Fox News has rejected an ad for an Oscar-nominated short documentary about a 1939 pro-Nazi rally held at Madison Square Garden in New York that warns “it can happen here.”
Filmmaker Marshall Curry told IndieWire that this 30-second spot for “A Night At The Garden” was nixed by the network after an attempt to purchase ad time for it during “Hannity” this week:
The ad was initially going to run during “Hannity” during a local commercial break in Los Angeles, which the network doesn’t control, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
When it was preempted by President Donald Trump’s rally speech in El Paso, Texas, the film’s distributor, Field of Vision, tried to make a network-wide purchase instead.
That got rejected by Fox News.
“The ad in question is full of disgraceful Nazi imagery regardless of the film’s message and did not meet our guidelines.” Marianne Gambelli, president of ad sales for Fox News, said in a statement.
It’s not clear if Curry tried to place the ad with any other network, and the filmmaker hasn’t replied to a request for comment.
However, in a statement to IndieWire last week, he indicated his goal was to air it during “Hannity” for a specific reason:
“I hope that by showing the ‘Hannity’ audience how manipulative leaders in the past have attacked the press, scapegoated minorities, made light of violence against protesters, and wrapped hateful ideologies in the symbols of American patriotism, they might become more vigilant when they see leaders do those things today.”
The film’s backers at Field of Vision also said “Hannity” was a specific choice.
“We’re very aware that the film audience can often lean to the left,” Charlotte Cook, one of the co-founders, told The Washington Post. “And we want to make sure this film doesn’t go to the echo chamber — to use this moment of the [Oscar] nomination to jump the barrier to people with different beliefs.”
The Hollywood Reporter said the ad will air in a local break during “Hannity” on Thursday in Los Angeles on time not controlled by the network. The website said there are also plans to purchase ad time on other cable news networks.
The entire seven-minute film is also available to stream via Vimeo, as well as PBS.
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