White House Correspondents Insider

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

Elvis Costello Joins Samantha Bee’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner Weekend Comedy Special

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Elvis Costello performing in 2006. Photo by Victor Diaz Lamich provided courtesy Wikipedia.

Legendary musician and songwriter Elvis Costello, known for smash hits “Allison” and “Veronica”, will be performing with his band The Imposters at the after-party following Samantha Bee’s “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” comedy special.

Bee’s event is scheduled to take place at D.A.R. Constitution Hall a few hours before the April 29th annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. She has said her event is not an attempt to “supersede” the annual Correspondents’ Association dinner, but rather an attempt to celebrate the importance of a free press.

“We just want to be there in case something happens – or doesn’t happen. And ensure we get to properly roast the president,” Bee told the New York Times in January.

Proceeds for Bee’s event will benefit Committee to Protect Journalists, according to organizers. The show will be broadcast on TBS April 29th at 10PM EST.

VEEP Wins Peabody Award

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Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

HBO’s VEEP is among this year’s Peabody Award winners. Seven winners were included in the award including Beyonce’s Lemonade and FX’s “Atlanta”.

Thursday, April 20th The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors awarded seven Entertainment “stories that feature a powerhouse lineup of female characters, and dramas that break the mold of typical television fare.”

According to the Board of Jurors, Veep is a “rare show blessed with a perfectly cast ensemble, including the comedic genius of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep is a workplace comedy that not only captures the zeitgeist of the current bizarre political moment but transcends its own form to deliver a sobering message, with sharp dialogue, street savvy—and lots of laughs.”

The Peabody Awards are based at the the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

More about the Peabody Awards here:
http://www.peabodyawards.com/stories/story/entertainment-winners-named-for-peabody-30

You can watch HBO’s VEEP here:
http://play.hbogo.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GVU2fLgkp0lFvjSoJAT_x

Hasan Minjah Will Host This Year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner

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By DoD News photo by EJ Hersom [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Hasan Minjah, senior correspondent on “The Daily Show” and stand up comedian, will be this year’s headline entertainment for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

In a statement, Minjah said “it is a tremendous honor to be a part of such a historic event even though the president has chosen not to attend this year. SAD!”

Jeff Mason, White House Correspondents Association president and journalist for Reuters, said in announcing Minjah’s role at the dinner:

“I am thrilled that Hasan will serve as our featured entertainer at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Hasan’s smarts, big heart and passion for press freedom make him the perfect fit for our event, which will be focused on the First Amendment and the importance of a robust and independent media.”

Mason also said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that while President Trump will not be in attendance at the dinner, Minjah very likely will make jokes poking at both the press and the administration, but he “was not looking for someone who would roast the president in absentia.”

President Trump announced in February he will not attend this year’s dinner, making it the first time a sitting president will not be present since 1981, when Ronald Reagan was recovering from an assassination attempt. The White House later announced no staff would attend in “solidarity” with the president.

The White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner will be held on April 29 at the Washington Hilton.

Creative Coalition’s “Right to Bear Arts” Day of Advocacy and Gala Dinner White House Correspondents Dinner Weekend

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Jawbone’s Hosain Rahman, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Tammy Haddad and Tim Daly. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

A delegation of Hollywood stars will arrive in Washington the weekend of the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner to promote and advocate funding for the arts.

The nonpartisan arts charity of the entertainment industry, The Creative Coalition will sponsor their annual gala and Advocacy Day, the “Right to Bear Arts,” the weekend of the Correspondent’s Dinner at the nation’s capitol.

Delegation members include Matt Walsh (“Veep”), Alyssa Milano (“Mistresses”), Justin Bartha (“The Hangover”), Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs”), Aaron Staton (“Mad Men”), Nick Sandow (“Orange is the New Black”), Denis O’Hare (“American Horror Story”) and Sarah Wayne Callies (“Prison Break”). Additional sponsors include the organization’s President actor Tim Daly (“Madam Secretary”) and Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk.

It had been speculated that Hollywood may sit out this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend festivities as a protest against President Donald Trump. Trump announced on Twitter in February he would not attend the Correspondents’ dinner, which raises money for exceptional journalism scholarships and is a celebration of the First Amendment.

The dinner is Co-Chaired by Todd Hitt, Hitt Construction; Lori Gordon, Cardinal Health and Michael Mimeles.

The Creative Coalition was founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community. Its mission is to educate, mobilize and activate members on important issues in the arts and entertainment communities.

Trump Impersonator Atamanuik to Host “The President Show” on Comedy Central

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

Anthony Atamanuik has been called “the nation’s best Donald Trump impersonator.” His portfolio is expanding as the comedian announced he will bring his character to television as the host of “The President Show,” a new weekly program on Comedy Central.

“Laughing at the President is a proud American tradition and we hope not to disappoint anyone in that department,” Atamanuik said. “I’d just like to thank Comedy Central for giving us this platform to speak truth to power and if we’re lucky, end up in prison!”

The President Show will be a late-night show hosted by Atamanuik in character as Trump broadcasting “direct” from the Oval Office. It will feature “best guests, the most beautiful women, it’ll be so funny; the most funny show,” Atamanuik stated.

The show is executive produced by Atamanuik, along with Peter Grosz, Adam Pally, Jason Ross, and 3 Arts Entertainment’s Olivia Gerke, Greg Walter and Josh Lieberman. The series will be directed by Andre Allen and produced by Clone Wolf Productions.

TMZ’s Harvey Levin Meets President Trump in Oval Office

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President Donald Trump met with TMZ founder Harvey Levin in the Oval Office last week for about an hour. The meeting was not on the president’s public schedule.

