White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.

Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon Mulls Run for NY Governor

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Cynthia Nixon accepting this year’s HRC Visibility Award, Photo Courtesy AP

Another celebrity is seriously considering joining the ranks of actors-turned-politicians like Al Franken, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sonny Bono, and Frank Grandy. Cynthia Nixon, of HBO’s “Sex and the City” fame, is reportedly weighing her options in a potential primary showdown with Andrew Cuomo, who many see as a strong contender for a presidential run in 2020, for governor of New York. While she is yet to make any sort of official announcement, she “is in serious conversations about jumping in and has begun reaching out to potential campaign staffers,” according to a new report in Politico.

Nixon has been vocal in her criticism of both Donald Trump and Governor Cuomo. In an op-ed published by CNN in January, she wrote, “President Trump’s first year in office has been a dark year for many in America. For those of us who value equal rights for all, or economic and racial justice, or want to combat climate change, we’ve taken huge steps backwards.”

Governor Cuomo, who many see as a strong contender for a presidential run in 2020, and his team were reportedly caught off guard by the news. Politico claims that the reelection campaign has not done any polling on Nixon or any other potential primary opponent.

You can read Politico’s full report on Nixon here.

Julia Louis Dreyfus Winning Cancer Battle

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Julia Louis Dreyfus post cancer surgery.

The day after winning her sixth Emmy in September, Julia Louis Dreyfus announced that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and her absence has not gone without notice.

Dreyfus took to Twitter this week to show cancer isn’t going to keep her down, “Hoorah! Great doctors, great results, feeling happy and ready to rock after surgery. Hey cancer, “F*ck you! Here’s my first post op photo.”

Dreyfus returns to the set in August with HBO officially confirming the return of Veep in 2019.

Check out the post on twitter here.

Veeples: Jonah Ryan For Congress Limited Edition T-Shirts

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Now you can have a piece of the biggest political battle of the year, Jonah Ryan’s election to Congress, with the purchase of a limited edition Jonah Ryan for Congress T-Shirt.

Jonah Ryan for Congress Exclusive T-Shirts

Jonah Ryan for Congress Exclusive T-Shirts

 

In an exclusive interview with White House Correspondents’ Insider, the star of HBO’s comedy Veep said, “My name is Timothy Simons and I approved this T-shirt. And I am the only candidate with the winning temperament.

You have 4 days to purchase these Tshirts: https://www.omaze.com/made/veep-tim-simons

Michael Kelly Honors Halcyon House Fellows at WHC Weekend Garden Brunch

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Among the stars that gathered in Washington, DC for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this year, none were more in-demand than House of Cards’ Michael Kelly. In the show, Kelly plays Doug Stamper, President Frank Underwood’s right hand man, and the most ruthless operator in all of Washington. The real Kelly is anything but, of course. He was spotted at a number of White House Correspondents’ Weekend events including the HBO/Google party at the Renwick Gallery in celebration of the HBO film All the Way, which premieres May 21st, and the fabled Garden Brunch, the annual party that precedes the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Kelly addressed the crowd at the White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch, whose theme this year was “Starting Up, Starting Out”, and the fellows at local startup incubator, Halcyon House, which provides fellowships and housing to people with big ideas in business. The House is helmed by biochemist and philanthropist Sachiko Kuno, who was also in attendance. Kelly encouraged this year’s fellows at Halcyon House to follow their dreams.

Veeples! The Morning After Starts TONIGHT!

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VEEP Cast for WHC Insider article

Veep Cast at the 2014 White Correspondents’ Garden Brunch

Politicos can turn from the 2016 election mess to the Veep election mess as the fifth season which premieres today will re-start with the morning after the election that left President Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and her opponent Sen. Bill O’Brien (Brad Leland) bang in midst of battle with each other.

The fifth season which starts on April 24th is helmed by David Mandel, of Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld fame, as well as Julia Louis Dreyfus and Frank Rich.  @HBOVeep won the Emmy for Best comedy in 2015 and has been picked up for a sixth season.

Here is a taste. Veep Season 5 Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDesAgis8NU

VEEP Season 2 Premiere Party Photos

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Veep Season 2 screening

The second season of HBO’s Veep premiered yesterday as Julia Louis-Dreyfus took up the Second-in-Command role of Selina Meyer for her next term. As the victional V.P. battles the results of a mid-term election, the actual star came to Washington last week for a special screening at the MPAA.

