Alexandra Pelosi

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Alexandra Pelosi
Alexandra Pelosi filming on location, 2013.jpg
Pelosi in 2013
Born (1970-10-05) October 5, 1970 (age 50)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
EducationLoyola Marymount University (BA)
University of Southern California (MA)
OccupationFilmmaker, writer
Years active2002–present
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2005)​
Children2
Parent(s)Paul Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
RelativesChristine Pelosi (sister)

Alexandra Corinne Pelosi (born October 5, 1970) is an American journalist, documentary filmmaker, and writer. She is a daughter of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Paul Pelosi.[1]

Early life and education[]

Pelosi was born and raised in San Francisco, California. The youngest of five children, she earned a B.A. from Loyola Marymount University. In 1993, she received a master's degree from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.[2]

Career[]

Pelosi has filmed, produced and directed 14 documentary films, 13 with Sheila Nevins.[3] Her most recent film, American Selfie: One Nation Shoots Itself was released on Showtime. This was their 13th film together.[4]

Before making documentaries, Pelosi spent a decade as a field producer at NBC News. In 2000, while working as a producer for NBC covering George W. Bush's presidential campaign,[5] she brought along a handheld camcorder documenting 18 months of her experience on the campaign trail; the footage was used to create Journeys with George,[6] a documentary that earned her six Emmy nominations.

In 2001, Sheila Nevins convinced Pelosi to leave network news to work exclusively for HBO. During the 2004 Democratic primaries, Pelosi returned to the campaign trail, this time following the Democratic candidates. Her HBO documentary, Diary of a Political Tourist, was accompanied by her first book Sneaking into the Flying Circus: How the Media Turn Our Presidential Campaigns into Freak Shows, about the process of selecting candidates for President of the United States. She stated that her conversations with Candy Crowley of CNN, Howard Dean, and Wesley Clark inspired her to write a book.

In 2006, Pelosi created the documentary about evangelical Christians called Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi which featured former pastor Ted Haggard. After it aired on HBO in 2007, she made a follow-up film, The Trials of Ted Haggard, chronicling the exile of Ted Haggard from New Life Church after his sex and drug scandal, which The New York Times called "strangely intriguing".[7] The LA Times review said, "this heartbreaking little film that may wind up being the most powerful indictment of homophobia since Brokeback Mountain." [8] Pelosi went back on the campaign trail in 2008 to document the birth of the Tea Party movement at Republican campaign events for her film, Right America: Feeling Wronged - Some Voices from the Campaign Trail, which premiered on HBO on President's Day 2009.[9] CNN reported in July 2010 that Pelosi was no longer making political documentaries.[10] Her 2010 HBO film, Homeless: The Motel Kids of Orange County follows the children of the working poor in Orange County, California.

The New York Times praised the film for "advancing a theme of the failed American dream."[11]

On July 4, 2011, HBO debuted Pelosi's next film Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip. Pelosi traveled to all 50 states to attend naturalization ceremonies and interviewed immigrants as they became legalized American citizens. The film was released with a coffee table book titled Citizen USA: A 50 State Road Trip.[12]

Pelosi was at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival with her film Fall to Grace, [13] about disgraced former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey.[14] She was spotted around Park City with fellow headliner Kenneth Cole.[15]

In 2015, Pelosi returned to San Francisco to make a film about the tech boom's impact on the city. According to Recode, it's "a clear-eyed, sober recap of what's been going on...Pelosi's tale is also deeply personal; she grew up in San Francisco, but she has lived in New York for a long time. A key theme of the documentary is that the San Francisco to which she's returning is very different from the one she left."[16] Variety called San Francisco 2.0 "one of her finest."[17] San Francisco 2.0 was nominated for an Emmy for best business reporting.[18]

In 2016, Pelosi made Meet the Donors: Does Money Talk? about money's influence in politics.[19] In a profile in Vogue, Pelosi calls her film a "light romp into the road map of the people and places that are funding our elections." The film drops in on a handful of folks who rank on the OpenSecrets.org list of top donors.[20]

Uproxx described it as watching "Pelosi meet with an assortment of billionaire donors, asking them why they give millions to candidates, how this funding affects campaigns, and all the access these hefty donations can get you." On the press tour for the film, Pelosi talked about everything she has learned in her lifetime on the political fundraising circuit[21]

