Clinton Scheduled
to Attend Premiere
at NYU on June 16th
Regent
Entertainment to Release
The Hunting of the President:
The Ten-Year
Campaign to Destroy Bill Clinton
in New York June 18th
LOS ANGELES, June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Paul
Colichman, Chairman of Regent Entertainment announced today that they
will release the groundbreaking political documentary "The Hunting of
the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill Clinton" directed
by Harry Thomason and Nickolas Perry, at an exclusive run at The
Angelika Theatre in New York on June 18th and in Little Rock, Arkansas
on the same date. There will be a VIP premiere in New York on
Wednesday, June 16th at NYU's Skirball Center. Those that are scheduled
to attend are: former President Clinton and Susan McDougal who have not
seen each other in over 15 years as well as other politicos, VIPs
including Harry and Linda Bloodworth Thomason, Alec Baldwin, Robert
Altman, Salman Rushdie, among others to be announced.
Narrated by Morgan Freeman, and using
previously unreleased material, and
interviews from both sides of the beltway, this probing work focuses on
the smear campaign
against Clinton from his days as Governor leading up to and
including his impeachment trial. The documentary feature will
also open in exclusive runs in
Washington D.C. on June 25, in San Francisco on July 16 in Los
Angeles and Boston on July 23 and in Chicago on August 13.
Following swiftly on the heightened
political atmosphere of the
pre-election campaign and the widespread interest in Michael
Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11,"
The Hunting of the President, based on The New York Times
bestseller of the same name by Gene Lyons and Joe Conason, explores the
myths and truths behind
the ten-year campaign to systematically destroy the
political legacy of the Clintons.
The film is being distributed by Regent
Entertainment which is an independent
production and distribution company that finances, produces and
distributes quality theatrical and television motion pictures.
The company has received
numerous awards, including the 1999 Academy Award for Best
Adapted Screenplay for "Gods and Monsters" starring Ian McKellan,
Brendan Frasier and Lynn
Redgrave. With offices in Los Angeles and Dallas, Regent is one
of the industry's largest independent suppliers of television motion
pictures. As a full-service entertainment enterprise, the company
has an international
division (Regent Worldwide Sales), and owns theaters (Regent
Theaters).
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE:
"THE HUNTING OF THE PRESIDENT”
PREMIERE AND THEATRICAL RELEASE RESCHEDULED
OUT OF RESPECT FOR
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN AND HIS FAMILY
(New York, NY) – June 7,
2004 – Harry Thomason, the director of the new film “The Hunting of the
President” announced today a major reshuffling of the premiere and
theatrical release dates for the film out of respect for President
Ronald Reagan and his family.
“After conferring with
our distributor Paul Colichman of Regent Releasing, and the premiere’s
sponsor The Week, we decided to reschedule the premiere and the
theatrical release out of respect for President Reagan, his family and
the American public,” Harry Thomason, the film’s director, said today.
“Our film is about the
American presidency and it would not be right to celebrate while we and
the American public mourn the passing of an American president.
In many ways, President Reagan was able to transcend politics because
he spoke in a calm and reasoned voice. Today, we and others are
remembering that voice and long for a return to a quieter political
discourse,” Mr. Thomason concluded.
The New York City
premiere of “The Hunting of the President” has been moved from
Wednesday, June 9 to Wednesday June 16 (Skirball Center for the
Performing Arts at New York University at 7:00 p.m.). The
theatrical release has been moved from Friday, June 11th to Friday June
18th (Angelika Theater). The film is still scheduled to open in
Little Rock, Arkansas on June 18th, Washington, D.C. on June 25th and
then around the nation soon after. (For a full listing visit
www.thehuntingofthepresident.com.)
“The Hunting of the
President,” the incendiary documentary directed by Harry Thomason and
Nickolas Perry, based on the best-selling book by Gene Lyons and Joe
Conason, offers a glimpse into the partisan vendettas and political
myths and truths behind the nearly 10-year campaign to systematically
destroy the political legacy of the Clintons.
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4/1/04 ...Meanwhile "The Hunting of
the President," the film version of Gene Lyons and Joe Conason's
bestseller, hits screens June 11 at N.Y.'s Angelika and followed by
individuals screenings in L.A. from Regent. And 20th Century Fox has
seen the film and will do the DVD version -- also to be on sale before
the election. Thomason, who wrote and directed this powerful chapter(s)
of American history, says there was much "wonderful and scary" film
left out and it will now be used as part of the DVD. I have seen the
film (first shown at Sundance) and promise you will be shocked to see
how both Bill and Hillary Clinton were "hunted" from Little Rock to
Washington. Another sad commentary on the dirty tricks of politics --
the media included...
ARMY ARCHERD
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The
Clintons and Harry Thomason: together again
The
producer's new documentary looks at the
ex-first
couple
and
reactions they stirred.
