Cable film on JFK draws flak

NEW YORK, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Producers of a planned miniseries about former U.S. President John F. Kennedy deny a critic's charge the project is "political character assassination."

Producer Joel Surnow, best known as a creator of the Fox TV action hit "24," is developing the Kennedy project for the History channel, with a script by Stephen Kronish, who identifies himself as a liberal Democrat, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Liberal filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who has received copies of the script from other entertainment industry professionals, has produced a video featuring critics of the script -- including former JFK adviser Theodore C. Sorensen -- in which the panel argues the script contains factual errors.

"It was political character assassination," Greenwald told the Times. "It was sexist titillation and pandering, and it was turning everything into a cheap soap opera of the worst kind."

Greenwald's video includes an appeal to viewers to "tell the History channel I refuse to watch right-wing character assassination masquerading as 'history'" and directs them to a Web site, stopkennedysmears.com.

Producers say the scripts are not complete. Kronish said criticism is premature.

"Next year, when it's done and it's on the air, if people want to criticize it, so be it," he said.