Is The Candidate, in fact, the anti-West Wing? A political story that ends not with a bang, but with a question of existential dread.<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.bkmag.com/2016/07/19/the-candidate-interview/">Interview with screenwriter Jeremy Larner in Brooklyn Magazine</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz1oJjtPLFQ">The trailer for Downhill Racer (1969)</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzfDTaGc5EU">Jerry Seinfeld on Letterman: "You're rooting for clothes."</a></li>
</ul>Let us know what you thought of the film!

<description>
 &lt;p&gt;Is The Candidate, in fact, the anti-&lt;em&gt;West Wing&lt;/em&gt;? A political story that ends not with a bang, but with a question of existential dread.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.bkmag.com/2016/07/19/the-candidate-interview/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Interview with screenwriter Jeremy Larner in Brooklyn Magazine&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz1oJjtPLFQ"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The trailer for Downhill Racer (1969)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzfDTaGc5EU"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jerry Seinfeld on Letterman: "You're rooting for clothes."&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Let us know what you thought of the film!&lt;/p&gt;
 </description>

Is The Candidate, in fact, the anti-West Wing? A political story that ends not with a bang, but with a question of existential dread.

<a href="https://www.bkmag.com/2016/07/19/the-candidate-interview/">Interview with screenwriter Jeremy Larner in Brooklyn Magazine</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz1oJjtPLFQ">The trailer for Downhill Racer (1969)</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzfDTaGc5EU">Jerry Seinfeld on Letterman: "You're rooting for clothes."</a>

Let us know what you thought of the film!

The Candidate

Did this movie predict Trump back in 1957? We discuss the film debut of Andy Griffith in a role so dark, anyone who knows the Andy Griffith show might experience some uncomfortable dissonance.Some goodies that came up in our conversation:<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfPg5LjGYz8">The dance of joy from "Perfect Strangers"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6301-a-face-in-the-crowd-american-character">This essay about the film on the Criterion website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTCtiADVAWs">Albert Brooks and Holly Hunter in a great scene from Broadcast News</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/sS4UAZ5UfGY?si=Mw7h7D4DYRO05bgJ&amp;t=407">The 'ten-word-answer' scene from The West Wing</a></li>
</ul>What did you think of the film, on a scale of 1–10 grains of inert matter? Let us know!

<description>
 &lt;p&gt;Did this movie predict Trump back in 1957? We discuss the film debut of Andy Griffith in a role so dark, anyone who knows the Andy Griffith show might experience some uncomfortable dissonance.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Some goodies that came up in our conversation:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfPg5LjGYz8"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The dance of joy from "Perfect Strangers"&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6301-a-face-in-the-crowd-american-character"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;This essay about the film on the Criterion website&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTCtiADVAWs"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Albert Brooks and Holly Hunter in a great scene from Broadcast News&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://youtu.be/sS4UAZ5UfGY?si=Mw7h7D4DYRO05bgJ&amp;amp;t=407"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The 'ten-word-answer' scene from The West Wing&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;What did you think of the film, on a scale of 1–10 grains of inert matter? Let us know!&lt;/p&gt;
 </description>

Did this movie predict Trump back in 1957? We discuss the film debut of Andy Griffith in a role so dark, anyone who knows the Andy Griffith show might experience some uncomfortable dissonance.

Some goodies that came up in our conversation:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfPg5LjGYz8">The dance of joy from "Perfect Strangers"</a>
<a href="https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6301-a-face-in-the-crowd-american-character">This essay about the film on the Criterion website</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTCtiADVAWs">Albert Brooks and Holly Hunter in a great scene from Broadcast News</a>
<a href="https://youtu.be/sS4UAZ5UfGY?si=Mw7h7D4DYRO05bgJ&amp;t=407">The 'ten-word-answer' scene from The West Wing</a>

What did you think of the film, on a scale of 1–10 grains of inert matter? Let us know!

A Face In The Crowd

This week, we dive deeper into the role of the fourth estate, as we discuss Network, the Oscar-winning film that was meant to be a wild satire at the time it was released, but ended up uncannily predicting the future.Some additional reading material:<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250062246/madashell">Mad As Hell</a>, Dave Itzkoff's book about Network<a href="https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/0305-May-2003/Under-the-Influence-Sidney-Lumet">Directors' Guild of America post</a> about Sidney Lumet at a 2003 screening of Network<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/03/awards-insider-network-got-it-right-the-legacy-of-a-scorching-satire">Vanity Fair article on the legacy of Network </a>(which includes thoughts from Aaron Sorkin)

<description>
 &lt;p&gt;This week, we dive deeper into the role of the fourth estate, as we discuss &lt;em&gt;Network&lt;/em&gt;, the Oscar-winning film that was meant to be a wild satire at the time it was released, but ended up uncannily predicting the future.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Some additional reading material:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250062246/madashell"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mad As Hell&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, Dave Itzkoff's book about &lt;em&gt;Network&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/0305-May-2003/Under-the-Influence-Sidney-Lumet"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Directors' Guild of America post&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; about Sidney Lumet at a 2003 screening of &lt;em&gt;Network&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/03/awards-insider-network-got-it-right-the-legacy-of-a-scorching-satire"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vanity Fair article on the legacy of Network &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;(which includes thoughts from Aaron Sorkin)&lt;/p&gt;
 </description>

This week, we dive deeper into the role of the fourth estate, as we discuss Network, the Oscar-winning film that was meant to be a wild satire at the time it was released, but ended up uncannily predicting the future.