While we had a minor SNL cast-of-1985 reunion between Louis-Dreyfus and Senator Al Franken, MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd welcomes the HBO star to the real District (Veep films up in Maryland sharing space with Netflix’s House of Cards).

Below we have photos from the reception from last week’s premiere, along with some notable appearances from Washington regulars and the occasional former Senator-turned-Chairman Chris Dodd.

Biden Meets The Veep

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At last, Washington can breathe easy since Vice President Joe Biden finally met Vice President Selina Meyer.

Or, to put it this way, Biden and his fictional counterpart (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) broke bread today after HBO premiered the first two episodes of VEEP season two last night at the MPAA. Per the AP report on the matter:

“The White House says after the former ‘Seinfeld’ star won an Emmy award for her performance in the first season of “Veep,” Biden called her to offer his congratulations.”

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Which is true, as she remarked on The Tonight Show about how Biden called her to remark on the performance she gives as V.P. Meyer:

The first two episodes of the second season played out among some notable D.C. entertainment folks like MPAA President Chris Dodd and Louis-Dreyfus’ former SNL co-hort Senator Al Franken. While spoilers are useless in a town like Washington, supposedly when V.P. Meyer heads to a pig roast it will be funnier than a sequester. And as for today, V.P. met Veep in the latest installment of Being Biden.
Veep Season 2 premieres this Sunday on HBO.

Game Change Premieres in DC

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John Heilemann, Sarah Paulson, Julianne Moore, Mark Halperin

Mike Allen reported in today’s Politico Playbook, that while New Yorkers (who had their premiere two nights ago) thought the new HBO Film Game Change “was a sit-com,” Washington watched it as a documentary.  The Newseum was packed with reporters and 2008 campaign staff eager to see the much buzzed about Game Change film based on the book by the same name by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin.  Walking the red, or blue rather, carpet were the authors, screen writer Danny Strong, director Jay Roach, and the star of the film, Julianne Moore, who plays Sarah Palin and Sarah Paulson who plays staffer Nicolle Wallace. Also in attendance were veteran producers Gary Goetzman and Tom Hanks, as well as McCain senior campaign strategist, Steve Schmidt who was portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the film.

The film takes place five years ago starting in 2007, following the John McCain campaign through selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate and the struggles and victories within the race.  Viewers such as Wolf Blizter praised Moore’s performance – “She did an amazing Sarah Palin. She looked like her, she sounded like her — she was Sarah Palin,” as reported by Politico. Ed Harris as John McCain and Harrelson as Schmidt were also highlights of the film as they played characters carrying the emotional weight of a presidential campaign having to make difficult decisions.  The film mixed real news footage of reporters and then candidate Obama with film footage which gave Blitzer, Gwen Ifill and Katie Couric cameos.

Check out more photos from the premiere below:

HBO films "WARTORN 1861-2010" Pentagon Premiere

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A standing room only crowd watched history unfolding as the Pentagon opened its doors to premiere a very personal film for the military: the new HBO Documentary Film WARTORN 1861-2010. The film chronicles the history of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder through the eyes of American servicemen and women, and their families.

It was a poignant evening as the families featured in the film walked their own red carpet to share their experiences with PTSD. The film is executive produced by James Gandolfini and HBO Documentary Films President Sheila Nevins. Ms. Nevins attended the premiere, along with filmmakers Jon Alpert, Ellen Goosenberg Kent, Matthew O’Neill, Lori Shinseki and Sara Bernstein.

Opening remarks were made by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George W. Casey, Jr. and HBO Co-President Richard Plepler. A special panel discussion followed the screening to bring attention to the serious efforts of the military and the Veterans Administration to help fix these problems. The panel was moderated by Doug Wilson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs| Department of Veterans Affairs. Panelists included General Peter Chiarelli, U.S. Army Vice Chief of Staff; Dr. Kathleen Chard, Director PTSD and Anxiety Disorder Division | Cincinnati VA Medical Center; Lt. Col. Gregory E. Harbin (Ret.), Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; Paul “Buddy” Bucha, Medal of Honor Recipient; Gregory Goldstein, Headquarters Marine Corps Combat and Operational Stress Control Program Manager.

The audience included the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, the First Lady’s Chief of Staff Susan Sher and Darienne Paige, White House liaison.

WARTORN 1861-2010 premieres on HBO this Veteran’s Day: November 11, 2010.