This was not the first meeting between the president and the head of TMZ. Last fall, Levin interviewed Trump for the special “Objectified: Donald Trump,” which aired on Fox News. White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks emailed reporters suggesting this meeting was along the same vein.

“The show was a huge success, and the two were discussing future opportunities,” Hicks stated.

Levin’s stop at the White House included a tour of the presidential residence, including a visit of the Lincoln Bedroom.

Who Will Headline the Correspondents Dinner?

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Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Over the weekend, Late Night host Stephen Colbert suggested he would “love” to again headline the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April. “I’d love to do it. I mean, when else are you going to stand next to the President and make jokes? But no one will ever ask again.”

Past hosts include Larry Wilmore, Rich Little, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel. Jay Leno currently holds the record for emceeing the event four times: 1987, 2000, 2004 and 2010.

The challenge for this year’s host will be balancing his or her role as entertainment with a presidential administration constantly criticizing the media. Dave Berg, producer of “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” summed it up:

“In the past, the big challenge for comedians was, ‘How could I be funnier than President Obama? In most years, his comedy trumped the comedians. This year goes way beyond that. On the one hand, you could be accused of sitting there and skewering Trump and he is captive [at the dinner]. On the other hand, you could be accused of being too soft.”

Director Patrick Gavin, who produced the 2015 documentary Nerd Prom: Inside Washington’s Wildest Week, said this should be a tough decision for any comedian. “If they’re too tough on Trump, they run the risk of violating the ‘singe, but not burn’ principle that guides the dinner… And if they’re too soft… they will suffer the wrath of half of the country that view taking it to Trump as nothing short of a civic requirement.”

Jeff Mason of Reuters, in his role as the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, oversees choosing the entertainer. He said recently he has no timeframe currently on when someone will be announced.

President Trump has not yet accepted an invitation to attend the Dinner. The last president to miss was Ronald Reagan in 1981 as he recovered from an assassination attempt.

Stephen Colbert Offers to Host White House Correspondents’ Dinner

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Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Over the weekend, Late Night host Stephen Colbert said he would be interested in hosting this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April.

“I’d love to do it,” Colbert said at an 80’s dance party fundraiser for the Montclair Film Festival. “I mean, when else are you going to stand next to the President and make jokes?”

Colbert was the host of the Dinner in 2006, where he roasted then-President George W. Bush. “Everyone who wasn’t in that room loved [the speech],” he reminisced.

The late-night talk show host also discussed how difficult it has been to keep up with current events as host of Late Night since the Inauguration.

“The speed at which the news changes with President Trump is extraordinary,” Colbert said. “We tape the show at 5:30 p.m., but sometimes we have to change the show at 5 p.m. — after rehearsal, when everything is done — we are writing a whole new first act based around something that he has said or done in the last half hour. The balls are coming over the plate so fast with him and I think that’s intentional. [The Trump administration] want[s] their actions to be almost un-discussable. They want to swamp the real media.”

Jeff Mason of Reuters, in his role as the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, oversees choosing the entertainer. He said recently he has no timeframe currently on when someone will be announced.

Superstar Ballerina Misty Copeland Talks Art, Race, and Style with Septime Webre at Georgetown’s Halcyon House

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Misty Copeland and Septime Webre at the Halcyon Stage. 

Septime Webre began his premiere season as artistic director of the brand-new Halcyon Stage arts series in Washington with style, grace, and a dash of humor. He sat down with Misty Copeland, superstar ballerina, for a conversation about her career, her struggles, and her unique popularity, in the concert hall of Georgetown’s Halcyon House.

Among the topics discussed were race, particularly Misty’s role as the first African-American principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater, her new position on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, and her friendship with former President Barack Obama.

Ms. Copeland told the audience that “everyone deserves art and beauty,” in response to a question from Mr. Webre about funding for the arts and the new Trump administration.

Guests including Sachiko Kuno, Kate Goodall, Jayne Sandman, Lydia Logan, Marvin Bowser, Anne Ashmore-Hudson, and over two dozen ARC Ballet students.

In addition to the ongoing Halcyon Stage series, all Halcyon Stage artists will lead in “community sessions”. Webre said among the themes he intends to address as artistic director is “the nature of creativity and its effect on the world.”

You can find out more about Halcyon Stage here.

Misty Copeland and Septime Webre at the Halcyon Stage. 

 

Satchiko Kuno, Misty Copeland and Septime Webre at the Halcyon Stage. 

White House Turns Magical for Christmas Season

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White House Christmas 2011. CC photo courtesy of Tim Evanson on Flickr.

Visitors can tour the White House year-round, though during the Christmas season welcomes people from around the globe to see a holiday celebration like no other.

The theme for this year is “The Gift of the Holidays,” reflecting on gifts that matter, including “service, friends and family, education and good health,” per the White House press release.

The White House has been transformed into a winter wonderland for the Christmas season, complete with over 6,000 ornaments, 8,000 bows and ribbons, 25,000 yarn pom-poms, and over 50 Lego gingerbread houses. The White House invited 92 volunteers from around the country to assist with decorating this year. Rafanelli Events designed the décor.

Guests will find the White House Gingerbread House weighing in at 150 pounds of gingerbread and 20 pounds of icing. A long-standing tradition during the Christmas season, first ladies Martha Washington and Dolley Madison made a soft version of this cake to treat visitors.

This year, only 10% of the decorations are new, with most being recycled or re-purposed from previous Christmas seasons.

If you wish to tour the White House yourself, you can visit the White House Visitors Office website for more information.

WHC Flashback to Ellis Schafer reflecting on the final Easter Egg Roll of the Obama administration earlier this year.  Schafer is the Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Director of the White House Visitors Office.