A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

(C) 2000 New Line Cinema On Christmas Day 2000, New Line Cinema released “Thirteen Days,” a taut and thought-provoking docudrama about the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis as told from the Kennedy Administration’s point of view. Starring Kevin Costner (who also serves as co-producer) as Kenneth P. O’Donnell, Bruce Greenwood (“Star Trek Into Darkness”) as President John F. Kennedy, and Steven Culp as Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the movie focuses on a Cold War crisis that could have escalated into World War III. It’s also a fascinating look at how people under extreme stress can overcome anxiety and fear to solve the thorniest problems – in this case, the threat of nuclear annihilation. Directed by Roger Donaldson (“Smash Palace,” “No Way Out”) from a screenplay by David Self (“Road to Perdition”), “Thirteen Days” begins on a suspenseful note as a U.S. U-2 spy plane flies over Communist-ruled Cuba in October of 1962. Photos taken during this overflight reveal to American intell...

(C) 1992 Simon & Schuster The trouble with history, particularly modern history, is that events can be interpreted and presented in different ways. Consider, for instance, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Some books, such as Jim Bishop's The Day Kennedy Was Shot and Gerald Posner's Case Closed , point the finger at Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone gunman. Others, such as David Lifton's Best Evidence , claim there was a vast conspiracy to shoot Kennedy in Dallas, Texas and to cover this violent coup d'etat up so Lyndon Johnson could be President and escalate the Vietnam War. I don't believe the conspiracy theorists and they'll never get a dime from me, but nevertheless there are plenty of people who do believe Lifton and his other "there was a second gunman in the grassy knoll" compadres. By taking a fact here, adding a supposition there, and by presenting information selectively to make it fit an author's particular ...