An individual appears to have set himself on fire outside of the Manhattan courthouse the moment jury selection was finalized in the criminal hush money trial of former President Donald Trump.
The apparent self-immolation was carried live by several news networks, who initially believed a fire had broken out in the park, and quickly cut away after realizing someone was aflame. The incident took place in a park across the street from the court as news crews reported that the jury in Trump’s trial had been officially seated. The...
The apparent self-immolation was carried live by several news networks, who initially believed a fire had broken out in the park, and quickly cut away after realizing someone was aflame. The incident took place in a park across the street from the court as news crews reported that the jury in Trump’s trial had been officially seated. The...
- 4/19/2024
- by Nikki McCann Ramirez
- Rollingstone.com
Update: 1:33 Pm: The jury has reached a verdict in E. Jean Carroll’s multi-million defamation trial against Donald Trump after just a few hours of deliberations.
The decision is expected to be read out in the next few minutes. Trump will not be there when the verdict is announced, as he left the Manhattan court about half an hour ago for the airport.
Carroll’s lawyers are looking for at least $24 million in compensatory damages, plus more in punitive damages. Trump has already been found liable last year of sexual abusing and defaming Carroll. Back in May, that jury awarded the former Elle columnist $5 million. Ever since the allegations of the mid-1990s attack came to light in 2019, the much-accused Trump has continued to smear Carroll and declare his innocence in and out of the White House. Carroll says his defaming remarks put her in danger and ruined her reputation.
The decision is expected to be read out in the next few minutes. Trump will not be there when the verdict is announced, as he left the Manhattan court about half an hour ago for the airport.
Carroll’s lawyers are looking for at least $24 million in compensatory damages, plus more in punitive damages. Trump has already been found liable last year of sexual abusing and defaming Carroll. Back in May, that jury awarded the former Elle columnist $5 million. Ever since the allegations of the mid-1990s attack came to light in 2019, the much-accused Trump has continued to smear Carroll and declare his innocence in and out of the White House. Carroll says his defaming remarks put her in danger and ruined her reputation.
- 1/26/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Christmas is history, but there’s still some holiday celebrating to be done. New Year’s Eve festivities are being broadcast across the country Sunday, December 31 from Puerto Rico to Los Angeles to the famous Times Square ball drop in New York City.
The official Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration will kick off at 6 p.m. Et with the lighting and raising of the nearly six-ton crystal ball atop One Times Square. Performers this year include Enrique Iglesias, Maroon5, Jonas Brothers, Flo Rida, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker and Rod Stewart. The ball drop begins at exactly 11:59 p.m. and makes a 60-second descent down the pole to ring in 2024.
You can watch the livestream here:
Here’s a rundown of how various TV networks will be ringing in the new year:
ABC
Ryan Seacrest is back to host Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, starting at 8 p.
The official Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration will kick off at 6 p.m. Et with the lighting and raising of the nearly six-ton crystal ball atop One Times Square. Performers this year include Enrique Iglesias, Maroon5, Jonas Brothers, Flo Rida, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker and Rod Stewart. The ball drop begins at exactly 11:59 p.m. and makes a 60-second descent down the pole to ring in 2024.
You can watch the livestream here:
Here’s a rundown of how various TV networks will be ringing in the new year:
ABC
Ryan Seacrest is back to host Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, starting at 8 p.
- 12/31/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, Fox Corporation board member Paul Ryan and Fox Corp. executive Viet Dinh can be compelled to testify in Dominion’s upcoming defamation trial against Fox News, a judge said on Wednesday.
Delaware Judge Eric M. Davis said that Dominion would have to issue a trial subpoena to force such live testimony, but he would not quash it over issues of inconvenience or because they previously have sat for depositions. Davis cited court precedent that officers, directors and managing agents of a Delaware corporation can be compelled to appear.
“Both Fox and Dominion have made these four parties very relevant,” Davis said.
He added, “If Dominion wants to bring them live, they need to do a trial subpoena and I would not quash it and I would compel them to come.”
He also cited issues with Rupert Murdoch’s deposition and whether questions asked of him were clear or unfairly prejudicial.
