Courtesy commentor Tenar Darrell, there’s a Kickstarter to finish the first documentary on Molly Ivins:
… Molly came up through the journalistic ranks at a time when women entering the field were relegated to the “snake pit,” a misogynistic term for the women’s columns: food, fashion and gardens. She was having none of that. At the age of 26, Molly became the first woman to co-edit the Texas Observer, one of the only liberal newspapers in the U.S.
She honed her skills by standing toe to toe with the politicians at the Texas legislature where she would drink them under the table. Her prolific liver earned her welcome into the good ol’ boys club. Molly’s wry good olʼ gal Texas voice publicly sucker-punched the arrogant and the entitled and gave voice to those who suffered from their abuse. She was beholden to no one and set a tone and direction that’s been adopted by comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert today.
Hers was a prescient voice, bringing attention to what she saw as a crisis in American democracy. She fought particularly hard for campaign finance reform to keep from what she called, “big bidness” from influencing political decisions. Molly wrote and said, “Either we figure out how to keep the corporate cash out of the political system or we lose the democracy.” This is an issue our nation is still grappling with…
The documentary unfolds through visually intimate interviews of Mollyʼsʼ childhood friends, family and colleagues. In contrast interviews with politicians, pundits and pontificators from both sides of the political spectrum will be dramatically lit to illustrate the black and white polarization of “politics as usual.”
These interviews will be juxtaposed with footage from her personal appearances and, from her personal archives, a trove of photos, writings and audio recordings never before seen and heard. Graphics will animate quotes from her columns with images of Texas iconography to visually illustrate Mollyʼs satiric writings.
There will be no narration in Raise Hell. Molly’s voice is the voice we want to hear, to laugh with, learn from and be inspired by. Underscoring all of this will be regional music driving the narrative forward: Texas honky-tonk blues, civil rights anthems and a composer written score…
Can’t hardly wait for this! (Fortunately, I already have all her books… )
kathy a.
YES! I miss Molly so much. They’re only asking what you feel like giving, but that has raised a good percentage of what they need in just the last few days. There is also swag for various donor levels, but since I wanted my few bucks to go exclusively to getting this done, did not personally opt for swag.
So wish Molly was here to comment on the current clown car situation, not to mention other events.
Scott S.
Pitched in for this one a couple days ago. I’ve been trying to do Kickstarter a bit less, ’cause it can get so expensive. But that was one I really couldn’t resist.
Mike J
In other book news, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ new book was moved up from September to July.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/67273-spiegel-grau-moves-up-ta-nehisi-coates-book.html
Betty Cracker
What a pity we were deprived of Molly Ivins’ take on today’s parade of political assholes. For my money, Ms. Ivins’ epic take-down of self-aggrandizing, pseudo-intellectual twit Camille Paglia remains the definitive pantsing. [PDF link]
kathy a.
@Betty Cracker: Thanks, Betty! I don’t think I read that piece before, and it is a breath of fresh Molly. Even all these years later.
joel hanes
@kathy a.:
So wish Molly was here to comment on the current clown car situation
No one is like Molly.
But I think you’ll enjoy
Juanita Jean’s, The World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon (a professional political organization)
http://juanitajean.com/
The proprietor, one Susan DuQuesnay Bankston, had an earlier blog during the W years, called
“Kiss My Big Blue Butt”.
Comity is not her first objective.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
As an aside from the entertainment industry, I think a lot of people don’t realize how much time and money is required to properly edit and post-produce a documentary. I have a friend at work who’s still trying to get the funds together to complete her own documentary. It’s a whole different filmmaking animal than a fiction film and you really do need more than an iMac and a copy of Final Cut Pro to do it.
WaterGirl
@Mnemosyne (iPhone): I have the information about my 13-year-old niece’s recent travel – let me know if you have any follow-up questions:
https://balloon-juice.com/2015/06/25/the-super-genius-shitweasel-strategy/#comment-5382201
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’m in. How much to I have to give to get a “co-producer” credit?
If they had a dollar for every time an American liberal thought, Christ I wish Molly Ivins were still around, they could hire James Cameron, Dreamworks and LucasWhatevers to put it together.
Also, too, I hope this snark comes true
NeenerNeener
Apropos of nothing…Bristol Palin just announced that she’s pregnant again.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Betty Cracker: That piece justified the existence of Camille Paglia.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
If Marco Rubio were any dumber, they’d have to water him twice a day.
jl
Thanks for info. I’ll contribute and, boy, that documentary should be fun. I miss Molly Ivins too.
Two journalists I miss and sometimes out of the blue just wish I could read something new from them: Royko and Ivins.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@WaterGirl:
Thanks! Heading down to look now.
piratedan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: why on earth would you feel compelled to water rocks?
Tenar Darell
Which book should I start with in the library?
yodecat
Lived the majority of my life in Texas: grew up in Austin and lived most of my adult life in Dallas. Molly was one of the best things in Texas. I loved her.
Tree With Water
I always thought of the brilliant Ivins as a Willie Nelson-type Texan, as opposed to being a typical Bush family supporting idiot Texan. I tend to divide them all into one of the two camps, and she always rank with the state’s salts of the earth in my eyes. She even e-mailed me in reply once, and believe me, I was flattered.
chelsea530
This is a project I was more than happy to support.
Money better spent than on political campaigns.
OzarkHillbilly
I am seriously behind the curve. I only have about half of them.
chelsea530
@NeenerNeener:
Maybe it was a bridge too far, this time, for Fox News.
kathy a.
@Tenar Darell: Oh, pick one. Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She? is a good start. Or one called You’ve Got to Dance With Them What Brung You — Molly was all over money in politics, decades ago.
@piratedan # 15 — One of Molly’s lines about a TX politician was that if he got any dumber, we’d have to start watering him twice a day. Forget which one she was speaking of.
Tree With Water
@efgoldman: Willie Nelson, need I say more?
Betty Cracker
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Well, that explains it. Thank you! ;-)
yodecat
@Tree With Water: Molly definitely falls in the Willie camp. A surprising percentage of Texans do. However, in spite of all the Blue big cities, the majority of active voters are in the sticks (and like it there). Con men, like Li’l Teddie can usually fire ’em up with the usual exaggerations and lies. So Texas factors purple these days. It is changing.
Hungry Joe
I got to interview her once, at the annual booksellers convention. My notes were almost illegible because I was laughing most of the time.
At another booksellers convention a few years later she was on the panel when two other panelists, Al Franken and Bill O’Reilly, got into their famous pissing match. (Franken had recently come out with “Lies: And the Lying Liars Who Tell Them”; Bill-o was among those featured on the cover.) Throughout it all Molly was quiet, low-key, almost distracted. Turns out she was very ill, and she died not long afterward. ***SIGH***
Opoponyx
@Hungry Joe:
I saw her speak at Rice University with Clavin Trillin shortly before she passed away and consider myself very, very lucky. I’m a transplant to Texas, and she helped keep me sane in my early years here.
Tree With Water
@yodecat: I believe you. Which is one reason I admired Howard Dean’s 50 state strategy, including-and-especially taking seriously the fight to turn Texas blue. As you’re no doubt aware, there are currently too damn many party shot callers adverse to fighting over anything of the sort. But maybe one day soon smart insurgents in the party will get it together and make it it happen in spite of them all.