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[[tmz:video id="0_72q205xh"]] Steve Bannon's throwing serious shade Mitt Romney's way, and it's all over the Trump administration's push to get Roy Moore into the U.S. Senate. We got President Trump's former senior adviser leaving the Willard Hotel in D.C., and asked if Romney calling Moore a disgrace to the G.O.P. would hurt Trump's efforts. Bannon took a dismissive shot right back at Mitt. Bannon was in a much better mood...

When President Trump visited Utah on Monday, he subtly undermined Mitt Romney in the latest chapter of their tortured relationship.

The pool reporters traveling with Trump asked him if he was encouraging Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, also on the trip, to run for reelection. “Yes,” Trump responded.

There has been buzz that former Massachusetts governor would run for Hatch’s Senate seat if the 83 year old decides to retire after his seventh term. Citing five unnamed sources, The Atlantic reported recently that “Senator Orrin Hatch has privately told allies in Utah that he is planning to retire at the end of his term next year,...

“Last Chance U” director Greg Whiteley isn’t offended if you ask him whether he drew inspiration from the seminal NBC series “Friday Night Lights.” In fact, as he told IndieWire, “I’m flattered by the comparison.”

Read More: 7 New Netflix Shows to Binge Watch in July 2016 (And the Best Episodes of Each)

That’s a good thing, because it’s hard to think of one without the other. The Netflix docu-series, set in the small college town of Scooba, Mississippi, chronicles a collegiate football program made up entirely of underdogs — players who could go all the way, but for various reasons have come to East Mississippi, in the hopes of returning to Division 1 football.

It’s a very human story, but “Last Chance U” doesn’t lack for excitement. There’s plenty of game day action, captured with some stunning photography using at least seven cameras. As Whiteley explains below,...

Following on the heels of “The Fundamentals of Caring” is “Last Chance U,” Netflix’s next original series. A documentary about East Mississippi Community College’s championship-winning football program, Greg Whiteley’s film comes to the streaming service later this month. Watch the trailer now.

Read More: Unhappy Netflix Subscriber Sues Streaming Giant For Raising Prices

The title comes from the fact that Emcc’s team consists in part of players who were let go from Division 1 programs due to failed drug tests, bad grades or other troubles; the school represents a chance to revitalize their fledgling careers and reorient themselves as they work toward graduating and/or eventually turning pro. “Messed up, dug a hole,” one player says. “Gotta climb out of it.” The giant massive stadium in a town with a population of 712 coupled with a devoted fanbase should be familiar to “Friday Nights Lights” enthusiasts.

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Stephen Colbert finally answered the question of who will be Donald Trump’s running mate during Wednesday’s episode of “The Late Show.” Colbert mocked the fact that Trump gave a primary victory speech standing next to cases of Trump water and Trump steaks after Mitt Romney criticized the products as failed Trump business ventures. “That’s right. Trump gave his victory speech next to a pyramid of raw steak,” Colbert said. “He was either trying to prove Mitt wrong or introducing his new running mate: Trump, Pile of Meat 2016,” he continued. See video: Stephen Colbert Prepares for 'Very Real...

Stephen Colbert gave Donald Trump a self-esteem boost on The Late Show Wednesday, hoping to provide the Republican frontrunner with the validation he needed to stop his attention-seeking, presidential campaign charade.

The bit began with Colbert recapping Tuesday's primaries, in which Trump won three more states and gave a victory speech surrounded by various Trump-branded products — water, magazines, wine and steak — that Mitt Romney and the Republican establishment have used to assail his business savvy.

"That's right, Trump gave his victory speech next to a pyramid of raw steak," Colbert cracked.

Stephen Colbert has spent the past few weeks coming to the realization that President Trump might happen, and it's a concern he now shares with the Republican party itself. However, on The Late Show's latest "Road to the White House," the host examined the not-so-secret weapon that could usurp the party's presidential nomination away from Trump: Mitt Romney.

"Donald Trump's big win on Super Tuesday has made it clear that he is the likely nominee of the Republican party, and that has sent the Republican establishment into a deep,...