Delaware Judge Eric M. Davis said that Dominion would have to issue a trial subpoena to force such live testimony, but he would not quash it over issues of inconvenience or because they previously have sat for depositions. Davis cited court precedent that officers, directors and managing agents of a Delaware corporation can be compelled to appear.
“Both Fox and Dominion have made these four parties very relevant,” Davis said.
He added, “If Dominion wants to bring them live, they need to do a trial subpoena and I would not quash it and I would compel them to come.”
He also cited issues with Rupert Murdoch’s deposition and whether questions asked of him were clear or unfairly prejudicial.
- 4/5/2023
- by Ted Johnson
- Deadline Film + TV
Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott instructed journalists to not fact-check Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election, saying it “has to stop now.” It’s the latest update in the news organization’s ongoing defamation battle with Dominion Voting Systems.
During a hearing earlier in March, Dominion Voting Systems, which is suing Fox News for a whopping $1.6 billion, shared with the members of the court a slide show with responses and emails that included messages from Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott to executive VP of primetime programming Meade Cooper urging for Fox News reporters and anchors to no longer fact-check Trump.
The email to Cooper was previously redacted in earlier court filings, and the latest emails were presented at a hearing last week in Wilmington, Delaware. The slides were first reported by Media Matters for America.
“I’m going to address this with you and Jay and Lowell tomorrow,...
During a hearing earlier in March, Dominion Voting Systems, which is suing Fox News for a whopping $1.6 billion, shared with the members of the court a slide show with responses and emails that included messages from Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott to executive VP of primetime programming Meade Cooper urging for Fox News reporters and anchors to no longer fact-check Trump.
The email to Cooper was previously redacted in earlier court filings, and the latest emails were presented at a hearing last week in Wilmington, Delaware. The slides were first reported by Media Matters for America.
“I’m going to address this with you and Jay and Lowell tomorrow,...
- 3/30/2023
- by Raquel "Rocky" Harris
- The Wrap
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott was concerned that the network’s insistence on fact-checking bogus claims of election fraud was “bad for business.”
“This has to stop,” Scott wrote in a Dec. 2, 2020 email discussing anchor Eric Shawn’s efforts to fact-check fraud claims. The email was submitted as evidence in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News, and obtained by the progressive watchdog Media Matters for America. The emails, which were included in a slide deck presented during a March 21 hearing on the case,...
“This has to stop,” Scott wrote in a Dec. 2, 2020 email discussing anchor Eric Shawn’s efforts to fact-check fraud claims. The email was submitted as evidence in Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News, and obtained by the progressive watchdog Media Matters for America. The emails, which were included in a slide deck presented during a March 21 hearing on the case,...
- 3/29/2023
- by Nikki McCann Ramirez
- Rollingstone.com
Kanye West popped up on — where else? — Fox News to clear up some ostensible confusion about how he’s selling his new Yeezy Gap collection. The various items, the rapper/designer insisted, aren’t being sold out of large trash bags (even though that’s exactly what it looks like). They’re being sold out of large construction bags.
According to reporter Eric Shawn, West rebuffed allegations that by selling his clothes out of the large bags, he was going full Mugato/“Derelicte” in Zoolander and mocking unhoused people. Instead,...
According to reporter Eric Shawn, West rebuffed allegations that by selling his clothes out of the large bags, he was going full Mugato/“Derelicte” in Zoolander and mocking unhoused people. Instead,...
- 8/18/2022
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
“Reporting 9/11 and Why It Still Matters,” a new documentary about the experiences Tom Brokaw, Savannah Guthrie and other journalists had covering the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and its companion docuseries, “Women Journalists of 9/11: Their Stories,” will debut on SVOD platform Wondrium in September, TheWrap has learned exclusively.
Produced in collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, “Reporting 9/11 and Why it Still Matters” “provides a definitive account of what journalists encountered at the attack sites, traveling with President Bush and aboard Air Force One, reporting from the anchor desk and the sky above Manhattan, at New York’s Ground Zero, at the Pentagon, and in the fields of Shanksville following the crash of United Flight 93,” per the film’s description.
Executive produced and directed by journalists Allison Gilbert and Phil Hirschkorn, co-editors of “Covering Catastrophe: Broadcast Journalists Report September 11,” the nearly two-hour film includes interviews with 45 broadcast and print journalists who “shared their urgent,...
