Title: HBO film 'Recount' to premiere in Florida
ALGOREismylife - May 1, 2008 10:17 PM (GMT)
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment...n_florida/5220/
HBO film 'Recount' to premiere in Florida
Published: April 30, 2008 at 6:53 PM
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 30 (UPI) -- HBO, Comcast and the Jacksonville Office of Film and Television will roll out the red carpet for the premiere of "Recount" at the Florida Theatre.
The HBO Films production, which was shot on location in Jacksonville and Tallahassee, is to debut at the theater May 14.
Director and executive producer Jay Roach, actor Bruce McGill, executive producer Paula Weinstein, executive producer Len Amato, writer Danny Strong and producer Michael Hausman are to attend the invitation-only event.
Starring Kevin Spacey, the film is about the 2000 presidential election in Florida. It explores "the story behind the headlines to depict the 36-day tactical battle to determine who would become the 43rd president of the United States," HBO said.
The movie co-stars Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Laura Dern, John Hurt, Denis Leary and Tom Wilkinson and is set to premiere on HBO May 25.
"Having HBO film their movie 'Recount' in Jacksonville was a great economic generator for the city, with a local impact of more than $3.3 million," Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton said in a statement. "We are excited that the film is premiering here, which underscores what an ideal location Jacksonville provides for film and television production!"
HBO film 'Recount' to premiere in Florida
Published: April 30, 2008 at 6:53 PM
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 30 (UPI) -- HBO, Comcast and the Jacksonville Office of Film and Television will roll out the red carpet for the premiere of "Recount" at the Florida Theatre.
The HBO Films production, which was shot on location in Jacksonville and Tallahassee, is to debut at the theater May 14.
Director and executive producer Jay Roach, actor Bruce McGill, executive producer Paula Weinstein, executive producer Len Amato, writer Danny Strong and producer Michael Hausman are to attend the invitation-only event.
Starring Kevin Spacey, the film is about the 2000 presidential election in Florida. It explores "the story behind the headlines to depict the 36-day tactical battle to determine who would become the 43rd president of the United States," HBO said.
The movie co-stars Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Laura Dern, John Hurt, Denis Leary and Tom Wilkinson and is set to premiere on HBO May 25.
"Having HBO film their movie 'Recount' in Jacksonville was a great economic generator for the city, with a local impact of more than $3.3 million," Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton said in a statement. "We are excited that the film is premiering here, which underscores what an ideal location Jacksonville provides for film and television production!"
ALGOREismylife - May 1, 2008 10:19 PM (GMT)
Is anyone actually going to watch this??? We all know who the real winner was in the 2000 election and it wasn't George W. Bush. :angry:
ALGOREismylife - May 1, 2008 10:24 PM (GMT)
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008...d=news-col-blog
'Recount' Screening Brings Back Memories, Evokes Anxiety
Laura Dern arguably steals the show in "Recount," the upcoming HBO flick about the contested 2000 presidential election. And after sitting next to Dern at a private screening of the movie Tuesday night, we know who her biggest fan of all is: her husband, Ben Harper, the Grammy award-winning soul/folk/funk musician who laughed riotously at his wife's every scene.
Dern plays the colorful Katherine Harris, who, as secretary of state of Florida, tried to call the state's presidential election -- and thus, the entire contest -- for her friend George W. Bush. After many twists and turns the dispute over the recount was eventually decided, in Bush's favor, by the U.S. Supreme Court. Dern does a spot-on, if slightly over-the-top Harris, who, as a congresswoman after her secretary-of-state stint, was one of the most lampooned members of the House.
Dern and Harper were seated at the table next to the Sleuth at a dinner and screening in a huge backyard tent at the home of Washington Post icons and uber power couple Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee. After dinner, we turned our chairs to face the big screen and watch the movie -- Dern and Harper sat together directly in front of us, just a few inches away.
Harper laughed and stroked his wife's arm and kissed her shoulder during her scenes, which often involved an accentuated voluptuous and hilariously sexually suggestive version of secretary of state Harris primping for the cameras, relishing her role in the limelight of the recount. The portrayal wasn't far off from reality.
In one scene in the movie, Dern as Harris compares herself to Queen Esther in the Bible: "She was willing to sacrifice herself to save the lovely Jewish people and that is exactly what I am doing right now." The tent exploded in a chorus of laughter, led by top fan and hubby Harper.
Harris, who lost her race for the Senate in 2006, was not at the screening. But plenty of other real-life characters were, along with the actors who played them, including: Ron Klain, the former chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore, and Kevin Spacey, who stars as Klain; Bush-Cheney 2000 lawyer Ben Ginsberg and actor Bob Balaban who was perfectly cast for the role of Ginsberg; and Gore-Lieberman 2000 lawyer David Boies, who argued for the Democrats before the Supreme Court. We didn't see Ed Begley who plays Boies.
