‘Shock and Awe’ Hits the Summer KCET Cinema Series on July 3rd
Q&A immediately following with director Rob Reiner.
“When the government says something, the only question you have to ask is, Is it true?” asserts journalist John Walcott, as portrayed by Rob Reiner in his new film “Shock and Awe.” With the importance of journalistic integrity top of mind these days, it’s a film worth seeing that will inevitably draw comparisons to classics that include “All the President’s Men” and “The Post”…the final screening of the Winter Cinema Series in 2017. The film engrossingly tracks how a group of Knight Ridder newspaper reporters became known as the only journalists "who got it right" about the absence of Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction that were used by the George W. Bush administration as justification for the Iraq War. The film follows the team’s efforts to defend their journalistic integrity against a raft of misleading stories from the White House. Directed by Rob Reiner and written by Joey Hartstone, the film stars Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, James Marsden, Milla Jovovich and Jessica Biel.
According to Reiner, “Shock and Awe shows the struggle of four journalists trying to bring the truth to the American Public in the run up to the war in Iraq. Today the press is under attack like never before, and democracy cannot survive without a free and independent press. I hope Shock and Awe can serve as a cautionary tale of what’s at stake for the survival of self-governance.”
“Shock and Awe” will be released in select theaters on July 13 by Vertical Entertainment. The film’s director Rob Reiner will be in attendance for a Q&A session immediately following the screening with host Pete Hammond who can also be seen in KCET’s Must See Movies.
The summer season of the KCET Cinema Series is generously sponsored by the James and Paula Coburn Foundation as well as Deadline.com. The season began on June 5th and runs through July 31st. Season passes are available online via Eventbriteand individual admissions are available at the door for $25 each.
