King/Drew: The Movie

For all the harping about the L.A. Times (some of it quite ridiculous), even the paper's fiercest critics had to admit that its recent series on the truth behind L.A.'s "Killer King" hospital -- a.k.a. the Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center -- was stellar journalism.

If you haven't scanned the series yet, you can read the entire six-part report here.

Meanwhile, the troubles at King/Drew have inspired the inevitable documentary, according to this press release:

PARRIS BROTHERS HOLDINGS GROUP BEGINS PRODUCTION ON A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR./DREW MEDICAL CENTER
                                                                        
Los Angeles, CA – Jan. 4, 2004 -- PBHG, Inc. announced that it is currently financing  a project called King/Drew Medical Center; Killer or Martyr, produced by Urban Entertainment and directed by Randy Holland that will explore the controversial debate over the Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. 

Seen by many as a cornerstone of the community though portrayed by others as one of the nation’s worst hospitals, the film seeks to explore the different perspectives and uncover the source of the problems. On one-hand, county supervisors, other government officials, some media outlets and certain healthcare experts claim gross mismanagement as the root of the problems while on the other side community activists, political leaders, doctors and administrators at the hospital point to underfunding, lack of support and an undercurrent of racism. 

“The recent closing of the trauma unit and the hiring of an outside consulting firm to manage the King/Drew hospital has interesting parallels to the Rodney King verdict,” said Holland.  “Although certainly less explosive so far, the polarizing effects on segments of the community in South Los Angeles and beyond have a similar resonance.”

Mr. Holland previously directed the documentary “The Fire This Time” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, received a Writers Guild of America nomination and aired on Showtime and PBS.  It examined the issues and conditions leading to the 1992 Los Angeles riots that followed the acquittal of four police officers tried for the Rodney King beating.

Meanwhile, still too hard up to admit that the L.A. Times occasionally makes some smart moves? Consider this: LAObserved reports that the paper has dropped "Garfield" from its comics lineup.

I'll be the first to admit, I used to be a big "Garfield" fan... when I was 12. The comic long ago turned lazy and repetitive. Unfortunately, it's also still a tremendous money maker, so creator Jim Davis and his staff have no reason to change what works. Now, if the LAT would just get rid of the self-righteous, poorly drawn and never-funny "Mallard Fillmore."