Oscar-winning director scraps Hillary Clinton documentary

Charles Ferguson claims prominent Democrats waged a ‘private campaign’ against film

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 26:  Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks at the closing session of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) on September 26, 2013 in New York City. Timed to coincide with the United Nations General Assembly, CGI brings together heads of state, CEOs, philanthropists and others to help find solutions to the world's major problems.  (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 26: Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks at the closing session of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) on September 26, 2013 in New York City. Timed to coincide with the United Nations General Assembly, CGI brings together heads of state, CEOs, philanthropists and others to help find solutions to the world's major problems. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)


The Oscar-winning film director Charles Ferguson has cancelled his CNN documentary on Hillary Clinton after what he described as a private campaign against the film by prominent Democrats.

Mr Ferguson said he had decided to pull the plug after being met with a wall of silence from more than a hundred people who refused to be interviewed for the documentary.


'Over my dead body'
He claimed that aides to the former secretary of state put pressure on CNN, and made clear that Mrs Clinton would only co-operate "over my dead body". He also blamed a public campaign by Republicans, who claimed the film would be biased in favour of Mrs Clinton.

"Neither political party wanted the film made," said Mr Ferguson in an article for the Huffington Post.

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Mr Ferguson, the director behind Inside Job and No End In Sight: The American Occupation of Iraq, claimed that Mrs Clinton's spokesman, Phillipe Reines, had "interrogated" executives at CNN about the documentary before it was announced by the broadcaster in July.

"When I approached people for interviews, I discovered that nobody, and I mean nobody, was interested in helping me make this film," said Mr Ferguson. – (Guardian service)