.” |
| Neither the film-makers nor Hall have made any response to the claims as yet. | Neither the film-makers nor Hall have made any response to the claims as yet. |
| In the wake of her death, Christine Chubbuck was depicted as a depressive who killed herself because she had failed to establish romantic relationships. The film Christine presents the newsreader as a cold character whose frosty on-air disposition stems from her inability to connect with people, but Greg Chubbuck said the real Christine was more complex. | In the wake of her death, Christine Chubbuck was depicted as a depressive who killed herself because she had failed to establish romantic relationships. The film Christine presents the newsreader as a cold character whose frosty on-air disposition stems from her inability to connect with people, but Greg Chubbuck said the real Christine was more complex. |
| “It upsets me the film-makers never reached out to me to find out what she was really like,” he said. “There was another side to Chrissie, which was loving and funny.” | “It upsets me the film-makers never reached out to me to find out what she was really like,” he said. “There was another side to Chrissie, which was loving and funny.” |
| It is not clear whether Greg Chubbuck contacted the Mail on Sunday, or a reporter approached him for comment. In an interview with People magazine on 11 February, Chubbuck said that “nobody wants to know who Christine Chubbuck was”, adding: “They want to sensationalise what happened at the end of her life. A public suicide is not a source of joy for a family.” | It is not clear whether Greg Chubbuck contacted the Mail on Sunday, or a reporter approached him for comment. In an interview with People magazine on 11 February, Chubbuck said that “nobody wants to know who Christine Chubbuck was”, adding: “They want to sensationalise what happened at the end of her life. A public suicide is not a source of joy for a family.” |
| Hall, whose performance as Christine Chubbuck has been hailed as a career-best by some critics, has spoken of the difficulties in portraying her subject. “She did something unthinkable, but we’re not glorifying the tragedy in any way,” she told the BBC. “She just shouldn’t have died.” | Hall, whose performance as Christine Chubbuck has been hailed as a career-best by some critics, has spoken of the difficulties in portraying her subject. “She did something unthinkable, but we’re not glorifying the tragedy in any way,” she told the BBC. “She just shouldn’t have died.” |
| Hall added: “I don’t think the world was good to her. She was in a tough industry, and we see in the film that she didn’t perhaps have the capabilities to succeed in her field. | Hall added: “I don’t think the world was good to her. She was in a tough industry, and we see in the film that she didn’t perhaps have the capabilities to succeed in her field. |
| “If she had [had] the emotional tools and the mental health to deal with the unkindness, I think she would have survived, but there was little diagnosis or treatment for these kinds of problems then, and she was a woman just trying to make it in a very hard world.” | “If she had [had] the emotional tools and the mental health to deal with the unkindness, I think she would have survived, but there was little diagnosis or treatment for these kinds of problems then, and she was a woman just trying to make it in a very hard world.” |
| • In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. | • In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. |