What's Up!

September 27, 2020

What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!

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T10 WHATS UP! September 27 - October 3, 2020 Considering the highly charged subject matter and its depiction of the sitting presi- dent, it's no doubt that the show will draw a lot of attention. No matter which side of the table you sit on, Comey is a controver- sial figure, to say the least. In 2013, President Obama — who is played by Kingsley Ben-Adir ("The OA") in "The Comey Rule" — named Comey the di- rector of the FBI. During his ten- ure, Comey faced backlash from both Democrats and Republi- cans. Democrats criticized him for reopening the Clinton email investigation after previously determining that no charges were warranted. Days before the election, news of the renewed investigation was leaked, and many blamed Comey for Clin- ton's loss, despite the fact that three days before the election the FBI reiterated that charges were not warranted. On the flip side, many Republicans claimed that he planned to exonerate Clinton even before the investi- gation was complete. Then, of course, there was the FBI's Rus- sia investigation, which looked at whether there was Russian in- terference in the 2016 United States presidential election. "The Comey Rule" brings to life many of the major players in- volved in U.S. politics during that era. Luckily, producers se- cured a top-notch cast to do so. Daniels is known for such films as "Terms of Endearment" (1983), "Dumb and Dumber" (1994), "Looper" (2012) and "The Martian" (2015). TV fans may recognize him from his ac- claimed role in HBO's political drama "The Newsroom," a role that earned him an Emmy along with Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nomina- tions. Irish actor Gleeson, who was reportedly initially reluctant to take on the role of Trump, is per- haps best known as Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody from the Har- ry Potter film franchise. His oth- er film credits include "Bravehe- art" (1995), "Cold Mountain" (2003) and "Paddington 2" (2018), while his television work includes "Mr. Mercedes" and the 2009 TV film "Into the Storm," for which he won an Emmy. He's also won three IFTA Awards and two British Independent Film Awards. Hunter plays acting U.S. attor- ney general Sally Yates, whom Trump fired just 10 days into his presidency. Hunter won an Os- car, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe and a Cannes Film Festi- val award for her role as Ada Mc- Grath in 1993's "The Piano." On television, she was the star of TNT's "Saving Grace" from 2007 to 2010. She's earned seven Primetime Emmy nominations, winning twice — once in 1989 for "Roe vs. Wade" and again in 1993 for "The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom." Other notable castings in- clude Michael Kelly ("House of Cards") as FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Jennifer Ehle ("Pride and Prejudice") as Com- ey's wife, Patrice, Peter Coyote ("A Walk to Remember," 2002) as former FBI director Robert Mueller, Scoot McNairy ("Halt and Catch Fire") as Deputy At- torney General Rod Rosenstein, Oona Chaplin ("Game of Thrones") as FBI lawyer Lisa Page, Joe Lo Truglio ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine") as Attorney Gener- al Jeff Sessions, Michael Hyatt ("Snowfall") as former attorney general Loretta Lynch and Jona- than Banks ("Better Call Saul") as National Intelligence Direc- tor James Clapper. Talented cast aside, there are those who will remain skeptical of the content of the miniseries. Some critics have already weighed in on the production. At press time, "The Comey Rule" showed an approval rat- ing of 67% on the popular re- view aggregator Rotten Toma- toes. Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter called the miniseries "uneven," while Daniel D'Addario of Variety called it "as self-satisfied as its subject." In the end, though, viewers will make up their own minds, as they will at the polls in No- vember. Watch Daniels as Com- ey in "The Comey Rule," pre- miering Sunday, Sept. 27, on Showtime. Holly Hunter in a scene from "The Comey Rule" continued from page T2 Political power play: 'The Comey Rule' premieres on Showtime TV FEATURE

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