Wow, thanks for a few ATHC readers for the tip on a new reality TV show starring... you guessed it! Hillary!
According to The Examiner, The National Geographic Channel has been following Hillary Clinton's every move for an upcoming special that shows her day-to-day duties as the U.S. Secretary of State.
It is going to be called "Inside the State Department" and it will premier this spring.
Some things to look forward to are her first trip as secretary of state to the United Nations, and her overseas trips to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jerusalem and Africa. They are also following her advisers as they plan her agenda, brief her on each mission and strategize in the State Department Operations Center (which is filled with IMAX-size video screens showing satellite feeds from hot spots around the globe - tracking ongoing violence, attacks on embassies and even Secretary Clinton's motorcade under way in dangerous locales such as Pakistan... sounds AWESOME.)
They are also going to be detailing the intense security efforts to keep Secretary Clinton safe on a day to day basis, insight from the state department press corps who travel with her on each trip, and a personal tour of the treasure vault where gifts given to the president, first lady and secretary of state are stored.
"Our cameras were granted more access to the secretary and her team than any other camera crew ever has received, including press crews... We were literally flies on the wall, traveling from country to country, capturing conversations, witnessing interaction with head officials and experiencing moments behind closed doors."
A specific airdate has yet to be officially announced but it we can look forward to hearing more in the spring. In the meantime, visit www.natgeotv.com for more information.
So what were America's top power couple doing to celebrate Thanksgiving this year? Well, the day after they spent the afternoon at the Helen Hayes Theatre for a matinee of the fast-paced comedy 39 Steps in New York City.
The two went backstage where a surprise reunion awaited. Get this: current 39 Steps understudy Nisi Sturgis’ grandfather is Bill’s former mentor. Bill Clinton even made the decision to run for president in his backyard! There were hugs all around when the Clinton's discovered the now grown-up Sturgis during their visit, a heart-warming moment which cast members Sean Mahon, Jill Paice, Jeffrey Kuhn and Arnie Burton patriotically joined.
Nisi Sturgis is pictured above with Bill. She apparently was stunned she ran into Bill Clinton on her professional stomping grounds, as was Bill. "This girl's grandfather changed my life 35 years ago!" Clinton happily declared to onlookers.
A recent feud between a politician and a media figure has gotten so heated that only Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could squash it. And no, she DIDN'T receive the Nobel Peace Prize (although these days I wouldn't be surprised!!) but she did create some peace between the two feuders, for now...
On Thursday's "Tonight Show," Secretary Clinton delivered a videotaped message to host Conan O'Brien and Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker, who have been taking shots at each other for the past couple of weeks.
During the video she said this:
"As secretary of state, my job is to strengthen ties and improve relations, whether it be between nations around the world or between the mayor of a midsized American city and the host of a mildly amusing late-night talk show... Let's just chalk it up to Conan's head injury and be done with this whole mess."
She was refering to a concussion O'Brien recently got after falling during a sketch.
Sooo, did anyone else notice that weird flashing during Bill's interview on The Daily Show? Well, that was because they had to edit it down because he talks to much! But thanks to the internet here is the FULL interview below!
Bill Clinton will be a guest of Jon Stewart this Thursday, September 17th, on The Daily Show to "talk about the Clinton Global Initiative (and maybe a few current events, time permitting)." Yippee! Air time: 11pm EST / 10pm c
In the spirit of the event, here is a list of all previous Bill Clinton appearances on The Daily Show. MY personal favorite is in the September 23rd interview where Bill touches Jon Stewart's arm and Jon freezes. Bill's got that magic touch even on Jon.
Later on her first full day in India, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended an Education Service event with Bollywood Star Aamir Khan.
They shared the stage at the 140 year old St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai expressing reforms on what needs to be done to better the education system in India.
The Secretary took lots of questions from the audience and spoke at great lengths on Education; a subject that we Hillary fans know goes waaay back to Arkansas!
