Gold : Trashing late U.S. President Gerald R. Ford

I saw this film today. It was entertaining enough and supposedly based on a true story. Actually, after doing some research at the historyvshollywood.com web site, Gold is heavily fictionalized story about the Canadian mining company Bre-X Minerals scandal of the mid-1990s.

http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/gold/

Okay, fair enough, but in telling their tale, the film-makers trashed the late U.S. President Gerald R. Ford by name repeatedly. Specifically, Ford was on the board of directors for the large financial firm trying to take control of the fictional mining company and its Indonesian gold mine. The film also strongly implied that Ford used his influence with the Indonesian government of President Suharto to get that government to seize that mine.

As previously noted, the actual scandal involved an Canadian mining firm. The fact the film-makers went out of the way to implicate President Ford in a fake scandal is intentional, shameful, and gratuitous. There is absolute NO reason to do this. The story was dramatic enough without this falsehood being part of any dramatization. These film-makers owe the late President Ford and hos family a very public apology. The sooner the better!

I don't remember the exact quotes from the movie (wasn't there something about being in a wedding too?), but the implication I got from the film is Suharto was cut-in on a deal with the NY investment firm wanting to takeover Bre-X, not just political influence from Ford. Of course his son hooks-up for a better deal (which is similar to real story).

In the real Bre-X story, Suharto pushed his daughter and son onto Bre-X. His son actually "worked" for Bre-X. And one of Suharto's acquaintances was cut-in on rhe distribution deal. No doubt Suharto was cashing in

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When logic and science aren't on your side, you always lose.

More exactly, the so-called Ford connection was not merely with the Suharto government in Indonesia but more predominantly because the former president was on the board of director of the banking firm that was helping gold magnate Mark Hancock, a fictitious composite character. Again the actual scandal involved a Canadian mining company but the film-makers elected to Americanize the story because of rights issues. In doing so, these same film-makers sullied the reputation of the late President Gerald R. Ford, which is despicable and intentional. Shame on them!