EXCLUSIVE: I’ve just learned that five well-known Hollywood Democrats — David Geffen, Bob Iger, Peter Chernin, Haim Saban, and Ari Emanuel — are hosting a November 4th fundraiser for Ari’s brother Rahm Emanuel in his bid to become Chicago’s next mayor. Rahm, a former Democratic U.S. Representative from Illinois’ 5th Congressional District (2003-2009), resigned as President Obama’s White House Chief Of Staff on October 1st to throw his hat into the mayoral race following the retirement of Richard M. Daley whose last name more or less owned that political office the way most families would takeover the dining table. The Hollywood fundraiser will be held at Saban’s palatial Beverly Hills home.
For those keeping score, Geffen is the former DreamWorks SKG partner and longtime music and film mogul. Iger is the CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Chernin is the former No. 2 of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and now a busy Fox TV and film producer. Saban is a private equity investor and entertainment producer best known for making the Power rangers into a worldwide hit and co-owner of the largest Spanish language media company in the U.S., Univision, as well as one of the Democratic party’s single largest donors. And Ari is the co-CEO of WME Entertainment, one of the largest Hollywood talent and literary agencies and now expanding into marketing and investment banking. All the men are Democratic Party donors, with Geffen, Chernin, Ari Emanuel, and Saban the most politically active, and Geffen and Saban over the years among the party’s biggest single donors.
Because of his brother and because of his Democratic Party fundraising, Rahm knows all the major Hollywood players who are active in politics very well. Rahm was chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2006 mid-term elections and was elected chairman of the Democratic caucus when the party regained control of the U.S. House Of Representatives that year. He remained a top strategist for House Democrats during the 2008 cycle while he worked on behalf of Obama’s presidential candidacy. Two days after Obama’s election win, Rahm was tapped for White House Chief of Staff.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.


No, no! Something is wrong, here. Republicans are the party of the rich. The Fat Cats hosting such parties are supposed to all be supporting Conservatives. My head is spinning.
JM
It would seem to me that who becomes mayor of Chicago is not the business of David Geffen, Bob Iger, Peter Chernin, and Haim Saban. They don’t live there.
I was forced to donate all the the time and was told i would make it up on the backend – never saw a dime – just more Ari lies – never happened – anyone need an agent?
Why do any of these guys care who’s mayor of Chicago? None of them live there, and he can’t make any decisions that affect anyone outside the city. Something ain’t right here.
Gee, Rahm, didn’t want to stick around the White House for the midterms?
Didn’t want to wait for the fruits of your preemptive compromise approach, your let’s-pee-on-the-base and protect the banks strategy?
In less than two years, by calling the plays in your bare-knuckled back room style, you took the most popular president since JFK, one who rode into office with a massive popular mandate for “change” and… well… you yanked him back from all that so that, hard, why?
So he’d have broader appeal?
So he’d garner the grudging respect of his political adversaries?
Or am I looking at this upside down? Did you actually succeed at your mission? Was the whole aim to serve the big money constituencies by popping the hope and change blimp from the inside? Now, mission accomplished, it’s time to roll on and cash in (again)?
Well… either way, job well done.
I don’t think anyone believed so much “change” could be accomplished so quickly.
“five well-known Hollywood Democrats — David Geffen, Bob Iger, Peter Chernin, Haim Saban, and Ari Emanuel — are hosting a November 4th fundraiser for Ari’s brother Rahm Emanuel in his bid to become Chicago’s next mayor.”
These “five well-known Hollywood Democrats” are largely what is wrong with Hollywood. And with Democrats.
Amen! It’s time the conservative rich start putting their money into film and tv projects that come from conservative writers and producers. There are many conservatives living in the shadows in Hollywood — having to work with insane liberals.
This is the only place where we get our entertainment. Think about that. Chavez knew after his 1st failed revolution attempt that he needed the media. He succeeded on his 2nd attempt because he had the media.
Grew up during Daley Jr’s mayoralty. These Emanuel bros. are the princes of the elite North Shore area but they have a convincing middle class background. Rahm is too savvy to think this won’t look a little bit “carpet baggy” so I gotta assume he has a way to sell this to middle-class voters already. Besides, I also see how it could help him win over a city that is blue collar in name only. The meat packers all sent their kids to college long ago and Chicagoans are just as tired of corrupt machine politics as anybody else. It’d be nice to see more film and television production funnel into the Windy City too – maybe I could move back home where I belong.
