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Shallow Nation

November 7th, 2008 at 1:03 pm

HBO Acquires Rights to Obama Documentary from Edward Norton in 7 Figure Deal

Barack Obama delivers his victory speech in Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, upon being elected President of the United States, November 4, 2008

We will not have long to wait for a documentary on President-Elect Barack Obama’s historic campaign and victory. Forward-thinking Edward Norton and his Class 5 Films production company began filming a documentary about Obama in early 2006. HBO has acquired the U.S. TV rights to the documentary for a seven figure sum, according to Variety. The documentary, still untitled, will air sometime in early 2009 and was directed by Amy Rice and Alicia Sams.

Rice brought the idea to Edward Norton and his Class 5 Films banner in 2006. Norton secured cooperation with Obama and has had cameras rolling ever since, capturing his 2006 trip to Africa and his 2007 presidential announcement.

Barack Obama delivers his victory speech in Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, upon being elected President of the United States, November 4, 2008

Barack Obama with Michelle Obama after he delivers his victory speech in Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, upon being elected President of the United States, November 4, 2008
Barack Obama and family at Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois, where he delivered his Presidential acceptance speech, November 4, 2008 (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Filming is still ongoing and will continue through Inauguration. Upon completion, the film will be edited by Sam Pollard, who worked on Spike Lee’s 2006 documentary for HBO “When the Levees Broke” about the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Edward Norton

Edward Norton at the Toronto International Film Festival, September 2008 (Photo credit: Getty Images)

In an interview earlier this year, when Edward Norton and his company were still shopping around the documentary, he revealed that Barack Obama’s 2004 speech had been the impetus for producing the documentary.

“We were all so struck by Barack’s speech and talked about how exciting it was to see someone from our generation, not our parents’, make his presence felt in such an inspiring way. It was akin to the way I remembered my dad describing how he felt when Kennedy gave his inauguration speech.” The speech led them to the project, before any of them were Obama supporters. I can see why. If the man makes it to the top, and they’re there, it’ll be one huge chunk of history that they’ve captured.

Source: HBO inaugurates Obama doc and Edward Norton Preps Obama Doc

Edward Norton, the star of The Incredible Hulk, rose to fame with his brilliant performance in the 1996 courtroom drama “Primal Fear” for which he received a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination, and a year later, he received the Best Actor nomination for his starring role as a reformed neo-Nazi skinhead in American History X . He makes his directorial debut with the film adaption of the novel, Motherless Brooklyn, which will be released in 2009.

Here is Barack Obama’s speech delivered at the 2004 Democratic National Convention which inspired Edward Norton and so many others.