Robert DeNiro on Tribeca Film Festival VAXXED Controversy: "Grace and I have a child with autism..."
UPDATE 3/226: Looks like somebody got talking to Mr. DeNiro. The movie has been pulled from the Festival. We call that raging bullshit.
Managing Editor's Note: Yes, media censors "He's TALKIN' TO YOU!"
As if I didn't already love actor Robert DeNiro, founder of The Tribeca Film Festival. Now my heart breaks for him, as I know that we have shared the tough road of raising a child with autism. Take a look at this photo from a family vacation. Feel familiar? Everyone focused on a child clearly old enough to board a dinghy safely. Autism. Below is an article just posted on The SLANTED.com about the unreal controversy swirling around the movie VAXXED at The prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. DeNiro's quote sums up proper American discourse perfectly:
“Grace and I have a child with autism and we believe it is critical that all of the issues surrounding the causes of autism be openly discussed and examined. In the 15 years since the Tribeca Film Festival was founded, I have never asked for a film to be screened or gotten involved in the programming. However this is very personal to me and my family and I want there to be a discussion, which is why we will be screening VAXXED. I am not personally endorsing the film, nor am I anti-vaccination; I am only providing the opportunity for a conversation around the issue.”
Thank you to Mr. DeNiro for helping us to have a voice. KRS
By John Stewart in The SLANTED.com
When it was announced that “VAXXED” would be screening at the Tribeca Film Festival this year, it was met with some stern opposition.
The film was produced by Andrew Wakefield, who is one of the main opponents of mandatory vaccinations for children. The anti-vaccination movement picked up steam back in 1998 when Wakefield published findings that attributed the combination of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines to an increase in autism in young children.
Those findings were found later to be grossly incorrect, they were discredited and Wakefield was stripped of his medical license. Wakefield was found guilty of “abusing a position of trust as a medical practitioner,” and found guilty of “dishonesty” in his studies which ended his career as a medical doctor.
The film’s description states, “Digging into the long-debated link between autism and vaccines, Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe features revealing and emotional interviews with pharmaceutical insiders, doctors, politicians, parents, and one whistleblower to understand what’s behind the skyrocketing increase of autism diagnoses today.”
Wakefield’s official bio connected with the film at TFF reads, “Andrew Wakefield, MB.BS., is an academic gastroenterologist who practiced medicine at the Royal Free in the U.K. publishing over 140 scientific papers.” The bio continues, “In 1995, he was contacted by parents of autistic children with stomach issues; he learned that these conditions often occurred immediately following an MMR vaccine. In pursuit of this possible link, Dr. Wakefield led an initial study of twelve children with both stomach and developmental issues. The report, published in The Lancet, would catapult Wakefield into becoming one of the most controversial figures in the history of medicine.”
So when “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe” hit TFF this year, you can imagine the outrage from groups that have been fighting the consequences of Wakefield’s work for the last decade.
Now a week following the reveal that VAXXED would be screened at the festival, Robert De Niro has issued a statement. De Niro, as many readers probably already know, is a co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Di Niro’s statement in full reads: (Read more at The SLANTED.)
DeNiro's climbdown: pressure was applied by Pharma & the Clintons .
Posted by: Hans Litten | March 29, 2016 at 03:54 AM
VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM
An Oscar winning actor gets a movie he wanted to screen at his own film festival pulled because of pressure from whom?
This really shows what we are up against doesn't it?
This is clearly censorship and it surprises many people I am sure because the film people are all about:
"freedom of expression and freedom of speech and free love and free sex and their most famous freedom of course is free to be tolerant, yes lets all be tolerant we need more tolerance !!!!
We need more tolerance and INCLUSION!!
Yes free to be inclusive as a matter of fact freedom of tolerance and inclusion to almost any perversion that the artist interprets EXCEPT the freedom to discuss the damage caused by vaccines.
NO, NO, NO, we shan't and we cant talk about MMR and vaccines and the injury that they cause no sir no maam, not here not now, not in any venue and we do not care if YOU DO OWN the film festival!
We will tell you what you can show and when you can show it and to whom you can show it to!!
Where do you think you are ?!? The land of the free and the home of the brave?!
There is no more free and you certainly are not allowed to be brave not now and not ever again because that time has passed!!
