Bush assassination movie gets U.S. deal
September 13, 2006
TORONTO, Ontario (Reuters) --
After you kill off President George W. Bush in a fictional film, what do you do? How about make a deal.
Gabriel Range, the British producer/director/creator of "Death of a President," the fictional documentary that sight unseen became one of the most talked-about movies of the Toronto Film Festival, has sold U.S. distribution rights to Newmarket Films, which handled Mel Gibson's equally provocative movie "The Passion of the Christ."
Newmarket, which reportedly paid $1 million for the film, is expected to give "President" a wide release within the next few months. It will air on Britain's Channel 4 next month.
Range's film opened on Sunday night to a sell-out festival crowd, which sat respectfully through it and applauded briefly at the end. Those who remained after the screening peppered the filmmaker with questions on how he achieved his special effects. (Watch advocates on both sides debate the film -- 2:45)
The film is shot as if it were a conventional television documentary, even though the events are fictional.
Range, who also co-wrote the film, uses footage taken of Bush during three visits to Chicago to create the scenes that lead up to the president being shot.
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Catherine
