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      in US Politics

      Cynthia Nixon: 'Will Donald Trump leave quietly? I don't know'

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      Cynthia Nixon Zooms on to my screen from some decking in Long Island. The blue-grey sky is dramatically ominous, a sea breeze blows her hair into photogenic chaos and she is, of course, pretty damn famous – especially to those of us of the Sex and the City generation. So the overall effect is of watching a film, but one that is talking straight to you. Yet, within what feels like barely five seconds, we are discussing the end of democracy, with only the briefest detour to cover the impact wrought on her New York home by coronavirus.“When you’re in New York City, what it reminds me of is the time right after September 11th. It was, in a way, less terrifying than it looked to people watching from the outside, just as it’s strangely less scary to have cancer than to watch someone you love have cancer.”She packs a lot into a sentence – history, terrorism, love, cancer – and is clearly political to her bones: not at all interested in things that simply happen (pandemics and their attendant disruptions) but instead in systems, choices and worldviews. “In terms of the overall political scene across the country, it’s just terrifying. People keep writing these articles about the end of democracy, and it does feel like a real possibility when you have a president who’s trying to sink the Post Office.”At 54, Nixon is a relatively recent discovery as a prominent advocate of the Democratic party’s furthest left: she stood against Andrew Cuomo in the 2018 election for the governor of New York, a race in which she now considers she was doomed from the start. “I was triply burdened,” she says. “I was a woman. I was a gay woman. I was a person who had been an activist for a long time, but had never held political office, and obviously the governor is a really big place to start. And I am an actress, which is a barely coded word for ‘bimbo’ or ‘ditz’. I don’t, in my personal life, ever call myself an actress – I call myself an actor. But Cuomo tried to use that word as often as he could, in a very derogatory way.” More

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      in US Politics

      Mrs America's Uzo Aduba: 'It's worth examining the shortcomings of our feminist heroes'

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      Shirley Chisholm was a woman of many firsts. She was the first black woman elected to Congress, the first black candidate to seek the presidency, and the first woman, full-stop, to participate in a US presidential debate. She introduced more than 50 pieces of legislation, most championing racial, economic and gender equality, and is often credited as paving the way for Barack Obama. In doing so, she occupied a space that many black women recognise: the solitary seat as the only such face at the table.Uzo Aduba, who plays Chisholm in the acclaimed new FX series Mrs America, says that this was a key factor in bringing this formidable politician to life. “That feeling of being the ‘only’,” she says, speaking via Zoom with a warm smile on her face. “It was important to get that right.”It’s certainly something Aduba can relate to. The 39-year-old made history in 2015 as the first female actor to win both a drama and comedy Emmy for the same role – the part of Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren in Orange Is the New Black. “It was an honour to represent Chisholm,” she says, “because she’s not often portrayed. I just wanted to get her humanity.”The humanity of the much-mythologised feminists of the 1970s is a central part of the series, which spotlights the aims and the internal struggles of the activists who fought to pass the Equal Rights Amendment – as well as the conservatives who opposed it, led by staunch anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly. A lauded ensemble cast boasts Hollywood giants and household names: Cate Blanchett as Schlafly, Rose Byrne as Gloria Steinem and Tracey Ullman as Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique. More

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      in US Politics

      'As guarded as Fort Knox': the inside story of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign

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      ‘As guarded as Fort Knox’: the inside story of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign Thousands of hours of behind-the-scenes footage were shot of the former first lady’s disastrous bid for the White House. How did film-maker Nanette Burstein turn it all into a story of hope? ‘As guarded as Fort Knox’ … the candidate in Nanette […] More

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      in Elections

      Cheer coach offers advice at Texas polls: ‘We can love each other no matter our backgrounds’

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      Navarro College, which became famous after an acclaimed Netflix show, is a polling spot on a critical day in the 2020 election Navarro College, in Corsicana, Texas, became world famous this year after the success of the Netflix documentary Cheer, which followed the college’s champion cheerleading squad as they fought to defend their national title […] More

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      in Elections

      Gwyneth, Lizzo, Cher: who are Hollywood stars endorsing?

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      Ahead of the California primary, here are the candidates Hollywood’s famous names are voting for As the race for the 2020 Democratic nomination grows increasingly unpredictable, every boost helps – and candidates are calling in support from the powerful world of film and entertainment. From Ariana Grande’s endorsement of Bernie Sanders to Pete Buttigieg’s fundraiser […] More