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- Colonel Jack Hastings is our key back into
the great now-swing state of Wisconsin.
He just doesn't know it yet.
- This is your second feature.
What inspired you to write and direct this movie?
- It really was a question of having experienced
the political system for so long
and becoming frustrated with just how redundant
and corrosive it feels like it's gotten,
and kind of that media-industrial complex around it.
You know, our electoral process seems to be
further removed from the needs of the people it serves
than ever before.
So I wanted to try to look at it from
that system's perspective
as opposed to kind of the day to day
that I had been dealing with with The Daily Show.
- I am telling you guys, that could be the real deal.
This little campaign of ours
has caught the attention of the national Republican Party.
Why are you here?
- Because crushing the last piece of hope in your eyes
really gets me off.
- What made you want to be a part of this movie?
- I'm such a fan of the genre, of the newsroom drama,
whether it's the documentary or movies.
It's such a great backdrop for characters and theatrics.
So, it's long been a fancy of mine
to do something like that.
And then to work with John and Steve
was really a no-brainer.
- Jon Stewart alone is,
doesn't make a ton of movies
and that he was making one that I could possibly be in
was kind of enough of a reason for me.
And then reading the script,
it was one of the best scripts I've read in years.
- Well I've been a huge fan,
I probably never missed an episode of his show
and I was just not gonna miss the opportunity.
- This is really just another perfect example
of the DC league trying to dictate how we should live.
- That's we, your DC league.
- Oh, no, actually, I'm from here, I'm from Deerlaken.
- Now this movie takes both sides of the political
spectrum to task.
What message do you hope viewers walk away with?
- Part of all that, about the two parties, is
they're really just a stand in,
they're a bit of a head fake.
And it's there to entice you and lure you in
so that when the rug is finally pulled at the end,
you step back and go
oh right, why do we allow this all to continue?
Why do we allow it to go on like this?
Why do we allow the electoral process to never end?
And to continually reinforce your visions
as opposed to work to ease them.
- [Steve Carell] This is the A Team.
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All you have is fear.
- 20 bucks says I do better with fear
than you do with shame.
- And since it's an election year,
it really feels like the perfect time to release this movie.
Why did you want to release it right now?
- I thought hey man, it's the middle of a pandemic,
it's an election year,
streets are alive with social change,
let's just drop a box of chocolate in the middle of that
and see what happens.
- Is there any message you want to give out right now
with everything going on in the world?
- The problems that we've created
have taken years to create
and it's going to take year to, you know,
it's gonna take stamina and will.
And I think we have it
and I'm very encouraged that new generations coming up
are really active and focused.
I'm excited to see what comes of their efforts.
- [Steve Carell] I would like to offer my services--
Could we quiet the cows please?
To help run for mayor of Deerlaken.
And if you could get some of them to face front.
- Why do you think people will enjoy this movie?
- [Jon Stewart] Steve Carell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper,
Mackenzie Davis, Topher Grace, Natasha Lyonne.
I feel like I was very fortunate to get
really funny, capable actors,
so I'm hoping that people just enjoy the ride.
- It's unexpected perhaps if you see
it's a Jon Stewart movie,
you're gonna go in with a certain sort of
preconceived idea of what it would be like.
And it's really the opposite.
No one is safe.
Everybody is being satirized and made fun of
and the largest sort of picture is being exposed.
It's very surprising.
- We hope they'll enjoy it.
And I think it just asks to
just try a little more objectivity
and Jon has a talent for breaking down and simplifying
kind of pretty important issues
and making us aware of the problems.
- I think it's really funny
and I think it's really educational
and what more could you possibly want?
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