Actor Kevin Spacey, who stars as Al Gore adviser Ron Klain in HBO's Sunday night Recount film about the 2000 post-election battle in Florida, conceded on Wednesday's Countdown on MSNBC that “the movie is done from the Democratic point of view.” That matches the observation of Entertainment Weekly magazine reviewer Gillian Flynn: “Recount is an underdog story, and thus a Democrat story.” On Monday's Late Show with David Letterman, in apparent references to Katherne Harris and President George W. Bush, Spacey quipped Florida in 2000 was “a confluence of events and personalities -- some of whom perhaps weren't qualified for their jobs, [pause] some of whom probably aren't currently qualified for their job.”
Wednesday night, Spacey told Keith Olbermann that Bush's team was more ruthless than Gore's: “I think there's no question what the movie illustrates is there were two differing philosophies about how to approach this recount fight. The Republicans pretty much, it was a street battle in their eyes. And I think on the Gore side, I think there was a -- perhaps an overestimated view of the patience of the American people.” Bottom line for Spacey in echoing the liberal take at the time: “It does seem that on the one hand the Bush people were trying to stop votes from being counted and the Gore people were just trying to get votes counted.”
My May 18 NewsBusters item, “HBO's 'Recount' Movie: Favors Democrats, Harris as Cruella De Vil,” recounted:
An early review is in for HBO's upcoming movie, Recount, about the Bush-Gore battle in Florida after 2000 election. Gillian Flynn in Entertainment Weekly, which like HBO is part of the Time-Warner family, has described the film, to premiere Sunday night, as tilted against the Republican characters. In her review in the May 23 edition of the magazine, Flynn asserted: "Recount may not be downright blue, but it's not as purply as it wants to appear." Saying "Recount is an underdog story, and thus a Democrat story," Flynn reported that the "Republican players here are coolly calculating -- Tom Wilkinson's James Baker III, the Bush team quarterback -- or they teeter on the edge of madness, like Laura Dern's Katherine Harris." In fact, in an interview elsewhere, the writer of the movie slammed Harris as "a fraud."
Tim Graham's post on how a slew of news stars have endorsed the movie.
Spacey on Monday's Late Show:
I consider myself sort of clued-in politically and I've been active in Democratic politics and I was stunned at how little I knew about what actually happened in Florida....When you see the film, you realize it's a confluence of events and personalities -- some of whom perhaps weren't qualified for their jobs [pause] some of whom probably aren't currently qualified for their job.
Spacey on the Wednesday, May 21 Countdown:
I think there's no question what the movie illustrates is there were two differing philosophies about how to approach this recount fight. The Republicans pretty much, it was a street battle in their eyes. And I think on the Gore side, I think there was a -- perhaps an overestimated view of the patience of the American people. I think that the American people probably would have been more patient. And I think they would have waited it out, and I think ultimately, the recount didn't actually happen. I mean, there was actually i think a half a day where the entire state of Florida was actually recounting, but it never really happened, so when you look at the end of the day, George Bush won that election by 513 votes, and yet you think about the million-five million that didn't go through the machines again, you think about the 20,000 who were on the voter purge list, it does seem that on the one hand the Bush people were trying to stop votes from being counted and the Gore people were just trying to get votes counted.
So it's, the movie is done from the Democratic point of view, because I play Ron Klain who's Al Gore's former chief of staff, but then again they were the underdogs and, dramatically, that makes more sense.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
»→ History in the writing
May 22, 2008 - 02:41 ET by Cool ArrowCan anyone doubt the "History teachers" of tomorrow will be convinced a coup took place in 2000?
Tell a lie often enough . . .
LYDSEXICS UNTIE!
make it a musical
May 22, 2008 - 04:08 ET by the mad pole"Rosebud"
Springtime for
May 22, 2008 - 08:55 ET by mattmSpringtime for Algore?
...ever see The Producers?.... funny flick...
Yawhol
May 22, 2008 - 09:46 ET by the mad poleEspecially the ending where they're in prison selling"shares" to another musical!
Wow....
May 22, 2008 - 04:26 ET by Sua Sponte 75JUST.CANT.LET.IT.GO
Yet another proving point of how deranged these people are.
