Salon.com > Jon Favreau

Obama aides cash in

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:45:00 +0000

After years of 16-hour workdays and constant stress, while earning below market salaries, President Obama's best-known aides are leaving en masse to set up their own gigs in the private sector -- where the hours will be fewer, the meetings less stressful, and the pay more abundant.

Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina is the latest, telling Politico Wednesday that he’s leaving Team Obama to start a consulting firm for which Team Obama will be his primary client. He’ll remain chairman of Organizing for Action, the organization forged out of the 2012 campaign apparatus that will act as outside pressure group for the administration’s agenda.

Though they will not be his focus, he may take on corporate clients as well. Ty Matsdorf, an Obama campaign alum who was a senior aide at the liberal American Bridge super PAC during the 2012 campaign, will also join him, as will Tara Corrigan, who worked on both campaigns and in the White House.

Meanwhile, one of Obama’s longest serving and closest advisers, David Axelrod, has signed with MSNBC as an analyst, as has former press secretary Robert Gibbs, who also worked on the campaign.

White House speechwriters face “novel” path to Hollywood

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 21:00:00 +0000

This week, Jon Favreau, the White House speechwriter (not to be confused with Jon Favreau the "Iron Man" director), announced his departure from the Obama team in order to pursue a career in Hollywood.

It's a fairly novel path -- one that has only recently been pioneered by fellow Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett (not to be confused with "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Jon Lovitz), who co-created the White House sitcom "1600 Penn."

"As a rule, I think people in L.A. are interested in any writer who brings a different skill set and experiences," Lovett told Salon. "There's an attraction to novelty, and to anyone whose writing isn't based in screenwriting. I had that novelty. I had no experience in Los Angeles but I did have novelty people could take a chance on. It certainly opened the door."

Lovett had tried stand-up after college and was reminded each year of his interest in comedy by the White House Correspondents' Dinner, where he and Favreau would write sometimes-scathing jokes for the president to deliver. But he hadn't initially intended to write about politics: "I was much more excited about not writing about politics, having been so close to it for my entire career until then," he said.

Obama’s head speechwriter stepping down, may pursue screenwriting

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:30:00 +0000

Ever since he's been in the White House, Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau seemed destined for Hollywood. He's dated "Parks and Recreation" actress Rashida Jones, was voted among the world's most beautiful by People magazine (and one of the most influential by Time) and, while still in his 20s, managed to inspire a "White House Gone Wild" headline when the media got hold of a shirtless pic of him playing a drinking game.

Now the 31-year-old, who has been Barack Obama's head speechwriter for seven years, is stepping down. The L.A. Times reports that after March 1, the young writer is likely to pursue a career in screenwriting, following the footsteps of former White House staffer, now "1600 Penn" writer, Jon Lovett. Obama adviser David Plouffe told the LA Times that Favreau would be well-equipped for a career in Hollywood. "He can write comedy, history, drama, suspense," Plouffe said. "He's got the whole range."

Favreau, however, plans to stay in Washington for the time being and has not commented on his departure. He will be replaced by Chicago native Cody Keenan, who the Times reports "is known for his handling of heartbreak and sadness."

Everyone loves a shiny nose

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 20:40:00 +0000

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," the beloved Christmas special that airs tonight on CBS, has, for 50 years, been one of the most anticipated holiday TV broadcast events — even in this day of DVR and Hulu. But little do many of us know, the hour-long, stop-motion animated musical film that would go on to become the highest-rated and longest-running television special, was originally made as a promotion for General Electric, a one-off Christmas special like the many that were airing in the 1960s at the time. We've grown up with its characters Hermey the Elf and Sam the Snowman, and its soundtrack (e.g., Burl Ives' "Silver and Gold" and "Holly Jolly Christmas") thanks to its annual airings. This December marks another month where once again you can't turn on the radio without hearing a song from its soundtrack, or walk into a store without seeing a product inspired by the show. How did this crudely animated special made for kids five decades ago become such an enduring — even thriving — part of our pop cultural landscape?