Once I built a railroad
I made it run
Made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad
Now it's done
Brother, can you spare a dime?
Okay, Turner isn't that destitute but his merging with Time Warner was the path that cost him control of his company and most specifically his beloved Atlanta Braves and CNN. He was such a pioneer in so many ways, and the kind of knee-jerk liberal that was surprising for a millionaire (oops billionaire) from the south. But he was full of contradictions. Turner’s embrace of politically-incorrect movies like GONE WITH THE WIND, certainly make him an enigma on the left. And it was Turner who made Warner Brothers add the caped figures in EYES WIDE SHUT to cover up the graphic nature of the film. Just when it looks like he's old-fashioned, he divorces Jane Fonda, because she discovered Christianity. His most recent movie, GODS AND GENERALS was blasted for everything, but most notably it's embrace of the 19th century southern culture.
Turner also talked about the $70 million investment in "Gods and Generals," the Civil War epic that has flopped at the box office, and the toll the AOL Time Warner stock meltdown has taken on his personal fortune. "I thought this movie needed to be made and, at the time, I was worth $7 billion," Turner said. "I would have never taken on that big a project on my current financial base."
Will Ted Turner resurface with another project, another scheme, another deal or is he through?
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