Produced in collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, “Reporting 9/11 and Why it Still Matters” “provides a definitive account of what journalists encountered at the attack sites, traveling with President Bush and aboard Air Force One, reporting from the anchor desk and the sky above Manhattan, at New York’s Ground Zero, at the Pentagon, and in the fields of Shanksville following the crash of United Flight 93,” per the film’s description.
Executive produced and directed by journalists Allison Gilbert and Phil Hirschkorn, co-editors of “Covering Catastrophe: Broadcast Journalists Report September 11,” the nearly two-hour film includes interviews with 45 broadcast and print journalists who “shared their urgent,...
- 8/12/2021
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
Christmas just got a lot less festive for Fox News Channel, Newsmax and Rudy Giuliani because of a threatened big bucks defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems.
“This disinformation campaign against Dominion has caused the company permanent and irreparable damages which are exacerbated by your ongoing refusal to retract,” says a letter sent today to the trio on behalf of the much-maligned voting software and hardware corporation.
Responding to frequent accusations on conservative media and Donald Trump’s personal lawyer that Dominion’s voting machines shifted millions of ballots in favor of Joe Biden over the former Celebrity Apprentice host in last month’s election, the correspondence added “litigation regarding these issues is imminent.”
Following previous legal threats by voting machines manufacturer Smartmatic that saw on-air retractions by Fnc and Newsmax, the letters Wednesday from veteran defamation attorneys Tom Clare and Megan Meier of Virginia-based Clare Locke Llp on behalf...
“This disinformation campaign against Dominion has caused the company permanent and irreparable damages which are exacerbated by your ongoing refusal to retract,” says a letter sent today to the trio on behalf of the much-maligned voting software and hardware corporation.
Responding to frequent accusations on conservative media and Donald Trump’s personal lawyer that Dominion’s voting machines shifted millions of ballots in favor of Joe Biden over the former Celebrity Apprentice host in last month’s election, the correspondence added “litigation regarding these issues is imminent.”
Following previous legal threats by voting machines manufacturer Smartmatic that saw on-air retractions by Fnc and Newsmax, the letters Wednesday from veteran defamation attorneys Tom Clare and Megan Meier of Virginia-based Clare Locke Llp on behalf...
- 12/24/2020
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
While Trump continues to whine about the way some of Fox News’ anchors have covered him during the 2020 presidential election cycle, on Sunday one anchor called his claims of widespread voter fraud baseless, false and an “insult to thousands of election officials.”
Trump ain't gonna like this from Fox… https://t.co/IO2vv6kJQN pic.twitter.com/wtQAXuBl8b
— Peter Wade (@brooklynmutt) November 15, 2020
As the Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona pointed out, Eric Shawn not only fact-checked the president but also laid to waste many of his colleagues’ consistent bullshit on the matter.
Trump ain't gonna like this from Fox… https://t.co/IO2vv6kJQN pic.twitter.com/wtQAXuBl8b
— Peter Wade (@brooklynmutt) November 15, 2020
As the Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona pointed out, Eric Shawn not only fact-checked the president but also laid to waste many of his colleagues’ consistent bullshit on the matter.
- 11/15/2020
- by Peter Wade
- Rollingstone.com
Updated with latest: The Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Et/6 a.m. Pt at the Hart Senate Office Building at the U.S. Capitol. It is the third of four scheduled days of hearings by the Republican-led Senate panel to confirm Barrett, who is President Donald Trump’s selection to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the High Court. Ginsburg, who became the liberal centerpiece of the court, died last month at age 87.
Barrett most recently has been serving as a judge on the Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit). Barrett followed the trio with her own opening remarks. (See Day 1’s video below.)
The hearings are scheduled to continue through Thursday. If confirmed, Barrett would be the fifth woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court, and the third appointment by Trump,...
Barrett most recently has been serving as a judge on the Chicago-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit). Barrett followed the trio with her own opening remarks. (See Day 1’s video below.)
The hearings are scheduled to continue through Thursday. If confirmed, Barrett would be the fifth woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court, and the third appointment by Trump,...
