XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX THU MARCH 27, 2003 10:03:25 ET XXXXX
DREAMWORKS EXECS TO ROCK: NO BUSH BASHING
**Exclusive**
Comedian Chris Rock has been strongly advised not to engage in any Bush-bashing during the promotion of his new film HEAD OF STATE, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.
Rock once said of Bush: "He's not stupid, he's just drunk," adding, "All the black people who voted for Bush are both on his cabinet."
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DREAMWORKS is preparing to release the comedy wide on Friday. There are deep concerns that Rock may unleash a fresh diatribe on President Bush and the Iraq war, studio insiders reveal, which could ignite a public backlash and boycott of the film.
In the movie, Rock plays a character who is the Democratic party's choice for its 2004 presidential nomination. Rock is also director, producer and co-scenarist.
"We are confident Chris knows this is not the appropriate time to make jokes about war and the president," said one top studio source. "We don't want to get Dixie-Chicked, or anything like that, out of the gate. We've invested tens of millions of dollars in the making of the movie and its marketing."
For his part, sources say Chris Rock has decided to maintain a neutral point of view on Bush, if he is prodded to comment during any press promotion for HEAD.
On a recent guest spot on OPRAH, Rock cautiously offered: "Ah, the war, ah, well, maybe if we Americans really knew what a war meant, ah, then maybe we wouldn't be so eager in waging or supporting it."
Developing...
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Filed By Matt Drudge
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