Indeed if you start spouting off about vaccine injury we may have to take your ability to make a living away from you and we can do it and we will do it!!! We have done it before and we will do it again!!!
Please do not get it twisted you people are not in charge WE ARE IN CHARGE!!!
And one more thing. When I finish cleaning up this mess I WILL TELL YOU- AND I MEAN ALL OF YOU - WHO YOU ALL CAN VOTE FOR IN THIS HERE REPUBLIC WE CALL A DEMOCRACY.
That is correct I will instruct you who to vote for and you will like it too because I know what is best for you.
All this madness concerning Trump bah!!!! You will not be allowed to vote for anyone that has ANY intention on raining on our vaccine parade. Get used to the idea of getting shots for you and your family just get used to it."
Yeah that is kind of how I envision the conversation by people at the top of this monumental crime conducting business.
You would have an easier time of finding out killed JFK than getting to the bottom of this fiasco.
This is true fascism, true Nazism, true tyranny and they will say anything to anybody at anytime to keep the truth from bubbling over into the public.
Their time however is short, yep it is short because their will be a cure for autism , not a recovery but a cure and then that certain unwavering truth will have to be acknowledged.
VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM
Posted by: Willie | March 28, 2016 at 02:50 AM
Please sign the petition to reinstate: https://www.change.org/p/tribeca-bring-vaxxed-back-to-tribeca?recruiter=38472473&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_page&u
Posted by: Tim Lundeen | March 27, 2016 at 01:59 PM
How do you make someone do something he doesn't want to do? Bribery, blackmail, threat. Maybe there's a fourth thing I haven't thought of, but I think those three pretty much cover it.
My heart aches for my country tonight. RIP, America.
Posted by: Carol | March 26, 2016 at 10:57 PM
DeNiro pulled it? How could he take ours and our children's voices away? How can they justify silencing the courageous people who are speaking on behalf of us and our injured children? Will our children EVER see a small bit of justice this side of Heaven?
Posted by: Kelley | March 26, 2016 at 08:55 PM
Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Deniro.
Those of us who have children who were damaged for life by the MMR vaccine have never had a real voice in this matter.
My son, could he speak , would be asking why we isn't allowed to have an opinion as to what he believed caused his autism.
Posted by: Tony Papoulias | March 26, 2016 at 07:23 PM
ABC WORLD NEWS TONGHT .. ROBERT DeNIRO HAS CANCELLED THE SHOWING OF VAXX .. SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THE FILM NOT CONTIBUTING TO THE DISCUSSION AS HE HOPED IT WOULD.
Posted by: Bob Moffit | March 26, 2016 at 07:11 PM
Much Kudos Mr. Deniro and family.
Many many thanks.
MMR RIP
Posted by: Angus Files | March 26, 2016 at 03:12 PM
A quote from Sadmar, repeated by Sciencemom:
"I agree that this is quite the con-job coup for Wakefield, and shows how much mischief he can still create. I doubt he (or anyone) can revive anti-vax to be a significant public health threat again, but he’s still a menace. If nothing else, the way the autistic kids are portrayed in the Vaxxed trailer isn’t helping them any. You know, they’re ‘ruined’, whether the vaccines did it or not."
For me this is the single lowest aspect of Orac's not so subtle call for censorship. These people just cannot stand the fact of children with autism bring shown as they are. Uncensored, unfiltered. They try and cruelly twist it into some form of parental shame. But the shame is theirs that cannot stand the realities of so many.
Posted by: False scientists make me laugh | March 26, 2016 at 11:42 AM
Tara Haelle over at Forbes is some piece of work. Her screed is predictably an attack on Dr. Wakefield and now she's after De Niro. She says over and over how De Niro has broken her heart.
GOOD. Maybe her heart will be so broken that she'll shut the hell up.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tarahaelle/2016/03/25/robert-deniro-just-broke-my-heart/#4c454e503539
*************
MMR broke mine.
Posted by: Barry | March 26, 2016 at 10:42 AM
Here is the NYT two days ago, reporting on tobacco science being used to hide concussion problem in NFL:
"These discoveries raise new questions about the validity of the committee’s findings, published in 13 peer-reviewed articles and held up by the league as scientific evidence that brain injuries did not cause long-term harm to its players. It is also unclear why the omissions went unchallenged by league officials, by the epidemiologist whose job it was to ensure accurate data collection and by the editor of the medical journal that published the studies."