"You're either part of the solution or part of the problem"
How appropos
May 22, 2008 - 05:26 ET by BobAnthonyFor Spacey, who played Lex Luthor in Superman Returns (a wasteland of a film for a Superman fan like myself) that he would align himself with the evil, fascist Hollywood left!
The "Real" Story.....Yeah, Right!
May 22, 2008 - 05:35 ET by NKurucHow appropriate.....an actor from a Democratically biased movie appearing on the Olbernan show. This, albiet a TV movie, will go the way of all ridiculously left slanted movies that have been put out in the past few years. Those who still "fester" over the Bush/Gore election will watch, the "real world" will not. It's great, that Hollywood has totally misread the public , and puts out this type of tripe. There's a certain segment of this country that will never get over this issue, and can't seem to move on. I have an idea, let's elect Obama, and bash him for four years, because that's all he would get to be proven a total zero. However, I would like to believe that this country has more intelligence. Then again..........????
make-believe and dress-up
May 22, 2008 - 05:43 ET by DontFeedTheTrollsHmmm, another grown man who still plays make-believe and dress-up (is that him cross-dressed in the second photo?), and I am supposed to take him seriously. Rrrrrright.
D
Keep the ILLEGALS out, join NumbersUSA to send free faxes to your reps.
“It does seem that on the
May 22, 2008 - 05:46 ET by motherbelt“It does seem that on the one hand the Bush people were trying to
stop votes from being counted and the Gore people were just trying to
get votes counted.”
Uh, Kevin, the votes had been counted. Gore didn't like the result so he wanted to count them over, and over, try to figure out "the intent of the voter" .....
And who was it that was trying so hard to get absentee votes disqualified?
Yes, Gore wanted the votes counted, but only certain votes.
Of course the story if told
May 22, 2008 - 05:49 ET by zhombreOf course the story if told from the Democrat point of view. There are few if any people in Hollywood who even fathom let alone convey the Republican POV.
“Recount is an underdog
May 22, 2008 - 06:08 ET by Killgrave“Recount is an underdog story, and thus a Democrat story.”
Ummmmmmmm... how does simply losing make one an "underdog"? Ergo, according to leftist logic, the New England Patriots ended up being the "underdogs" of the last Superbowl.
I think this clearly demonstrates the liberal obsession with victimization. This is the primary source of their power.
OK, so
May 22, 2008 - 08:11 ET by Hero SquadOK, so the "underdog" gets its butt kicked. If this is an underdog story, it's a pretty bad one. Unless at the end they let Gore win.
I think I'd rather just watch "Underdog," actually.
Make movies, hold rallies, start blogs... whatever, dude. The rules of engagement were followed, endorsed by the Supreme Court, and you still lost.
*****
"People only insist that a debate stop when they are afraid of what might be learned if it continues." - George Will
It's just more lies. They
May 22, 2008 - 08:45 ET by mattmIt's just more lies. They play the underdog so all the underdog voters will vote for them.
Underdogs my ass! These lying scum have been in control of this country for most of 100 years, except for a few moments when a Republican steps in to fix their f*** ups, and then they take over again and screw things up even more - and then blame it on Republicans, Big Oil, greedy stock traders yada yada yada...
There must be a special place in hell for people like that.
Laura Dern's Katherine
May 22, 2008 - 07:12 ET by rimskyLaura Dern's Katherine Harris looks predictably deranged in the previews. How totally transparent can you get.
BTW, Harris is totally better looking than Laura Dern. What a joke!
Spacey Interview
May 22, 2008 - 07:40 ET by JohanSpacey said the real Harris was perplexed about how Dern, who is blond, could play her in the film. Then Spacey, in his condescending way, said somehting like, "ehh, she wore a wig". See Kevin, you don't understand, Harris was referring to the fact that all blonds like Dern are kind of dense. Changing their hair color doesn't make them less dense. Take Mika Brzezinski as an example.
Kevin Spaceman's Katherine
May 22, 2008 - 07:44 ET by ledurchiI think DontFeedTheTrolls had it right. That's not Dern playing Harris, it's Spacey.
No...that's Pelosi!
May 22, 2008 - 08:46 ET by AgentAmericanLaura Dern is a dead ringer for House Dominatrix Pelosi.
Drill ANWAR
At Least He is Honest About It
May 22, 2008 - 07:15 ET by on-the-rocksThat is more than we can expect for most people opining/reporting about this "work-of-creative-license".