Len Amato, the film's executive producer, was there, and Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), were among the political glitterati who attended along with dozens of journalists, political strategists in both parties and talking heads -- most notably Pat Buchanan, who -- remember? -- was on the presidential ballot in 2000.
For those who were in the trenches of the Florida recount battle, the movie was like a shot of anxiety.
Boies told "Recount" screenwriter Danny Strong, who was also at the screening, that he was on the edge of his seat the whole time. And the movie does do a great job of capturing every anguishing moment and surprising twist and turn in the counting, stopping and recounting of the ballots whose chad, both dimpled and hanging, became a hallmark of the election.
But neither Tom Wilkinson, who plays James Baker, nor Baker himself showed up. (But we hear Baker is pleased with the movie and will even be hosting a joint screening of "Recount" with former President Jimmy Carter; Baker and Carter served together on the post 2004 Commission on Federal Election Reform. Baker's daughter plays a bit role in "Recount.")
Veteran newsman Tom Brokaw was there, too. Brokaw appears in the film as himself, in archive footage, anchoring the NBC news on Election Day 2000 with one of the more memorable lines from that night as networks had to retract calling the state for Gore: "The networks giveth and the networks taketh away."
David A. Kaplan, author of the book "The Accidental President" about the Florida recount debacle, was also there. Kaplan, who was a paid consultant on the movie, tells us he thought the movie "was nuanced and nicely captured that neither side exactly had the moral high ground it claimed to have. Bush's team, and Gore's, both made political calculations and the movie portrayed that."
'Recount' Screening Brings Back Memories, Evokes Anxiety
Laura Dern arguably steals the show in "Recount," the upcoming HBO flick about the contested 2000 presidential election. And after sitting next to Dern at a private screening of the movie Tuesday night, we know who her biggest fan of all is: her husband, Ben Harper, the Grammy award-winning soul/folk/funk musician who laughed riotously at his wife's every scene.
Dern plays the colorful Katherine Harris, who, as secretary of state of Florida, tried to call the state's presidential election -- and thus, the entire contest -- for her friend George W. Bush. After many twists and turns the dispute over the recount was eventually decided, in Bush's favor, by the U.S. Supreme Court. Dern does a spot-on, if slightly over-the-top Harris, who, as a congresswoman after her secretary-of-state stint, was one of the most lampooned members of the House.
Dern and Harper were seated at the table next to the Sleuth at a dinner and screening in a huge backyard tent at the home of Washington Post icons and uber power couple Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee. After dinner, we turned our chairs to face the big screen and watch the movie -- Dern and Harper sat together directly in front of us, just a few inches away.
Harper laughed and stroked his wife's arm and kissed her shoulder during her scenes, which often involved an accentuated voluptuous and hilariously sexually suggestive version of secretary of state Harris primping for the cameras, relishing her role in the limelight of the recount. The portrayal wasn't far off from reality.
In one scene in the movie, Dern as Harris compares herself to Queen Esther in the Bible: "She was willing to sacrifice herself to save the lovely Jewish people and that is exactly what I am doing right now." The tent exploded in a chorus of laughter, led by top fan and hubby Harper.
Harris, who lost her race for the Senate in 2006, was not at the screening. But plenty of other real-life characters were, along with the actors who played them, including: Ron Klain, the former chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore, and Kevin Spacey, who stars as Klain; Bush-Cheney 2000 lawyer Ben Ginsberg and actor Bob Balaban who was perfectly cast for the role of Ginsberg; and Gore-Lieberman 2000 lawyer David Boies, who argued for the Democrats before the Supreme Court. We didn't see Ed Begley who plays Boies.
Len Amato, the film's executive producer, was there, and Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), were among the political glitterati who attended along with dozens of journalists, political strategists in both parties and talking heads -- most notably Pat Buchanan, who -- remember? -- was on the presidential ballot in 2000.
For those who were in the trenches of the Florida recount battle, the movie was like a shot of anxiety.
Boies told "Recount" screenwriter Danny Strong, who was also at the screening, that he was on the edge of his seat the whole time. And the movie does do a great job of capturing every anguishing moment and surprising twist and turn in the counting, stopping and recounting of the ballots whose chad, both dimpled and hanging, became a hallmark of the election.
But neither Tom Wilkinson, who plays James Baker, nor Baker himself showed up. (But we hear Baker is pleased with the movie and will even be hosting a joint screening of "Recount" with former President Jimmy Carter; Baker and Carter served together on the post 2004 Commission on Federal Election Reform. Baker's daughter plays a bit role in "Recount.")