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/sports/football/nfl-concussion-research-tobacco.html
There was a historical dramatized documentary about concussions in the NFL released this year:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322364/
The manufactroversy about Vaxxed is a good thing if it drives eyeballs to the website.
Posted by: Ottoschnaut | March 26, 2016 at 10:38 AM
Thank you Mr. Deniro! I hope this film finally brings the the corruption of the CDC vaccine division squarely into the light.
Posted by: Dana | March 26, 2016 at 10:27 AM
Friends, do you recall a movie with a name like "Whats bothering Gilbert Grape?" In that movie Leonardo deCaprio did a wonderful job of acting the part of a young autistic boy. Dont you suppose he watched autistic children to prepare for that part. That must be an interesting story.
"Take that big Pharma!" (Imagine a boxing glove here) You have damaged so many human beings that it is becoming impossible to sweep them under the carpet of lies.
Posted by: Cherry Misra | March 26, 2016 at 09:41 AM
I wasn't aware that De Niro has an autistic child. I've always been a huge fan of him, but this increases my respect for the man.
I can't help but be amused by the vitriol the pseudo-skeptics are vomiting out in their demands to ban and censor the movie(yes Gorski...if your sycophants are putting out petitions to ban the movie, it's censorship).
Posted by: False Skeptics Make Me Laugh | March 26, 2016 at 08:39 AM
About time - we need some debate about vaccination and some truth about Andrew Wakefield. The pharmaceutical shills are losing their minds because they cannot stop this film. All they are doing by attempting to discredit and disparage is cause more people to want to watch the film. The mainstream media have all been posting disinformation about Wakefield which is not true. Yes I hope this film is shown widely all over the world.
Posted by: Judith | March 26, 2016 at 04:27 AM
Truth kings is saying Leonardo Dicaprio is funding Wakefield movie. Wonder if he had a loved one affected by autism.
Posted by: George stevens | March 25, 2016 at 09:46 PM
Bravissimo Mr DeNiro!
This is a big crack...wow!
Posted by: Michelle B | March 25, 2016 at 09:46 PM
They are terrified of the truth.
As someone amaxing once said in a USA today as,
If you were responsible for poisoning a generation of children you would lie, too
Posted by: Anita Donnelly | March 25, 2016 at 09:38 PM
Thank you for shedding some light on the corruption of the CDC and the vaccine companies. I have met dozens of vaccine injured families in person, including several doctors and nurses. They all say the same thing. There children were different after vaccinations. For many, their light went completely out. I have 4 friends on my facebook list whose babies died shortly after vaccination, and with they symptoms that were in the package inserts that parents rarely see. There are hundreds of studies that expose the fake science being the myths of vaccine safety and efficacy. My son suffered seizures, extreme sensory issues, panic attacks, phobias, and a dozen or more horrible symptoms after vaccines. The reward for doing your research is mistreatment from the medical community and ridicule from the media educated public. Most families never recognize their autoimmune, neurological, neural and GI problems are vaccine adverse effects.
Posted by: Jim McTiernan | March 25, 2016 at 09:29 PM
But wait! Mark N thinks throwing more hospital and research money at the autism problem would be much better than showing this pesky film. Orac is really trying to pretend he doesn't care if it shows or not. Sadmar worries that Tribeca is committing suicide and he's gutted, just gutted, as they all plot to somehow, just somehow take this film down Chili's style.
Posted by: Citizen | March 25, 2016 at 09:23 PM
The fact that there is even a controversy over the showing of a film is all the evidence one needs to ascertain that the minority powers that be view us as a horde that needs to be controlled and told what to do in every aspect of life. I say that any medical professional or politician who dares encourage mandatory vaccination must provide to we the people full disclosure of their own and their childrens vaccination records. Given the levity of what they are requesting I feel this request is beyond reasonable. They must also disclose all affiliations with anything PHARMA.
Posted by: Jeff | March 25, 2016 at 09:18 PM
Tara Haelle over at Forbes is some piece of work. Her screed is predictably an attack on Dr. Wakefield and now she's after De Niro. She says over and over how De Niro has broken her heart.
