A few months ago it was announced that James Cameron has optioned a book called Last Train From Hiroshima and was planning to turn it into a film, which would look at the events in Japan that ended the Second World War. Well, a massive spanner has been thrown in the work of that idea, as the publishers on the non-fiction book have halted publication and recalled any issues still in print, due to accusations some of it was either inaccurate or possibly made up.
According to Variety, author Charles Pellegrino was not able to answer concerns raised about the veracity of some facts and interviews and so the publisher felt they had to act. Doubts were first raised last week after the author acknowledged one of his interview subjects had falsely claimed to be on one of the planes accompanying the Enola Gay, which dropped the atom bomb on Hiroshima. There were also doubts over the existence of two other interviewees, as well as over Pellegrino’s credentials, as while he styles himself a doctor, the college he claims to have received his Ph.D from says they have no record of him.
All this will be rather embarassing for Cameron, as he not only optioned the film rights to the book, but also wrote a blurb for it. He’s also done the same in the for Pellegrino’s book about the Titanic, and he even the writer as an adviser on Avatar. Last Train From Hiroshima was released to rave reviews, but it’s now just the latest book to fall in dishonour due to accusations the author has embellished the facts. I think it’s safe to say Cameron will now quietly drop his Hiroshima movie and we’ll never hear of it again.