Lawrence Bender
Gore's fight against global warming and Obama's quest for the White House
Any number of producers are acknowledged to have changed movie history: Selznick. Thalberg. Lucas. But not many can claim to have possibly changed history history, as 2006’s An Inconvenient Truth may have done on the monumental issue of climate change. That film was created after Lawrence Bender (best known as the producer of Good Will Hunting and numerous Quentin Tarantino films) saw a lecture on the acceleration of global warming by former Vice President Al Gore. He recognized dramatic film possibilities in the subject and in Gore’s engaging talk. The result not only won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, but inevitably played a role in Gore’s recent award of the Nobel Peace Prize and last year’s excited media chatter about another possible Gore candidacy for president.
Originally from New York, Bender came to Los Angeles to be an actor. The producing career he found instead ultimately brought him near to presidents and other elected officials and led to increasing involvement in Democratic Party politics. He has been a regular donor to various campaigns since the 1990s. And in 2008, he’s an active volunteer and fundraiser for the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, saying he joined “basically the day [Obama] announced.”
Bender remains as busy as a producer can be during the ongoing writers’ strike. But politics is a real passion for him, and this year’s election should satisfy any need for drama.
–Steve Appleford
CityBeat: How did you get involved in politics?
Lawrence Bender: Both of my parents, being school teachers in the ’60s, were very involved in the antiwar movement. When I was a kid, I went to many of the marches in Washington with them on the great lawn. It’s kind of in my blood.
As for the first real thing that happened to me: We screened Good Will Hunting at Camp David for President Clinton and Mrs. Clinton and a whole group of people – Madeleine Albright, Sandy Berger, Tom Daschle. It was the first time I had ever met a politician. Needless to say, that was an impactful moment for me. We spent a day together and I realized the difference these people make in our lives. I decided I needed to find a way to do my part and make a difference.
What was the experience like to meet those people?
It was a pretty heady feeling meeting the president of the United States, and at Camp David, which is a place not a lot of people get to go. In the library, I saw the table where the Camp David Peace Accords were signed – an enormous amount of history there. I was very much impressed by the president and everybody. It was a phenomenal experience.
Is the political path you’ve taken since been a surprise to you?
I was always looking for ways to make movies that had some kind of social relevance. But there was something missing in my life, and I didn’t know what it was. When I met that group, I realized what I was missing. I had no idea what it would look like or how involved I would get. I just knew I needed to figure out how to do something.
Your political activity seems to be at a very intense level. This isn’t just a casual thing for you.
It depends on what time, what candidate, but I guess I am a bit of an intense person. I love making movies, and it’s a huge part of my life. But it wasn’t enough to have me feel completely fulfilled.
Why did you choose Obama now?
I was at the Democratic Convention in Boston when he made the speech [in 2004]. I was sitting in the “friends of Kerry” booth. Like everyone there, I was just blown away by what was coming out of this man – he had an amazing story, such charisma, a great communicator. I was taken with him. This was someone to watch, someone I wanted to meet and get involved with. He excited me about politics.
What do you think his appeal to Californians can or should be?
I think we all want the same things. We want to be safe. Californians really look at the economy. I also think he’s been right on the war from the beginning. That’s really important to me.
These last seven years have been an unmitigated disaster. The world looks at our country in a very different light than they looked at it under President Clinton. We need somebody who is really going to heal. If we elect Barack Obama, it’s really going to send to the rest of the world [a message] that there has been a change in the way Americans look at their leaders. And that we truly are looking for ways to change our approach to the world. Barack is a big symbol for that, and that’s important.
You’ve donated to Hillary’s senate campaigns, you worked with John Kerry in 2004, you’re very close to Al Gore. You might have supported any of them this time. What is your process in choosing a candidate?
To be honest, if Al Gore was running, it wouldn’t have been a question. I got to know him over the course of making the movie and I was so taken by him. I would follow him anywhere. I was with him just recently when he received the Nobel Prize for Peace in Oslo. What a wonderful honor to be able to be there. But I could see early on that he wasn’t going to run. He was doing different things. It seemed pretty clear to me that, although he didn’t rule it out, it wasn’t going to happen.
And Hillary, I would support. Most of the Democratic candidates running are really interesting and could make good presidents. The thing that makes me feel strongly about Barack Obama is that he really excites people in a way hasn’t happened in many, many years. It feels like it’s back in the days of the Kennedys. People more and more are disenchanted with politics, and he represents a change from business as usual.
An Inconvenient Truth transformed the debate. Republicans were generally united in denying that global warming existed at all – now they at least acknowledge it exists, even if they don’t agree on the cause.
When we did Pulp Fiction, people said after the fact that it changed film history, and how would we ever in a million years make another movie with that kind of affect on film. Then this happened. On one hand, it’s humbling. On the other hand, because of how much I have learned about the issue, there’s no sitting on any laurels. Especially after meeting in person all those scientists in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Oslo – it’s great to have been part of this movie that changed how people look on this issue, but I also understand that this is just the beginning and there’s an enormous amount we need to do if we’re really going to get this issue under control. I don’t sit idly by and say how great it is that we changed the world. It’s more like “Oh, shit!” We have a lot to accomplish in a very short amount of time. I better find some other way to do something here.
What did you see in Al Gore that you recognized could be something of this magnitude?
I think anybody who saw him do that presentation was blown away by him. I don’t think I was anything special at all. I happened to make movies and just put two and two together. You were immediately blown away by not just the facts he was presenting, but his passion, his humor, his charisma. This was a great man and he really engaged you. I don’t know anyone who has walked out of his presentation that hasn’t said to themselves: “What can I do?”
What does its success say about the political impact a film can have?
It does show that media can have a huge impact in a positive way. Now more than ever, with the way media’s changing and the way people listen to information, film can make a difference. It’s not easy. The director of our movie, Davis Guggenheim, did a great job. A lot of people make documentaries. It’s very hard to make a commercial documentary that breaks out theatrically. Every year there are one or two at the most.
I’m doing another one right now about nuclear weapons. I’m hoping to do the same thing for nuclear weapons that we did for climate change. It all comes down to the story you’re telling. There’s a lot of important issues in the world. You have to find a narrative, a story. After all, it is entertainment. It’s not just a news show.
There’s a lot of railing on the right against the influence of Hollywood on society and politics. Whether it’s positive or negative, is the entertainment community really that involved?
You hear this all the time. But what you don’t hear about are the 25,000 lobbyists that no one knows about who are literally paid to help write legislation. At least these are people doing what they believe. You don’t hear people complaining if someone puts their face to the American Heart Association or any of the hundreds of good causes that celebrities put their faces on to make a difference. God bless them for sticking their necks out.
Published: 01/16/2008
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