CBS will not accept advertising for the Sony Pictures Classic movie "Truth" because it dredges up the embarrassing "60 Minutes II" story on President George W. Bush's National Guard service — and the decision may make the film more popular than it should be,
said Forbes magazine columnist Scott Mendelson.
"If the idea of not allowing advertising for the film is an attempt to hide somehow the film's contents and/or blunt its message while being openly critical as a means of discrediting the picture, then I would argue the move had the opposite effect," Mendelson said Saturday. "A film that will mostly be forgotten in a few months' time is now much bigger news than it was 48 hours ago."
The James Vanderbilt film features Cate Blanchett as "60 Minutes II" producer Mary Mapes and Robert Redford as CBS News anchor Dan Rather. It's about how the story of Bush's National Guard service was botched after revelations that two key documents used in the story were not fully verified.
Mendelson called the movie "relatively … fair and balanced," adding that "it’s not going to make much of an impact absent high-profile spats such as this.
"I like the film, but the reviews have been mixed," he said. "I think the film tries to have it both ways, which is what makes the relatively entertaining picture merely worth a view instead of worth a bunch of Oscars."
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