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House of Cards Creator Beau Willimon Wants to Put an End to Sexual Assault

May 14, 2015 By WHC Insider

“With her students, she (Katie Cappiello) wrote SLUT: The Play — about a 16-year-old girl who’s sexually assaulted by three guy friends, and the backlash that follows. Slut debuted in New York in February 2013, with the same teenage girls who helped develop the project as its actresses.

“After getting attention from the likes of Hillary Clinton and Amy Poehler, Cappiello is preparing for Slut’s Washington premiere. On May 19 at the Warner Theatre, theatergoers will catch a glimpse of Beau Willimon, the creator of House of Cards and a big supporter of the project, who will be speaking alongside US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Glamour Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive, and others.”

Read more via Washingtonian: House of Cards Creator Beau Willimon Wants to Put an End to Sexual Assault

Filed Under: Causes, Hillary Clinton, News, TV, Washington, Washington Events

Beau Willimon on the evolution of TV and proliferation of DC-based shows

May 5, 2015 By WHC Insider

listen to ‘TRAIL TALK Episode One: Sen. Lindsey Graham and HOUSE OF CARDS' Beau Willimon’ on audioBoom

For the inaugural episode of Trail Talk, Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin spoke with Beau Willimon, screenwriter and show runner of the Netflix hit political thriller, HOUSE OF CARDS. Following are excerpts of his interview where he discusses why there are currently so many DC-based political TV shows, shares his perspective on the evolution of TV, and explains how House of Cards prevents leaks.

WHY SO MANY DC-BASED POLITICAL TV SHOWS
“I would say that really over the past 15 years or so, the American public seems to be more politically conscious than it was in the decade or two prior to that, and that’s largely because of 9/11, of the War on Terror, number of wars overseas, an election in 2000 that was highly disputed. Politics became a big part of everyone’s life because there were real stakes, attached to it, in ways that there hadn’t been to the same degree in years previous and maybe that heightened political consciousness has led to a deeper interest in these sort of stories.”

EVOLUTION OF TV/NETFLIX
“I don’t think you can really draw a distinction between Internet television and other forms of television at this point. I would say you can’t even really draw a distinction between television and film. You have so many types of distribution, so many different types of networks and broadcasters. Formal differences between film and TV are falling away in terms of the way that they’re filmed, the sort of talent that TV is drawing to it. You’ve got a bunch of limited series which seems to be the new fad now. They used to be called miniseries. There might be four or six episodes, which are essentially just long movies.

“I think that what’s most exciting is that you have a technological and a cultural paradigmatic shift happening at the same time and they’re intertwined. Netflix has expanded at a speed that you really haven’t seen in Hollywood before, at least not for a very long time. It was only three-and-a-half years ago that Netflix got into the game, and now they have dozens of shows that they are launching and are in development, major franchises, a huge diverse slate. Other competitors are getting into the game in a serious way like Amazon, Hulu. I don’t think that Netflix or Amazon, for instance, is going to replace all of the hundreds of networks that we have on cable but I do think that those networks may adapt to the new environment. HBO is a good example. They now have their own streaming service, specific to their network. And I think things are just changing very fast. It’s difficult to predict what it will be. I think what it is now, in ten years will probably seem antiquated to what it will be, and we can’t even imagine what it will be. I think the only thing we can count on that it’s going to continue to evolve at a very fast pace.”

SEASON 4 OF HOUSE OF CARDS – NO LEAKS
WILLIMON: There’s plenty of leaks in Washington but we’re pretty good at “House of Cards” keeping leaks from happening, and I’m certainly not going to be the one who breaks ranks.
HADDAD: Do you lock up that writers’ room at night?
WILLIMON: Oh, yeah, we do lock it up.
MARTIN: Do you have your own e-mail server?
WILLIMON: There are a lot of security precautions. I mean, we don’t know how well we can protect ourselves from PRISM, but they haven’t let the cat out of the bag yet so…
MARTIN: You haven’t done anything to upset the North Koreans, then, too. Right?
WILLIMON: Well, see, like you’re trying to ask sneaky questions. You’re thinking that in a dispositive way of however I answer that might say something about Season 4, so, no comment.

Listen to the full podcast on AudioBoom or iTunes.

Filed Under: Entertainment, News, Trail Talk, TV, Washington Insider

Trail Talk: Beau Willimon on Power in Washington and Hillary’s Candidacy

April 30, 2015 By Trail Talk

listen to ‘TRAIL TALK Episode One: Sen. Lindsey Graham and HOUSE OF CARDS' Beau Willimon’ on audioBoom

For the inaugural episode of Trail Talk, Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin spoke with Beau Willimon, screenwriter and show runner of the Netflix hit political thriller, HOUSE OF CARDS. Following are excerpts of his interview where he discusses the power game in Washington, D.C. and shares his impressions of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign rollout.

