'The political system's redundancy' is inspiration for Jon Stewart's new film, 'Irresistible'

Record ID: 1558318

  • Title: 'The political system's redundancy' is inspiration for Jon Stewart's new film, 'Irresistible'
  • Date: 22nd June 2020
  • Summary: UNKNOWN CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JUNE 19, 2020) (REUTERS VIA ZOOM) (SOUNDBITE) (English) WRITER AND DIRECTOR JON STEWART SAYING: (ON DOING INTERVIEWS FROM HOME ON ZOOM) "It's funny because all these interviews, you do get to see a little bit of people's worlds, because I'm so used to seeing in people and, you know, you'll do a satellite tour and it'll just be green s
  • Embargoed: 6th July 2020 16:37
  • Keywords: film jon stewart movie politics rose byrne steve carell
  • Location: UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS / UNKNOWN CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: UNKNOWN FILM LOCATIONS / UNKNOWN CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Film
  • Reuters ID: LVA00CCJGDD8T
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Comedian Jon Stewart has taken "the redundancy of the political system" and turned it into a comedy with a twist with his new film, "Irresistible."
    "The attempt here is to kind of not go directly at that thought, but to give you a bit of a Trojan horse," said Stewart who wrote and directed the movie.
    "To create a movie around those easy narratives that we create in the kind of media political landscape and then subvert it at the end so that we have a moment of - that you can kind of stand back and question. Oh, right? Why do we have a system where this is possible?"
    The film stars Steve Carell and Rose Byrne as political consultants. Carell portrays a Democrat who convinces a retired Marine colonel to run for mayor of a small Wisconsin town, Byrne is his Republican rival.
    For Australian born Byrne learning the political lingo was a challenge, but she was able to rely on Stewart for help.
    "I was like, yeah, I know, I know how it works," she said. "And then I quickly realized, oh, I have no idea. I thought I knew how this works and this is this is far more complicated and truly complicated than I understood. So, you know, Jon is obviously an incredible source for questions and so available anytime to talk about stuff."
    The film ends with an unexpected ending which Stewart said came to mind first when he was writing.
    "What if we set up a trap around the sort of strange, you know, right, left," he said. "And that's where 'Irresistible' comes from. It's - they created a storyline that was irresistible. And, and it drew them in - it was a honey. I could call it a honeypot, you know, but it it drew them in and then it just took off from there."
    The film, which also stars Chris Cooper and Topher Grace, will be released on June 26th on various at home streaming platforms.
    (Production: Alicia Powell)
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