IndieWIRE, one of the leading online new sources for independent films did a little write-up about The Delegates this past week. Check it out:

“The Delegates”

Highlighting the Democratic National Convention, Cameron Hickey’s documentary promises to give a behind-the-scenes look at how the delegates experience the convention, while critiquing our democratic process.

Having focused on human rights and social injustices in past films (”Garlic and Watermelons,” “The Alphabet Book”) with producing partner/wife, Lauren Feeney, the thought of doing a film on politics had never been of interest for the two until podcasting earlier in the year at the New Hampshire primaries for DoubleSpeak, an online radio show created by political insiders Matthew and Peter Slutsky. “We knew we were going to the convention and it occurred to me I wanted to do something that had a little more staying power than something that was just going to be interesting on that day,” says Hickey a few weeks before heading to Denver for the convention.

To find their subjects they sent out an e-mail blast to ten percent of the just under 5,000 delegates going to the convention. Hickey says they heard back from 55 interested delegates, including Hilary Clinton supporters who converted over to Barack Obama (some begrudgingly) during the convention, the mother of a solider killed in Iraq, a transgender delegate, a gay Unitarian Universalist Minster and a Iraq/Afghanistan war vet.

Though Hickey is aware of the historical significance of this convention, he says that isn’t what motivated him to make the film. “We want to make something that is a bit different from what you’re going to get out of the news media,” he says. “I would love to be filming one of our subjects and have Obama in the background because we’re not focusing on him while everyone else is.”

Financed through online donations, the film was shot on three HD cameras by Hickey, Feeney and D.P. Jason Martin. Hickey is realistic of his film’s distribution possibilities and hopes to build an audience through the Internet and self-distribute the film. It’s co-produced by DoubleSpeak and Hickey/Feeney’s company Pattern Films.

[For more information, please visit www.thedelegates.net]

Many of you have been asking us about the progress of the film, so here’s a brief update…

We are in the midst of finishing the process of digitizing and organizing the dozens and dozens of hours of film that we shot in Denver. Cameron is working hard to get this done, as well as looking for a top-notch editor to begin cutting some trailers for the film, as well as other highlight reels we can use to begin promoting the project and the post-production.

Over the coming months, we will be working very hard to put the film together, raise the money we’ll need, work out the music, licensing, etc. It will be an exciting and exhausting, but we have a great team and we are confident that this film is going to be a big hit in 2009. We want to once again thank everyone for their support and make sure you stay tune for more updates on DoubleSpeak and The Delegates in the weeks and months to come.

I was on MSNBC last night discussing the bailout and John McCain’s erratic response to the crisis. Here’s the video.

I did a spot late this afternoon on MSNBC debating the perceived maverick nature of the McCain/Palin ‘08 ticket. Let’s just say this: it’s a load of crap.

John McCain is a creature of Washington. He is Washington - he personifies the mess that we face in this country and his support of George W. Bush nearly 90% of the time has helped to drive our economy and our foreign policy into the ditch that we find ourselves in today.

John McCain is the problem, not the solution!

As far as Sarah Palin goes, she is a change candidate, in that she is the first female VP nominee in Republican Party history. I don’t want to discount that accomplishment - I applaud her for that.

However, that is where the change stops. She’s completely anti-change when it comes to important issues that will be paramount over the coming years. She was for the “Bridge to Nowhere” before she was against (she likes her pork), she doesn’t believe in man-made global warming, she would turn the clock back nearly 30 years on the rights of women to make choices about their health and well being, she has no plans for health care reform and to cover the nearly 50 million uninsured Americans, she’s never indicated any stance on foreign policy or international diplomacy, and the list goes on and on. Yes, she’s new and exciting, but her policies are like dinosaurs - old and extinct. On top of all of this, the McCain campaign believes it’s okay to shield her from the press - the very people in this country whose job it is to ask tough questions of our elected officials and find out where they come down on issues.

Here’s the MSNBC clip:

We had our first full day here in Denver shooting The Delegates. The city is electric, but hectic, hot and somewhat of a cluster.

This morning, I did a spot on MSNBC live from the Pepsi Center, which was a really cool experience. The arena looks really cool.

Here’s video of the spot.

My brother and I did a quick spot together on MSNBC this afternoon. Check it out.

Have a great weekend, y’all!

Yesterday, my brother and I did a couple spots on MSNBC to celebrate our nation’s independence. Here they are, hope you enjoy.

(more…)

My brother and I will be on MSNBC tomorrow, our nation’s birthday, between the hours of 10:00am and 12:00pm EST. We’ll be doing multiple segments. We asked them if we could do a competitive hot dog eating contest…but alas, they haven’t gotten back to us yet. If you’re around, make sure you tune in.

Here is the YouTube clip of a spot that I did last Friday morning, talking about Obamacans. Enjoy.

Crazy Flooding [LINK]

The Lights Go Out In D.C. [LINK]

McCain Stacks Fox News ‘Town Hall’ With Supporters [LINK]

Chris Dodd (and others) Have Some Explainin’ To Do [LINK]

Obama On GOP Strategy: ‘They’re Trying To Make Me Into A Scary Guy’ [LINK]

Obama Team Renews Gas Tax Attack on McCain [LINK]

Ron Paul Is Out…Finally! [LINK]

Bowers: The Message That Will Win This Campaign [LINK]

{VIDEO} I’m Blogging [LINK]

Obama Moves Majority Of DNC Operations To Chicago [LINK]

Fox News VP: “Obama’s Baby Mama” Chyron Was “Poor Judgment.” [LINK]

NPR: Is It Still All About the White Men? [LINK]

McCain And Obama Split On Justices’ Guantánamo Ruling [LINK]

Survey: Foreigners Overwhelmingly Prefer Obama [LINK]

Caption anyone???

Happy last primary day! Keep an eye out for Matthew, who will be on MSNBC between 2:30pm-3:00pm EST today to discuss all things politics!

In other news:

McAuliffe: Clinton Ready To Go [LINK]

Clyburn Gets Off The Fence [LINK]

Governors Supporting Hillary Prepare For Switch To Obama [LINK]

Dick Cheney Is Funny, Kind Of [LINK]

Retiring Clinton’s Debt? [LINK]

TPM: Inspector General: NASA Distorted Climate Data [LINK]

Gallup Poll: Obama Edges McCain Nationally [LINK]

Bill Clinton Is Pissed At Vanity Fair (With Audio) [LINK]

G.M. Closing 4 Plants In Shift From Trucks Toward Cars [LINK]

Wes Clark Floats Obama-Sebelius [LINK]

Climate Change: GOP Not Warming Up [LINK]

Sen. Robert Byrd Hospitalized [LINK]