Aamir Khan is a long time member of Teach for India and advocate for education. He emphasized the reasons for higher education and his feelings on the ailing education system that exists today. He has hopes that teaching will one day be the highest paid and most respected job in India.
Read transcript of the full interview here!
I have yet to find a FULL VIDEO version of this interview, so I have compiled as many snippets as I could fine to piece together the entire session.
Hillary on Aamir Khan:
On Teaching Profession:
Hillary: Teaching must be encouraged, paid better:
On Tech Assisted Education:
Hillary: We must advocate children for better education:
Due to a scheduling conflict, Julianne Moore, the acress tapped to play Hillary Clinton in the upcoming HBO movie Special Relationship, has pulled out of the project. Actress Hope Davis has taken her place.
This isn't the only drama surrounding this film. Last month, Peter Morgan pulled out of directing the film. Rumors were flying anxieties about his own relationship with the perfectionist Michael Sheen, who will play Blair.
So how one plan to portray a character like Hillary Clinton? Through lots of audio tapes, lots of books, a trusty wig (and if we were to fast forward in time a bit, a closet FULL of pantsuits!).
"With something like this, you can't spend all your time worrying about what you sound like, that you're not doing the storytelling part," Davis told Entertainment Weekly. "That has to come first."
Entertainment Weekly notes that while the movie refers to the "special relationship" between two heads of state, U.S. President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the film also imagines what went on behind closed doors between the Clintons during the Lewinsky affair. And apparently it's something that Davis can relate to.
"Almost every woman in the world has been in that position -- it was a long time ago in my life -- where the person that you trusted looks at you and says, 'I have an admission to make.' It's a moment we've all lived through."
Davis will be flying to London on Sunday to meet the rest of the cast and to do a script read-through. Production will begin July 20 and Davis will join the cast in the beginning of August.
In my opinion, I think she looks more like Hillary Clinton at first glance than Julianne Moore. However, I am not at all familiar with her acting style, her voice or demeanor. I am a bit more familiar with Julianne Moore's acting style and I think she can portray the power and strength of Hillary very well... Hmmm... So what do you guys think, who would play Hillary better, the first Hillary Clinton cast, Julianne Moore, or the second cast, Hope Davis?
Entertainment Tonight caught up with actress Julianne Moore at an L.A.-area cooking competition, where the the film star revealed a few details about her new role playing First Lady, Hillary Clinton... then she blabs on about soy products and earth day or something.
Today Bill Clinton joined Rachael Ray on her daytime show. He has been a guest many times before. He first joined Rachael in the kitchen when she launched her Yum-o! organization and announced a partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to teach families about healthy eating and combat childhood obesity. Bill Clinton through the work of his foundation has been fighting childhood obesity.
During the show, Rachael asks President Clinton for his opinion on the progress being made in the new administration:
"I think the fact that the first family planted a garden on the White House lawn will have as big an impact as almost anything they can do... I also believe you're going to see new initiatives coming out of Congress to help these schools. The Secretary of Agriculture is terrific, really understands these issues very well. I predict that the federal government will have a much more family-friendly policy and they'll really push these things. But I think they're off to a great start."
President Clinton continued on the subject of childhood obesity:
"It's important to understand that hunger and childhood obesity ironically go hand in hand, because the people who suffer from obesity are most likely to come from families that are just marginally above the line of needing food, so they use limited funds to buy high-caloric content at low cost. It's all they can afford. We may have 2 million people in New York City this year who are food short, so we're trying to raise enough money to feed the people who are hungry, and yet the obesity problem is going up with it."
He added that the current economic crisis could have a negative effect on their mission. "I've been so worried that with these financial problems schools would drop their healthy eating programs, undermine the quality of the food offered in the school, the exercise programs would go down again, so we have to work on them both at the same time. They're both a function of economic distress. It's just a question of where you are on the line of need."
