Op-Ed: Will This Year's 'October Surprise' Come From Hollywood?

Two feature films slated for October release, David Zucker's 'An American Carol' and Oliver Stone's 'W', are stark contrasts in their targets and politics. Will either affect viewers' perceptions, and possibly even influence the November elections?

You all know what an October Surprise is by now, I'm sure. The real question is, will this year's version originate from the box office? Two films, both due for wide release in October, raise that tantalizing question. The first, An American Carol, written, directed and produced by comedy master David Zucker, is due for release on October 3. I have embedded the trailer above as presented on the O'Reilly Factor (Bill has a small cameo). With a huge A-list cast that includes Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper, James Woods, Robert Davi and Leslie Nielsen, the film also casts former SNL member Chris Farley's brother Kevin P. Farley as the main character, who resembles, acts and talks like Michael Moore. The premise is this: When an anti-American filmmaker attempts to do away with the Fourth of July, he is visited by three ghosts: the Angel of Christmas Future as played by Trace Adkins, Kelsey Grammer as General George S. Patton, and Jon Voight as George Washington. This is not Mr. Zucker's first foray into skewering the Left. His Madeline Albright video prior to the 2004 elections was a smash hit on YouTube. Based on my own public domain knowledge, many of the actors involved in 'Carol' are staunchly conservative, a relative anomaly in Hollywood. I have already provided a writeup on Stone's 'W' with trailer. 'W' is slated for release on October 17. To be mild, it presents some rather harsh criticisms of President Bush as both a human being and a politician. Both of these films could prove to be political double-edged swords. Stone's 'W' could either turn people off totally to George W. Bush, and by default McCain, or it could engender sympathy for Bush, contempt for Stone and sway some undecided voters. By that same token, if Zucker's 'Carol' is a smash hit and skewers the left in all the right places for American audiences, it may color perceptions of Obama and his perceived far left views and associations most negatively. On the other hand, if the comedy is way off the mark, it could possibly even engender sympathy for Michael Moore, the Far Left, and by default Barack Obama. As with the election, it will be interesting to see how these two very different films play among American audiences just weeks before Election Day. Then again, they are only movies. But it is delightful to think about it, yes?