Category: scott sforza, wh producer

Even the weekly, leftwing, activist, downtown media (owned by a religious conservative, suburban billionaire) said the George Bush media masterminds flubbed the debate last week.
Late to close, but still wanting to kick the man when he’s down, the Village Voice’s James Ridgeway discusses gloats how the split screen–which captured Bush’s antsy reaction shots for all the world to see–tipped the outcome of the debate.
See Bush Twitch! [Village Voice]

Cross? Check. Jew? Check. Gavel? Check. via NYT

“President Bush’s chief political strategist, Karl Rove, told CNN he did not think the podium’s decorative woodwork looked like a cross.
“‘My God, where do they come up with this stuff?’ he said. ‘Does it look to you like it’s a cross? I don’t think so.'”
– Jewish Groups Irked by Cross on Republican Podium [Reuters, 9/1/04]

And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
– Luke 8:10, KJV

“Beside the podium is the gavel stand [which holds a gavel, the symbol of judgment, oh, and by the way, Jesus is the Judge. -g] constructed of wood panels, with lighter shades in the center in the shape of a cross — the Christian symbol of the crucifixion of Jesus.” [Reuters]
Not to be all nit-picky, but since Jesus Himself makes the distinction: if that gavel stand symbolizes Christ The Judge, then the speaker is on His Left Hand.
[via The Revealer]

Cross? Check. Jew? Check. Gavel? Check. via NYT

“President Bush’s chief political strategist, Karl Rove, told CNN he did not think the podium’s decorative woodwork looked like a cross.
“‘My God, where do they come up with this stuff?’ he said. ‘Does it look to you like it’s a cross? I don’t think so.'”
– Jewish Groups Irked by Cross on Republican Podium [Reuters, 9/1/04]

And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
– Luke 8:10, KJV

“Beside the podium is the gavel stand [which holds a gavel, the symbol of judgment, oh, and by the way, Jesus is the Judge. -g] constructed of wood panels, with lighter shades in the center in the shape of a cross — the Christian symbol of the crucifixion of Jesus.” [Reuters]
Not to be all nit-picky, but since Jesus Himself makes the distinction: if that gavel stand symbolizes Christ The Judge, then the speaker is on His Left Hand.
[via The Revealer]

Dale Peck, writer/Hatchet man: will periodically leave Soho House to “commit civil disobedience as many times as possible.” [via Gothamist]
Maer Roshan, magazine non-launcher/editor: will bombard and disorient conventiongoers with daily rundowns on the best plastic surgeons and spa treatments in town. Also, will depict attendees as big-hair-sporting, cowboy-hat-wearers. Not clear that this will be recognized as protest. [via Gawker]
Various anarcho-geeks: will ride around town on wi-fi- and gps-enabled bikes, hoping someone will text them. Ooh, you’ve got’em scared now, pal. [Eyeteeth, via waxy]

So which way does this go? I mean, I’m a pretty religious guy from a religious, hurricane-prone state, and I can’t figure it out:
Does getting pounded by two history-making hurricanes mean God is displeased and punishing Bush and his supporters for their election year sins, OR
does it mean God’s blessing him with several weeks of high-profile disaster relief photo-ops and FEMA-distributed largesse?

from an ongoing series:
If his behavior on my flight to Ozaka is any indication, Billy will dress like a 40-year old cop trying to go undercover at a high school.
He will sport long, greasy hair, with a ponytail on top, a la Patrick Rafter circa 1998, and a t-shirt that reads BUllSHit in foot-tall red letters. The t-shirt will be tight enough to reveal that he hasn’t been back to Equinox 76th street since he used to hit on my friend there in 1993.
He will emerge from first to walk repeatedly around the business class cabin, presumably so that we can all read his shirt. He will be careful to avoid entering the coach cabin. At customs, once he’s thrust back into gen pop, he will don a giant pair of sunglasses and keep his head down and arms folded (over his oh-so-rebellious slogan).
He will not wait for any checked luggage, but take his carry-on and disappear with a Japanese handler, presumably to shoot a pachinko commercial or some other mortgage-paying gig.