Unfortunately, this notion (as presented by this movie) will become part of the political lore, as Libs control so much of academia, especially on college campuses (campi?).
One of the first steps in securing this viewpoint in "history" would be the Fairness Doctrine as applied to talk radio.
We have to remember that this is a mindset that ascribes to the notion of truth being a function of someone's viewpoint, i.e., different people will have different "truths".
HBO
May 22, 2008 - 07:13 ET by owlpelletsKevin,
How interesting that HBO can search deep into its collective soul and actually give the poor underdog democrat party a tiny voice.
Even the MSM News organizations that studied the recount concluded that the fat carnie from Tenn. lost. Must be their rabid right wing bias showing....
You sir, are a feckless turd.
I always wanted to get into politics, but I was never light enough to make the team.
Every thing is done from the
May 22, 2008 - 07:17 ET by USA4freedomEvery thing is done from the Democratic point of view!!!.. Give us a break..
I soooooooooooo hate these people.
I almost wish I had HBO so I can dump it AGAIN..
Why P/O half of America??
Its like every thing in Hollywood... left wing..
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
Romney / Jendil 2012 (if,we survive)
AP Still Stuck on Florida 2000
May 22, 2008 - 07:16 ET by YahooWatcherMay 22, 2008 arcticle about Hillary in Florida and Michigan:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080522/pl_nm/usa_politics_clinton_dc
Then you have this injected along the way:
Voting confusion in south Florida left the contest between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore undecided, but a controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision resolved the race in favor of Bush. Gore won the popular vote.
I'll say it again - All Al Gore had to do was win his home state of Tennessee and this would have been a non-issue.
SCOTUS didn't resolve the
May 22, 2008 - 07:36 ET by motherbeltSCOTUS didn't resolve the race; it ruled on the court challenges, according to law.
As far as the Democrats were concerned, the issue should have gone on forever. One idiot even said Bill Clinton could have stayed in office until it was resolved.....
I can't wait
May 22, 2008 - 07:27 ET by ToddonCapeCodI can't wait til they show the part where the Gore lawyers worked so hard to disenfranchise the military votes, including the ones from the U.S.S. Cole, which had just been bombed by terrorists in Yemen, only weeks before!!
Seriously, I got rid of HBO when "OZ" ended; it just hasn't been worth it since then, including -- and please don't jump all over me for this one -- "The Sopranos"
Dont feel bad
May 22, 2008 - 09:09 ET by SQL_SamI Never understood the interest in Sopranos - watching fat goombas (sp?) steal and or kill people *yawn* been there done that........
I'm gushing uncontrollably!
May 22, 2008 - 07:39 ET by SickofLibsI saw this - Mika was pissing her pants and giggling she was so excited. Her constant non-stop off-camera interjections of oohs, aahs, yesss, ha-ha, etc. make it almost impossible to watch.
Spacey's (perfect name) body language was also telling - he would just barely turn towards poor old Buchanan, and only once or twice, who at one point was flailing his stupid hand gestures to get a word in.
Posers & wannabes
May 22, 2008 - 07:36 ET by Mr. Terry“a confluence of events and personalities -- some of whom perhaps weren't qualified for their jobs, [pause] some of whom probably aren't currently qualified for their job.” Actor, Kevin Spacey
The personality here not "qualified" for the job is this two-bit actor wannabe. He's a poser.
Underdog story
May 22, 2008 - 07:42 ET by usinkoreaAn underdog story?
Al Gore was a sitting Vice President of a presidential administration that was still popular despite all the late scandals.
The Dems wanted to get votes counted? Duh....They lost the original count. Dipshit.
And if he got so much closer to the reality of what happened, he'd have noticed that the Dems were trying to get votes counted in places where they expected failed ballots to favor them - and not the Republicans - just as the Republicans were doing the same.
The recount was a fiasco - no matter who you supported. If Gore had been a man who cared about the nation, he would have accepted defeat and used his influence, along with the Dems, to push to make sure the voting systems were upgraded for the 21st century across the land.
Instead, he forced the nation through an intense, harmful period where the parties sent out operatives to fight over how much of a chad had to be detached before it was officially counted.
The "count every vote" slogan was BS from the beginning.