By Elaine Dutka Times Staff Writer
Times Staff Writer
January 23 2004
The Clintons. The mere
mention of their name is enough to rile their
enemies. Even among sympathizers, Clinton fatigue sets in when their
White House battles are dredged up.
"Old news ... people are
sick of this," is what TV producer Harry
Thomason came up against, time after time, while trying to line up a
distributor for a documentary based on the book "The Hunting of the
President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton,"
premiering today at the Sundance Film Festival.
Co-directing
the film was a balancing act, Thomason ("Designing Women") concedes. He
and his wife, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, have been close friends of the
former first couple since their Arkansas days. (Bloodworth-Thomason was
responsible for the laudatory campaign biography "A Man From Hope," and
Thomason became embroiled in a 1993 scandal involving the dismissal of
the White House travel office staff). But if Thomason whitewashed the
Whitewater scandal or the impeachment debacle, the film would be
history in more ways than one.
"It was sort of
terrifying,"
said Thomason, sitting alongside co-director Nickolas Perry and
producer Doug Jackson in the office of Regent Entertainment, the
distributor of the movie. "These guys helped me walk the right line.
There were lots of big disagreements, and we shouted at each other a
lot. I know that Clinton is a historical figure who must be examined
accurately, and we were careful not to give him a 'pass.' I worry that
we were actually too tough. Neither he nor Hillary has seen
the movie, and we try not to talk about it."
To avoid charges of
bias, the filmmakers decided to let the
participants tell the story, although the documentary clearly has a
point of view.
Narration, for which
actor Morgan Freeman was
recruited at the last minute, provided context and continuity. Most
left-leaning personalities agreed to talk but unfortunately — with the
exception of the Rev. Jerry Falwell — those on the other side of the
political aisle sent rejection letters. No attempt was made to line up
the Clintons, says Joe Conason, a New York Observer columnist who, with
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette writer Gene Lyons, wrote the 2000 bestseller
on which the film is based.
"This film is no more
about the
Clintons than 'The Maltese Falcon' is about that little statue,"
contends Conason, who conducted many of the interviews. "It's more
about what they symbolize and the struggle they set in motion. Deciding
that Clinton wasn't a legitimate president, conservative Republicans
tried to make it impossible for him to govern. The primary question was
one of emphasis. Do we focus on Clinton's misdeeds, which have been
covered at length, or those of his enemies, which haven't?"
Determined to tell the
story that, they feel, the mainstream media
ignored, the film examines what Clinton aide Paul Begala calls "a
right-wing attempt at coup d'etat." Among the revelations: efforts by
billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife and groups such as the Alliance for
the Rebirth of an Independent America and the Arkansas Project to dig
up dirt on Clinton.
Conservative columnist
Ann Coulter was one
of the "elves" offering covert legal advice to Paula Jones, who accused
the president of sexual misconduct, David Brock ("Blinded by the Right:
the Conscience of an Ex-Conservative") maintains, on camera. A onetime
reporter for the American Spectator, he also asserts that the state
troopers professing to have seen the infidelities were "stage managed"
by Arkansas attorney Cliff Jackson.
"I was in the room when
the
plots were hatched and the checks written," he says, "so I could offer
a firsthand account. A lot of people in the anti-Clinton movement have
gone into the Bush administration or, like Laura Ingraham and Coulter,
into the media. And some of the techniques employed by the conservative
machinery are a permanent part of our political landscape. They weren't
Clinton-specific."
A key theme of the
documentary is the
manipulation of mainstream journalists and, thus, public opinion.
Supposedly sophisticated media folk were "taken to the cleaners by a
bunch of junior college drop-outs from Arkansas," Lyons says.
What sets the movie
apart from the book is the human element, says
Perry, a veteran of A&E's "Biography" series who was brought in to
add MTV-style flair and pacing. He whittled several hundred hours of
film down to 90 minutes and interspersed graphics and old movie clips
with interviews and archival footage. "The book took a "just-the-facts
approach, placing the players within a timeline," Perry notes. "We're
more concerned with their emotional life, creating a personal
connection."
Perhaps the most moving
segment involves Susan
McDougal, who with her husband James was convicted of fraud and
conspiracy in connection with the Whitewater scandal. Bucking pressure
to cut a deal with independent counsel Kenneth Starr and implicate her
friends, she spent two years behind bars. "After hearing her story, you
ask yourself, 'Could this happen to me?' " producer Jackson says. "The
answer is kind of frightening."
After obtaining the
rights to
the book, Thomason found only one taker for the project, and an
unlikely one at that. Regent Entertainment, an independent film company
put on the map by "Gods and Monsters," had never distributed a
documentary.
The question of press
accountability is an
ongoing one, says Regent partner Paul Colichman. And the story is a
classic, full of good guys and bad guys.