Steve Martin said it best: it’s all in the ti-MING. ti…MINGming.
It’s always risky shooting with locally cast talent. But after five tense days, the White House screening room erupted in fits of backslapping and high fives as the rushes showed Pakistan nailing its mark like Meryl Streep with a mustache and the bomb.
The interior ministry just announced–at midnight local time, which is 2pm in, say, Boston–the capture of a major Al Qaeda terrorist, his entourage, and his fearsome arsenal of weapons.
True, the guy’s name is “Foopie,” his entourage was his wife and children-with whom he had been living for some time in Pakistan, and his arsenal consisted of “two AK-47 rifles, plastic chemicals [huh? like caulking?], two computers, [and] computer diskettes,” and the arrest actually happened Sunday. But Scott can fix all that in post.
Besides, all they needed was an “Al Qaeda bigwig netted” hed stepping on the “Kerry slams Bush on terror ‘war'” lead this weekend; it could be any one of the terrorists in Pakistan’s Rolodex, really. And if the guy’s story’s really got legs, they can just get the nets to call him the Tanzanian Devil. [Note to self: contact TW/CNN re licensing and permissions.]
Related: White House Production Notes: Summer Blockbuster Edition

Steve Martin said it best: it’s all in the ti-MING. ti…MINGming.
It’s always risky shooting with locally cast talent. But after five tense days, the White House screening room erupted in fits of backslapping and high fives as the rushes showed Pakistan nailing its mark like Meryl Streep with a mustache and the bomb.
The interior ministry just announced–at midnight local time, which is 2pm in, say, Boston–the capture of a major Al Qaeda terrorist, his entourage, and his fearsome arsenal of weapons.
True, the guy’s name is “Foopie,” his entourage was his wife and children-with whom he had been living for some time in Pakistan, and his arsenal consisted of “two AK-47 rifles, plastic chemicals [huh? like caulking?], two computers, [and] computer diskettes,” and the arrest actually happened Sunday. But Scott can fix all that in post.
Besides, all they needed was an “Al Qaeda bigwig netted” hed stepping on the “Kerry slams Bush on terror ‘war'” lead this weekend; it could be any one of the terrorists in Pakistan’s Rolodex, really. And if the guy’s story’s really got legs, they can just get the nets to call him the Tanzanian Devil. [Note to self: contact TW/CNN re licensing and permissions.]
Related: White House Production Notes: Summer Blockbuster Edition

From: Scott Sforza, Head of Production, White House Studios
To: Karl Rove, CEO,
RE: Summer Schedule
As requested, sir, an update on this summer’s production/release schedule. It’s filling out quite nicely, and there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind it’ll go well. That said, it IS a lot of work for one man. I would ask you again to rethink the NO INTERNS policy; we could really use an extra hand down here.
– The Sidekick/Mentor/Villain is still causing trouble, and not testing well, either. We could finesse recasting, no problem. First, though, I recommend The Gyllenhaal Strategy: float the idea of replacing him with look-alike for the sequel. Looking good in a uniform‘s nice, but remember: we can always stuff a sock in the jumpsuit. We just need someone with a temper who knows his way around a combover. And who can swear like an oilman. [via boifromtroy]
– Release date for the ‘Foreign Production’: It’s exciting to hear we’re buying the rights to a new war picture, even if sellthrough on the last one is underperforming in both domestic and foreign. Still, I have some serious reservations about the release date–“the 26, 27 or 28 of July”??
I’m know this has serious tentpole potential, but HAVE WE EVEN SEEN THE ROUGH CUT? With all due respect to the many studio execs who came back from the set saying, “This is great stuff!” and “It’ll be done on time, no problem!” I’d feel more comfortable if we had some people in the editing room for this. Never mind, I’m told it’s being taken care of. Sorry. I still have that “They’ll shower us with flowers” song stuck in my head. [via Talkingpointsmemo]
– The Broadway Musical: What can I say, it’s costing more than we budgeted. I still don’t understand why we couldn’t shoot this in Toronto instead. The unions are whining, surprise surprise. Can’t wait for that scene in the sequel where we ship’em all of to Gitmo. haha. Bloomberg’s dealing with the leafblower-extortionists on the set problem, though. Sending them to the park or something. The “extras” are ready, and we’ll have a fleet of Prius’s ready to shuttle anyone who wants to see Hairspray, undetected. The set will look fabulous.