The Words That Built America, Pelosi's eleventh film, premiered on July 4, 2017, narrated by Pulitzer Prize winning David McCullough,[22] is a reading of the U.S. Constitution read by all the living presidents, vice presidents, 50 US senators of both parties, Supreme Court justices, and others. It includes a reading of the Declaration of Independence read by The Rock, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Sean Hannity, Kid Rock, and other celebrities.[23] It closes with middle-school children from the United Nations International School reading the Bill of Rights and summaries of the other amendments. On Anderson Cooper 360, Anderson Cooper talked about hanging out with Pelosi's two sons on the set.[24]

According to The Port Arthur News, Pelosi was spotted in Port Arthur filming a new HBO documentary about Trump's America.[25]

Outside the Bubble: A Roadtrip with Alexandra Pelosi aired on HBO in October 2018.[26] According to IMDB, "Pelosi sets out on a cross-country trip to engage in conversations with fellow Americans in an effort to gain an unfiltered understanding of other perspectives."[27] According to The New York Times,"It's not just another episode of the learned cosmopolitan descending from the ivory tower to produce anthropological discourses on that strange creature known as the Trump voter and make it back to the big city in time for a martini. Though she is Democratic royalty, Ms. Pelosi has spent much of her career dissecting, with compassion, the psyche of the political right in America." [28]

In January 2019, Pelosi debuted "Goodbye Congress" on HBO's Vice News Tonight - the film that features exit interviews with 14 retiring members of Congress, including Speaker Paul Ryan and 7 other Republicans who explain how Washington works.[29]

In October 2020, Pelosi released American Selfie: One Nation Shoots Itself on Showtime.[30] On The Daily Show, Pelosi talked about filming the National Guard's use of chemical agents at the protest outside the White House on June 1, 2020.[31]

Personal life[]

On June 18, 2005, in Greenwich Village, she married Dutch journalist, lawyer, and United States correspondent Michiel Vos (born on December 19, 1970 in Groningen, the Netherlands).[32]

In 2006, Pelosi gave birth to their first child, a boy named Paul,[33] named after his grandfather Paul Pelosi.[34] Pelosi had a second son in 2007, named Thomas, after his great grandfather Thomas D'Alesandro Jr.[35] Maureen Dowd wrote in The New York Times about the charity lemonade stand that Ms. Pelosi's son Thomas runs in Manhattan. In previous years, the proceeds have gone to Hurricane Harvey and California wildfire victims.[36]

Pelosi lives in Greenwich Village. Her bathroom was featured in Home & Garden section of The New York Times.[37]

In the "In My Library" column for The New York Post, Pelosi cites her two favorite political books: Political Fictions by Joan Didion and The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm.[38]

Pelosi's children are often seen with her on the red carpet.[39] They are often photographed with their grandmother Nancy Pelosi.[40] Nancy Pelosi often mentions them in speeches.[41][42] Pelosi says, 'public service runs in the family'.[43] According to Politico, during the battle to repeal Obamacare, Pelosi's 9-year-old grandson Thomas ambled over to reporters in slacks and a blazer and announced, "It's not going to pass," "He [Paul Ryan] doesn't have the votes!"[44] In a joint interview on CNN, Paul Ryan and Nancy Pelosi discussed Ryan's friendship with Pelosi's children. "I thought you were going to brag about how much my grandchildren are your big fans," Pelosi said. "That's right, her grandkids actually like me, go figure," Ryan replied.[45]

In Spotlight On...Alexandra Pelosi, Pelosi talked about the solitary life of a documentary filmmaker and how being naive is the best prescription for a documentary filmmaker: "It feels like every documentary has been made, but it's not true. The next great documentary film is going to be made by someone whose name you don't even know yet."[46]

Filmography[]

References[]