With Mother's Day on Sunday, Rachael asks what's on the agenda for the Clinton family:
"Chelsea and I are going to take Hillary and her mother, who will soon be 90 years old, out for Mother's Day... It'll be great."
He mentioned his own expertise in the kichen: "I cooked for Hillary a lot... We were married for a decade before she cooked for me as much as I cooked for her. I liked to cook when I was younger."
So, if you thought we were safe from the 2008 campaign... you were wrong! It is coming back! HBO is going to be making a movie about the recent Presidential race, with actors portraying Barack Obama, John McCain, Sarah Palin, and Hillary and Bill Clinton.
The movie is based on a book that doesn't even exist yet! But it does have a title: Game Change: Obama And The Clintons, McCain And Palin, And The Race Of A Lifetime. The book is being written by Time Magazine editor-at-large Mark Halperin and New York Magazine political correspondent John Heilemann.
They decided to do a book that focused more on the characters (meaning the candidates) than the pollsters and campaign teams. Heilemann knew Barack Obama from their Harvard days, Halperin had become acquainted with Sarah Palin, and they both knew Joe Biden, McCain and the Clintons.
"Focusing on those characters went to the essence of why this was the campaign of a lifetime, not just for the candidates, but for the country," Halperin said. "It's funny to call Obama and Hillary characters, but that's how I have to look at them."
The network has hired "Blood Diamond" scribe Charles Leavitt to adapt the behind-the-scenes look at the 2008 presidential election from the perspective of the candidates and their respective camps.
And I know we all remember that HBO made a deal for Peter Morgan to direct his script "The Special Relationship," setting Dennis Quaid to play Bill Clinton, Julianne Moore to play Hillary Clinton, Michael Sheen to play British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Helen McCrory to play Cherie Blair. See that post here!
To me, it is so interesting that movies and books are just popping up all over the place about the 2008 campaign! It hasn't even been a year since the election! There is so much about this that is strange to me... I am not sure how I feel about this... Thoughts???
Characters from "Family Guy" and "American Dad" riff on Hillary Clinton and Maureen Dowd in a promo for Fox's Sunday lineup.
"Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State," Peter Griffin says. "What do you think?"
"Well I think she's doing great, but I bet Joe Biden would like a little less blonde ambition at State," Stewie replies.
"I read that in the New York Times!" Roger the Alien says.
"Yeah, that was in Maureen Dowd's column," Cleveland chimes in.
"Well," Stewie stutters, "that Maureen Dowd sounds like one sharp tack. I'll have to start reading her. What paper does she write for again?"
Watch the promo in full here!
They are referring to an article Dowd wrote in the New York Times about Obama's possible selection of Clinton as Secretary of State:
How, one may ask, can he put Hillary -- who voted to authorize the Iraq war without even reading the intelligence assessment -- in charge of patching up a foreign policy and a world riven by that war?
You can hear the gnashing of teeth from John Kerry -- who thought the job was promised to him in return for his endorsement after New Hampshire -- and Bill "Judas" Richardson, who met Friday with Obama in Chicago to discuss the job.
And Joe Biden would probably like a little less blond ambition at State so he could be the shadow secretary. But as James Carville has said, a campaign is the time to stab your enemies and a transition is the time to stab your friends.
Maureen Dowd is a total idiot. Family Guy is always pushing the limits on what is acceptable in our culture, what do you guys think?
Here is a little background on the creator that I dug up today: Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane shares the same birthday as Hillary... He is a liberal democrat, but he did support Obama. He is an atheist, who supports gay rights, and gay marriage. He was supposed to be on American Airlines flight 11, which was hijacked on September 11. NONE of this stops him from making lewd jokes on Family Guy about touchy issues such as gay rights, sexism, and even September 11th.
Here are some of Bill's appearances on Family Guy:
Oh and just for fun here is a digg on George Bush:
Wow, thanks for a few ATHC readers for the tip on a new reality TV show starring... you guessed it! Hillary!
