White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

Archives for January 2013

Kevin Spacey on Shakespeare and Bill Clinton for House of Cards

By

Netflix CEO Reid Hastings had a big smile on his face as he watched some of Washington’s most influential media grabbing a seat for a first look at two episodes of House of Cards. Howard Fineman, George Stevens,Jr. , Jim Hoagland, and Joanne Horowitz, Spacey’s manager joined Reema alSabah, Bonnie Lepard , Buffie Cafritz and Ambassador Lloyd and Ann Hand for the stylish screening and dinner that followed. T.Rowe Price tech whiz Henry Ellenbogen chatting with Living Social CEO Tim O’Shaughnessy, Reggie Love in Wharton school appropriate glasses, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, Linda Douglass and John Phillips. Bloomberg View’s chief Frank Wilkinson beamed standing with actress wife Sakina Jaffrey, and David Haddad. At the Step n’ Repeat ABC’s Rick Klein, Janet Donovan, and Media Bistro’s Eddie Scarry asked questions of Oscar nominated writer Beau Willimon, actors Kate Mara, Robin Wright,Sebastian Arcelus,and finally Kevin Spacey. The entire reporter gaggle together into one giant ball of cameras, microphones and iPhones to talk about what inspired Rep. Frank Underwood from Shakespeare to a certain former president that stole Spacey’s Academy Award in 2000.

All thirteen episodes of “House of Cards” on Netflix Instant, so you can see how much of Bill Clinton Spacey can channel past his Richard III.

Media Insider Round-Up: Jobs, Jobs and JOBS

By

It’s been an interesting day so far as jobs continue to be a issue while Rep. Lamar Alexander claims video games are worse than guns despite not ever being proven so! What else is going on that’s worth a read?

  • Bloomberg News confirms that Time is cutting 500 jobs.
  • YouTube is going to bring out premium pay channels ranging from $1-$5:
    “It’s not clear which channels will be part of the first paid-subscription rollout, but it is believed that YouTube will lean on the media companies that have already shown the ability to develop large followings on the video platform, including networks like Machinima, Maker Studios and Fullscreen. YouTube is also looking outside its current roster of partners for candidates.”

  • Washington Post unveils Truth Teller:
    “For the prototype, we focused on the looming debate over tax reform, both because of timing and its import for the country. The tax debate will play out over several months and naturally lends itself to deceit and deception — even moreso than many policy discussions. We hope that our application will help direct the conversation toward the truth as it is happening so that Americans get a fair shot at deciding this critical issue.”

  • Buzzfeed: Al Jazeera America received more than 8,000 job applications for 160 jobs. Don’t be upset if you don’t hear from them until 2014.
  • Ashton Kutcher, star of the new Steve Jobs biopic “jOBS,” got slammed at Sundance. But guess what make-up can do for claiming he looks nothing like the Apple co-founder?
  • Research in Motion is dead! Long live the Blackberry! RWW explains:
    “Heins said that Research In Motion is BlackBerry. All employees are working on BlackBerry and the brand is indentifiable only with BlackBerry. Hence, RIM, a company that has been in existence since the early 1980s, is no more.”

    Need more of an explanation? Buzzfeed points us toward the announcement video for Blackberry’s newest operating, the Blackberry 10:

    It’s cool now for companies to leap off things to promote their product. There was once a time in the District when you couldn’t walk ten feet on Capitol Hill without someone bumping into you due to their “crackberry” problem. IT guys would swear up and down that the iPhone or Apple couldn’t break into the Senate.

    • Beau Willimon and Kate Mara Discuss D.C. At House of Cards Premiere

    By

    House of Cards Premiere at Newseum

    The ghost of D.C. and Hollywood’s last intense fling filled the Newseum at the premiere for “House of Cards.” As the press gaggle waited for series executive producer/director David Fincher (who slipped away before the red carpet) and Kevin Spacey (“Rep. Frank Underwood”) a question remained: how would this compare to “K Street,” the last premium program that brought us all together. Coincidentally, “House of Cards,” which premieres Friday on Netflix, has a great chance to surpass previous feelings for George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh‘s lobbying series because of Beau Willimon. The former Howard Dean staffer turned playwright handled adaptation duties for “House” from the original novel and 1990 BBC mini-series. Willimon previously dealt with Beltway issues and drama with 2004’s Off-Off Broadway “Farragut North,” which he would later adapt for Clooney into the Oscar-nominated Best Adapted Screenplay”The Ides of March.”

