Politicians do star turns in Hollywood, and "the envelope, please" has a check in it

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Politicians Are Doing Hollywood Star Turns
By DAVID M. HALBFINGER
Published: February 6, 2007


Candidate pins (Jim Young/Reuters)

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5 — As Hollywood closes in on Oscar night with its attendant round of awards galas, politicians are popping up everywhere but the podium, and “the envelope, please” might just mean the kind with a check inside.

Presidential contenders, racing to show financial strength, have naturally turned first to Los Angeles, where Democrats have long found the lowest-hanging fruit: entertainment industry players who take their politics seriously and have the money to prove it....

“Politics has come back, and with a huge thrill,” said Irena Medavoy, wife of the movie producer Mike Medavoy, who has vowed to raise $100,000 for Senator Barack Obama, the Illinois Democrat, with an event at her home in March. (Her husband is neutral as yet.)

What’s more, she said, the fund-raising sprint gives Hollywood people a chance to speak out without fear of a backlash, a window that will eventually close. “Right now we can raise money and talk about the issues,” Ms. Medavoy said. “In 2008 we’ll have to shut up again, because not only does Hollywood not matter, but you can hurt your candidate.”

While the industry’s donations rarely decide anything, they are widely discussed and can help shape perceptions of how a candidate is being received. It is a pot of money that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her husband probably once thought they owned, but Hollywood’s affections are fickle in politics, as in all things, and notoriously susceptible to the hot new star (Senator Obama), the principled comeback story (Al Gore, if he can be enticed to run) or the underdog (everyone else)....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/movies/awardsseason/06holly.html

[illinoisprogressive]

1. another winner article Deepmode mom