By Steve Rhodes
The media is asking the wrong question. It’s not a matter of whether Rob Lowe is the “right choice” to play Drew Peterson in a Lifetime movie, it’s whether anyone should play him in any movie.
Two women are dead. Profiting off that tragedy is immoral. (And that includes the book by Joliet-area reporter Joe Hosey that the movie is based on.) Glitzing up the horrible trail of dead for viewers’ entertainment is despicable. Making money off it is worse. (See No. 9; see also the item Peterson’s Pension in this column.)
So instead of asking if Rob Lowe is “too pretty” to play Drew Peterson, let’s ask if Rob Lowe is upstanding enough not to.
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The coverage of Drew Peterson has always been a spectacle too far for my tastes. First, he hasn’t been convicted. The fact that the evidence against him doesn’t look good is the best reason not to turn him into a celebrity; it would be more compelling if he looked like he was being railroaded.
Second, even if he engages in curious, attention-seeking behavior, the media doesn’t have to “cover” him. Except that, you know, it’s “fun” and an awful lot of people are making money off the dead women – who still have live relatives.
What if you were on of them? How would you feel?
The media did its job well in helping bring the case to light. Then it went off the rails.
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I wonder if RedEye’s Curt Wagner was thinking of Kathleen Savio and Stacy Peterson when he wrote that “I’m not saying that an actor can’t ugly up to play a role, but this news is ridiculous: Rob Lowe will star as accused wife killer Drew Peterson in Lifetime’s TV movie The Drew Peterson Story, aka Lady Killer.”
I wonder if the geniuses at the Tribune were thinking about Kathleen and Stacy when they wrote “Someone call Jimmy Kimmel and the rest of the Handsome Men’s Club. A travesty has taken place” and put together a search-engine friendly photo gallery of their casting choices. A travesty alright. Two women dead and Lifetime can’t even cast the lead suspect right!
I wonder if the editors at the Joliet News-Herald (a Sun-Times Media joint) were thinking about Kathleen and Stacy when they decided to run a “click poll” asking readers if Lowe was the right casting choice.
Those deaths were not for our entertainment, people.
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But it’s all ha-ha.
Drew is unhappy. He wanted Denzel Washington.
Drew’s lawyer Joel Brodsky says Al Lewis of Grandpa Munster should play the prosecutor.
What a barrel of fun.
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And here’s Channel 7’s Ravi Baichwal on the beat!
“While some say Lowe fits the part, although not necessary the look, others say the movie is just drumming up more publicity for Peterson.”
Some say Lowe fits the part! Others . . . don’t!
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Daily Mail: Handsome Rob Lowe is real Ladykiller.
Clever!
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New York Daily News Poll:
Rob Lowe, Ladykiller
Do you think Rob Lowe can pull off playing accused killer Drew Peterson?
-Yes, he’s a versatile actor
-No, he looks nothing like Peterson
-I don’t know
Some people don’t know!
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“Bolingbrook Patch’s daily ‘Facebook Fan Poll’ now appears in our daily ‘Five Things to Know Today’ feature.
“Today’s question: Would Rob Lowe make a good Drew Peterson?
“Chime in below by leaving a comment!
“Or, to participate in the poll and become a fan of Bolingbrook Patch via Facebook, click HERE.”
Please engage!
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“The screenplay was written by Teena Booth, who wrote the 2009 Lifetime mystery drama about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, which set ratings records for Lifetime Movie Network,” Reel Chicago reports (links added by Beachwood Labs).
“Judith Verno, president of PeaceOut Productions, is Peterson executive producer. She has a raft of true crime movies to her credit, including Natalee Holloway, The Craigslist Killer, and Who is Clark Rockefeller?”
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“Anytime anyone makes money off a horrific situation like that, it’s inappropriate,” said family spokeswoman Pamela Bosco.
Don’t be such a buzzkill, Bosco.
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“If Joel Brodsky is angry about something, it’s that I am making money and he’s not,” Hosey told the Sun-Times.
Nice.
Maybe more people will die soon in marketable ways and we can all get rich.
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UPDATE 9:42 A.M.: See also: Stacy Peterson’s Sister Calls Upcoming Movie A Waste
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Comments welcome.
Posted on June 17, 2011