- 10/14/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Trump complained vociferously about the way he is treated by Fox News during his interview with Rush Limbaugh, and if he happens to catch some of what the network’s weekend hosts said following his Covid-19 super spreader event at the White House on Saturday, the ‘roided-up president might just blow a gasket.
Before tossing to a panel discussion about how the president performed today, host Arthel Neville gave it to Fox viewers straight by saying that Trump went out of his way to cajole some of the people of color in the crowd,...
Before tossing to a panel discussion about how the president performed today, host Arthel Neville gave it to Fox viewers straight by saying that Trump went out of his way to cajole some of the people of color in the crowd,...
- 10/11/2020
- by Peter Wade
- Rollingstone.com
ABC News and ESPN will present a primetime special tonight on the life and legacy of late NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
Good Morning America anchors Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan will host the program along with ESPN Reporter Tom Rinaldi.
The hour-long special will feature reporting on the latest details surrounding the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of all on board, including Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others this morning in Calabasas, California. The special will also include interviews with basketball players and people that knew Bryant.
Kobe Bryant: The Death of a Legend airs Sunday, January 26 at 10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. Et/Pt on ABC and ESPN.
Fox News also offered extensive coverage on Bryant’s death throughout the day and evening.
Co-anchored by Arthel Neville and Eric Shawn, the cable news network’s coverage included contributions provided by correspondent Christina Coleman and Jonathan Hunt...
Good Morning America anchors Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan will host the program along with ESPN Reporter Tom Rinaldi.
The hour-long special will feature reporting on the latest details surrounding the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of all on board, including Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others this morning in Calabasas, California. The special will also include interviews with basketball players and people that knew Bryant.
Kobe Bryant: The Death of a Legend airs Sunday, January 26 at 10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. Et/Pt on ABC and ESPN.
Fox News also offered extensive coverage on Bryant’s death throughout the day and evening.
Co-anchored by Arthel Neville and Eric Shawn, the cable news network’s coverage included contributions provided by correspondent Christina Coleman and Jonathan Hunt...
- 1/27/2020
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
Fox Nation will be Fox News Channel’s stand-alone streaming service. But it will feature many of the personalities that already draw fans to the company’s flagship cable operation.
All of Fox News’ most popular personalities – including hosts from the 21st Century Fox-owned network’s primetime lineup and its “Fox & Friends” morning show – are expected to have regular roles on the subscription-based outlet, the network said Wednesday. The subscription price has yet to be announced. The service, said to be aimed at so-called Fox News “super fans,” is expected t launch in the fourth quarter.
“We are thrilled to announce that our most popular hosts and contributors from Fox News will be among the key talent involved in Fox Nation,” said John Finley, senior vice president of development and production, in a prepared statement. “Fox News has an incredibly loyal audience and we are confident our super fans...
All of Fox News’ most popular personalities – including hosts from the 21st Century Fox-owned network’s primetime lineup and its “Fox & Friends” morning show – are expected to have regular roles on the subscription-based outlet, the network said Wednesday. The subscription price has yet to be announced. The service, said to be aimed at so-called Fox News “super fans,” is expected t launch in the fourth quarter.
“We are thrilled to announce that our most popular hosts and contributors from Fox News will be among the key talent involved in Fox Nation,” said John Finley, senior vice president of development and production, in a prepared statement. “Fox News has an incredibly loyal audience and we are confident our super fans...
- 9/12/2018
- by Brian Steinberg
- Variety Film + TV
Updated with additional Davis TV news appearances: Lanny Davis, lawyer representing Donald Trump’s former longtime fixer/personal attorney/bullet-taker, spent this morning traversing the TV news landscape teasing that his client has information that would be “of interest” to special counsel Robert Mueller. Davis also said that his client is such a changed man he would not accept any pardon from Trump. And, Davis plugged the GoFundMe campaign he’s launched to help his client “tell the truth about Donald Trump.” At time of publication, it had raised about $36K. “I can tell you it’s my observation that what he knows, that he witnessed, will be of interest to the special counsel,” Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos this morning on Good Morning America. Cohen “will tell the truth to everybody who asks him about Mr. Trump,” though he did not say if Cohen...
- 8/22/2018
- by Lisa de Moraes
- Deadline Film + TV
Fox News contributor Charlie Hurt said it is actually a “compliment” when Donald Trump calls women dogs and said it was akin to the slang term of calling someone “my dog.”