A distributor
in hand, Thomason focused on financing the movie, which cost less than
$2 million. Setting up a limited liability corporation, he raised the
money from private investors rather than pre-selling ancillary rights.
"The Hunting of the President" was set to debut at the Toronto Film
Festival last September, but the filmmakers couldn't make the deadline.
The Sundance screening will be the first time they will see the film
with music and new narration. Even if it doesn't win any prizes, the
festival is a valuable marketing tool, the filmmakers say.
After lining up
distributors for overseas markets at the Cannes Film
Festival in May, Regent is aiming for a summer release in the U.S.,
probably July 4. Opening initially in Los Angeles and New York, the
documentary will eventually play in at least 20 major cities. Before
the election, there will be a fall college tour hitting such spots as
Boston; Madison, Wis.; and Champaign-Urbana, Ill. Regent also plans to
air the movie on TV, but no deal has been signed.
President
Bush's response to the terrorist attacks has heightened interest in the
project, Thomason says. ("Everyone is wandering in the wilderness,
seeking a voice for the loyal opposition.") But despite the commercial
success of a "Spellbound" or a "Bowling for Columbine," documentaries
are usually dicey and difficult to pull off in ways he never imagined.
"We have close to 1,000
pages of detail on the film: footage numbers,
contacts, etc.," he says. "I've been amazed at the amount of manpower
it takes just to clear the material.
"When you shoot a
dramatic
picture or a half-hour comedy, the actors come in, say their lines and
go home. You've got it all on tape. This has been a nightmare, though.
It's my last foray into the political genre."
|
Contact:
Keith Sky
huntprez@earthlink.net
For immediate release
December 15, 2003
REGENT
ENTERTAINMENT TAKES
“THE HUNTING OF THE
PRESIDENT”
TO THE 2004 SUNDANCE FILM
FESTIVAL
Selected by the
Sundance Film Festival as a Special Screening, the feature documentary,
“The Hunting Of The President” will have it’s world premiere on Friday,
January 23rd at the Prospector Square Theater in Park City, Utah.
“Hunting” is one of 12 films selected for these special screenings.
The documentary is
based on Joe Conason and Gene Lyons’ best selling non-fiction book,
“The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy
Bill
and Hillary Clinton.” “Hunting” is the story of the unrelenting
effort
to defeat and discredit Bill Clinton through the deceit and
manipulation of the media.
The feature was
directed by Harry Thomason and Nickolas Perry and produced by Douglas
Jackson. Keith Sky of Americom brought the project to Regent
Entertainment. After reviewing the project Regent then decided to
secure worldwide distribution rights to the film prior to the festival
announcement, which is the first documentary feature for
Thomason.
CAA, who represents Thomason, will be working in conjunction with
Regent as a distribution consultant.
“From the very
beginning Paul Colichman, Stephen Jarchow and Jeff Schenck of Regent
have been totally supportive regarding their confidence in the
marketability of this project,” said Thomason. “ Two and a half
years
ago, when no one else had the courage to distribute the film, Regent
stepped up.”
“We want a vast
audience to have access to see our film both domestically and
internationally. As filmmakers, we feel we have taken an
innovative
approach by shooting the project in a high-definition digital
format.
Our presentation at Sundance will be digitally presented,” said Harry
Thomason.
“We at Regent are
extremely pleased to have ‘The Hunting of the President’ at Sundance,”
said Paul Colichman, Partner and President of Regent
Entertainment.
“Harry Thomason and Nickolas Perry have created a fascinating feature
that looks at a recent and critically important chapter in our history
about an American President, the media and journalistic
integrity.
Sundance provides an ideal venue for the world premiere of this film.”
“We will be evaluating
the best way to reach this audience with alternative distribution
ideas, which may include a combination of film and digital video
presentations at theatres. Since more theatres are adding digital
projection, we think this may allow us to break out the film on a wider
platform,” said Colichman.
“With the recent
success of the political documentaries such as ‘Bowling for Columbine,’
we know a growing audience exists for films in this genre. The
potential for ‘Hunting’ to get a broader release is very strong,
especially in the political atmosphere of next year’s political
campaign,” said Colichman. “Sundance is the starting point for us
and
our goal is to have ‘The Hunting of the President’ in release by June
2004.”
Regent Entertainment
is an independent diversified company that finances, produces and
distributes quality theatrical and television motion pictures. The
company has received numerous awards, including "Gods and Monsters"
1999 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. With offices in
Los
Angeles and Dallas, Regent is one of the industry's largest independent
suppliers of television motion pictures. As a full-service
entertainment enterprise, the company has an international division
(Regent Worldwide Sales), and owns theaters (the Regent Showcase in
Hollywood and the Regent Highland Park Village in Dallas). For
further
information, please visit Regent’s website at
www.regententertainment.com or here! PPV at www.heretv.com.
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