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Tag: Pennsylvania

  • Discovery remembers the events of 9/11 with special

    Discovery remembers the events of 9/11 with special

    MUMBAI: As the fourth anniversary of 9/11 draws near Discovery has announced that it will air a two-hour special programme The Flight That Fought Back.

    The special will chronicle the heroism of the 33 passengers and seven crew members on United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked, re-routed toward Washington, D.C., and crashed in Pennsylvania.

     
    The special airs on 11 September at 8 pm. The special is a minute-by-minute retelling of the plane’s final moments as those on board fought to regain control of the aircraft. This dramatic documentary was developed with unprecedented cooperation from United Airlines and access to the families and friends of those on board.

     
    The special is based on research, comprehensive evidence including the 9/11 Commission Report and actual voice recordings left by passengers and crew. Discovery states that the special uses the best possible evidence available to recreate the struggle inside Flight 93, including extensive interviews with family and friends and their very personal conjectures on how their loved ones would have reacted to the situation. The film enables viewers to better understand the events of that fateful morning and provides a deeper appreciation of the remarkable men and women aboard the plane.

    Discovery Networks India brand director Raja Balasubramaniam says, “The special uses the research available to chronicle how 40 strangers determined the terrorists’ scheme and devised an action plan to counter their deadly plot – in just 30 minutes. The majority of this documentary’s content is based on personal stories from family members and direct witnesses, with dramatic reconstructions of the moments leading up to the crash”.

    Discovery commissioned the London-based production company Brook Lapping Productions (BLP) to research and present the story.

  • ABC signs TV star Heaton to develop TV content

    ABC signs TV star Heaton to develop TV content

    MUMBAI: Actress Patricia Heaton has become a household name on American television, thanks to the success the recently concluded sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond enjoyed.

    Now her production company, Four Boys Films, has signed a deal with the ABC Television Network and Touchstone Television to develop TV movies and series. Heaton will receive executive producer credit.

    As a separate part of the deal, Heaton will receive co-executive producer credit on any project in which she performs.

    Heaton’s company is currently developing Wilberforce with Phillip Anschutz’ Walden Media. The television film is the true life story of William Wilberforce, who advocated for the freedom of slaves in 18th-Century England.

    ABC Primetime Entertainment president Stephen McPherson said, “Patricia is a true television star, and we’re thrilled to be in business with her. While we look forward to finding the right project for her considerable acting skills, we are equally as excited to see what comes out of the development part of the deal.”

    Four Boys Films was founded in 2001 by Heaton and her husband, David Hunt. They recently completed production on the documentary feature film The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania which Hunt directed.

     

  • British drama doc. on 9/11 takes hijackers perspective

    British drama doc. on 9/11 takes hijackers perspective

    MUMBAI: As the third anniversary of the events of 9/11 draws near, British filmmaker Antonia Bird has come out with a drama documentary Hamburg Cell.

    The film which aired on Channel 4 in the UK on 2 September, tells the story of how terrorist Ziad Jarrah helped hijack United Airlines flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania. It also looks at Mohammed Atta who flew one of the planes that hit the World Trade Centre.

    Thus far, most material on 9/11 has looked at the victims of the attack. However the British film scrutinises the lives of the above mentioned hijackers. The film shows them in tender scenes with girlfriends and family. At the same time it also depicts an all-male world of hateful dogmatism.

    Mentorn Films produced the film. Defending the approach David Aukin who heads the company’s drama division was quoted in a Reuters report saying, “Unless you know your enemies you don’t know how to deal with them, and just demonising them doesn’t help. Understanding that they are human beings gives us some sense of what we are up against.”

    Another report in The Guardian added that the film premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 1 September.

    Bird added that ever since 9/11 she thought about the people who drove the planes along the flight to disaster. “We knew nothing of them. So I found it fascinating to discover how these men got involved. Because of Michael Moore’s film Farenheit 9/11 people are much more open to the whole subject matter than they were a few months ago.”

    Not surprisingly the British film has drawn the ire of certain sections. The parents of a British woman killed in the 9/11 events attacked the film as being tasteless and insensitive. Americans broadcasters had initially pulled out of the production. However talks are going on to distribute the film in US cinemas.

  • BBC uncovers American virgins

    BBC uncovers American virgins

    MUMBAI: BBC World features American virgins in their upcoming episode of The World Uncovered, a current affairs strand of the channel.

    The new weekly current affair series will be aired on Saturday 17 April at 5:40 p.m and Sunday 18 April at 12:40 p.m IST. The upcoming episode focuses onThe Silver Ring thing which is a faith-based movement of an US based organisation. The movement teaches American teenagers to abstain from pre-marital sex.

    Based in Pennsylvania, the organisation offers young girls a Bible and a silver ring which are to be worn as constant reminders of their pledge to remain virgins until their wedding day.

    With increasing numbers of young people committing themselves to abstinence or self denial as a method of preventing pregnancies and STDs, we have the camera accompanying the organisation to the rallies it stages and tours it conducts to spread awareness of the ill-effects of pre-marital sex.