Posted on 11/25/2001 7:20:13 PM PST by Mark
Here is an old article found in search--more reasonable about the situation:
Showing 12/10/2001, I believe. It's at the site.
Here is the ShowTime event:
The Day Reagan Was Shot
SYNOPSIS
It is March 30, 1981, 70 days into President Reagan's first term. At the White House, President Reagan (RICHARD CRENNA) is given a National Security briefing on a possible invasion of Poland by the Soviets from a staff that includes Secretary of State, Alexander Haig (RICHARD DREYFUSS). Reagan's advisors, weary of Haig's thirst for power, rush Reagan out to an AFL-CIO luncheon at the Washington Hilton Hotel. In a dingy Washington hotel room, John Hinckley (CHRISTIAN LLOYD), obsessed with actress Jodie Foster since first seeing her in the movie "Taxi Driver," prepares for a mission he hopes will win him her respect and love.
When Reagan emerges from the hotel, John Hinckley breaks out of the edging crowd and fires six shots with a pistol -- injuring Press Secretary James Brady (JOHN CONNOLLY), Secret Service Agent McCarthy (PETER HAWORTH) and a District of Columbia police officer (FRANK PELLEGRINO). President Reagan is pushed into a waiting limousine, as Hinckley is quickly subdued.
It is believed that President Reagan has escaped without injury.
The limousine speeds towards the White House without realizing that President Reagan has been shot. When Reagan begins coughing up blood, Special Agent Cage (BEAU STARR) defies orders and redirects the car to George Washington University Hospital. Doctors there confirm that a bullet is lodged between his heart and lung.
News of the assassination attempt reaches the White House via television special reports. With the President at the hospital, but believed to be fine, Vice President George Bush (MICHAEL GREENE) decides to proceed with his schedule in Austin, Texas. As a result, Haig convinces the troika of James Baker (KENNETH WELSH), Ed Meese (LEON POWNALL) and Michael Deaver (MICHAEL MURPHY), that as a senior cabinet officer, he is best suited to handle crisis control from the White House.
Confusion reigns at the White House. Secretary of Defense Caspar "Cap" Weinberger (COLM FEORE) unwittingly raises the DEFCON status, and the press, unable to get definitive answers, concludes that no one is running the government. In an attempt at damage control, Haig appears before a media throng and mistakenly announces "I am in control here." He also misstates the Constitutional succession. Haig's problems escalate when the Russians appear to be deploying missiles. A struggle ensues over who is actually in control of the U.S. nuclear weapon codes.
At the hospital, Mrs. Reagan (HOLLAND TAYLOR) stands watch as the President continues to fight for his life amid misinformation, inaccurate press statements and a breach in security.
Vice President Bush, having returned to Washington, arrives at the White House as crisis control learns that the impending attack by the Russians is actually a simulated missile attack planned for that day. Bush insists that the President is in charge and is able to perform his duties.
In an attempt to soothe the nation's concerns, Reagan, fresh from surgery and far from alert, is forced to sign a bill. At a cabinet meeting in the Situation Room, Alexander Haig states he will take the fall for the many mistakes made the day Reagan was shot. A photo of the President in the recovery room, heavily retouched to erase the many tubes and machines that surround him, is distributed to the press as further proof of Reagan's good health.
The nation is reassured that President Reagan has maintained formal presidential power throughout the mayhem.
As a direct result of his actions that day, Secretary of State Alexander Haig formally resigns the following year.
Well, maybe they needed a hammy Method-actor who can convey over-acting... "I'm in control here."
Your profile page asked about search engines. I use Google.com. Have you tried that?
Nevertheless, on important things I'll use a variety of engines--they come up with different items of course.
I agree, but if the whole movie is way overblown, it still might be a waste of time. I'll give it a chance and maybe turn it off if I can't stand it.
Close Encounters was about his speed. Not much else.
I do think, however, that Haig was a little power-hungry, so Dreyfus will definitely play that up and blow it out of proportion.
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