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Biden’s Next Move: ‘Big Hollywood Bundlers’
A
fter sweeping the
most recent prima-
ries, Joe Biden has
all but guaranteed
that he will win the Democratic
nomination, a fact that leaves
loyal supporter Jim Gianopulos
feeling “pure joy,” the Paramount
chairman tells THR. “I always felt
that Joe was the statesman that
the country needs right now. And,
no — I never wavered.”
But the political world that
Biden and supporters like
Gianopulos now inherit has
changed dramatically. The
severity of the COVID-19 out-
break began to hit home in
the U.S. around the time of
South Carolina’s primary, which
was the kickoff of Biden’s bigVice President Joe Biden at a campaign rally in
L.A. on March 3, Super Tuesday. He won 10 of
14 states but lost California to Bernie Sanders.ELECTION 2020
As the coronavirus outbreak stalls in-person fundraisers, the Democratic presidential frontrunner’s campaign
has consolidated support in the industry but will need to find creative ways to reap cash By Peter Kiefercomeback. (Other industry names
whose Biden support dates to
2019 include Sony’s Tom Rothman
and Screen Gems exec Eric
Paquette, who’s on the candidate’s
national finance committee.)
Now, Biden must dramatically
adjust his “Uncle Joe” style of
retail politics, which has relied
on high-priced fundraisers and
human interaction. That won’t
necessarily fly in a world in which
social distancing is the norm.
“When you’re with him one-on-
one, he’s incredibly compelling.
It’s a pity if he’ll have to forgo
that personal connection,” says
Gianopulos. On March 23, Biden
held a virtual fundraising event
from his Delaware home, which
has been outfitted with a digitalstudio. “I know this isn’t how
any of us would prefer to con-
nect,” said Biden. While the event
went fine, some other forays into
virtual campaigning have had
technical problems. Gianopulos
said he’s hearing that Michael
Bloomberg is expected to take a
role in helping to oversee Biden’s
online fundraising and outreach.
Meanwhile, don’t expect any
IRL events in the short term.
The last major Biden event took
place at Sherry Lansing’s Bel Airhome March 4, and it quickly
sold out after South Carolina.
(“There are a lot of people jump-
ing on the bandwagon, which is
fine; support is support,” says
a Hollywood political insider.)
And there is some concern that
the Democratic convention
(July 13-16) could be jeopardized
by efforts to contain the virus.
But there’s plenty of good news
for Biden. His sizable margins of
victory over Bernie Sanders (who
is “assessing” his campaign) in
key primary states like Michigan
should quell legitimacy concerns.
Furthermore, current bans on
gatherings may not matter allPeople, Places, Preoccupations
Paquette Lansing10town_opener+2_L [P]{Print}_53641412.indd 31 3/24/20 5:44 PM