Jump to content

Alexandra Pelosi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by American8 (talk | contribs) at 15:34, 2 December 2018 (→‎Personal life: added Paul Ryan, Halloween costumes + election night). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Alexandra Pelosi
Born (1970-10-05) October 5, 1970 (age 53)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
EducationLoyola Marymount University, University of Southern California
Occupation(s)Director, cinematographer, producer, writer
Years active2002–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2005)​
Children2
Parent(s)Nancy Pelosi
Paul Pelosi
RelativesChristine Pelosi (sister)

Alexandra C. Pelosi (born October 5, 1970)[1] is an American journalist, documentary filmmaker, and writer. She is the daughter of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi.[2]

Career

Alexandra Pelosi has made eleven HBO Documentary Films with Sheila Nevins.[3] In media interviews, Sheila Nevins has referred to Pelosi as her daughter.

After a decade working in network news, Pelosi made her first film in 2000, while working as a producer for NBC covering George W. Bush's presidential campaign.[4] She brought along a handheld camcorder documenting 18 months of her experience on the campaign trail; the footage was used to create Journeys with George,[5] a documentary that earned her six Emmy nominations. In 2001, Sheila Nevins convinced Pelosi to leave network news to work exclusively for HBO. During the 2004 Democratic primaries, Pelosi returned to the campaign trail, this time following the Democratic candidates. Her HBO documentary, Diary of a Political Tourist, was accompanied by her first book Sneaking into the Flying Circus: How the Media Turn Our Presidential Campaigns into Freak Shows, about the process of selecting candidates for President of the United States. She stated that her conversations with Candy Crowley of CNN, Howard Dean, and Wesley Clark inspired her to write a book.

In 2006, Ms. Pelosi created the documentary about evangelical Christians called Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi which featured former pastor Ted Haggard. After it aired on HBO in 2007, she made a follow-up film, The Trials of Ted Haggard, chronicling the exile of Ted Haggard from New Life Church after his sex and drug scandal, which The New York Times called "strangely intriguing".[6] The LA Times review said, "this heartbreaking little film that may wind up being the most powerful indictment of homophobia since "Brokeback Mountain." [7] Pelosi went back on the campaign trail in 2008 to document the birth of the Tea Party movement at Republican campaign events for her film, Right America: Feeling Wronged - Some Voices from the Campaign Trail, which premiered on HBO on President's Day 2009.[8] CNN reported in July 2010 that Pelosi was no longer making political documentaries.[9] Her 2010 HBO film, Homeless: The Motel Kids of Orange County follows the children of the working poor in Orange County, California. The New York Times praised the film for "advancing a theme of the failed American dream."[10]

On July 4, 2011, HBO debuted Pelosi's next film Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip. Pelosi traveled to all 50 states to attend naturalization ceremonies and interviewed immigrants as they became legalized American citizens. The film was released with a coffee table book entitled Citizen USA: A 50 State Road Trip.[11]

Pelosi was at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival with her film, Fall To Grace, [12] about disgraced former New Jersey governor, Jim McGreevey.[13] She was spotted around Park City with fellow headliner Kenneth Cole.[14]

In 2015, Pelosi returned to San Francisco to make a film about the tech boom's impact on it. According to Recode, its "a clear-eyed, sober recap of what's been going on...Pelosi's tale is also deeply personal; she grew up in San Francisco, but she has lived in New York for a long time. A key theme of the documentary is that the San Francisco to which she's returning is very different from the one she left." [15] Variety called San Francisco 2.0 "one of her finest."[16] San Francisco 2.0 was nominated for an Emmy for best business reporting.[17]

In 2016, Pelosi made Meet the Donors: Does Money Talk? about money's influence in politics.[18] In a profile in Vogue, Ms Pelosi calls her film a "light romp into the road map of the people and places that are funding our elections." The film drops in on a handful of folks who rank on the OpenSecrets.org list of top donors.[19] Uproxx described it as watching "Pelosi meet with an assortment of billionaire donors, asking them why they give millions to candidates, how this funding affects campaigns, and all the access these hefty donations can get you." On the press tour for the film, Pelosi talked about everything she has learned in her lifetime on the political fundraising circuit[20]

