HBO's 'Recount' revisits 2000 election nightmare (program airs Sunday night)

[Wretched Excess]

this should suck.  I know that we have all seen the promos.  I will probably start a live
thread tomorrow night if I am at home when it airs the first time.  We will probably need
someplace to vent.

HBO's 'Recount' revisits 2000 election nightmare

For those of us in Florida who lived through it, "Recount," HBO's two-hour film about the interminable fight over the 2000 presidential election, may feel like one long nightmare replayed.

It has taken eight years, but I managed to forget the long weeks GOP and Democratic stalwarts held the state hostage to uncertain election results. A confusing butterfly ballot in Palm Beach County led thousands of elderly voters to choose Pat Buchanan, a guy so far out of the running even he admitted there had to be an error.

I had suppressed the embarrassing flip-flop of media calling Florida for Vice President Al Gore, then admitting it was too close to call, then giving the state to George W. Bush, then admitting they didn't really know who won.

The cascade of embarrassingly vague and contradictory Florida election laws had slipped from my mind along with the oppressively broad list of excluded voters that encompassed 20,000 people with names similar to convicted felons, half of whom were black.

But HBO had to go out and make a funny, detailed, visceral movie about it all (9 p.m. Sunday), casting film and TV vets Kevin Spacey, Denis Leary, Tom Wilkinson and John Hurt as behind-the-scenes gladiators most voters never knew, fighting over leadership of the free world.

Conservatives will hate this film. That's because screenwriter Danny Strong, an actor with credits ranging from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to "Nip/Tuck," casts his story as mostly
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well-intentioned Gore guys vs. backdoor dealing, Florida government-controlling, hypocritical Bush Republicans.

And no character sums up this attitude more than Laura Dern's magnificently brittle, self-obsessed and slightly nutty take on then-Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris.

From the moment we meet her, sleeping through election night as the wheels are coming off the state's election system, Dern's Harris is an overmatched functionary committed to delivering the state for Bush while constantly distracted by her own pride and idiosyncrasies.

Much more

[Wretched Excess]

LOL.  byron york over at NRO pretty well nails it.

Recount   [Byron York]

Last night I watched the new movie Recount, which premieres Sunday night on HBO. I think the plot might best be described this way:

Once upon a time there was an election. A very good man won the election, but it was really, really close, and a very bad man claimed that he had won the election. And a group of brave, strong people tried to recount the votes to prove that the very good man had won the election, but they were so high-minded and good that they just wouldn't fight dirty, while a group of cruel, mean people would do anything to stop the counting so that the very bad man could win. When the counting got under way, the very bad man's lead got smaller and smaller, and the very good man was about to win until a group of very, very, very bad people in Washington DC stopped it all, and the very bad man won. The end.

A few minutes ago, I talked to Ben Ginsberg, who consulted with the moviemakers and whose character has a key role in the picture. "My take is that we won the recount, and they won the movie," Ginsberg told me. "I think they actually did a very good job of capturing the tension and the pace of what we were going through, but it's clearly from the Democrats' perspective. This is a fairy tale that didn't come true for them."

"I think there were some key things that were left out," Ginsberg continued. "For example, there's no mention at all of the first U.S. Supreme Court case, which overturned the first Florida Supreme Court case, and then the Florida Supreme Court completely ignored the U.S. Supreme Court….They also made of big deal of 'We don't know who won,' but they didn't mention the media recount, which concluded that if you followed what the Gore camp wanted or what the Florida Supreme Court ordered, then Bush won….And the notion that they were a bunch of boy scouts and we were the cutthroats is just nonsense. They didn't want to count all the votes, they only wanted to count Gore votes."

linky

[The Ocean]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

[BEG]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

Maybe if they performed a little "Clockwork Orange" on you.

[Wretched Excess]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

welcome to CC, The Ocean.

post an intro thread in our "Welcomes and Introductions" forum.  we look forward to getting to know you!

[Wretched Excess]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

Maybe if they performed a little "Clockwork Orange" on you.

clockwork orange was a twisted flick.

I loved it, of course.

[BEG]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

Maybe if they performed a little "Clockwork Orange" on you.

clockwork orange was a twisted flick.

I loved it, of course.

Of course you did.   

[Wretched Excess]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

Maybe if they performed a little "Clockwork Orange" on you.

clockwork orange was a twisted flick.

I loved it, of course.

Of course you did.   

I just like malcolm mcdowell, for some reason.  but stanley kubrick was obviously a twisted soul.

heh.  I went to a halloween party as one of the the three characters in that movie on year.  guess which one I was.

[jendf]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

Maybe if they performed a little "Clockwork Orange" on you.

clockwork orange was a twisted flick.

I loved it, of course.

I had to read the book in college. I thought I was going to hate it but found that I absolutely loved it. The movie, not so much.

[Wretched Excess]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

Maybe if they performed a little "Clockwork Orange" on you.

clockwork orange was a twisted flick.

I loved it, of course.

I had to read the book in college. I thought I was going to hate it but found that I absolutely loved it. The movie, not so much.

I didn't realize there was a book until you said that, jen.

the internets: you learn something new every day.

[The Ocean]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

welcome to CC, The Ocean.

post an intro thread in our "Welcomes and Introductions" forum.  we look forward to getting to know you!

I posted one already... in the wrong place, but a mod moved it to the appropriate place.  

[Wretched Excess]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

welcome to CC, The Ocean.

post an intro thread in our "Welcomes and Introductions" forum.  we look forward to getting to know you!

I posted one already... in the wrong place, but a mod moved it to the appropriate place. 

cool!