Hurt, who also serves as the opinion editor of the Washington Times, made the remarks on the Fox News program “America’s Newsroom” on Tuesday morning during a conversation about whether President Trump’s comments comparing women to canines were out of bounds.
Hurt was swiftly shut down by Fox News anchor Eric Shawn.
Also Read: Top Hannity Producer Named Editor-in-Chief of Fox News Digital
“No no. It’s not a compliment, Charlie. Not at all,” said Shawn, before the show swiftly went to break.
A rep for Fox News did not immediately respond to request for comment.
It’s not the first time Hurt has courted controversy. At the Washington Times, he has often staked out bombastic positions.
Hurt, who also serves as the opinion editor of the Washington Times, made the remarks on the Fox News program “America’s Newsroom” on Tuesday morning during a conversation about whether President Trump’s comments comparing women to canines were out of bounds.
Hurt was swiftly shut down by Fox News anchor Eric Shawn.
Also Read: Top Hannity Producer Named Editor-in-Chief of Fox News Digital
“No no. It’s not a compliment, Charlie. Not at all,” said Shawn, before the show swiftly went to break.
A rep for Fox News did not immediately respond to request for comment.
It’s not the first time Hurt has courted controversy. At the Washington Times, he has often staked out bombastic positions.
- 8/21/2018
- by Jon Levine
- The Wrap
Bill O’Reilly has investigated Donald Trump’s claim of seeing “thousands” of people celebrating in the streets of New Jersey in the wake of 9/11 and found no evidence to back up Trump’s claim. During Tuesday’s episode of “The O’Reilly Factor,” O’Reilly and Fox News correspondent Eric Shawn shared results of their own investigative reporting on the matter. “There were some Muslims in America happy about the attacks,” O’Reilly said. “That has been established beyond a reasonable doubt.” But there were not “thousands and thousands” as Trump has described, Shawn and O’Reilly concluded. Also...
- 12/2/2015
- by Joe Otterson
- The Wrap
The city of Paris has threatened to sue Fox News over an erroneous report the network made claiming Paris had "no-go zones" for police and non-Muslims. The network later apologized for the error.
"When we're insulted, and when we've had an image, then I think we'll have to sue, I think we'll have to go to court, in order to have these words removed," Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo told CNN on Tuesday. "The image of Paris has been prejudiced, and the honor of Paris has been prejudiced."
The comments stem...
"When we're insulted, and when we've had an image, then I think we'll have to sue, I think we'll have to go to court, in order to have these words removed," Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo told CNN on Tuesday. "The image of Paris has been prejudiced, and the honor of Paris has been prejudiced."
The comments stem...
- 1/20/2015
- Rollingstone.com
To make room for Maria Bartiromo‘s new Sunday Morning Futures, debuting this weekend at 10 Am Et, Fox News Channel is moving its weekly medical news program Sunday Housecall, hosted by Jamie Colby and Eric Shawn, from 10:30 Am Et to 12:30 Pm. It, in turn, is bumping half an hour of America’s News Headquarters. Fnc’s new Bartiromo program will focus on the intersection of commerce and news events, offering viewers in-depth analysis on recent developments in the economy. Bartiromo will interview business leaders and industry newsmakers on topics such as job creation and investment opportunities, providing viewers with an inside look at how to prepare financially for the future. Housecall also features Dr. David Samadi who is Chairman of the Department of Urology and Chief of Robotic Surgery at Manhattan’s Lenox Hill Hospital, and Dr. Marc Siegel who is an associate professor of medicine at Nyu Langone Medical Center.
- 3/27/2014
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
This Saturday's Fox News Watch panel has had just about enough of the George Zimmerman case, unanimously agreeing that the case is over-covered, especially with events in Egypt and elsewhere vying for national attention. "With all this stuff going on in the world, Egypt, Obamacare, Nsa, this is wall to wall," said guest host Eric Shawn. "All we're seeing is Zimmerman, Zimmerman, Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin," Judy Miller said. "I'm sorry, I think it's overkill. I know it gets ratings, but it doesn't reflect what the country should be thinking about."...