Pelosi's eleventh film premiered on July 4, 2017, narrated by Pulitzer Prize winning David McCullough, The Words That Built America,[21] is a reading of the US Constitution read by all the living presidents, vice presidents, 50 US Senators of both parties and Supreme Court Justices etc. It also includes a reading of the Declaration of Independence read by The Rock, Meryl Streep, Robert Deniro, Robert Redford, Sean Hannity, Kid Rock, and other celebrities.[22] It closes with Middle School Children from the United Nations International School reading the Bill of Rights and summaries of the other amendments. On Anderson Cooper 360, Anderson Cooper talked about hanging out with Pelosi's two sons on the set.[23]

According to The Port Arthur News, Pelosi is filming a new HBO documentary about Trump's America.[24]

In October 2018, Outside the Bubble: A Roadtrip with Alexandra Pelosi aired on HBO. [25] According to IMDB, "Pelosi sets out on a cross-country trip to engage in conversations with fellow Americans in an effort to gain an unfiltered understanding of other perspectives." [26]According to The New York Times,"It’s not just another episode of the learned cosmopolitan descending from the ivory tower to produce anthropological discourses on that strange creature known as the Trump voter and make it back to the big city in time for a martini. Though she is Democratic royalty, Ms. Pelosi has spent much of her career dissecting, with compassion, the psyche of the political right in America." [27]

Personal life

Pelosi was born and grew up in San Francisco, California, earned a B.A from Loyola Marymount University and graduated from University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication in 1993. She is the youngest of five children. In one of her New York Times profiles, Pelosi referred to herself as the "purple sheep" in her family...“I was indoctrinated into a Democratic Party cult from a very early age,” Ms. Pelosi said. “But I know that’s not the only America and we need to understand the other side.” [28]

On June 18, 2005, in Greenwich Village, she married Dutch journalist, lawyer, and United States correspondent Michiel Vos (born on December 19, 1970 in Groningen, the Netherlands).[29]

In 2006, Pelosi gave birth to their first child, a boy named Paul,[30] named after his grandfather Paul Pelosi.[31] Pelosi had a second son in 2007, named Thomas, after his great grandfather Thomas D'Alesandro Jr.[32]

Ms. Pelosi lives in Greenwich Village. Her bathroom was featured in The New York Times Home & Garden section [33]

In the New York Post In My Library column, Pelosi cites her two favorite political books:Political Fictions by Joan Didion and The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm.[34]

Ms. Pelosi's children are often seen with her on the red carpet.[35] They are often photographed with their grandmother Nancy Pelosi.[36] Nancy Pelosi often mentions them in speeches.[37][38] Pelosi says, 'public service runs in the family'.[39] According to Politico, during the battle to repeal Obamacare, Pelosi's 9-year-old grandson Thomas ambled over to reporters in slacks and a blazer and announced, "It's not going to pass," "He [Paul Ryan] doesn't have the votes!"[40]

In a joint interview on CNN, Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi talked about his friendship with Ms. Pelosi's children. "I thought you were going to brag about how much my grandchildren are your big fans," Pelosi said."That's right, her grandkids actually like me. Go figure." Ryan said.[41]

The New York Times reported that for Halloween in 2018, "Nancy Pelosi was organizing her grandson Paul’s 12th birthday party. She helped him and his brother, Thomas, make their Halloween costumes. For Thomas, a hamburger (his best friend was fries). For Paul, a skeleton outfit and a mask of George W. Bush: The Ghost of G.O.P. Past." [42]

On election night 2018, the two boys standing with Nancy Pelosi on stage for her victory speech were Alexandra Pelosi's sons.[43]

At 'Spotlight On Alexandra Pelosi' at Lincoln Center, Pelosi talked about the solitary life of a documentary filmmaker and how being naive is the best prescription for a documentary filmmaker, "It feels like every documentary has been made, but its not true. The next great documentary film is going to be made by someone whose name you don't even know yet." [44]

Filmography (as director)

