Of course. When it was announced that Hollywood was finally making a film showcasing Ted Kennedy’s appalling behavior at Chappaquiddick in 1969, actions that left the young Mary Jo Kopechne dead, it seemed obvious who liberal journalists would turn the discussion towards: Donald Trump. That’s what The Washington Post did on Wednesday, talking to Chappaquiddick producer Mark Ciardi.
Post writer Emily Heil compared: “The movie is about an ambitious man’s attempts to hide and spin a political scandal — what resonance does this movie have for a Trump presidency and the current political climate?”
Ciardi didn’t take the bait, reminding Heil that the film was made before Trump even came on the presidential scene:
So we started making the film in 2015, before Trump was a factor. And I think people will have their own takeaways, whether they are on the left side of the aisle or the right. But we really wanted to make this a nonpolitical film.
(Interestingly, that question and answer was cut from the print edition of Wednesday’s Post, but included in the online version.) Heil also worried just how Kennedy fans would react to the movie:
Have you gotten pushback from the Kennedy family or from their supporters? This is a chapter of their family’s story they obviously would rather be forgotten.
Ciardi called the movie, which opens April 6, “fair,” but also said: “Obviously, it’s not flattering; you can’t get around that.”
Expect more of this as the movie is released. The film can’t be about Democrat Kennedy leaving a woman to drown. No, it must be a secret explanation of the Trump era.
Here's the trailer for the film:
