Family Feud May Halt MLK Movie

DreamWorks indicated on Thursday [May 21] that it will not proceed with plans to produce a film about the life of Martin Luther King Jr. unless his three children resolve their differences. "We remain committed to pursuing a film chronicling Martin Luther King's life provided that there is unity in the family so we can make a film about unity in our nation." The announcement of the deal between DreamWorks and Dexter King, CEO of the King estate touched off widespread controversy, with several detractors insisting that the King estate was exploiting the legacy of the slain civil rights leader. They demanded to know how much DreamWorks had paid for the film rights and where it would go. Martin King III and Bernice King, said that they had not been consulted by Dexter before the deal was struck. On CNN's Larry King Live,Bernice King said, "We have no details to say whether or not this particular [agreement] is a good idea." Tom Houck, an Atlanta public relations agent who knows all three children, told CNN, "I don't think that either Martin or Bernice are opposed to having a megafilm done on the big screen by DreamWorks, but I think it's the mechanism and the way it was done that's got them upset."