  1. ^ Strauss, Gary (February 15, 2009). "'Alexandra Pelosi takes a hard 'Right' turn in documentary'". USA Today.
  2. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi Plunges Into Trump Country". The New York Times. October 24, 2018.
  3. ^ Dowd, Maureen (December 16, 2017). "The Grande Dame of Documentary Is Leaving Her Home at HBO". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  4. ^ Lang, Brent (October 2, 2020). "Showtime, MTV Documentary Films Partner on Alexandra Pelosi's 'American Selfie' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  5. ^ Gay, Jason (November 4, 2002). "' Getting High on George". New York Observer.
  6. ^ James, Caryn (November 5, 2002). "' Food, Jokes and Few Issues on the Bush 2000 Campaign". The New York Times. p. C01.
  7. ^ Stanley, Alessandra (January 28, 2009). "Exiled Preacher Joins the Crowd in the Virtual Confession Box". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "The Trials of Ted Haggard". Los Angeles Times. January 29, 2009.
  9. ^ "Right America Feeling Wronged". TopDocumentaryFilms.
  10. ^ Sellers, Pamela (July 24, 2010), "Alexandra Pelosi discusses film on homeless in the OC", CNN, retrieved July 25, 2010
  11. ^ Hale, Mike (July 25, 2010). "Growing up paupers in a land of privilege". The New York Times.
  12. ^ "Citizen U.S.A. A 50 State Roadtrip". Good Reads.
  13. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi talks Sundance". The Hollywood Reporter.
  14. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi Sundance debut has political angle". Politico.
  15. ^ "Brunch hosted by Kenneth Cole". Zimbio.
  16. ^ Kulwin, Noah (September 27, 2015). "Alexandra Pelosi's new documentary isn't the anti-tech movie you think it is". Recode.
  17. ^ Lowry, Brian (September 24, 2015). "TV Review: HBO's 'Fixing the System' With President Obama, 'San Francisco 2.0'". Variety. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  18. ^ "Emmy Nominations" (PDF). Emmysonline.
  19. ^ Lowry, Brian (August 1, 2016). "Alexandra Pelosi's 'Meet the Donors' exposes billionaires who buy into politics". Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  20. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi Romps Through the World of Mega Donors". August 1, 2016.
  21. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi interview". August 1, 2016.
  22. ^ Kurtz, Judy (June 28, 2017). "New Alexandra Pelosi documentary brings together GOP, Dem members". The Hill. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  23. ^ "The Words That Built America". HBO.com. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  24. ^ Hautman, Nicholas (July 3, 2017). "Celebrities and Politicians unite for HBO's 4th of July Documentary "The Words that built America"". UsWeekly. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  25. ^ Ball, David (December 29, 2017). "Acclaimed director films Harvey recovery in Port Arthur". The Port Arthur News. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  26. ^ "Outside The Bubble: On the Road with Alexandra Pelosi". HBO. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  27. ^ "Outside The Bubble:On the Road with Alexandra Pelosi 2018". IMDB. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  28. ^ McCreesh, Shawn (October 24, 2018). "Alexandra Pelosi Plunges Into Trump Country". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  29. ^ "Goodbye, Congress: A VICE News Tonight Special Report". Youtube.
  30. ^ Hersko, Tyler (October 8, 2020). "'American Selfie' Trailer: Alexandra Pelosi's New Doc Takes a Snapshot of a Divided America". IndieWire.
  31. ^ Noah, Trevor (October 7, 2020). "Alexandra Pelosi - How America Weaponized Phones | The Daily Social Distancing Show". The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
  32. ^ "Alexandra Pelosi and Michiel Vos". The New York Times. June 19, 2006.
  33. ^ "Baby Announcement". November 13, 2006.
  34. ^ Podesta, Jane (November 14, 2006). "Nancy Pelosi a Grandma for the Sixth Time". People.com. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  35. ^ "Speaker Pelosi Announces Birth of Seventh Grandchild". Democraticleader.gov. December 8, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  36. ^ "Nancy Pelosi Spanks the First Brat". The New York Times. January 12, 2019.
  37. ^ "A Memoir disguised as a Bath". The New York Times. May 9, 2002..
  38. ^ "In My Library:Alexandra Pelosi". New York Post. July 30, 2016.
  39. ^ "'Fall to Grace' Premieres in NYC". March 20, 2013.
  40. ^ "Logos Trailblazer Honors Nancy Pelosi". June 23, 2017.
  41. ^ "No Boots on the Ground". August 12, 2014.
  42. ^ "House Democrats Hold News Conference on Working Families Day of Action". October 26, 2015.
  43. ^ "Public service runs in the family". November 26, 2014.
  44. ^ "Nancy Pelosi has Trump right where she wants him". November 2, 2017.
  45. ^ "Ryan: Pelosi's grandkids 'actually like me'". The Hill. June 15, 2017.
  46. ^ "Spotlight On...Alexandra Pelosi". YouTube. October 22, 2013.

External links[]

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