- 7/6/2013
- by Evan McMurry
- Mediaite - TV
On Wednesday's America Live with Megyn Kelly, Eric Shawn reported a Fox News exclusive that "former Acorn officials are now playing key roles behind the Occupy Wall Street movement, in part planning related demonstrations and strategy." Kelly added that the former Acorn office in Brooklyn, is now the headquarters for a group called New York Communities for Change and its executive director, John Kest, is a former Acorn official...
- 10/26/2011
- by James Crugnale
- Mediaite - TV
Fox News Channel has set aside some key cable news real estate next week for one-hour documentaries on Barack Obama and John McCain.
"2008 Presidential Character and Conduct" will premiere at 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday in a time slot usually held by cable news' top-rated program, "The O'Reilly Factor." Bill O'Reilly will be off Monday and Tuesday, making way for Monday's Obama docu, hosted by Bill Hemmer, and Tuesday's McCain docu, hosted by Eric Shawn. Pamela Browne is the executive producer of both programs.
Months in the works, the specials will dig into the character, lives and actions of the presidential candidates through interviews with family members, friends and associates from their earlier days as well as colleagues in the Senate.
"This is an in-depth, detailed examination that's beyond what has been broadcast in terms of these typical type of biographies," said Shawn, who like Hemmer is an anchor at the channel.
What neither documentary will do is interview the candidates. Hemmer interviewed Obama in London last month; Shawn interviewed McCain earlier this year. But Shawn said the focus isn't on what the candidates say but instead what they do when faced with challenges.
"We specifically wanted to let the facts speak for themselves and let the people who have known him and examined him speak for themselves," he said.
Hemmer and Shawn said they knew a lot about their subjects going in but were surprised to find that there was more to know. McCain has been in the public eye since he was a Pow during the Vietnam War, but Shawn said what isn't widely known is he refused his captors' offer to be released because it violated Navy code about the prisoner releases.
The Obama docu talks about the tragedies of his early years, growing up with his grandparents and going to college, his job as a community organizer and later as a Harvard Law School student and Illinois legislator.
"By any standards, (Obama's) rise in politics has been meteoric," Hemmer said. "Everything we are learning about Barack Obama in one respect or another is new."
Shawn said that the McCain documentary looks at the character and conduct of the candidate, both pro and con.
"The voters are evaluating these men, Obama and McCain, and I believe these documentaries are terrific learning tools by which people can watch and learn, discuss and decide," Hemmer said.
"2008 Presidential Character and Conduct" will premiere at 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday in a time slot usually held by cable news' top-rated program, "The O'Reilly Factor." Bill O'Reilly will be off Monday and Tuesday, making way for Monday's Obama docu, hosted by Bill Hemmer, and Tuesday's McCain docu, hosted by Eric Shawn. Pamela Browne is the executive producer of both programs.
Months in the works, the specials will dig into the character, lives and actions of the presidential candidates through interviews with family members, friends and associates from their earlier days as well as colleagues in the Senate.
"This is an in-depth, detailed examination that's beyond what has been broadcast in terms of these typical type of biographies," said Shawn, who like Hemmer is an anchor at the channel.
What neither documentary will do is interview the candidates. Hemmer interviewed Obama in London last month; Shawn interviewed McCain earlier this year. But Shawn said the focus isn't on what the candidates say but instead what they do when faced with challenges.
"We specifically wanted to let the facts speak for themselves and let the people who have known him and examined him speak for themselves," he said.
Hemmer and Shawn said they knew a lot about their subjects going in but were surprised to find that there was more to know. McCain has been in the public eye since he was a Pow during the Vietnam War, but Shawn said what isn't widely known is he refused his captors' offer to be released because it violated Navy code about the prisoner releases.
The Obama docu talks about the tragedies of his early years, growing up with his grandparents and going to college, his job as a community organizer and later as a Harvard Law School student and Illinois legislator.
"By any standards, (Obama's) rise in politics has been meteoric," Hemmer said. "Everything we are learning about Barack Obama in one respect or another is new."
Shawn said that the McCain documentary looks at the character and conduct of the candidate, both pro and con.
"The voters are evaluating these men, Obama and McCain, and I believe these documentaries are terrific learning tools by which people can watch and learn, discuss and decide," Hemmer said.
- 8/14/2008
- by By Paul J. Gough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.