If you make mistakes in voting, your vote is not official.
Even with the military ballots, if there is a flaw in the system, and votes are not counted due to this fact, you make sure you fix it before the next election - not by prolonging the election at hand and turning vote counting into a pitched political battle.
I play Ron Klain who's Al
May 22, 2008 - 07:53 ET by USA4freedomI play Ron Klain who's Al Gore's former chief ofstaff, but then again they were the underdogs and, dramatically, that makesmore sense.
Underdogs?? The Democratic party picked the most bluest of countys and wanted a recount there?? Yea that was not underdog, that was under..handed.
Did not want to count the military, yea that was not underdog, that was under..handed.
When every paper that wanted to, including the NYT did a recount, and Bush still won.. that was not underdog, that was (we will pretend that did not happen and stay with the story line...)
Lets not forget that some of the MSM was calling the state before the polls were closed..In areas heavy with Republicans.
Ronald Reagan, 1962: I did not leave the Democratic party, the party left me.
Insert: your name, 2008, and the Republican party.
Romney / Jendil 2012 (if,we survive)
Disenfranchise? I'll show you disenfranchise!!
May 22, 2008 - 07:45 ET by JohanIsn't it amazing that the Democrats fought so hard for a few hundred votes in Florida in 2000, and then they so casually disenfranchised millions of them in the same state (and Michigan) in 2008? I guess the next movie after "Recount" will be called "Revote".
welcome to the list
May 22, 2008 - 07:45 ET by red_dragon311Kevin Spacey, Douche
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson
I get that Countdown is just
May 22, 2008 - 07:53 ET by Free ThinkerI get that Countdown is just a fringe-left opinion show, but this was just funny. How delusional can anyone really be? If you are going to try and rewrite history I would suggest you don't do it in such an over-the-top, absurd manner. The votes were counted and George W. Bush won. Get over it. How do you think Gore's "courageous" act of trying to steal the election through the courts will be portrayed in this blockbuster?
My first reaction also
May 22, 2008 - 08:13 ET by KC MulvilleWhen actors are 'sort of clued-in politically' and tell whoppers like this, it is embarrassingly funny. Their 'clued-out' hubris gives them an authority that only Ted Baxter could hope for. They actually consider themselves authorities on what happened in Florida, because they played characters on TV. They filmed at the Holiday Inn, I guess.
They want to portray this as realistic. I'm sure they got Ron Klain's cooperation. I just want to know where they got James Baker's quotes from, because I seriously doubt that Baker assisted on the film.
On the other hand, let's face it. What's the message here? Why did they resurrect this story, and why now? Easy answer: to push the idea that the evil Republicans will play dirty, and that the passive, doe-like Democrats are victims of GOP street fighting.
Still, it is hilarious for these 'sort of clued-in politically' dunces to vamp as serious people.
Robin Hood
May 22, 2008 - 08:14 ET by Hero SquadRobin Hood 2000.
*****
"People only insist that a debate stop when they are afraid of what might be learned if it continues." - George Will
...from Dem point of view,
May 22, 2008 - 08:38 ET by mattm...from Dem point of view, eh? Then it's propaganda, isn't it?
"...they were the underdogs." ??? Gawd, these people live in a f$#^%# dream world!!! They were the f!#$#% INCUMBENTS, for cryin' out loud! They had Dan Rather calling Florida for Gore at 5 f***** P.M.! They had the Clinton and Daley machines working overtime to try to steal the f****** election by disallowing military votes and counting spoiled ballots.
Spacey, if you f#%^#%^$#%^$# idiots are this ignorant, then the best thing for you to do is SHUT THE HELL UP. If it's not ignorance, then you are a deceiver and a liar - and ....(refer to previous sentence.)
Someone ought to make a movie about all the fraud the Dems have been engaged in since 1960 and before. the Algore fiasco was just the latest in a long line of vote fraud attempts by the Left. They're against voter ID because that makes fraud tougher. They slash the tires of GOP get-out-the-vote vehicles. They vandalize GOP campaign offices. They buy cigarettes for homeless people in exchange for votes. They poll jump - voting multiple times in one election. And on and on....
And how do they convince idiots to help them in their crime? By demonizing the hell out of the GOP. By stirring up so much hatred that morons will feel like they're doing God's work by sabotaging Republican candidates. And this worthless piece of s*** of a movie is just adding more to the hate.