    Talking to Huffington Post, Willimon commented on the nature of D.C. and how ripe it is for drama:

    Check out the other video interview with actress Kate Mara below along with our slideshow of who else attended a night filled with Bobby Darin songs.
    [Read more…]

    The Bittersweet Tuesday Job Announcements

    By

    Daily Beast Bipartisan Brunch
    It’s a rough day if you’re Ray LaHood or a CNN employee–but congratulations John Kerry!

    Starting out with the good news today is John Kerry was unanimously approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That was the expected announcement this week. CNN, however, decided that such a thing was too boring for a Tuesday and launched a mass exodus/hiring spree just to see if we can keep up.

    Chris Cuomo is leaving ABC for CNN.The younger brother of Andrew will take point as morning anchor for CNN, which is a rough spot since that’s where Soledad O’Brien is supposed to sit. Matt Whitaker,an executive vice president and managing editor, announced this morning that he’s leaving the network due to new CEO Jeff Zucker‘s “forceful ideas about where to take CNN’s reporting, programming and brand.” Also out? Long-time husband-and-wife duo James Carville and Mary Matalin. Erick Erickson is also gone, but where else could he find an opening?

    In the flurry of media news, it seems someone confused Ray LaHood causing him to announce his resignation as transportation secretary.

    “I want to thank Secretary LaHood for his dedication, his hard work, and his years of service to the American people — including the outstanding work he’s done over the last four years as Secretary of Transportation,” the president said in a statement.

    No other information was given from the former republican Representative from Illinois. It’s a strange ebb and flow around CNN and the cabinet these days.

    edit: We mixed our Cuomos up! Andrew Cuomo is Chris’ brother and current governor of New York. Mario is the former governor of New York and father to both Andrew and Chris. We regret the error.

    Obama’s New Chief Of Staff Won’t Just Cycle Through

    By

    One of the worst parts about the ins and outs of D.C. is the commute, especially if you’re a biker. Unfortunately that’s exactly what Obama’s new Chief of Staff Denis McDonough is about to face with his new role. Announced last week in the Times, among other things a foreign policy expert, McDonough is well known for being cycled through the District on his bike.

    Except not for much longer, as DCist found. McDonough’s preferred method of transportation isn’t an option once he’s formally accepted. USA Today found the line from the president that “Dad will probably have to stop riding his bike to work as chief of staff…I don’t think that’s allowed.”

    So what’s a jilted cycling machine like McDonough to do? Inspire a hashtag on Twitter! The League of American Cyclists’ Andy Clarke created #letdenisride over at the LAC’s blog. He’s already come up with five reasons to keep McDonough in a bike seat over the Metro or an Uber car including “he’ll never get stuck in traffic in times of emergency.”

    To be fair, riding your bike around the White House is not only dangerous but near suicidal. Even with bike lanes, anything on two wheels seems to be prey to buses, speeding cars or the legion of Circulators that loop around the Hay-Adams. No matter what reason folks find to #letdenisride we’re siding with the president when it comes to keeping McDonough in a car, waiting in traffic like the rest of us commuting back and forth through the District. Then again, it’s not like biking from Maryland into D.C. is faster than Metro.

    Photos: The Daily Beast Bipartisan Brunch

    By

    Over the Inaugural, The Newsweek Daily Beast Company did the impossible in D.C.: they got both the left and the right to compromise. Not at the Capitol, however, but at Café Milano in Georgetown thanks to brunch. The “Bipartisan Brunch” went toe-to-toe against a luncheon hosted Google, Elle and Center for American Progress‘”Leading Women in Washington,” featuring leading women including the top elected representatives and ABC‘s own soiree at the Top-Of-The-Hay.

    Hosted by Daily Beast Editor-in-Chief Tina Brown, Presidential Inaugural Committee Co-Chair Eva Longoria, The Weinstein Company’s own Harvey Weinstein, Mark McKinnon and Pamela Thomas-Graham. Why do it?

    ‘It was just absolutely time that the sharks and the jet had a party,” Brown told Yeas & Nays, making her way through the packed restaurant.’

    Other notables include actress Rosario Dawson, Piers Morgan,Andrea Mitchell,Kerry Washington,Gayle King and more are just behind our slideshow.

