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Podcasts The Frame
Hugh Jackman channels Gary Hart in 'The Front Runner'
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The Frame Tile
Episode 19117
Listen • 27:24
Hugh Jackman channels Gary Hart in 'The Front Runner'

The story of the Colorado senator's ill-fated campaign to become the Democrats' 1988 presidential candidate is dramatized by director/co-writer Jason Reitman; NBC is being criticized for its decision to air an inflammatory anti-immigration ad.

Hugh Jackman plays 1988 Democratic presidential hopeful Gary Hart in "The Front Runner."
Hugh Jackman plays 1988 Democratic presidential hopeful Gary Hart in "The Front Runner."
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Sony Pictures
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On today's show:

'The Front Runner' looks at a pivotal moment in U.S. political history

(Starts at 8:52)

In 1987, the charismatic Colorado U.S. Senator Gary Hart seemed to have the Democratic presidential nomination locked up, and he would have been favored against Republican candidate George H. Bush. But reports of an extramarital affair — and the way Hart responded — derailed his campaign. Hugh Jackman plays Hart in "The Front Runner," which was directed and co-written by Jason Reitman. The two recently spoke with The Frame's John Horn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAOYDcnVx6E

Did NBC go offsides with Trump ad?

(Starts at 1:00)

During the highly-rated Sunday Night Football match between the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers, NBC aired a 30-second anti-immigration ad that has been widely decried as racist. What drove NBC's decision to air, and then pull the ad? The Hollywood Reporter's Marisa Guthrie breaks it down with John Horn.