They told me in the summer of 2016 that the soon-to-be loser of the presidential election was preparing to make a big splash in the infotainment industry.
And they were right, apparently.
Here’s another reason to oppose Ted Cruz’s and AOC’s proposed lifetime ban on ex-politicians from lobbying. If you stop them from cashing in on K Street, they’re going to follow Obama’s and now Hillary’s lead in forming their own production houses. Imagine how much “socially conscious” dreck we’ll be sifting through on TV 10 years from now.
In the Clintons’ case, I’m imagining something like the Hallmark Channel except every romantic plot somehow revolves around climate change.
The two have spoken to studios about financing a pipeline of programs, said people familiar with the matter. They would give a studio first crack at releasing the projects, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are at an early stage.
The family hopes to use film and television to influence culture and society now that Hillary Clinton is out of politics. They plan to focus on stories by and about women. The production company is one of many potential business opportunities that Hillary Clinton, 71, is considering.
Hillary Clinton previously signed on to help produce a TV show with Steven Spielberg. That series, “The Woman’s Hour,” is an adaptation of a book about activists who fought to earn women the right to vote.
“Fight Song” will play over the closing credits of every program.
No, not really. But probably. Probably it will. The Clintons are nothing if not formulaic.
I’m curious to see how she and Chelsea do with this, candidly. The Clintons aren’t a “brand” anymore in the way that the Obamas are, if ever they were. Hillary lost her election; Bill’s in disfavor in the #MeToo era; their centrist tilt politically feels increasingly passe. They’re hyper-famous like the Obamas but lack the degree of star power that Barack and Michelle have. I feel like O could get George Clooney or Brad Pitt to be in some project about the glamour of community organizing or whatever, but I don’t know that Bill and Hillary could. If they do this for a few years and the Obamas’ movies are lapping them in revenue, do they give up out of humiliation? Or is a buck a buck?
Let’s hope both families fail or else we’ll be cursed with ex-politicians launching vanity Hollywood initiatives forevermore. AOC might not even wait until she’s out of Congress to do it; she’s already the star of a Netflix documentary and could deliver millions of ardent lefties to whatever project she’s involved with. The future of American politics may be pols moonlighting as producers, cranking out unwatchably didactic propaganda about their pet causes to promote “the message.” If Instagram livestreaming to one’s constituents is the present, why aren’t production houses the near-future?
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