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Mitt Romney Tells ABC He’s Pondering ‘SNL’ Appearance

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Monday April 16, 2012 @ 2:25pm PDTTags: Diane Sawyer, GOP, Mitt Romney, Saturday Night Live

Mitt Romney SNLThe presumptive Republican nominee for president might appear on Saturday Night Live. “I haven’t made a decision on that; just heard about it,” Mitt Romney told Diane Sawyer today about the late-night show’s invite. “Of course,” he added, “it would depend on the nature of the skit. I want it to be funny.” Romney was talking to Sawyer for ABC’s World News Tonight. The interview is scheduled to be broadcast tonight on World News Tonight and Nightline. SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels extended an invite over the weekend for Romney to appear this season. Romney, regularly mocked by SNL for his sometimes stiff and patrician manner, admitted that he even sets his DVR to record the show for Jason Sudeikis’ turns as him; the GOP frontrunner said Sudeikis’ impression was “very good.” Romney has poked fun at himself before, doing the Top Ten list on CBS’ Late Show With David Letterman in December. He played it much straighter, though, when he visited NBC’s The Tonight Show With Jay Leno in March. He would join a long list of White House occupants and contenders  to grace the stage at Studio 8H over SNL‘s 37 seasons. That group includes Gerald Ford, Barack Obama, John McCain, Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin, among others.

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Fox News Tops Florida Primary Coverage

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday February 1, 2012 @ 2:31pm PSTTags: Fox News, GOP, Ratings
Nellie Andreeva

Fox News Channel once again dominated news network coverage of the latest Republican primary contest won by Mitt Romney. Fox News averaged 1.74 million viewers with its coverage of the Florida primary from 8-10 PM last night, 684,000 adults 25-59. … Read More »

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Hammond: Can GOP Help Oscar Hopeful?

By PETE HAMMOND | Friday October 21, 2011 @ 4:25pm PDTTags: A Better Life, Demian Bichir, GOP, Mitt Romney, Summit
Pete Hammond

Can Presidential politics actually boost the profile of an under-the-radar Oscar hopeful? That could be a scenario the multitudes of awards consultants working on Summit Entertainment’s summer indie, A Better Life starring Demián Bachir might consider as they try to draw voter attention to this well-reviewed June release which grossed less than $2 million in its domestic release. Because the film puts a very human face on the hot button issue of illegal immigration. This is really a touching father-son story about an undocumented Los Angeles laborer trying to forge a better life for his kid while keeping him away from gangs. Its reps hope to gain recognition not just for the pic but also for Bichir in an uphill campaign against much higher profile Best Actor contenders like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Oldman, Ryan Gosling and others. Year-end recognition from critics groups could really help Bichir and this film which now stands at 86% positive on Rotten Tomatoes. Summit’s 2009 Best Picture winner, The Hurt Locker also was a low grosser and a June release — but saw its Oscar stock soar when it started winning those critics awards.

At what was billed as a DVD release party this week, but which really served as an awards season campaign kickoff, I noticed several Academy members in attendance. The packed event at Culina in Beverly Hills had lots of political talk, much of it about the GOP presidential debates where candidates are engaged in tough ‘kick em out of the country’ rhetoric on the subject of illegal immigrants in America. A Better Life director Chris Weitz told me he’s outraged by the way politicians are using the plight of undocumented workers to score political points during the Republican debates. He says the whole experience of making the film has really “politicized” him in a way he hadn’t imagined.

From the presidential race to the Oscar race, A Better Life has longer odds. “What can we do to help this film?” one frustrated awards consultant asked me while noting the stiff competition out there. It’s a frequent question I hear from awards campaigners who usually employ parties, Q&A screenings, and getting its lesser known stars (in the U.S. at least) out there on the awards “circuit”. But I say Oscar strategists just might want to look no further than the Hollywood-bashing GOP for some ironic help. After all, Republicans are giving immigration lots of TV time almost weekly during their contentious debates. Tagging on to presidential politics might be one way to keep the film talked about and relevant, even in the shadow of the all the big Academy Awards contenders to come in the last two months of the year. Summit smartly employed that strategy with The Hurt Locker when it hit the Oscar trail by emphazing its  topicality and credibility after initially marketing it as a suspenseful war movie. Read More »

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GOP Candidates Seeking Hollywood Help

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Tuesday September 27, 2011 @ 5:44am PDTTags: Donald Trump, GOP, Herman Cain, Michael Moore, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin

UPDATE: TV and radio political pundit Dennis Miller on Monday announced that he’s endorsing Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain and will headline a political fundraiser in Los Angeles. Miller also is making donations to the campaign and offering to write for … Read More »

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