References

  1. ^ California Birth Index
  2. ^ Strauss, Gary (February 15, 2009). "'Alexandra Pelosi takes a hard 'Right' turn in documentary':". USA Today.
  3. ^ Dowd, Maureen (December 16, 2017). "The Grande Dame of Documentary Is Leaving Her Home at HBO". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  4. ^ Gay, Jason (November 4, 2002). "' Getting High on George". New York Observer.
  5. ^ James, Caryn (November 5, 2002). "' Food, Jokes and Few Issues on the Bush 2000 Campaign". The New York Times. p. C01.
  6. ^ "Exiled Preacher Joins the Crowd in the Virtual Confession Box". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "The Trials of Ted Haggard". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ "Right America Feeling Wronged". TopDocumentaryFilms.
  9. ^ Sellers, Pamela (July 24, 2010), "Alexandra Pelosi discusses film on homeless in the OC", CNN, retrieved July 25, 2010
  10. ^ Hale, Mike (July 25, 2010). "Growing up paupers in a land of privilege". The New York Times.
  11. ^ "Citizen U.S.A. A 50 State Roadtrip". Good Reads.
  12. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi talks Sundance". The Hollywood Reporter.
  13. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi Sundance debut has political angle". Politico.
  14. ^ "Brunch hosted by Kenneth Cole". Zimbio.
  15. ^ Kulwin, Noah. "Alexandra Pelosi's new documentary isn't the anti-tech movie you think it is". Recode.
  16. ^ Lowry, Brian (September 24, 2015). "TV Review: HBO's 'Fixing the System' With President Obama, 'San Francisco 2.0'". Variety. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  17. ^ "Emmy Nominations" (PDF). Emmysonline.
  18. ^ Lowry, Brian (August 1, 2016). "Alexandra Pelosi's 'Meet the Donors' exposes billionaires who buy into politics". Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  19. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi Romps Through the World of Mega Donors". August 1, 2016.
  20. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi interview". August 1, 2016.
  21. ^ Kurtz, Judy (June 28, 2017). "New Alexandra Pelosi documentary brings together GOP, Dem members". The Hill. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  22. ^ "The Words That Built America". HBO.com. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  23. ^ Hautman, Nicholas. "Celebrities and Politicians unite for HBO's 4th of July Documentary "The Words that built America"". UsWeekly. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  24. ^ Ball, David (December 29, 2017). "Acclaimed director films Harvey recovery in Port Arthur". The Port Arthur News. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  25. ^ "Outside The Bubble:On the Road with Alexandra Pelosi". HBO. Retrieved November 8, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |2= (help)
  26. ^ "Outside The Bubble:On the Road with Alexandra Pelosi 2018". IMDB. Retrieved December 1, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |2= (help)
  27. ^ McCreesh, Shawn (October 24, 2018). "Alexandra Pelosi Plunges Into Trump Country". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  28. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi Plunges Into Trump Country". The New York Times. October 24, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  29. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi and Michiel Vos". The New York Times. June 19, 2006. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  30. ^ "Baby Announcement". November 13, 2006.
  31. ^ Podesta, Jane (November 14, 2006). "Nancy Pelosi a Grandma for the Sixth Time". People.com. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  32. ^ "Speaker Pelosi Announces Birth of Seventh Grandchild". Democraticleader.gov. December 8, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  33. ^ "A Memoir disguised as a Bath". The New York Times. May 9, 2002.
  34. ^ "In My Library:Alexandra Pelosi". New York Post. July 30, 2016.
  35. ^ "'Fall to Grace' Premieres in NYC". March 20, 2013.
  36. ^ "Logos Trailblazer Honors Nancy Pelosi". June 23, 2017.
  37. ^ "No Boots on the Ground". August 12, 2014.
  38. ^ "House Democrats Hold News Conference on Working Families Day of Action". October 26, 2015.
  39. ^ "Public service runs in the family". November 26, 2014.
  40. ^ "Nancy Pelosi has Trump right where she wants him". November 2, 2017.
  41. ^ "Ryan: Pelosi's grandkids 'actually like me'". The Hill. June 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |2= (help)
  42. ^ "Nancy Pelosi: Demonized or Celebrated, She Refuses to Agonize". November 4, 2018. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  43. ^ "Nancy Pelosi Election Night Speech (C-SPAN)". C-Span. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |1= and |2= (help)
  44. ^ "Spotlight On...Alexandra Pelosi". YouTube. October 22, 2013.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Alexandra Pelosi.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexandra_Pelosi&oldid=871651453"