Rahm`s yet another who thinks he`s anointed to hold a political office. Pride goeth before the fall.
All of Rahm’s Chicago opponents for mayor will pee on themselves when they see the connections this guy has.
or pee on him. Yet they would even do that if he was on fire….
Big deal. He can have all the connections in the world but it’s the people who vote.
Nikki meet fig leaf. Grand charade/kabuki theater. Rahm’s candidacy merely … only … to mask. Mask his leaving the sinking ship (before the deck slips under the water line). Just because he’s filth, doesn’t mean he and Chucklehead don’t know how to butter their toast (they did get elected).
I hope the people of Chgo pick their Mayor not
the billionaires of CA.
Yes, well, we saw the way the billionaires of CA. picked their Governor Arnold. And look at the mess in said wake. Politics is moneyed corrupt and messy. No matter how you slice it. The people of Chicago? And how often do the people r e a l l y decide for themselves? Spoon fed the oh so very moneyed ad campaigns 24/7 on their Televisions. Their own personal place of worship. And who pays for this? It ain’t cheap. Most people are too lazy to be bothered to find out the first thing about political candidates. Or causes. Don’t blame their lazy stupidity on money. Knowledge and information is FREE.
These Hollywood bigs are ponying up because they expect to get some favors from the Democratic Party through Emanuel’s influence, or because they are afraid of Emanuel’s wrath, and the damage it could potentially do to their business interests.
Period.
That’s the way machine politics works.
The fact that Rahm can’t generate the money in Chicago speaks volumes about his chances of winning the mayoral election.
I doubt any of these Hollywood tycoons expect Rahm to win the election, they just don’t want to be on his bad side when he loses– because of the influence he still has in the national Democratic Party machine.
Hey BETTHEDUCK: both parties have solicited foreign donations.
Will Hollywood never get it. They backed the problem in the White House and are now sorry they did and distancing themselves. Now they want to help the man that was controling Obama in the first place. He is a tiny version of Hitler for crying outloud. What in the world is Hollywood thinking of. They can be sure that real Americans have stopped going to the movies and watching shows on TV and this kind of behavior is only going to hurt them more.
Rahm tapped all the money in Chicago, his horse (Obama) didn’t do so well…he’s got to go to Hollywood for cash, Resnik et all are not available anymore…
AND THIS……is why they can’t make decent films in Hollywood these days.
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t the Democratic Party supposed to be the party of the “little guy”,and not the multi-rich? Oh I get it now,after they get in power they do so much for the “little guy”. I wonder how many “little guys” will be invited to this shindig? Hey there’s about 10 million unemployed under Obama that could use a good meal.
said
Hollywood money is peanuts compared to Koch brothers type money.
You’re comparing ballplayers wealth (Hollywood) to the owners of the ballclub wealth (Koch Bros.) and they are on completely different levels.
Guess Rumbo can’t get enough supporters in Chicago so he had to go out to the Left Coast and the multitude of Liberal elitists. Do they get to vote absentee in Chicago? Block the active military fomr voting absentee in Illinois but court Hollywood?
Anyone, but Rahm for Chicago.
Stick it to him baby. Vote for anyone, but Rahm.
Perhaps he’ll then go to Hollyweird where he belong with all the other lefty fools.
It’s disheartening to see so many people of such horrendous political and moral judgment in positions of such great cultural influence. God save the US.
Fox needs to fire Chernin yesterday. Just like PBS got rid of Juan Williams.
I thought he couldn’t run? He didn’t have a residence there for over what…at least 1 year because he rented his house out. He did vote though so that tells me he lied on his voting status. HE DIDN’T HAVE RESIDENCE THERE!!!
Will the Black panthers be guarding the polls again for Rahm the way they did for Obama, chasing off white voters, only this time chasing off anyone who looks like a Republican ?
That is all we want to see Hollywood money and personalities coming in to local race…this is a definate “turn-off” for Chicago voters!…
Another day another jew funraisr for a fellow Zionist.