White House Correspondents Insider

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

DEADLINE.com LEADS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER STAR LIST

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The competition for stars at the White House Correspondents Dinner is only comparable to the competition to report which stars are attending with what news organization. Here is how the Hollywood site Deadline.com led the pack today. Take Notes….

PREVIOUSLY, TUESDAY PM: Hollywood is again the guest everyone seems to want at their table for this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Returning headliner Conan O’Brien is set to take up the court-jester role that Jimmy Kimmel played last year and news organizations have began to reveal guest lists for the April 27 event. There’s a lot of Tinseltown glitter already set alongside generals and top-tier cabinet secretaries — as well as power players like Harvey Weinstein. We know President Obama and the First Lady will be there, and big Obama donor Jeffrey Katzenberg has been invited by the Wall Street Journal, but no word yet whether he will attend. Here’s who else we know is going from Hollywood so far:

Thomson Reuters: The current head of the Canada’s Central Bank and the next Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney will be sitting at Thomson Reuters table as will new SEC chief Mary Jo White, Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird and Newtown Conn. First Selectwoman Pat Llodra among others. They will be joined by The Bourne Legacy’s Jeremy Renner, Revenge’s Madeline Stowe, Kathleen Turner, SNL’s Fred Armisen, Steve Zahn of HBO’s Treme and the almost next Lord of Downton Abbey. That’s right, the now departed Matthew Crawley himself Dan Stevens will be there.

USA Today: Courtney Cox, Kate Walsh, Kristin Chenoweth and 1600 Penn’s Josh Gad are at the paper’s table. Although she decided not to run for the U.S. Senate seat from Kentucky, Olympus Has Fallen’s First Lady Ashley Judd will also attend.

ABC/ABC News: Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara, Eric Stonestreet and other cast members will be back this year. Nashville’s Hayden Panettiere and Connie Britton will also be in attendance. And the President of the United States will be at the table — the fictional POTUS Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, that is, from the DC-based political drama Scandal. Tony Goldwyn will be there with Scandal star Kerry Washington, executive producer Betsy Beers and show creator Shonda Rhimes.

Huffington Post: Jon Bon Jovi will be sitting at this table, joining fellow Jerseyite Gov. Chris Christie, who many think may take a run at the White House in 2016. Scarlett Johansson, who gave a speech with Kerry Washington during last year’s Democratic National Convention, also has a spot.

Newsweek/Daily Beast: He may have missed the inauguration because he was at Sundance, but Weinstein will be here. IAC boss and Newsweek/Daily Beast owner Barry Diller is sitting at his table, as is editor Tina Brown. The Newsroom’s Olivia Munn will be there too. Nicole Kidman is coming, but no word yet if hubby and American Idol judge Keith Urban is attending.

CNN: Elizabeth Banks will be sitting at the cable news network’s table. She’s the only Hollywood type so far, but don’t be surprised if new boss Jeff Zucker tries to stack the seating arrangement with more as well as the likes of Anthony Bourdain from his own network — remember, the man used to run Today.

NBC/NBC News: Matthew Perry plans to break bread with his network brethren.

Bloomberg: If you are going to star in the ultimate DC insider show, then you have to show at the Correspondents Dinner: House Of Cards stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright as well as Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos have spots here.

Time: Last year, Lincoln’s Daniel Day-Lewis came as a guest of the Huffington Post and Steven Spielberg came as a guest of Time. Day-Lewis isn’t coming this year, and it is unclear whether Spielberg will make an encore appearance. But DreamWorks CEO and co-chair Stacey Snider is coming.

Zoe Barns Crashes Booker Reception, No Ribs Eaten

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It may not be viral marketing, but House of Cards‘ Kate Mara showing up at a fundraiser is a reminder the spiritual successor to K Street is coming back. The original Netflix drama is set to start up production later this month while the White House Correspondents Dinner kicks into gear, so it isn’t strange that the stars are making their way back to Washington.

Politico caught the tweet that Mara, who plays upcoming new media gadfly Zoe Barns, sent out from a fundraiser for Trenton Newark Mayor Cory Booker last night:

Does this mean Booker has secret plans to open a special BBQ joint in DC should he successfully take outgoing Senator Frank Lautenberg’s seat in 2014? Just to be safe, no one should tweet Booker if they happen to have an injured dog.

edit: our Trenton/Newark mistake came from a sudden case of wanting ribs. We regret the error! Sorry, Jersey!

Kevin Spacey on Shakespeare and Bill Clinton for House of Cards

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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.

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

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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.
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Kevin Spacey's House of Cards brings Millions to Maryland

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Sets are under construction in and around Baltimore for the filming of the Netflix drama series, “House of Cards,” which will begin rolling next month. The city, just an hour north of the Capitol, has already seen a boost in production thanks to tax incentives and new productions. Two HBO political-themed shows, “Game Change” starring Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Ed Harris and “VEEP” starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus have just wrapped in Baltimore and ended a long drought of film and television production since “The Wire.”

The Baltimore Sun‘s David Zurawik chronicles the increase in production and jobs, along with an approximate $70 brought to the state in his piece “‘House of Cards’ brings Hollywood to Harford County.” He details the massive undertaking of shooting two seasons (26 episodes) with big names attached, including, Oscar winners and nominees Kevin Spacey, director David Fincher and executive producer and screenwriter, Beau Willimon (The Ides of March).