Scifi is pulling the Arnold marathon for Aug. 24

[Cerberus]

"We're pulling our Arnold marathon in deference to the electoral process. We wanted to level the playing field in California," said Kat Stein, a spokeswoman for Sci Fi.


Just thought this was interesting.

Cerberus

 

[AntonyF]

Yeah. Because if they saw Arnie's films in such a high amount, they may not vote for him.

 

[channe]

You could say it was free publicity. It's getting his name out there (ha ha like it wasn't already).

 

[Jade Jaguar]

He'll be back.

 

[PillowRock]

You could say it was free publicity.

Yep. That's why everyone avoided showing any old Reagan movies for several months during the 1980 and 1984 elections. Noone wanted to be hit by requests for "equal time" by the other candidates. It was easier and cheaper to avoid Ronnie's ovies than to either give the equal time or to fight the requests in court.

I expected that to happen again here. Of course, pulling all of Arnie's movies does have more of an impact on cable stations' schedules than Reagan's movies did.

 

[Jade Jaguar]

OOOH! that gives me a good idea for a film!
How about Bedtime For Bonzo And The Terminator!
One strange bedroom farce!

 

[GKarsEye]

Ya know, I don't think I've ever seen a Ronald Reagan movie.

 

[Jade Jaguar]

GKE, you are truly blessed. If you must see one, See The Hasty Heart, set in Burma, in WW2. It is his best performance, much better than the well known role in Knute Rockne, as The Gipper. Still, it, like all of his films, would have been better without him, and with a better, less pompous actor.

If you want to see Nancy (Davis,) check out Donovan's Brain, classic 50's scifi.

 

[hypatia]

That's why everyone avoided showing any old Reagan movies for several months during the 1980 and 1984 elections.

I think JJ and old Mighty have kind of covered this already, but avoiding an old Ronald Regan movie is hardly difficult.

They were bad B-level movies. Say what you will about his political career, it's hard to believe this guy ever earned a living as an actor.

I think I saw about 10 minutes of Bedtime for Bonzo before I had to leave the room.

 

[PillowRock]

I stated up front that pullng all of Arnie's movies would have more of an impact on schedules than pulling Ronnie's did. However, avoiding Ronnie's did change the schedules. Just because they aren't good and most people won't sit through them doesn't mean that they never are on TV.

As a random sample I just went to the TV Guide web site and did a search over the next 2 weeks (their default search) for Ronald Reagan. Ignoring the entries that were historical shows mentioning his political career etc., there were 3 movies listed (The Killers, 1964; It's a Great Feeling, 1949; and Knute Rockne - All American, 1940).

Also, when discussing the fact that virtually everything he made was a bad B movie it is important to remember what time period we are talking about. Do you remember what AMC's schedule (for example) looked like back in the 1980's? I'll give you a hint: It was almost entirely cheap old B movies. That was all they had the budget to get. The ones that happened to have someone who later became prominent (like Reagan) were their prime tickets. Just the curiosity factor would improve their ratings. So yes, it did represent a change in their schedule to avoid Reagan's movies at the time.

 

[hypatia]

I can see that, Pillow Rock. Yes, I think you are right.

But,.

Do you remember what AMC's schedule (for example) looked like back in the 1980's?

:

I wasn not fortunate enough to have any chance to get AMC. It wasn't part of the cable package when I was in college (and it isn't now, either). We get TCM instead. Up in Phoenix they get both.

So I'll just have to take your word for it.

Oh, and I remember hearing something years ago. B films were how they used to get a feel for how new potential stars could be cast. It was a kind of training ground for new or young actors.