USA: The 9/11 Commission Report gets a variety of dramatic makeovers in the form of a docudrama, a comic book, and a documentary.

Government reports aren't usually the inspiration for TV dramas and comic books, but with the fifth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks just around the corner, producers and publishers are drawing on the drama and finger-pointing contained in the 9/11 Commission Report to present it again in a new and dramatic light. In 2004, the Commission, led by Thomas Kean, issued its final report on the events of 9/11 and why it occurred. From the outset it was an instant success, as readers were eager to learn how September 11th happened, who was responsible and where the errors were made in national security. Five years have passed since 9/11, and this past year has seen a public willing to accept dramatic, entertaining re-tellings of the tragic day. This year, the release of films such as 'World Trade Center' and 'United 93 attest to this acceptance. Playing over two nights on September 10 and 11th, a 'dramatization' starring Harvey Keitel is running on ABC TV called 'The Path to 9/11'. A dramatic re-telling of the 9/11 Commission Report, the show stars Harvey Keitel as FBI counterterrorism expert John O'Neill. O'Neill had an office in One World Trade Center and died on September 11th. In the film O'Neill is often seen pushing for more attention to be paid to the threat from al-Qaeda. The film has also drawn the ire of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and members of his administration. They say it contains inaccuracies and implicates them in some of the shortcomings that led to the attacks. Clinton has been pressuring ABC to re-edit the piece, including one scene that implies he was too concerned with the Monica Lewinsky scandal to notice the threat from al-Qaeda. The pressure appears to have worked and ABC has agreed to a re-edit. Recently, a comic book version of the report has also hit the bookstore shelves. 'The 9/11 Report, a Graphic Adaptation' is the brainchild of illustrator Ernie Colon, a veteran of the comic book world who's past work can be seen in Richie Rich and Casper the Friendly Ghost. Colon came up with the idea of illustrating the 9/11 Commission Report because he thought the original report was an important document but found it difficult to read and keep track of all the names. "I tried reading the 9/11 report, the commission's report, and found it so dense with facts, places, events, characters, names that I wasn't familiar with, and I realized that Sid Jacobson, my writer partner and friend and I were in the business of clarifying subjects like that because we have done these kinds of subjects before that don't fall into the category of comic book per se. And I called him with the idea and he thought it was feasible and it was a great idea and we took off from there," said Colon. Working with writer Sid Jacobson, Colon said they tried hard to be as objective as possible in in the book, and especially tried to avoid stereotyping people, especially Arabs. Colon says he doesn't like the word 'comic book' associated with this work. He prefers the term 'graphic adaptation.' But it is clearly drawn in dramatic, comic-book style illustration. Despite the clearly graphic nature of many of the frames, Colon said there were some images he refused to illustrate. "The ones that I stayed away from were people falling or jumping out of buildings. That was simply too painful for me to draw and I felt, inappropriate somehow," said Colon. Colon said it is also important to learn the lessons from the past and to hold those accountable for allowing the events of 9/11 to happen. "It's important for us to understand how much of so much that has been said about 9/11 is fact and what is fiction, and what, or who I should say, does that fiction help when there is a dissemination of what we now call misinformation, who does it profit? "Whereas the 9/11 Commission Report has attempted to see this in as neutral a way as possible. If they say, for example in the report card that there are Ds and Fs, I think it's important for us to know who achieved those D's and F's and why," said Colon. The September 11 commission report criticized both the Bush and Clinton administrations for failing to fully grasp or effectively combat the threat posed by al Qaeda and recommended a shake-up of U.S. intelligence to meet future dangers. The 567-page final report issued unanimously by the 10-member commission pointed to "deep institutional failings" and missed opportunities to thwart the hijackings carried out by al Qaeda operatives, which killed almost 3,000 people in 2001. Lionsgate recently released 'On Native Soil,' calling it 'The documentary of the 9/11 Commission Report'. The film, which aired on Court TV on August 21st and is now available on DVD, features a voice over by actors Kevin Costner and Hillary Swank. 'On Native Soil' includes a variety of footage, including news footage from September 11, 2001 and also interviews with victim's family members, survivors and eyewitnesses. It also compiles the public record of speeches and press conferences by elected and appointed officials who were in power, both before and after the tragedy.

ITN Source | September 9, 2006

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