This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/01/jfk-assassination-conspiracy-theory-not-helpful-parkland
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Parkland: JFK conspiracy theories muddy the water, says director | Parkland: JFK conspiracy theories muddy the water, says director |
| (17 days later) | |
| Conspiracy theories have been unhelpful in the search for truth in the assassination of President Kennedy, it was claimed today by the director of a new film on the subject. Parkland, written and directed by Peter Landesman, has been made to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death in Dallas in 1963, and details events between Friday 22 November, when Kennedy was gunned down, to Monday 25 when both Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald were buried. | Conspiracy theories have been unhelpful in the search for truth in the assassination of President Kennedy, it was claimed today by the director of a new film on the subject. Parkland, written and directed by Peter Landesman, has been made to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's death in Dallas in 1963, and details events between Friday 22 November, when Kennedy was gunned down, to Monday 25 when both Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald were buried. |
| Landesman told a press conference at the Venice film festival that cinema's preoccupation with Kennedy conspiracy theory had "narrowed" the understanding of the events surrounding the assassination. "For 50 years, the speculation and conspiracy has occupied a lot of emotional and narratorial real estate in films," he said. "That conversation has been had … and there's very little proof … We chose to tell a story we know to be true. We know these things in the film happened; we know they happened to these people." | Landesman told a press conference at the Venice film festival that cinema's preoccupation with Kennedy conspiracy theory had "narrowed" the understanding of the events surrounding the assassination. "For 50 years, the speculation and conspiracy has occupied a lot of emotional and narratorial real estate in films," he said. "That conversation has been had … and there's very little proof … We chose to tell a story we know to be true. We know these things in the film happened; we know they happened to these people." |
| Taking its title from the Dallas hospital where both President Kennedy and Oswald were treated unsuccessfully for their gunshot wounds, Parkland is in marked contrast to films such as JFK and Ruby by sticking to the official sequence of events. It also makes substantial characters out of previously marginal figures in the historical account, including FBI agent James Hosty, who had previously investigated Oswald, secret service agent Forrest Sorrels who was in charge of Kennedy's security, Oswald's older brother Robert, and Abraham Zapruder, the clothing manufacturer who took the infamous 26-second film of the shooting. | Taking its title from the Dallas hospital where both President Kennedy and Oswald were treated unsuccessfully for their gunshot wounds, Parkland is in marked contrast to films such as JFK and Ruby by sticking to the official sequence of events. It also makes substantial characters out of previously marginal figures in the historical account, including FBI agent James Hosty, who had previously investigated Oswald, secret service agent Forrest Sorrels who was in charge of Kennedy's security, Oswald's older brother Robert, and Abraham Zapruder, the clothing manufacturer who took the infamous 26-second film of the shooting. |
| Landesman, who was a journalist before turning to film-making with Parkland, said that old-fashioned investigative skills had contributed to the details of his script. "Much of this is there to be found, by anybody. There is a transcript of the conversation between the Oswald brothers in the police station. The secret service agents were all deposed for hours and hours…. I spent four days with Jim Hosty just before he died [in 2011]. It was not like Jim Hosty was a secret; it's just that no one has bothered to ask who he was. He was always there to tell his story." | Landesman, who was a journalist before turning to film-making with Parkland, said that old-fashioned investigative skills had contributed to the details of his script. "Much of this is there to be found, by anybody. There is a transcript of the conversation between the Oswald brothers in the police station. The secret service agents were all deposed for hours and hours…. I spent four days with Jim Hosty just before he died [in 2011]. It was not like Jim Hosty was a secret; it's just that no one has bothered to ask who he was. He was always there to tell his story." |
| Landesman also said that the Zapruder family collaborated with his production, having been loth to do so in the past. "They've never gone on the record before, or co-operated with anybody. But they opened themselves up as a family to us, because I think they felt our portrayal of their grandfather was honest and responsible." | Landesman also said that the Zapruder family collaborated with his production, having been loth to do so in the past. "They've never gone on the record before, or co-operated with anybody. But they opened themselves up as a family to us, because I think they felt our portrayal of their grandfather was honest and responsible." |
| Parkland will be released in the US on 4 October, and in the UK on 8 November. | Parkland will be released in the US on 4 October, and in the UK on 8 November. |
| • Read full Venice coverage here • Read Catherine Shoard's interview with Zac Efron from 2009 | • Read full Venice coverage here • Read Catherine Shoard's interview with Zac Efron from 2009 |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |