George Clooney producing 2016 remake of "Our Brand is Crisis", about Carville's GCS meddling...

[madfloridian]

in Bolivia. And other countries. Here is more about GCS.

"Our Brand Is Crisis" - Greenberg Carville Shrum in Bolivia, America's Backyard

In 2002, among the many creepy roles of James Carville was his work as strategist at Greenberg Carville Shrum (GCS), when the political consultancy firm he had helped to found went to work to help Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada (nicknamed “Goni”) win the hotly contested presidency of Bolivia. Although they thought the man to beat was Manfred Reyes Villa, the mayor of Cochabamba, certainly the one who most worried Washington was the indigenous leader, Evo Morales. But, what kind of choice was Sanchez de Lozada? According to BBC News, (Oct. 18, 2003), “The US-educated millionaire mining magnate, who speaks Spanish with an American accent, is nicknamed ‘gringo.’” He was hardly the most enlightened choice to make president of a country whose population consists largely of Quechua- and Aymara-speaking Indians (of whom Morales is one), who have been deeply impoverished by centuries of autocratic rulers allied to U.S. policy-makers and to foreign capitalists who have profited handsomely from Bolivia’s rich mineral resources (silver, tin, oil, gas). But, Sanchez de Lozada had previously been Finance Minister and, then, president from 1993 to 1997. He had worked closely with the World Bank and IMF and had miles to go on behalf of international capitalism. He had aggressive neo-liberal plans. None of this would have been news to the boys from GCS. They made their choice knowingly. Never mind matters of conscience or principle.

And, of course, as a bonus, securing a victory for Sanchez de Lozada would prevent Morales (not initially a leading contender) from becoming a president who intended to reverse the perverse legacy of 500 years that had made Bolivians among the poorest people in the world. That wouldn’t be James Carville’s idea of progress. So, Greenberg Carville Shrum put their money on –well, got paid to support—Sanchez de Lozada. It’s all captured in Rachel Boynton’s 2006 film, Our Brand is Crisis. Reviewing it in New York Magazine, David Edelstein put his finger on a key issue: “The problem,” he wrote, “is that the blinkered patrician Goni doesn’t have the know-how to fix a stopped toilet, much less a country on the verge of economic collapse, with a disenfranchised indigenous majority howling to be recognized.” This was the man whose candidacy Carville and his associates championed, rather than Evo Morales, whose election the Bush administration was passionately opposed to. (Four days before the election, U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, Manuel Rocha, urged Bolivians not to vote for Morales –because he was associated with “drug dealers and terrorists”– or the U.S. might cut off aid.)

More about the 2005 "Our Brand is Crisis".

Our Brand Is Crisis

Our Brand Is Crisis is a 2005 documentary film by Rachel Boynton on American political campaign marketing tactics by Greenberg Carville Shrum (GCS) in the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The election saw Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada elected President of Bolivia ahead of Evo Morales.

The film is distributed by Koch-Lorber Films.

"This film is a cautionary tale which comes at a very timely moment," said Koch-Lorber Films president Richard Lorber in a statement to indieWIRE. "The parallels to the current U.S. administration's approach to selling the war in Iraq are staggering."

A short trailer of the 2005 documentary

A longer 9 minute interview with the producer. It's very good if you ignore the very weird stuff at the beginning.

They are now filming a new version based on the old one. Most news coverage calls it comedy drama. That surprises me.

I doubt it's at all funny to those countries where GCS was messing around.

Our Brand Is Crisis (2016 film)

Our Brand Is Crisis is an upcoming American comedy-drama film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Peter Straughan. It is a remake of the 2005 documentary film of same name by Rachel Boynton, about the American political campaign strategies used by Greenberg Carville Shrum (GCS) in the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The film stars Sandra Bullock, Scoot McNairy, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie and Ann Dowd.

Principal photography began on September 29, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana. George Clooney and Grant Heslov are producing the film with Smoke House Pictures, while Warner Bros. will be releasing the film sometime in 2016, and is co-financing the film with Participant Media.