    WHC Insider/Third Way/Huffington Post Inaugural Reception Gallery

    By

    WHC Insider/Third Way/Huffington Post

    Why yes, we did co-host an event at the Old Ebbitt Grill yesterday where Huffington Post‘s HuffPostLive and Third Way.

    Whether HuffPost was interviewing Miss America Mallory Hagen or the official swearing-in liveblog. Among the invited crowd included Beltway mainstays like Delaware Governor Jack Markell, former Rep. Ellen Tauscher and former MPAA Chairman Dan Glickman. There was also Uber founder Travis Kalanick and “White Collar” actor Matt Bomer. Variety came by to profile how Hollywood and the Beltway have more in common than they’d think:

    “Some veteran Washington figures who have been pushing for compromise — even as the town descended into even greater gridlock — saw Obama’s inaugural address as infused with the message that even if post-partisanship fell short, in many ways change didn’t.

    ‘He knows he can’t force the Republicans to do things, but he is going to try and he is going to use the power of this office, which is considerable, to move them in that direction,’ said Matt Bennett, VP of public affairs and co-founder of Third Way, a centrist Democratic org. ‘But mentioning Stonewall, and mentioning gay equality that explicitly twice in an inaugural address, marks a sea change in American politics where these things went from being the fringes to literally in the center of what an inaugurated president was talking about in his address.”

    You can see more of our best and brightest in the slideshow below:

    Insider Round-Up for the Day After The Inauguration

    By

    The Inaugural is over and now Capitol Hill can (supposedly) get back to business. Here’s what you need to read so you too can say, “What about the Al Roker snub?”

  • Al Roker got snubbed by ‘interviewed’ President Obama and Vice President Biden while walking to the parade box.
  • Photobombs were dropped left and right during the ceremonial swearing-in. From Bill Clinton to Joe Biden and even “Grumpy” Gohmert made an appearence.
  • At our event with Huffington Post and Third Way, we had Old Ebbitt Grill staples like mini-lobster rolls, chicken empanadas, tuna tartare, oysters, chorizo and manchengo…oh, the list goes on. Even the Inaugural Luncheon sounded good. While our event was fantastic according to Variety, the Inaugural Ball itself got the short end of the culinary stick with Presidential Cheez It.
  • The stars came out to the district according to Politico:

    “Guests who had less trouble getting to the event, held at the Harman Center for the Arts, included the Goo Goo Dolls, Richard Kind, Tim Daly, Melissa Leo (wearing a maroon velvet pantsuit), Evan Handler and Wayne Knight. Knight of ‘Seinfeld’ fame applauded President Barack Obama for speaking ‘from his heart’ during his inaugural address. Handler, known for his role on ‘Sex and the City,’ agreed. ‘He did a great job with his speech,’ the actor said.”

  • People were definitely not shouting “Boo-urns” at Rep. Paul Ryan according to the Huffington Post. (It was “Boo!”)
  • Beyoncé lip-synched at the Inaugural. Let the Internet go crazy!

    • Obama’s Remarks: "My main purpose is to say thank you."

    By

    It seems like the “Change” campaign is coming back in 2013. President Barack Obama gave a preview of today’s Inaugural speech during a reception at the Building Museum. After introductions from Vice President Joe Biden and the newly Tweeting FLOTUS Michelle Obama, the president took the stage.

    “Now, first of all, I love Michelle Obama. And to address the most significant event of this weekend, I love her bangs,” he said. The sentiment that followed was one of thanks but a preview of his Inaugural speech breaking ground with gay rights, environment and capped off with Beyoncé’s voice overpowering the Capitol sound system.

    “I’m delivering another speech tomorrow so tonight I’m going to be pretty brief, because there are a limited amount of good lines and you don’t want to use them all up tonight. My main purpose tonight is just to say thank you.

    As I look out on the room, we’ve got people from every walk of life, every corner and nook and cranny of this country, every state, every city, every suburb — people who have invested so much heart, soul, time, money, energy. One of the things that made this campaign unique was the degree of investment and ownership people had in this common project of ours, because you understood this was not just about a candidate; it was not just about Joe Biden or Barack Obama. This was about us, who we are as a nation, what values we cherish, how hard we’re willing to fight to make sure that those values live not just for today but for future generations.

    Among today’s other surprising lines?

    “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

    And of course, this:

    ” Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.”

    So far, this Inaugural has been way more interesting than the last one. And–knock on wood–there’s still cell reception in downtown D.C.! It’s an Inaugura-miracle!