Page 30 - ATD21NOV2015

A30

PEOPLE & ARTSSaturday 21 November 2015

Nat Geo movie tells gritty Pilgrims’ tale

DAVID BAUDER This image released by National Geographic shows Kalani historical accuracy, even some debate about in-
AP Television Writer Queypo as Squanto, right, teaching pilgrims how to plant crops hiring an expert to teach cluding it.
NEW YORK (AP) — With its in a scene from “Saints & Strangers,” premiering Nov. 22-23 at actors the Abenaki lan- “Our goal was to tell the
political infighting, tip-of- 9 p.m. ET. guage used in the film. true story,” he said. “The
the-arrow diplomacy and After some ups and downs, problem is that the story
climactic decapitation Associated Press the leaders forged a peace has been sanitized to such
scene, the National Geo- with Massasoit, leader of a degree that no one
graphic Channel’s film over a harvest are too sim- Scharbo and his wife, Gina the Pokanoket tribe. He knows the real story.”
“Saints & Strangers” is the plistic. So are suspicions Matthews, were making warned the settlers that Tim Pastore, programming
“Game of Thrones” version that settlers went on a mur- the project as a short-run other tribes were planning chief at National Geo-
of the first Thanksgiving. derous rampage. The truth series for NBC when that an attack. The settlers, led graphic, said the network
The four-hour movie will was far more complex, network backed out a year by William Bradford, held takes depictions of vio-
premiere Sunday and said Seth Fisher, the mov- ago. They made a deal a meeting with other tribal lence on the air very seri-
Monday on National Geo- ie’s chief writer. with National Geographic, leaders ostensibly to forge ously. “At the end of the
graphic (9 p.m. EST on “There was a lot of palace an affiliation the producers peace, but instead the day, the authenticity of
both nights), following a intrigue,” said Grant Schar- believe will enhance the English turned on them dur- telling the story as it was,
rush to finish in time for the bo, an executive produc- film’s legitimacy. National ing the meal. was the guiding star to stay
holiday. It tells the story of er. Geographic pressed for As the pilgrims later cel- true to,” he said.
the religious pilgrims and ebrated a feast with Mas- The pre-emptive attack
thrill-seeking opportunists sasoit and his tribe, the en- led to a 50-year stretch of
thrown together on the trance to Plymyouth was peace between the set-
Mayflower and their ef- “guarded” by the severed tlers and Native Americans.
forts to build a settlement head of Wituwamat, lead- The filmmakers said they
peacefully among the Na- er of the Massachusett were surprised at the
tive Americans they en- tribe. amount of strong source
counter. Scharbo said his 10- and material available to help
Judging from accounts 6-year-old children can see with the story, and that
from the time, the ele- most of “Saints & Strang- there were many more
mentary-school textbook ers,” but certainly not the characters and subplots
tales of pilgrims and Native decapitation scene. He that could have been
Americans holding hands acknowledges there was used but they had to be