GOOD. Maybe her heart will be so broken that she'll shut the hell up.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tarahaelle/2016/03/25/robert-deniro-just-broke-my-heart/#4c454e503539
Posted by: Linda1 | March 25, 2016 at 09:18 PM
Thank you TFF and the DeNiro Family.
wotchit Entertainment videos on the statement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpsClu4Be2k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA06wDcva04
Posted by: Jeannette Bishop | March 25, 2016 at 08:02 PM
Thank you to the DeNiro Family!
Posted by: AutismComic | March 25, 2016 at 06:21 PM
Of course, the film is not anti-vaccine. It is an expose - pro-truth and anti-corruption.
I hope it does to the promiscuous CDC and their many bed partners what a bucket of water did to the wicked witch.
Posted by: Linda1 | March 25, 2016 at 06:12 PM
I hope this fellow that wrote it, this fellow John Stewart, of The SLANTED gets to watch the movie; maybe he won't be so cocksure he's right about things.
Posted by: Denise Anderstrom Douglass | March 25, 2016 at 05:59 PM
When ever I read comments similar to John Stewart's of The Slanted who describe Wakefield's findings as "grossly incorrect" and "discredited", I know I am dealing with someone who is either lazy and hasn't done their research, or is being intentionally deceptive to support the agenda of big pharma. In either case there is no point in reading further. Their ignorance and deceptions do not make any positive contribution to understanding the root causes of autism.
Posted by: Ted Kuntz | March 25, 2016 at 05:49 PM
Kudos to DeNiro!
Hopefully Tribeca will hold out,this film screens,and people will finally say "Why hasn't anything been done about Dr. William Thompson's claims regarding CDC fraud?"
In the interim, show them some supporting for the screening of the film. Please do not engage the harassing masses there. Tribeca will be able to read between the lines when we have people thanking them for honoring freedom of speech and choice.
https://tribecafilm.com/filmguide/vaxxed-from-coverup-to-catastrophe-2016
Thank you!
Posted by: Carolyn | March 25, 2016 at 05:29 PM
God bless them
Posted by: Theresa Cedillo | March 25, 2016 at 05:16 PM
There is now incredible mainstream news coverage of this film everywhere, even the major networks.
My question is: Why do they all label this film "anti-vaccine"?
Would a film about the Vioxx scandal be called "anti-prescription drug"?
It's about corruption, fraud, and cover-up at the highest levels of our health care agency.
Anne Dachel, Media
Posted by: Anne McElroy Dachel | March 25, 2016 at 05:07 PM
Bravo Mr De Niro! And Thank You!!!
I would just like to add that I feel it is so vitally important for vaccine safety advocates to stress the point that the controversy over the existence of vaccine-induced autism, and the extent of its damage, is mostly (I feel) about the WAY our infants and toddlers are vaccinated, not so much WETHER OR NOT they are vaccinated. The label of "anti-vax" is used to shut down the conversation. How many times do we have to start off every conversation about vaccine safety and efficacy with, "I'm not anti-vaccine......".
People in the forties and fifties who were called "communists" were not calling for everyone to bring their goods into the public square and have them dispensed. They were simply people who said maybe our society could do with a little social reform......and THEY WERE RIGHT!!!!
So it should be a red flag (no pun intended) to everyone, that (as reported by the LA Times) Respectful Insolence is calling for its followers to attend the screening and "report on" any celebrities they may see. Joe McCarthy would be so proud. Any peaceful artist who every wants his or her activist work to be protected in this country should be gravely concerned with the new "Black List".
Posted by: annie | March 25, 2016 at 04:45 PM
Orac and a few of his gang of social misfits are losing their sssshhhiiiit over this. People are not agreeing with them! Whatever shall they do. Their narrow little world is collapsing. These fools have had so much collusion in media going for them that it must just gobsmack them when (eventually) they don't get their way through bullying and intimidation. Orac is only too proud to show that he has 'informants.' Lol enjoy your last days as the thought police, losers.
Posted by: Citizen | March 25, 2016 at 04:18 PM
"Slanted" is certainly an appropriate name.
But very glad this film will be shown and is getting all this publicity!
Posted by: Tim Lundeen | March 25, 2016 at 03:38 PM