This is so beyond jumping the shark. At least the shark was jumped on the main show.
Colin Powell singing YMCA in Jakarta (he was the construction worker.) is the political equivalent of a bitter, aging Erin Moran, who–realizing her series isn’t going to be renewed, and without even a glint of hope for a Charles in Charge of her own–just pushes through the script and tries to get through the week so she can cash her check and suck it up her nose. [via waxy]

On Monday, the Bush-Cheney show had (yet another) location shoot in Ohio. Exec Prod. Karl Rove is guarding the script closer than a CIA agent’s identity, it appeared to be (yet another) Bush Liking Black People scene.
The production company has published some pictures from the set on their website. They reveal some useful tips for imagemakers who need to utterly transform an alcohol and drug treatment center into a TV-friendly black-box studio.
First, the basics:

On Monday, the Bush-Cheney show had (yet another) location shoot in Ohio. Exec Prod. Karl Rove is guarding the script closer than a CIA agent’s identity, it appeared to be (yet another) Bush Liking Black People scene.
The production company has published some pictures from the set on their website. They reveal some useful tips for imagemakers who need to utterly transform an alcohol and drug treatment center into a TV-friendly black-box studio.
First, the basics:

Reagan hits his last mark, stumping for the Bush/Cheney campaign

Love him or hate him, you’ve gotta give Karl Rove credit for pulling the plug at the optimal time. He manages 1) to divert attention from whatever new Bush administration embarassments are set to unfold this week, and 2) he figures out how to get some campaign appearances out of Reagan.
Related: Joan Didion’s Reagan myth-puncturing essay, The Lion King, in the NYRB.
[Update: finally, a Nader for the right wingnuts. Bush/ZombieReagan ’04 campaign site]

I usually confine my viewing of OLN, the Outdoor Life Network, to pen-to-pen coverage of the Professional Bull Riders Tour.
But then, like a shiny object dancing before me, on-the-set production details for OLN’s Fishing With Roland Martin appeared on Josh Marshall’s Talkingpointsmemo:

On Saturday, Bush and his father were to go fishing at the ranch’s bass pond with a crew from the Outdoor Life Network’s “Fishing with Roland Martin.”
The White House approached the network about coming to film Bush, who is eager to cultivate an image as a sportsman with the millions of voters who hunt and fish. The crew was to bring its own boat for the shoot on the small pond. [emphasis added for ironic effect]

I’d imagine Roland & Co. would need at least a month’s leadtime to put such a shoot together. Coincidentally, it’s been just over a month since White House producers–and sportsman voters–heard a report on NPR where “the hook-and-bullet crowd” voice opposition to the Bush administration’s environmental policies. Roland’s crew is joined this weekend by the NRA and conservative/moderate conservation groups mentioned in the story.
Although manmade, Bush’s bass pond was not actually excavated for the shoot. The CSMonitor even mentions it in a WH Press Office-stocked feature on Bush’s Crawford ranch:

A USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll shows that 55 percent of Americans believe four weeks is too long for a president to be away from Washington. Keenly aware of the image of a slough-off president – the Washington Post calculates that Bush has spent 42 percent of his presidency at vacation spots or en route – the White House refers to this as a “working” vacation. The president has planned about two trips a week to spread the gospel of “heartland values.” Last week, much of his time was taken up with the televised announcement of his stem-cell decision.
Still, there’s no doubt the president is enjoying considerable down time. He’s gone on long, early morning walks with his wife, golfed with friends at a nearby course in Waco, fished, and jogged through canyons on his land – where he’s also building a nature walk. [emphasis added]

The date of that article: August 14, 2001.