Some additional reading material:

<a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250062246/madashell">Mad As Hell</a>, Dave Itzkoff's book about Network

<a href="https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/0305-May-2003/Under-the-Influence-Sidney-Lumet">Directors' Guild of America post</a> about Sidney Lumet at a 2003 screening of Network

<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/03/awards-insider-network-got-it-right-the-legacy-of-a-scorching-satire">Vanity Fair article on the legacy of Network </a>(which includes thoughts from Aaron Sorkin)

Network

This week, we're discussing the 1998 film Bulworth, which features a rapping Warren Beatty, a young Josh Malina, a few problematic moments, and some wonderful and strange ones, too.For a real treat, watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP3zuuGav-Y&amp;ab_channel=VideoMusicaHD">music video for Ghetto Supastar</a>, which also features a young Josh Malina!What did you think of Bulworth? Join the conversation over on our <a href="https://patreon.com/thewestwingweekly">Patreon</a> and let us know on a scale of 1–10 forced calls!

<description>
 &lt;p&gt;This week, we're discussing the 1998 film Bulworth, which features a rapping Warren Beatty, a young Josh Malina, a few problematic moments, and some wonderful and strange ones, too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For a real treat, watch the &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP3zuuGav-Y&amp;amp;ab_channel=VideoMusicaHD"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;music video for Ghetto Supastar&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, which also features a young Josh Malina!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What did you think of Bulworth? Join the conversation over on our &lt;a href="https://patreon.com/thewestwingweekly"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Patreon&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and let us know on a scale of 1–10 forced calls!&lt;/p&gt;
 </description>

This week, we're discussing the 1998 film Bulworth, which features a rapping Warren Beatty, a young Josh Malina, a few problematic moments, and some wonderful and strange ones, too.

For a real treat, watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP3zuuGav-Y&amp;ab_channel=VideoMusicaHD">music video for Ghetto Supastar</a>, which also features a young Josh Malina!

What did you think of Bulworth? Join the conversation over on our <a href="https://patreon.com/thewestwingweekly">Patreon</a> and let us know on a scale of 1–10 forced calls!

Bulworth

What's more terrifying in Martin Sheen's depiction of J. Edgar Hoover—the racism, or the makeup?! We discuss ALL the important aspects of this cat-and-mouse thriller, which was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two: Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Kaluuya.For additional viewing:<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN4qzdMe7dg">The Lucas Brothers</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE9oCQwXyW0">William O'Neal's full interview for Eyes on the Prize II</a></li>
</ul>Hoover and Sheen-as-Hoover, side by side:<img src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/jedgarhoover-1613077504.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&amp;resize=980:*" width="980" height="490">What did you think of Judas and the Black Messiah? Let us know on a scale of 1–10 <a href="https://youtu.be/ZIqLJmlQQNM?si=SVGZaR3VTeWCwpOM&amp;t=103">simultaneously played saxophones</a> over on our Patreon page, <a href="https://patreon.com/thewestwingweekly">patreon.com/thewestwingweekly</a>.

<description>
 &lt;p&gt;What's more terrifying in Martin Sheen's depiction of J. Edgar Hoover—the racism, or the makeup?! We discuss ALL the important aspects of this cat-and-mouse thriller, which was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two: Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Kaluuya.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For additional viewing:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN4qzdMe7dg"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Lucas Brothers&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE9oCQwXyW0"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;William O'Neal's full interview for Eyes on the Prize II&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;Hoover and Sheen-as-Hoover, side by side:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/jedgarhoover-1613077504.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&amp;amp;resize=980:*" width="980" height="490"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What did you think of Judas and the Black Messiah? Let us know on a scale of 1–10 &lt;a href="https://youtu.be/ZIqLJmlQQNM?si=SVGZaR3VTeWCwpOM&amp;amp;t=103"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;simultaneously played saxophones&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; over on our Patreon page, &lt;a href="https://patreon.com/thewestwingweekly"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;patreon.com/thewestwingweekly&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
 </description>

What's more terrifying in Martin Sheen's depiction of J. Edgar Hoover—the racism, or the makeup?! We discuss ALL the important aspects of this cat-and-mouse thriller, which was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, and won two: Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Kaluuya.

For additional viewing:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN4qzdMe7dg">The Lucas Brothers</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE9oCQwXyW0">William O'Neal's full interview for Eyes on the Prize II</a>

Hoover and Sheen-as-Hoover, side by side:


What did you think of Judas and the Black Messiah? Let us know on a scale of 1–10 <a href="https://youtu.be/ZIqLJmlQQNM?si=SVGZaR3VTeWCwpOM&amp;t=103">simultaneously played saxophones</a> over on our Patreon page, <a href="https://patreon.com/thewestwingweekly">patreon.com/thewestwingweekly</a>.

Judas and the Black Messiah

An episode-by-episode discussion of The West Wing, one of television’s most beloved shows, co-hosted by one of its stars, Joshua Malina, along with Hrishikesh Hirway of Song Exploder.

An episode-by-episode discussion of The West Wing, one of television’s most beloved shows, co-hosted by one of its stars, Joshua Malina, along with Hrishikesh Hirway of Song Exploder.

The West Wing Weekly

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