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NBC, CW Shy Away from Chicks Flick

Fri., Oct. 27, 2006 3:43 PM PDT by Sarah Hall

The Dixie Chicks aren't the only ones not ready to make nice.

Perhaps fearing White House retribution, NBC and the CW have reportedly refused to air ads for the documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing, according to the film's distributor, the Weinstein Co.

Harvey Weinstein, who runs the Weinstein Co. along with his brother, Bob, accused both networks of restricting free speech.

According to a Weinstein release, NBC wrote it "cannot accept these spots as they are disparaging to President Bush," while the CW allegedly made the excuse that it did "not have the appropriate programming in which to schedule this spot."

"It's a sad commentary about the level of fear in our society that a movie about a group of courageous entertainers who were blacklisted for exercising their right of free speech is now itself being blacklisted by corporate America," Weinstein said.

However, NBC claimed it was network procedure not to accept ads on issues of public controversy, such as abortion or the war.

According to Alan Wurtzel, head of standards and practices at NBC, when an ad is rejected, prospective advertisers generally try to work with the network on creating an acceptable spot, but the Weinstein Co. never did so.

"There was no attempt to come back and have a conversation," Wurtzel told the AP. "There are times when some advertisers get more publicity for having their ad rejected."

Meanwhile, the CW roundly denied that it had refused to accept the ads in question.

"The release is flat-out inaccurate," network spokesman Paul McGuire said in a statement. He said the CW had been involved in talks with the Weinstein Co., but they never progressed past where on the schedule the spot would run.

The documentary, which opens Friday in theaters in New York and Los Angeles, explores the controversy that erupted back in 2003 when singer Natalie Maines uttered the now infamous line, "We’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

The incendiary words led to a massive backlash against the group. Country radio stations pulled Dixie Chicks albums out of rotation, protesters burned CDs and posters, and the band members even received death threats.

However, Maines, who later apologized for her remark, then rescinded the apology, has said she does not regret expressing her opinion, despite the impact it had on her career.

"I’m glad I used my free speech and spoke out against it. And I think I didn’t know, the day after, how glad I was that I said it—but today I have no regrets," she told Chris Matthews on Hardball Thursday.

Once the biggest-selling female group in history, the band was forced to rework its North American touring schedule last summer due to lackluster ticket sales across the South and Midwest.

The Chicks ultimately canceled shows in Houston, Memphis, Knoxville and Kansas City, replacing them with dates in Canada.

Shut Up & Sing isn't the first film to have its advertising campaign nixed by a major network. Earlier this week, CNN and NPR refused to air promotions for Death of a President, a faux documentary that deals with the fictional assassination of President Bush.