The Education of a Writer?

When it was first proposed as a movie, some Hollywood producers questioned whether, in good conscience, they could ever make “The Education of Little Tree,” a best-selling novel by author Forrest Carter. Their stance had nothing to do with the story itself--a touching account of an orphaned Cherokee boy who goes to live with his grandparents deep in the mountains of Depression-era Tennessee. It was Carter himself that bothered the producers. Carter, who died in 1979, had not only claimed that his book was a work of nonfiction, but it was later revealed that his real identity was Asa (Ace) Carter, a white supremacist who wrote speeches for former Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace, including the memorable words: “Segregation now. Segregation tomorrow. Segregation forever.” On Thursday, a film based on Carter’s novel will be released by Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto. Director Richard Friedenberg, who also wrote the screenplay adaptation, said he believes the work stands on its own, despite Carter’s racist past. Since Carter is dead and his widow is something of a recluse, Friedenberg said no one has hard evidence showing that Carter remained a bigot throughout his life. Indeed, Friedenberg noted, Carter disappeared for years and later reemerged as an author of several books that sympathetically portray Native Americans and depict rich white people and politicians as villains. “I look on his literary persona as an apology of his previous life,” Friedenberg said. “I’ll never know, however, because I can’t talk to him.” Produced by Canadian Jake Eberts, the film stars James Cromwell, Tantoo Cardinal, Graham Greene and 11-year-old Joseph Ashton, who portrays Little Tree. Friedenberg, who wrote “A River Runs Through It,” said test audiences have been strongly positive about the film. “It is about the love of a unique family, a mixed racial family,” the director said, adding: “Who are the bad guys in the film? Authority, politicians and the white American conventional wisdom.”

Maybe the Flying Sleigh Causes Interference

While network executives scatter to Aspen and Hawaii, most regular prime-time series have hung out the “Gone Fishin’ ” sign for the holidays. After all, Christmas week is traditionally one of the year’s lowest in terms of what are called HUT (homes using television) levels, so it’s not cost-efficient to squander new episodes. Still, despite the rerun glut, each network is trying to provide something new or at least different to make sure Christmas trees aren’t the only things lighting up living rooms. NBC will run the kid-oriented movies “Dennis the Menace,” “The Mighty Ducks” and its sequel, while CBS offers made-for-TV Christmas movies starring Ann Jillian and Maureen O’Hara, respectively, on Tuesday and Thursday. For its part, ABC tries a classic, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” on Christmas night. Seeking to avoid reruns leading into late local news, there will also be specials at 10 p.m. hosted by Peter Jennings, Ed Bradley and Joan Lunden, plus another inspired by stories from Life magazine and (at 9 p.m. Friday) the Kennedy Center Honors. A few original episodes of low-rated shows, including NBC’s “Fired Up” and ABC’s “Hiller and Diller,” even squeak through. And remember, if you haven’t seen those reruns, as NBC is fond of saying, they’re “new to you.”

The Thrill Is Obviously Far From Gone

Fresh from his gig last week at the Vatican(!), the Hardest Working Man in Show Business (sorry, James Brown) makes his way to the Southland this week. B.B. King, who performed for the pope on Friday at the annual Vatican Christmas concert (and even gave the pope one of his “Lucilles”), takes a few rare days off before performing Friday and Saturday at the Galaxy in Santa Ana. From there it’s on to San Diego, Indian Wells, Las Vegas (five nights, including New Year’s Eve), New York City and then, in February, Japan. King, 71, incredibly still averages about 250 nights a year on the road. “Could I be retired?” King pondered recently in an interview with The Times. He was, of course, speaking from a hotel room. “What would I do if I retired? A lot of people I know who are successful in music or whatever, when they retire they just look for another job. I like the one I’ve got. If people stopped supporting me by buying my records, coming to the concerts and so forth, I would stop. Or if my health got bad. But other than that, why should I? Nothing else I like to do. I wouldn’t want to go fishing every day.”

--Compiled by Times staff writers and contributors