Re: Thirteen Days

On Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 11:03:22 PM UTC-4, John Corbett wrote:
> On Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 3:40:23 PM UTC-4, Pamela Brown wrote: 
> > On Monday, April 5, 2021 at 6:39:08 PM UTC-5, John Corbett wrote: 
> > > Thirteen Days was the title of a book written by (or ghost written for) 
> > > RFK about the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was a source material for the made 
> > > for TV program The Missiles of October which was essentially a televised 
> > > stage play. Several decades later it was made into a major motion picture 
> > > of the same name as the book. However there was something curious about 
> > > the movie which I still don't understand. Kenny O'Donnell was barely 
> > > mentioned in the book and had only one scene in the Missiles of October. 
> > > In the movie Thirteen Days, he was made the central character played by 
> > > Kevin Costner. Essentially the crisis played out through his eyes. I've 
> > > always wondered why the producers chose to go in that direction when it 
> > > seemed from RFK's book that he was barely involved in the management of 
> > > the crisis. Was there other source material that indicated O'Donnell's 
> > > involvement was much greater than what it appeared in the book? If anyone 
> > > has an information as to why the movie expanded O'Donnell's role beyond 
> > > what the book indicated, I would appreciate it. 
> > https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jan-22-ca-15450-story.html
> Unfortunately this article requires an LA Times subscription which I don't 
> have but gave me the idea to search for other old newspaper articles on 
> the subject and I found this one from the guardian. 
> 
> https://groups.google.com/g/alt.assassination.jfk/c/OxC4lcyr5E0 
> 
> There seems to be a difference of opinion about Kenny O'Donnell's role in 
> managing the crisis but these might be the most intriguing paragraphs" 
> 
> "Not only has the film perplexed historians by elevating O'Donnell, 
> hitherto seen as no more than a backroom White House fixer, to the status 
> of key player- "it's like making Rosencrantz or Guildenstern the lead in 
> Hamlet", one joked - but it has angered the American military by 
> suggesting they tried to corral the Kennedys into all-out war. 
> 
> The furor has also raised awkward questions about the role O'Donnell's 
> family played behind the scenes. His son Kevin, an internet tycoon, helped 
> bankroll a buyout of Beacon Entertainment, which made the movie, and 
> appears to have been the partial inspiration for promoting his father - 
> played by Kevin Costner - to the role of the "ordinary Joe" hero audiences 
> identify with." 
> 
> There is no doubt Kenny O'Donnell was close with the Kennedys, 
> particularly Bobby since they were teammates on the Harvard football team, 
> O'Donnell being the quarterback while Bobby played end. For that reason, 
> I think if O'Donnell had played as major a role in the crisis as the movie 
> indicates, his friend Bobby would have given him more than just a passing 
> mention in his book.

I just realized I screwed up copying the link to The Guardian article and 
instead copied the link to this thread. Here is the correct link:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/mar/03/film.fiachragibbons