POWER IN WASHINGTON
“I think one major truth about politics is that no form of power is absolute. Even if you become the president of the United States, the most powerful man or woman in the Free World, that power comes with limitations, with constraints, with pressures. You may, even if you’re elected, and Francis Underwood wasn’t, you may have a mandate but you still have to work with Congress; you still have to rely on allies; you still have to contend with enemies, and the popular will can shift on a dime. So any president faces these sort of dilemmas, even if they’ve, you know, assumed office with a great deal of popular support behind them. We’ve seen that a number of times in the past few decades, and how quickly that good will can shift.”

ON HILLARY CLINTON’S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN LAUNCH
“I’m a huge fan of Hillary Clinton. I worked a little bit on her first Senate campaign. A lot of my friends have worked for both the Clintons and all of those that worked for Hillary Clinton adore her. I was a big supporter of hers in 2008. She was my senator. I also loved Barack Obama a lot, and I thought for the first time in ages we had an embarrassment of riches in the Democratic Party, where either one of the two major candidates would have made for a good president.

“I’m very biased, you know. I am rooting for Hillary Clinton. I had thought she’d make a good president then and I still believe she’d make a good president now.

“In terms of the rollout itself, I thought it was well done. I really respect the fact that she’s taking nothing for granted, that she’s going to go out and pound the pavement and shake the hands and kiss the babies in New Hampshire and Iowa, if that’s what it takes out there, and, I think there’s a degree of confidence in her campaign but also a degree of humility. And that combination, in the right balance is what we look for in our candidate.”

Listen to the full podcast on AudioBoom or iTunes.

Filed Under: Entertainment, News, Trail Talk, TV, Washington Insider

Jake Tapper will anchor CNN’s ‘State of the Union’

April 24, 2015 By WHC Insider

“Jake Tapper is the next anchor of CNN’s Sunday morning political interview program “State of the Union.”

CNN announced Tapper’s promotion on Friday morning. He will take over the program in June; he’ll remain the channel’s chief Washington correspondent and the anchor of the weekday afternoon newscast “The Lead.”

Read more via CNN: Jake Tapper will anchor CNN’s ‘State of the Union’

Filed Under: News, TV

Trailer for HBO’s The Brink

April 20, 2015 By WHC Insider

The Brink, starring Jack Black and Tim Robbins, premieres June 21 at 10:30PM, only on HBO.

More from VanityFair.com: Exclusive: The Trailer for HBO’s The Brink

Filed Under: Entertainment, News, TV

Season 4 Premiere Party for HBO’s VEEP at Dog Tag Bakery

April 12, 2015 By WHC Insider

A viewing party to celebrate the fourth season premiere of HBO’s VEEP was hosted at Dog Tag Bakery in Washington, D.C. on April 11, 2015. Proceeds from the evening benefited Dog Tag’s mission to provide education and leadership development for our nation’s veterans.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Event Coverage, News, TV

Is America ready for more President Meyer?

April 11, 2015 By WHC Insider

Selina Meyer

A viewing party at Dog Tag Bakery in Washington, D.C. celebrated the fourth season premiere of HBO’s VEEP. Using data from Zignal Labs, media mentions and public sentiment surrounding Selina Meyer’s campaign for reelection as President of the United States were tracked and measured against 2016 presidential hopefuls.

shot

Guests were also treated to the “Selina Meyer Shot” served Secret Service-style.

coaster

Read more via thehill.com: HBO’s ‘Veep’ gets DC premiere party
Watch the Season 4 trailer for HBO’s VEEP

Filed Under: Entertainment, News, TV

VEEP season premiere on HBO

April 9, 2015 By WHC Insider

468764540The fourth season of HBO’s VEEP premieres on Sunday, April 12, 2015.

Variety covered the premiere party in NYC: HBO Stars Help Celebrate ‘Veep’s’ Fourth-Season Premiere

Watch a clip from the new season below and tune in at 10:30 pm on Sunday!

Filed Under: Entertainment, News, TV

MSNBC’s Matt Saal to Bloomberg TV

March 21, 2015 By WHC Insider

Saal

“Matt Saal, the creator and executive producer of PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton, is leaving MSNBC for a new role at Bloomberg TV. Saal will serve as an EP at Bloomberg after 12 years with MSNBC.”

Read more via adweek.com: ‘PoliticsNation’ EP Matt Saal Leaving MSNBC for Bloomberg

Filed Under: News, TV

Neil deGrasse to host Nat Geo Latenight Series

March 19, 2015 By WHC Insider

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Late night’s newest host isn’t James Corden on CBS’ The Late Late Show; it’s Neil deGrasse Tyson​ on Nat Geo.

Read more via variety.com: Nat Geo Latenight Series Hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson To Launch April 20

Filed Under: Late Night, News, TV

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About White House Correspondents Insider

Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful reporters and editors in the world, the Washington press corps. We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos. Tammy Haddad is Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WHC Insider and she hosts the Washington Insider podcast.

White House Correspondents Insider is not affiliated with or approved by the White House Correspondents Association which is a registered trademark of the WHCA.

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