Skip to comments.

Posted on 10/22/2001 9:42:58 AM PDT by Teacup

Barf alert!

LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- The presidency of William Jefferson Clinton may be history, but his longtime supporters, producer Harry Thomason and his wife, producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, are preparing a final defense on his behalf.

Along with filmmaker Adam Friedman, the Thomasons are set to begin filming a theatrical documentary based on Joe Conason and Gene Lyons' nonfiction book "The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill and Hillary Clinton ," which documents efforts to discredit the couple from the time of Bill Clinton's governorship in Arkansas through the 1998 presidential impeachment trial.

Thomason, Bloodworth-Thomason and Friedman will produce the project, with Friedman and Thomason sharing directing duties.

Regent Entertainment recently struck a deal for worldwide distribution rights to the project, titled "The Hunting of the President," marking the company's first foray into the documentary genre. Its budget is estimated at $2 million-$3 million, and it is financed through a combination of private equity and presales. "Hunting" is scheduled to start production during the next few weeks, with Regent planning to introduce it at MIFED next week.

"This is not a film about Republicans and Democrats," Thomason said. "Rather, it's an insightful story that looks at the fringe elements of our society and their effect on the modern political process. It's also a story of how these fringe elements influenced our national news media regarding the events and circumstances of Bill Clinton's administration." Friedman, an acquaintance of Conason, said he optioned the book, published by Thomas Dunne Books, a year ago. While seeking financing, he was introduced to Thomason and found that they shared a similar vision for the project. Keith Sky of Americom Inc., who handles worldwide marketing for Regent, is credited with introducing the filmmakers to that company.

"We read the book and heard what they were going to do, and we decided it was one of those rare chances to do something really creative," Regent partner Paul Colichman said.

The Thomasons' friendship with the Clintons dates back to Bill Clinton's governership in Arkansas, where the couples were introduced by Harry Thomason's brother. At key moments during Clinton's campaigns and presidency, the Thomasons were on hand to advise him on his dealings with the media.

Bloodworth-Thomason directed "The Man From Hope," a 14-minute biographical documentary that introduced Clinton at the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York, and Thomason managed much of the stagecraft surrounding Clinton's triumphal appearances at the 1996 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, for which Bloodworth-Thomason produced another short biopic.

The Thomasons' proximity to the Clintons meant that they shared in some of the political and media criticism directed at the political couple. Thomason drew flak during the so-called Travelgate scandal during Clinton's first term in office. A frequent visitor to the White House, Thomason advised Clinton shortly before the notorious media appearance in which Clinton said of Monica Lewinsky, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

Friedman declined to name people whom the filmmakers have already approached to appear in the docu or any other public figures they hope to interview, saying only that there will be many "surprises."

Bill and Hillary Clinton are not likely to appear in the film, he added.

"We don't want to do a movie that is anti-Republican," Friedman said. "What we are anti- is that the media was anti-journalism. (This project) is relevant to how we view news. If a distorted viewpoint is repeated long enough, it becomes news. During the whole time when people were obsessing on Clinton's personal life, there were obviously bigger fish to fry. It's amazing what became news and what didn't."

Friedman said the project will reflect the newsgathering process and examine the media swirl surrounding the Clinton scandals.

"The important thrust of this is that the media was shirking its responsibility in the quest to fill airtime," Colichman said. "That's what I feel this is really about: the media, integrity and how the media was used to tell this very long-term story throughout the Clinton presidency."

In their book, Conason, a national correspondent for the New York Observer and frequent contributor to Salon.com, and Lyons, a political columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, examine orchestrated efforts to politically undermine the Clintons that have dogged the couple throughout their public life. "The better the president and the country did, the more his adversaries appeared willing to endorse almost anything short of assassination to do him in," the authors wrote.

"I'm elated that Gene Lyons and I have this extraordinary opportunity to tell this story in the compelling format of the feature film and that Regent Entertainment has signed on for distribution," Conason said. "We believe that in many ways, this examination of the failure of our political culture over the past decade is more important than ever today."

Added Lyons: "With the making of 'The Hunting of the President' into a film, we have the opportunity to tell the full story, which the mainstream media, by and large, failed to tell. It now becomes a three-dimensional cinematic account."

As television writer-producer-directors, the Thomasons have enjoyed two long-running hits, "Designing Women" and "Evening Shade." They stumbled, though, when they ventured into more explicitly political territory with two sitcoms, "House Afire" and "Woman of the House," the latter of which starred Delta Burke as a widow who inherits a congressional seat. The Thomasons are producing "Emeril," a sitcom starring chef Emeril Lagasse, which has been struggling since its debut last month on NBC in its 8 p.m. Tuesday slot.

Friedman's helming credits include a biography series for the A&E cable network as well as "America's Flying Aces: The Blue Angels 50th Anniversary," "When Good Pets Go Bad" and his debut feature film, "Medium Straight."

"We anticipate great interest in (the project) at MIFED 2001, especially since the book on which the film is based is now being published overseas," Regent Entertainment International president Gene George said. "We are honored to have the opportunity to distribute this important feature documentary film worldwide and look forward to the response."

Another Harry /Linda Bloodworth-Thomason production.

"I did not have sex with that woamn, Miss Lewinsky."

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.