On April 22, 2007, it was announced that George Clooney would be producing a remake of 2005 documentary Our Brand Is Crisis along with Grant Heslov, which Warner Bros. would handle American distribution rights.[7] Peter Straughan was set to write the script, which Clooney was attached as a potential director and star in the film, about a 2002 Bolivian presidential election's campaign by James Carville's Washington, D.C. based political consulting firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner hired by candidate Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada.[7] On December 11, 2013, Sandra Bullock was in early talks to join the film for lead role, while Clooney would not direct the film and his role was also unconfirmed that time.[8] On August 21, 2014, Bullock's casting was confirmed to play a retired political consultant called 'Calamity' Jane Bodine,[9] and David Gordon Green was set to direct the film.[1] On September 11, Scoot McNairy was added to the cast in the political dramedy.[2] On September 15, Billy Bob Thornton joined the film.[3] On September 18, Anthony Mackie joined the cast of the film.[4] On September 24, Ann Dowd joined the film.[5] On October 10, Joaquim de Almeida and Zoe Kazan joined the cast of the film, Almeida would play Castillo, the former president of Bolivia, and Kazan would play a young woman who digs up dirt on political candidates.[6] On October 13, Participant Media announced to co-finance the film with Warner, which Jeffrey Skoll and Jonathan King would executive produce along with Bullock and Stuart M. Besser.[10]

[wyldwolf]

1. you realize this is a fictionalized comedy, correct?

I don't think anyone attached to the movie will be stoning James Carville in an election year, especially Clooney who is a major supporter of Hillary Clinton.

[madfloridian]

2. I did not think that at all. Surprised you did.

However, I think the very best way to get attention to companies like GCS messing around in the elections of others is to make it a comedy drama.

It will get more attention as many don't watch documentaries.

[madfloridian]

3. Oh, not fictionalized.

It really happened.

[wyldwolf]

4. Oh, yes fictionalized... and a comedy. I suspect like 'Dick.'

the film in question will be a political comedy, Our Brand Is Crisis, which Clooney will produce—but not appear in—with Bullock in talks to star. With a script by The Men Who Stare At Goats' Peter Straughan, it's a fictional take on Rachel Boynton's 2005 documentary of the same name...

http://www.avclub.com/article/bullock-clooney-may-reteam-for-our-brand-is-crisis-106472

The Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker is producing the political comedy 'Our Brand is Crisis,' currently shooting in New Orleans.

http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2014/10/george_clooneys_our_brand_is_c_2.html

[madfloridian]

5. It's a true story. The documentary was excellent.

This is whatever George Clooney wants it to be.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/movies/26fore.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Like you say, no one will say too much about Carville this election year.

The key, though, is to tar Mr. Reyes Villa. "We have to start negative campaigns against him," Tal Silberstein, another consultant, tells Mr. Sánchez de Lozada. "We have to make him from clean to a dirty candidate, that's our task."

The message worked because the consultants, even if idealistic, had the instinct to go for the jugular. "What started out as idealistic becomes about the win," said Ms. Boynton. She does not judge her subjects, and others who closely track Latin American politics see the film less as muckraking than an accurate, impartial reflection of how modern campaigns are run, whether in Bolivia or the United States.

"This is an old art, and the nature of democracy in Latin America — the way it's structured, presidential democracy and the vying for votes by so many parties — lends itself well to this kind of industry," said Eduardo Gamarra, director of Latin American studies at Florida International University in Miami. "Is it Machiavellian? Well, governing is Machiavellian. It's about calculating risks and opportunities."

Still, the hunt for the victory is, in the end, overshadowed by the tumult of Sánchez de Lozada's 14 months in office, which ended in bloodshed that left dozens of anti-government protesters dead and the president in exile. It drives home the point that democracy has to be about much more than slogans.

[wyldwolf]

6. But Clooney's take, as I plainly stated, is comedic fiction

So if you thought Clooney was going to help shine light on the dreaded DLC boogeymen, ain't happening.

[madfloridian]

7. "dreaded dlc boogeyman" You said that, not me.

I just plain don't like him.

It's Clooney's money, he will make it into whatever he wants.

I just wrongly thought some people who had seen the previous documentary, and discussed it here might be interested.

Guess not.

I will let you have it now, ww. Not getting into arguments anymore

[wyldwolf]

8. And Clooney's version will eclipse the first

[madfloridian]

9. Money does that,ww.

[wyldwolf]

11. "I will let you have it now, ww. Not getting into arguments anymore"

LOL

[Bluenorthwest]

12. More people will see the original documentary after seeing the feature than ever saw it in the first

place. I does not eclipse or replace, it supports and enhances. This is good for both the original piece and the makers of that piece.

[Bluenorthwest]

10. It's not accurate to call this a remake, it's a political satire based on the facts put forth in the

documentary. Based on, not a remake of. I expect it to be great.