White House Correspondents Insider

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

Kevin Spacey Foundation A Highlight Over the Weekend

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Kevin Spacey

Kevin Spacey at the 2013 White House Correspondents Brunch

Before government shut down today, Washington at least had a good Saturday night with the arts. Specifically Kevin Spacey, the actor/producer beloved for his role by Beltway folks for “House of Cards,” who came to town for the initial gala for the Kevin Spacey Foundation.

Bloomberg Muse was there and made note of the room’s “twist of Lemmon,” a nod to Spacey’s mentor and honoree for the evening, the late Jack Lemmon.

“The room was decorated with posters from the films of Jack Lemmon, who inspired Spacey to help young people with his motto that if you do well in life ‘you should send the elevator back down.’ Spacey will travel the world for his Elevator Initiative, choosing and molding aspiring actors.”

Spacey also spoke to Mike Allen, providing the insight “I know that I wouldn’t have a career if it weren’t for a NUMBER of particular individuals through my life who took a chance on me, who believed in me, who said just the right thing to me at just the right moment — particularly when I was quite young — who gave me a job or an opportunity. ”

As Variety reported beforehand, Spacey took the stage that night to bring back his love for Bobby Darin among a crowd consisting of the stars from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner’s “House of Nerds” including Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Ed Henry and Spacey’s “House of Cards” co-star Michael Kelly.

Also in attendance were Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Andrea Mitchell–who took in a $10,000 tennis match with Spacey–Christine Taylor, Capitol File’s Elizabeth Thorp and Ron Klain.

Rounding Up The Day After White House Correspondents' Dinner: Spielberg's Obama, House of Nerds

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Now that everyone is waking up from their late nights after the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and After Parties, we can reflect on the best things from yesterday aside from the Garden Brunch.

Then again, now that Corey Stoll may no longer be allowed inside the Beltway, maybe you should go back to nursing your hangover. The “House of Cards” star, among others including Morena Baccarin from “Homeland,” had some choice words about D.C. folks on the driveway of Beall-Washington yesterday.

The Daily Mail were on hand at the Hilton to get shots of “Downton Abbey” star Michelle Dockery and “The Newsroom”‘s Emily Mortimer. But it was the pre-roll tapes from last night’s dinner that almost overshadowed Conan O’Brien including the cameo from Daniel Day-Lewis in the ‘upcoming’ Steven Spielberg film “Obama:”

The best video of the night may come from the media-studded afair that was “House of Nerds,” a crossover between “House of Cards” and the White House Correspondents Association complete with White House cameos like Valerie Jarrett, Senator John McCain and especially the retweeting power of Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith.

When Scandal and White House Correspondents' Presidents Collide at The 20th Annual Garden Brunch

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President Fitzgerald Grant (better known as Tony Goldwyn) met White House Correspondents Association President Ed Henry today at The 20th Annual Garden Brunch. The ‘legendary’ meeting that crossed two universes went out earlier through a livestream that culminated (at the 2:37 mark) with remarks from co-hosts honoring the White House Correspondents’ Association, CURE Epilepsy and The Miss America Foundation. Taking place at the historic Beall-Washington House, where else would you expect the perfect blend of Washington media, Hollywood and tech influences like Uber’s Travis Kalanick, Revolution’s Steve Case or even a gold medalist like Gabby Douglas?

Attendees rounded through R Street into the horseshoe to be greeted with CURE iPhone covers and #STEM branded protractors to give a hint at why Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathmatics are being so vetted by the Miss America Foundation to strengthen education for young women. And it’s true, the Garden Brunch is full of “Things Beltway People Like.”

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At the brunch alone you could find Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery posing with “Homeland”‘s Morena Baccarin or Kevin Spacey shaking hands with Navid Negahban and MC Hammer.Then there were the entire cast of Netflix’s “House of Cards” while Gerard Butler of “Olympus Has Fallen” came to lift the spirits of the brunch patrons.

Greta Van Susteren and husband John Coale, whose announcement that she would not attend the WHCA dinner made headlines, was dragged over to the red carpet by Kevin Spacey. For those around it felt like a House of Cards moment when he commanded Greta to “Stand next to me.”

