Taglines: He was born to run.
Primary Colors movie storyline. Mike Nichols directed this Elaine May screenplay adapted from the 1996 bestseller by “Anonymous” (Joe Klein), who fictionalized Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign. In the New Hampshire primary, Governor Jack Stanton (John Travolta) convinces Henry Burton (Adrian Lester), grandson of a respected civil rights pioneer, to become his deputy campaign manager. Stanton’s smart wife Susan (Emma Thompson) always comes through with public support for her philandering husband.
The film’s parallel for James Carville is Stanton’s redneck advisor Richard Jemmons (Billy Bob Thornton), who knows every strategy and tactic but worries, “The woman thing, that’s the killer.” Sure enough, problems during the New Hampshire primary include charges of adultery. To get a handle on past peccadillos, Stanton’s staff brings in an old family friend, lesbian Libby Holden (Kathy Bates), who knows how to clean up dirt. Stanton, a strong debater, moves on to Florida and New York.
When one opposing candidate drops dead of a heart attack, he’s replaced by Florida’s Governor Fred Picker (Larry Hagman), but Holden holds the skeleton key to the skeleton in Picker’s closet. Just how the Stantons put this information to use reveals whether they are ruthless politicians or inspirational leaders with ideals.
Primary Colors is a 1998 film based on the novel Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics, a roman à clef about Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign in 1992, which was originally published anonymously, but in 1996 was revealed to have been written by journalist Joe Klein, who had been covering Clinton’s campaign for Newsweek.[4][5][6] The film was directed by Mike Nichols and scripted by Elaine May; it starred John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Kathy Bates, Maura Tierney, Larry Hagman, and Adrian Lester.
Bates was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, and May was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Primary Colors (1998)
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Starring: John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, Adrian Lester, Maura Tierney, Paul Guilfoyle, Larry Hagman, Kathy Bates, Diane Ladd, Rebecca Walker
Screenplay by: Elaine May
Production Design by: Bo Welch
Cinematography by: Michael Ballhaus
Film Editing by: Arthur Schmidt
Costume Design by: Gary Jones, Ann Roth
Set Decoration by: Cheryl Carasik
Art Direction by: Tom Duffield
Music by: Ry Cooder
MPAA Rating: R for strong language and sexual references.
Distributed by: Unuversal Pictures
Release Date: March 20, 1998
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