I just made a quick check before I made my comment.

and we have great mods here.  not like the assholes at the other place.

[The Ocean]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

welcome to CC, The Ocean.

post an intro thread in our "Welcomes and Introductions" forum.  we look forward to getting to know you!

I posted one already... in the wrong place, but a mod moved it to the appropriate place. 

cool!

I just made a quick check before I made my comment.

and we have great mods here.  not like the assholes at the other place.

Well, I'm not coming here out of dislike for the other place; I personally love it I came here because I miss so many of you... and I JUST found out it existed. Hahahahaa.

[Wretched Excess]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

welcome to CC, The Ocean.

post an intro thread in our "Welcomes and Introductions" forum.  we look forward to getting to know you!

I posted one already... in the wrong place, but a mod moved it to the appropriate place. 

cool!

I just made a quick check before I made my comment.

and we have great mods here.  not like the assholes at the other place.

Well, I'm not coming here out of dislike for the other place; I personally love it I came here because I miss so many of you... and I JUST found out it existed. Hahahahaa.

I was making a disparaging comment about myself.  I was a mod over there.

I hope you enjoy your stay here.

[Wretched Excess]

The only way you could get me to watch this is---- well you couldn't. Gotta love pop culture rewriting history. .... shame is more and more people will accept this version as the truth.

welcome to CC, The Ocean.

post an intro thread in our "Welcomes and Introductions" forum.  we look forward to getting to know you!

I posted one already... in the wrong place, but a mod moved it to the appropriate place. 

cool!

I just made a quick check before I made my comment.

and we have great mods here.  not like the assholes at the other place.

Well, I'm not coming here out of dislike for the other place; I personally love it I came here because I miss so many of you... and I JUST found out it existed. Hahahahaa.

how did you find us, by the way?  I am just wondering . . . .

[The Ocean]

I asked Taylor what she was up to the other night, she said just posting at Conservative Cave, and I said, "what the hell is Conservative Cave?"

And now I'm here. So if you're one of the people that don't like me, you can blame her.

[Wretched Excess]

I asked Taylor what she was up to the other night, she said just posting at Conservative Cave, and I said, "what the hell is Conservative Cave?"

And now I'm here. So if you're one of the people that don't like me, you can blame her.

I am going to give her referral points.

I am glad you are here. 

[The Ocean]

I asked Taylor what she was up to the other night, she said just posting at Conservative Cave, and I said, "what the hell is Conservative Cave?"

And now I'm here. So if you're one of the people that don't like me, you can blame her.

I am going to give her referral points.

I am glad you are here. 

I'm glad I'm here too. There's some very old screennames that I miss that I see here.

[Wretched Excess]

I asked Taylor what she was up to the other night, she said just posting at Conservative Cave, and I said, "what the hell is Conservative Cave?"

And now I'm here. So if you're one of the people that don't like me, you can blame her.

I am going to give her referral points.

I am glad you are here. 

I'm glad I'm here too. There's some very old screennames that I miss that I see here.

we took the best of TOS (we call CU "the other site) and brought it here.

[The Ocean]

I asked Taylor what she was up to the other night, she said just posting at Conservative Cave, and I said, "what the hell is Conservative Cave?"

And now I'm here. So if you're one of the people that don't like me, you can blame her.

I am going to give her referral points.

I am glad you are here. 

I'm glad I'm here too. There's some very old screennames that I miss that I see here.

we took the best of TOS (we call CU "the other site) and brought it here.

Yeah. Can't say I liked CU very much. It was very impersonal. I like the smaller sites better really. It's easier to get to know people (as much as an internet site allows anyway) and to form a friendly relationship with somebody. There's less "internet-tough-guy" crap going around.

[Wretched Excess]

I asked Taylor what she was up to the other night, she said just posting at Conservative Cave, and I said, "what the hell is Conservative Cave?"

And now I'm here. So if you're one of the people that don't like me, you can blame her.

I am going to give her referral points.

I am glad you are here. 

I'm glad I'm here too. There's some very old screennames that I miss that I see here.

we took the best of TOS (we call CU "the other site) and brought it here.

Yeah. Can't say I liked CU very much. It was very impersonal. I like the smaller sites better really. It's easier to get to know people (as much as an internet site allows anyway) and to form a friendly relationship with somebody. There's less "internet-tough-guy" crap going around.

we hope to become a large site WITH fond relationships when we grow up.

[Miss Mia]

I don't have HBO otherwise I'd watch this movie. 

I could tell by the previews it'll be a DU wet dream, but I'm interested in seeing it one day.  *shrug* 

[Wretched Excess]

I don't have HBO otherwise I'd watch this movie. 

I could tell by the previews it'll be a DU wet dream, but I'm interested in seeing it one day.  *shrug* 

I'll send you the DVD.

 

[Miss Mia]

I don't have HBO otherwise I'd watch this movie. 

I could tell by the previews it'll be a DU wet dream, but I'm interested in seeing it one day.  *shrug* 

I'll send you the DVD.

 

LOL, then again I'll just login to DU tomorrow night and they'll have a step-by-step thread or 5 I'm sure. 

You can tell by the previews that it's highly biased.  But at least it's clearly evident before you watch it.

[Wretched Excess]

I don't have HBO otherwise I'd watch this movie. 

I could tell by the previews it'll be a DU wet dream, but I'm interested in seeing it one day.  *shrug* 

I'll send you the DVD.

 

LOL, then again I'll just login to DU tomorrow night and they'll have a step-by-step thread or 5 I'm sure. 

You can tell by the previews that it's highly biased.  But at least it's clearly evident before you watch it.

i told you a long time ago;  I will make you a republican.

soon.