Top 10 All-Time Post
May 22, 2008 - 09:14 ET by jpatchmattm,
That was perfect.
I'm going to email your post to everyone I know. I will let this do my talking for me for a while. Thanks a million...and keep the TRUTH coming.
I have a li'l advice for the libs who are still 'bitter'....
May 22, 2008 - 08:46 ET by ksimm81It comes from Justice Scalia concerning Al Gore's loss in the 2000 Presidential election: 'GET OVER IT'!
Attempted coup
May 22, 2008 - 08:47 ET by nkviking75Thankfully, it was just an attempted coup.
When you put the clowns in charge, don't be surprised when a circus breaks out.
HBO
May 22, 2008 - 09:10 ET by Gat New YorkYet another reason supporting my decision to cancel HBO years ago.
I did the same thing. I
May 22, 2008 - 09:22 ET by misterbee241I did the same thing. I found out I was paying to watch movies that should have been on Turner Classic Movie channel.
I renewed for the last season of the Sopranos but cancelled at the end of the season.
HBO is really nothing but trash.
There is none so blind as they that won’t see. Jonathan Swift 1667-1745
Does he cover the several
May 22, 2008 - 09:21 ET by misterbee241Does he cover the several thousand military absentee ballots that were thrown out by Gore?
Another hollywood girley-man.
There is none so blind as they that won’t see. Jonathan Swift 1667-1745
An inconvenient truth
May 22, 2008 - 09:28 ET by somedaysThere are two facts (please correct me if I am wrong) that will probably be ignored.
1. The "misleading" ballots in South Florida were implemented and approved by the Democrats in those counties.
2. SCOTUS ruled againist algore because it would have violated "the equal protection under the law" guaranteed by the Constitution. By examing some ballots and not others; recounting some areas and not others violates the equal provision because all voters would not be treated equally under the law.
Spacey was on Morning Joe
May 22, 2008 - 09:39 ET by marpelSpacey was on Morning Joe today and basically said the same thing much to the cheers of Mika, Willy, Barnacle and even Pat Buchanan (aka "the sellout")
I'm sorry, but 8 years should be enough time to get over your loss. YOU LOST, FAIR AND SQUARE...geez!
Just Cancel HBO
May 22, 2008 - 11:06 ET by MSD6Seriously. It's the only thing they understand. Why support them in any way. Show some initiative, save some money, and watch some other channel. Do it now. Don't wait. Call your cable company. It just takes a few minutes. Screw em.
Why wait till November?
May 22, 2008 - 12:47 ET by AgentAmericanI wanna kick their asses! How about you?
Drill ANWAR
the Gore people were just trying to get votes counted
May 22, 2008 - 12:59 ET byOver and over, until they got the desired results
Wow!
May 22, 2008 - 13:24 ET by jackvGee...Spacey. So very clever about some not being qualified. So funny isn't he? Yet he's so clued in politically that he thought the current battle was Florida and Vermont instead of Michigan?? What a dufus!
These folks are better at pretending than anything else.
Will they discuss how the
May 22, 2008 - 15:43 ET by deerjerkydaveWill they discuss how the liberal media called Florida for Gore and said that the polls were closed a full hour before the Republican heavy pan handle was finished voting? Studies were done on this matter and it was discovered that thousands of votes were disenfranchised because of it, easily more than enough to overwhelm anything the Gores could pull together with their vote recounts.
From the Revisionist Point of View
May 22, 2008 - 15:48 ET by bias-fighterGore lost. There's no way he won. The NYTimes and everyone knows this because full recounts happened anyway and Goretard lost. They keep this thing going b/c they feed off the dumb who don't know this yet.
Kayser Sosay!
May 22, 2008 - 19:32 ET by jefflebowskiis an idiot. Nobody in Hollywood does or says anything of intelligence. And, by the way, I cancelled HBO months ago because of liberal crap shows.
Jeff Lebowski - Angry White Dude
Kayser Sosay!
May 22, 2008 - 19:32 ET by jefflebowskiis an idiot. Nobody in Hollywood does or says anything of intelligence. And, by the way, I cancelled HBO months ago because of liberal crap shows.
Jeff Lebowski - Angry White Dude