Spring Break
HBO documents Obama election
Ari Melman
Issue date: 10/30/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Filmmakers Amy Rice and Alicia Sams knew they found someone great when they first heard of Sen. Barack Obama in 2004. They began filming him six months before he had decided to run for president, and were given exclusive access to him and his campaign staff throughout the entirety of the campaign. They set out to capture the intensity of feelings, the spastic schedules, and the audacity of hope that was best described in the movie as crazy democracy in action.
The movie follows Senator Obama and his staff from their small grassroots start to Election Day. It shows Obama in a more human light than ever seen before. He sits, yawning on a curb, as he is announced to give one of his early speeches. He sticks his tongue out at a baby, goes on rides at a local fair and asks a crowd to put more corn stubbles in his jar than in those of his political competitors. Michelle discusses her fears of the time commitment, the economic and personal costs and the strain on the family. She said, "Now's the only time to run because we're still almost normal. [We'll] still be carrying your voices into the White House." The movie captures Obama's change from just a caring human being into total presidential material, from likeable to quotable.
The movie centralizes on the role of the volunteers and their role in making the campaign successful. Community organizers at heart, Obama and his staff reached out to local neighborhoods and created a group of tens of thousands of supporters spreading the word, knocking on doors, handing out flyers and much more. In one scene, a nine-year-old boy cold calls for Obama and gets upset that the lady he's talking to doesn't know who Obama is. "Not Diana, Obama. He's running for president." "President of what?" "President of the United States of America!"
Splicing clips from MSNBC amid their own footage, they create a tense and fast paced atmosphere. After seeing his volunteers dedicate their weeks to the campaign, just prior to the Iowa primaries, campaign manager David Plouffe quoted Obama as saying, "I don't care about winning for us. I care for the kids." Their activism pays off with unprecedented turnout at the primaries, and eventually on Election Day.
The movie follows Senator Obama and his staff from their small grassroots start to Election Day. It shows Obama in a more human light than ever seen before. He sits, yawning on a curb, as he is announced to give one of his early speeches. He sticks his tongue out at a baby, goes on rides at a local fair and asks a crowd to put more corn stubbles in his jar than in those of his political competitors. Michelle discusses her fears of the time commitment, the economic and personal costs and the strain on the family. She said, "Now's the only time to run because we're still almost normal. [We'll] still be carrying your voices into the White House." The movie captures Obama's change from just a caring human being into total presidential material, from likeable to quotable.
The movie centralizes on the role of the volunteers and their role in making the campaign successful. Community organizers at heart, Obama and his staff reached out to local neighborhoods and created a group of tens of thousands of supporters spreading the word, knocking on doors, handing out flyers and much more. In one scene, a nine-year-old boy cold calls for Obama and gets upset that the lady he's talking to doesn't know who Obama is. "Not Diana, Obama. He's running for president." "President of what?" "President of the United States of America!"
Splicing clips from MSNBC amid their own footage, they create a tense and fast paced atmosphere. After seeing his volunteers dedicate their weeks to the campaign, just prior to the Iowa primaries, campaign manager David Plouffe quoted Obama as saying, "I don't care about winning for us. I care for the kids." Their activism pays off with unprecedented turnout at the primaries, and eventually on Election Day.
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S
posted 10/30/09 @ 2:55 PM EST
Not sure if they "found something great" or "found something great to make into a movie."
-blah-
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