Is Robert Redford in bad company?
Robert Redford produced, directed, and acted in a new movie called The Company You Keep . It is described as a political thriller and also a “tribute to 1960s idealism.”
Jason Mattera, the muckraking journalist, believes, however, that it is a whitewash of what the Weather Underground was all about, and he recently tried to confront Redford about that.
In the video embedded below, Mattera asks the acting legend if his film glamorizes and romanticizes the left-wing Weather Underground who engaged in acts of domestic terror including the Pentagon and murdering cops. In the clip below, he also sarcastically asked Robert Redford if he will be making a movie about the Boston Marathon bombing suspects next. In the process, Mattera gets into the predictable shoving match with Redford’s entourage. Mattera also wanted to know if Redford would consider sharing any of the proceeds with the families of the victims of the Weather Underground
The proceeds may not be very extensive because the the film seems to have “bombed” so to speak at the box office. It has only grossed $3.4 million so far, which is a pittance in the movie business.
Redford did not respond to any of Mattera’s queries.
Mattera does not reveal on the video whether he actually has seen the film yet. From the plot synopsis of The Company You Keep that is available online, it doesn’t necessarily sound like a whitewash of violent 60s radicals; it’s difficult obviously to be definitive without seeing the whole movie, however.
The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, has received mixed reviews judging by the Rotten Tomatoes website. One reviewer called it “a drama that’s more than a look at what happened to a generation of socially aware hippies whose new drug of choice is likely Lipitor.”
Jason Mattera is same aggressive Talk Radio Network reporter who confronted New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on a public sidewalk and asked Bloomberg if he would disarm his security detail in the spirit of gun control. Bloomberg, who is a well-known proponent of additional gun control measures , is protected 24-7 by NYPD detectives. Pushing and shoving by said detail also occurred in this instance.
You may or may not disagree with Jason Mattera’s ideology and/or his tactics, but his so-called ambush interviews are the kind of thing that traditionally garnered high praise for shows like 60 Minutes and other mainstream news media programs.
Watch Jason Mattera attempt to ask Robert Redford questions about The Company You Keep below. Do you think that Jason Mattera was out of line in asking Redford if the film is too sympathetic to domestic terrorists?
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