There were even appearences from White House officials like Valerie Jarrett, Gene Sperling, Alan Krueger Tina Tchen (and daughter Emma), FLOTUS chief of staff and her Communications Director Kristina Schake and Reggie Love. House Leader Eric Cantor came to present the CURE Heroes Award to Pat and Patty Horan, an Iraqi war veteran who suffers from seisures. Senator Joe Manchin and Representative Darrell Issa mingled in the crowd with media heavies Joanna Coles, Editor of Cosmopolitian Magazine, David Carr and Jeremy Peters of the New York Times, Chris Hughes of The New Republic, Patty Rockenwagner, from Conde Nast, Alex Korson and Louis Bergholz, of Morning Joe, Toure And during the remarks given by Brunch co-hosts Tammy Haddad and Hilary Rosen, Google’s Eric Schmidt and Internet Investor and Fundamental Physics Prize Founder Yuri Milner happened to be near stage right.

Angel Investor Ron Conway led the giving with a pledge of $5,000 to each of the causes as Mayor Ed Lee and Mayor Villaraigosa talking to Steve Case and other tech leaders including Joe Green who is leading Mark Zuckerberg’s new political efforts in Washington.

Check out some of our photos in the slideshow below:

Did Greta Start a Trend? The Hill Declares Less Glitz at White House Correspondents Dinner

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Special guests tweet "Let's find a Cure!"

First Greta Van Susteren announces she will not attend the 99th Annual White House Correspondents Dinner and now The Hill reports it will not be as star-driven. Here is Judy Kurtz report: “The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner — considered the glitziest and most buzzworthy event of Washington’s party season — appears to be a bit more low-key this year. Between the guest list absences of some of Hollywood’s brightest stars and a more subdued party scene, many folks working behind the scenes agree this year’s dinner will be decidedly more subdued. One shindig noticeably void from the soiree circuit this year is Funny or Die’s annual First Amendment Party. Last year’s high-caliber bash on the eve of the dinner had partygoers bumping and grinding at the event’s huge downtown space well into the wee hours of the morning.
The Hollywood Reporter, which last year held star-studded affair with Google at the W Hotel, is also ducking out of the Correspondents’ dinner limelight this time around. A publicist tells us “we aren’t doing anything this year.”

“I don’t know if it’s toned down or not,” Hollywood on the Potomac editor Janet Donovan said of the mood in town, “but it feels that way.” Donovan pointed to the lack of Anthony Weiner-sized headlines as a possible reason for the drop-off, saying that “perhaps because Hollywood celebrities are now more frequently in town, and we don’t really have a huge ‘five minutes of fame’ scandal-type this year.”

One veteran party planner, who wanted to remain anonymous so as not to upset clients, tells ITK that the nation’s capital could be suffering from presidential inauguration fatigue: “You know, we just had a major event in Washington. And then to have this, three months later almost to the day, and to do all the wrangling and all the huge productions again, it’s just kind of like — I think people will do it again big next year.” Fox News Channel’s Greta Van Susteren, who has brought head-turning guests such as Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian to prior dinners, says she’s “taking a pass” on attending the fete this year. In a recent blog post, Van Susteren said she made another commitment out of town the weekend of the April 27 dinner. “I am sure everyone will have fun,” Susteren wrote, “it is the one day of the year that the media, politicians, entertainers etc. socialize together — but it can also be a bit exhausting as it is a 2½ day affair.” Donovan says Susteren’s tabloid-worthy guests always made for a colorful weekend, calling the time the “On the Record” host brought Ozzy Osbourne to the swanky dinner “one of the biggest celebrity gawking years.” Others tell ITK that political conventions and inaugural coverage broke the bank for many news organizations around town, allowing for fewer resources for the glam event. While big names such as Nicole Kidman, Jessica Alba and George Lucas are confirmed to attend as guests of various media companies — and there’s still time for more A-listers to be announced as VIP guests — the party planner tells ITK many celebs feel they’ve “done” the whole D.C. thing already: “If you look at the list of celebrities that have been here or attended since [President Obama has] been president, it’s like looking at an Academy Awards event. When they’ve been here once, they think they’ve checked the box.”

What about Kevin Spacey and the House of Cards cast? That’s glitz! Follow all the White House Correspondents Dinner action at WHCinsider.com

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).