New JFK miniseries by ’24′ creator gets ex-colleagues upset

[HMG] – As its 35th President and the soul whose unbounded vision put man on the moon, John F. Kennedy holds an untouchable place in this nation’s history. But a new show about him, made by the man behind 24 is getting many people upset.

Devised by Joel Surnow, who co-created the Jack Bauer drama, the new show does not even have a cast or a final script yet. But Joel is a life-long hardcore conservative, and many people who knew JFK want what they’re calling ‘this hatchet job’ stopped.

Among Joel’s many critics is JFK’s former legal aide and senior speechwriter, Theodore Sorensen. Now 81, Theo knew and worked with the President for ten years, and says the new draft scripts are littered with factual errors and unreserved bias. And he’s by no means alone;

“It’s political character assassination,” says filmmaker, Robert Greenwald,who has now launched his own filmed rebuttal online. “It’s sexist titillation and pandering, turning everything into a cheap soap opera.”

In the 13-minute video, several people who worked with JFK explain that even the draft scripts for the upcoming show give an impression of their late friend that is at least wildly inaccurate, and at worst a hatchet job.

For background, it might help to know that apart from being an Emmy-winning producer, Joel is also a close pal of Rush Limbaugh.

As you might expect, the suits at the History Channel [who plan to play the results] are now acting as surprised as they can that this slanted review of an international icon could stir such emotion; Not to mention all this lovely free press!

“Next year, when it’s done and on the air, if people want to criticize it, so be it,” Stephen Kronish, the screenwriter and a self-confessed Democrat, tells the New York Times.

But Mr. Greenwald and his friends say Kronish’s work — even in draft form — is littered with errors and unjust invention — such as the myth that JFK conceived the idea of the Berlin Wall, which divided entire Germany families for 28 years.

“Every single conversation with the President in which I – according to the script – participated, never happened,” says Theo Sorensen.

But script maven, Stephen Kronish strongly disagrees; “This is not a documentary, It’s a dramatization.”

The show is still in production and it could be next year before it even sees daylight. But with a subject of JFK’s stature, I doubt the History Channel will let a story this rich in PR potential die before then. We’ll keep you advised…