Peter Bart Calls 'Confidential' Title "Gaudy"

In the first negative comment about 'Confidential' since Iran's Press TV, Peter Bart, VP over at Variety, called Confidential's title "Gaudy". The title Confidential was inspired by Milchan's own L.A. Confidential. Maybe Bart was referring to the subtitle, of which there is an interesting back-story involving Mr. Milchan, and how the exact wording came about. But that's for another time.

In any event, Mr. Bart might be unaware that the original version of Confidential explained in detail the longtime cozy relationship between Mr. Milchan and Mr. Peter Bart. That segment in the book was removed because it was not central to the story, but also to avoid unnecessary embarrassment. Apparently, no good deed goes unpunished. Of course, anyone can Google "Arnon Milchan Peter Bart"   to scratch the surface of that relationship. The fix is clearly in.

Mr. Bart's line that Milchan "points out that he inherited a company that manufactured chemical fertilizer and, as a player in the chemicals business for a nation that was often at war, he had his share of military contracts" is truly laughable. Mr. Milchan's downplaying-response is of course understandable, but Mr. Bart's stunning lack of intellectual curiosity on this rather weighty matter (ironically, a far more serious matter than the fluffy subject of his article) is not exactly what anyone would call real "Journalism".

Perhaps he should read the book... or at least read the forward written by Israel's premier national-security journalist, Yossi Melman, of the Ha'aretz newspaper: "I never believed in my lifetime that so many accurate facts about Mr. Milchan and the LAKAM would ever be published," said Mr. Melman, who along with CBS News correspondent Dan Raviv is the author of two aclaimed books on the history of Israeli intelligence; Every Spy a Prince, and Friends Indeed. Of course, Raviv and Melman are also what one might describe as real journalist... unlike Mr. Bart.