By Charlotte Lindemann 7/26/12 2:12pm

party talk

Director Jay Roach at the Peggy Siegal Company and Svedka Vodka screening of The Campaign.

Jay Roach, Director of The Campaign, on His Unrealized Political Career

“If I hadn’t gone into film I would have been in politics,” Jay Roach, director of The Campaign, told The Observer last night at a screening after party. “I was a big student council guy.”

Taking our cue from the lighthearted atmosphere a night of comedy, dim lighting, and celebrity schmoozing at the Lower East Side restaurant of Sons of Essex, we prodded for the punch line. “Oh yeah? And what would your platform be?” we shot back, not without a bit of skeptical sarcasm. “Mental illness” came the reply. We quickly swallowed our laughter. “It’s something that’s really not spoken about–it’s not a sexy topic,” Mr. Roach continued earnestly. “I really think it’s a problem the way we don’t take care of people in this country.” A serious problem indeed! Read More

By Alexandra Dean Hitzler 7/17/12 12:35pm

Unlikely Partnerships

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An Unlikely Author Collaboration, Born on Twitter: Meghan McCain and Michael Ian Black’s America, You Sexy Bitch

By the time Meghan McCain and Michael Ian Black arrived at the Reading Room in Bryant Park last Wednesday, the rows green folding chairs set up for lunchtime Q&A session for the pair’s book, America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter to Freedom, released last month, were almost completely filled. Political enthusiasts of all walks of life, many toting mixed green salads and bottles of sparkling water, had gathered to discuss the book.

Ms. McCain and Mr. Black took questions from the audience about their co-authored book, which analogues the cross-country road trip they took together in an RV, searching for ways to mend the gap between Democrats and Republicans.

Ms. McCain told the audience that the two met while working on a TV pilot that Mr. Black was shooting and quickly became friends. Mr. Black later asked Ms. McCain, via Twitter, to work on a book with him and she agreed.

“He asked Chelsea Clinton and Bristol Palin, but they both said no,” Ms. McCain said facetiously. Read More