Jason Reitman – The Front Runner #TFF36

PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews Jason Reitman, director of the film The Front Runner.

There was a moment in the USA and world political history where the private life of a person became as relevant as his public one. By telling the story of Gary Hart, the front-runner for the 1988 democratic presidential nomination that had to drop out over allegations of an extramarital affair, director Jason Reitman analyses that particular change in the history of politics. Based on the 2014 book All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid by Matt Bai, who co-wrote the screenplay with Reitman and Jay Carson, The Front Runner, stars Hugh Jackman as the brilliant politician who had to give it all up as he wasn’t expecting to be judged for his private issues rather than his political agenda. There’s a big question arising from the film: is it right to judge a politician by his private life choices instead of his political agenda? Jason Reitman, at the Torino Film Festival in the Festa Mobile section, tries to answer the question while comparing the situation Hart had to face in 1988 with the situation we’re all living in today, starting from President Trump’s moral behavior.

The Front Runner: Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman stars as the charismatic politician Gary Hart for Academy Award-nominated director Jason Reitman in the new thrilling drama The Front Runner. The film follows the rise and fall of Senator Hart, who captured the imagination of young voters and was considered the overwhelming front runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination when his campaign was sidelined by the story of an extramarital relationship with Donna Rice. As tabloid journalism and political journalism merged for the first time, Senator Hart was forced to drop out of the race – events that left a profound and lasting impact on American politics and the world stage. Also starring Vera Farmiga, J.K. Simmons and Alfred Molina, The Front Runner is written by Matt Bai & Jay Carson & Jason Reitman, based on the book All the Truth is Out by Matt Bai, and produced by Jason Reitman and Helen Estabrook of Right of Way Films and Aaron L. Gilbert of BRON Studios.