Veteran newsman Tom Brokaw was there, too. Brokaw appears in the film as himself, in archive footage, anchoring the NBC news on Election Day 2000 with one of the more memorable lines from that night as networks had to retract calling the state for Gore: "The networks giveth and the networks taketh away."
David A. Kaplan, author of the book "The Accidental President" about the Florida recount debacle, was also there. Kaplan, who was a paid consultant on the movie, tells us he thought the movie "was nuanced and nicely captured that neither side exactly had the moral high ground it claimed to have. Bush's team, and Gore's, both made political calculations and the movie portrayed that."
earthmother - May 2, 2008 01:19 AM (GMT)
I think it's going to be difficult and aggravating to watch, and it will definitely just bring back all that anger all over again, but if it's a fair and accurate piece, then at least Al Gore will be vindicated.
ALGOREismylife - May 2, 2008 01:26 AM (GMT)
I don't think I can watch it, I'll just get pissed, might punch something or throw something. Don't need the bad memory back, but then I've never forgotten it. :angry: :(
hangingchad - May 8, 2008 02:34 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (ALGOREismylife @ May 1 2008, 09:26 PM) |
| I don't think I can watch it, I'll just get pissed, might punch something or throw something. Don't need the bad memory back, but then I've never forgotten it. :angry: :( |
You know, every time I see the opening "dream sequence" in Fahrenheit 9.11, I start crying and shaking and just generally lapsing into post-traumatic stress syndrome. I'm not a crier, but somehow that gets me every time. And since I own the DVD now, every so often, for some reason, I'm compelled to pop it into the player and watch it. I don't know why. Maybe because I've been living it for SEVEN YEARS. And whenever I watch it, I'm usually crying like a baby from the moment Moore's voiceover says "Was it all just a dream" and we see fireworks bursting and enthusiastic Gore supporters all happy and Gore is there and the sign says "Florida Victory" and it is just the best moment EVER...but no, wait....and if I'm not already reduced to tears at that point, by the time we get to Maxine Waters saying "I don't CARE that no senator has signed it!", I'm gone. Crying, shouting at the screen, throwing things, ready to be carted off in a padded van. By the time she says that, if not WAY before then, I just lose it. The poor thing, you can just feel exactly what she's feeling when she says that: just utter, utter dismay and quiet rage and betrayal about the repugs STEALING THE ELECTION! Her face just says it all and reduces me to tears every time, if I'm not already there by that point. And then poor Gore has to stand there and, admirably, selflessly, heroically, dispassionately enforce the rule of law in his role as VP...I mean!
omg.
So, I hear what you are saying about watching "Recount". Maybe it is a good thing that I don't have cable!!!
hangingchad - May 8, 2008 02:49 PM (GMT)
P.S. Good Lord, you can find anything on youtube, bless it! I love it. Anyway, here is the sequence I'm talking about. If any Gore supporter wants to figure out if she or he will be able to endure "Recount" without being reduced to a blubbering ball of tears and/or white-hot rage, you can test yourself by watching this (linked below), the opening "dream sequence", as I call it, of Fahrenheit 9.11. If you make it through this okay, you can make it through anything:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlgRvZMAt10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlgRvZMAt10
The Paraclete - May 14, 2008 09:11 PM (GMT)
But is it going to be factual...In respect of the part THESE people played in the Recount?
Because if what THESE people DID...does NOT come up in the movie...then it just WON'T BE ACCURATE!
EM, I am HOPING Mr. Gore WILL be VINDICATED! Because for 'closure' of this event...WE NEED THE TRUTH! :!:
Because it isn't just what Witchipoo Katherine Harris did that caused the Election of 2000 to be the CRIME it was...It was what JEB BU$H, KARL ROVE, & TOM DELAY along with the REST did to the American People in Florida in 2000...As for Harris...she's got it WRONG! Esther? No! Kathy Poo!...YOU ARE MORE LIKE JEZEBEL! :mad:
Because if what THESE people DID...does NOT come up in the movie...then it just WON'T BE ACCURATE!
EM, I am HOPING Mr. Gore WILL be VINDICATED! Because for 'closure' of this event...WE NEED THE TRUTH! :!:
Because it isn't just what Witchipoo Katherine Harris did that caused the Election of 2000 to be the CRIME it was...It was what JEB BU$H, KARL ROVE, & TOM DELAY along with the REST did to the American People in Florida in 2000...As for Harris...she's got it WRONG! Esther? No! Kathy Poo!...YOU ARE MORE LIKE JEZEBEL! :mad: