BARACK OBAMA VISION OF HOPE A PORTRAIT OF YOUNG BARACK OBAMA FEATURING THE LOST 1993 INTERVIEW OBAMA S SEARCH FOR HIS PHILOSPHY AND VISION 15 YEARS BEFORE HE WOULD BECOME THE MOST POWERFUL PERSON IN THE WORLD! 341 LAFAYETTE STREET SUITE 24 NEW YORK, NY 10012 Tel: 212-420-8800 E-Mail: SGCNY@aol.com www. sgco.biz C 2008 The Stuart Goldman Co. PROPOSAL 3, 12-10-08
ABOVE: OB AMA S LOST INTER V IE W 1993 An (African-American) could be president in the next 40 years. --Robert F. Kennedy, 1968 We ve got to get involved if we re going to make a difference. -- Barack Obama, 1993 If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the Dream of our Founders is still alive in our time tonight is your answer. -- Barack Obama, Nov. 5, 2008 BARACK OBAMA: VISION OF HOPE SGC is proud to announce the discovery of what is believed to be the oldest interview of Barack Obama, from 1993, when he was a 32-year-old law professor at The University of Chicago. SGC has acquired exclusive rights to this interview for use in the new documentary production Barack Obama: Vision of Hope. Filmed at a local community TV station in Chicago, the 15-minute interview has never been previously released, and it is now the centerpiece of this production. Barack Obama: Vision of Hope with the lost 1993 Obama interview, reveals an astonishing, close-up portrait during the formative period in Barack Obama s early career well before he seriously contemplated running for public office! It is a fitting tribute to the man who just 15 years later, will be the most powerful in the world.
Barack Obama has become a myth even before he takes office. No other president in memory, including John Kennedy, was so idolized and celebrated by the people before being sworn in to the presidency! Obama Mania is a reality, with t-shirts, posters and original art being sold on the street, on TV and on-line. The impending Obama inauguration, daily staff appointments, initial press conferences, and the Obama Family dominate every aspect of the worldwide media. Barack Obama: Vision of Hope reveals an unseen perspective of our new president at a time when he was finding his way forming the ideals and principles that would guild him on an historic path. Even at this early time in his life, a vision of hope shines brightly a desire to make his country a better place for all people, especially under classes. Just out of Harvard Law School, he is taking the first steps that will lead him on an amazing journey. This is the story of the beginning of that journey. How did Obama s early experiences inspire him to develop principles and a philosphy that would take him to the presidency? What was Obama really like in these formative years of the early 1990 s? By 1993, Obama had already achieved an impressive track record in Chicago. He is a wellknown figure in the African American community, having been the star organizer in Project Vote! which registered 120,000 minority voters for the 1992 election. About Obama s putting his legal practice and book writing aside for the registration drive, organizer Sandy Newman said: "I'm still not quite sure why. This was not glamorous, high-paying work. But he did one hell of a job." In the process, Obama became keenly aware how many people, especially minorities, distrust politicians. But he also realized the power to change society was clearly linked to elected office.
We re all very cynical about...politicians, and about Washington. But politics does matter. Very concrete life choices are affected by what happens in Washington, DC...or the City Council. -- Barack Obama, 1993 In his classroom, Obama inspires heated debates about the great issues of democracy. His law practice helps underprivileged people and small businesses in the local community. Obama is in close contact with real people and his principles are being solidified. Barack Obama: Vision of Hope explores how young Obama searched for and found his ideals and vision. It also illustrates how Obama recognized that public office would be his pathway to realizing goals of making real change happen in government. Starting with his grassroots registration of voters in the 92 campaign voters, Obama saw dramatic change start to happen through his efforts. Organizing and working with community leaders, teaching law, and his early law practice all helped him realize his own potential to become a great leader. In addition to the lost 1993 interview, Barack Obama: Vision of Hope will feature interviews with individuals who knew Obama in his early days to round out a fascinating portrait of a brilliant young man such as community leaders, former students, local merchants, friends, and others. B-roll, rare photos and other clips of Obama s Chicago will also be incorporated. Note: SGC is currently identifying and confirming elements that will be included in this production. Interview is high quality sound and picture, originally shot on BetaSP.
If a point comes where I think I can do more good in a public office, then I might think about it, but that time is certainly in the future. --Barack Obama, 1993 In the newly-discovered 1993 interview, Obama covers a range of topics of great personal passion which will be explored in this production. Perhaps most striking is how his rhetoric bears strong similarity to his 2008 presidential campaign speeches: ideals of a more equitable democracy and a better life for Americans, especially the under classes. He acknowledges how the 1992 voter organizing work taught him about the problems and possibilities in the Black community. He analyzes the political process and how change actually takes place. And he details his legal work at the time. Through this lost 1993 interview, the foundation of Obama s philosophy and guiding principles comes into focus. He is truly a thinker who strives to understand the issues of great importance to everyday people. He is forming ideas and concepts and a vision of hope that will one day lead him to the presidency. In 1993, Barack Obama is two years out of law school, newly married, writing his first book Dreams from My Father, and teaching civil rights law. At the University of Chicago s notoriously conservative law school, he is known to provoke heated legal debates. How did his early experiences in Chicago inspire him to run for public office?
KEY PERSONNEL BRIEF BIOS Stuart A. Goldman, executive producer. Mr. Goldman has produced many notable, awardwinning biographical and historical documentaries about famous people including Elvis in Hollywood for worldwide distribution; Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean for CBS-TV; Alberta Hunter: My Castle s Rockin for PBS; and Joseph Campbell: Mythos for PBS. Jonathan Grupper, writer-producer. Mr. Grupper has written and/or produced hundreds of hours of documentary programming for such networks as the History Channel, Discovery, WGBH Boston and A&E. His credits as writer and/or producer include Katherine Hepburn Intimate Portrait for ABC-TV/Lifetime, This Week in History, for the History Channel and Stephen Hawkings Universe for PBS. Zeke Gonzalez, co-executive producer. Mr. Gonzalez is the producer and owner of the lost Obama interview and has extensive background in Chicago community affairs television production. Stephen J. Goldberg, co-executive producer. Mr. Goldberg is an entertainment attorney and a screenwriter. He has extensive historic knowledge and background in the category of presidential history. He is the author of an unproduced screenplay about Lyndon Johnson. "I say that he cannot be something other than who he is. This is a man who fights by thinking about what you can do to make the country better, to enhance our will, to expand the parameters of possibility." -- Maya Soetoro-Ng (Obama's half-sister)