Donald Trump lit into Mitt Romney on Thursday afternoon while stumping in Portland, Maine, after the former Gop presidential nominee criticized the current frontrunner. Romney called Trump "phony" and a "fraud" while trying to implore Republicans to support one of the other candidates still running for the party's nomination. Crediting himself for Romney's decision to “chicken out” from running this season, Trump also made a seemingly incendiary comment about Romney wanting Trump's endorsement when he ran for president in 2012. "I could have said, 'Mitt, drop to your knees,' and he would have dropped to his knees,”

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Updated with Donald Trump’s response to Mitt Romney’s speech: Mitt Romney is “irrelevant” and a “failed candidate” who was so desperate for Trump’s endorsement when he ran for the White House, “I could have said, ‘Mitt, drop to your knees; he would have dropped.” “He was begging me” for support, Trump added at a raucous rally in Maine, interrupted three times while security ejected protesters. Romney wanted to run again this time, Trump insisted, but backed down because…...

Well, that didn’t take long. Donald Trump responded to Mitt Romney’s attack during a rally in Portland, Maine, roughly two hours after Romney held a press conference to bash the Gop frontrunner. “I’ll just address it quickly because it’s irrelevant,” Trump said. “Look, Mitt is a failed candidate. He failed. He failed horribly. He failed badly.” Also Read: Mitt Romney Slams Donald Trump as a 'Phony' and a 'Fraud' Trump said Romney should have won against President Obama in 2012 but he “disappeared.” “He was begging for my endorsement. I could have said, ‘Mitt drop to your...

Donald Trump fired back at former Gop presidential nominee Mitt Romney on Thursday, calling him “Irrelevant” and a “choke artist.” “He was begging for my endorsement. I could have said, ‘Mitt drop to your knees’ and he would have dropped to his knees,” Trump said before noting Mitt was “afraid of Jeb” and called his second presidential campaign a “catastrophe.” Also Read: Mitt Romney Slams Donald Trump as a 'Phony' and a 'Fraud' The speech came in response to Romney’s own blistering comments earlier on Thursday, where he called Trump a “phony” and a “fraud.” Watch his full speech above.

Once upon a time, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were supposed to be Jewish.

Bill and Alice Harford, the decidedly gentile married couple that the actors portrayed in 1999's Eyes Wide Shut, are about as kosher as a bacon milkshake. But when Stanley Kubrick first conceived of adapting Arthur Schnitzler's 1926 novella Traumnovelle in the Seventies, the filmmaker allegedly envisioned the male lead as Woody Allen, a man so Jewish that Shabbat practically observes him.

Kubrick's initial casting idea, which is all but inconceivable to anyone who's seen the finished film,...

Safe to say the Romney household doesn't have "Roar" on repeat.  Mitt Romney's son Matt took to Twitter on Friday to re-post two side-by-side shots of Katy Perry literally wearing her support for Barack Obama, as she's sporting two skin-tight dresses that applaud the current President of the United States.  Perry wore the politically-themed dresses back in 2012 during a Las Vegas and then later a Milwaukee rally for Potus, but it's Matt's caption that is raising some eyebrows.  "Now I know why my dad lost," the father of four wrote alongside the pics.  The tweet comes amid Perry showing her support for Hillary Clinton. Mitt...

Mitt Romney and Evander Holyfield squared off in a boxing ring Friday night, and guess who went down?  Hint -- it' wasn't Mitt. The video is awesome.  The former Presidential candidate and the 5-time world champ went toe-to-toe for 2, fun-filled rounds in Salt Lake City as a big crowd cheered and jeered.  And what a shock when someone threw in the towel. Mitt entered the arena to Gloria Gaynor's, "I Will Survive." Proceeds from...

Evander Holyfield says he's giving Mitt Romney the Green Light to pummel his face in their upcoming charity boxing match ... if the Mitt can get past his impregnable defense.   Fyi -- 52-year-old Holyfield is squaring off with 68-year-old Romney in a charity bout on May 15th in Utah to raise money for CharityVision ... which helps poverty-stricken people get blindness reversing surgeries.  Holyfield appeared on "TMZ Hollywood Sports" to talk about his game plan for the...

Jimmy Fallon is no stranger to doing impressions, but this one takes the cake! Mitt Romney stopped by "The Tonight Show" on Wednesday, where he went toe-to-toe with the late night host in a hilarious "Mitt in the Mirror" sketch. In the clip, the former presidential candidate takes a seat in front of the mirror to give himself a pep talk before his interview. Speaking to himself, Romney says, "Alright Mitt, one last look before showtime." The best part? As the camera pans over, we see Fallon playing his reflection! The "Saturday Night Live" alum sports the politician's dark suit, blue printed tie, nailing Mitt's signature mannerisms and laugh. "Looking good, Mitt man. Ready for the big interview?" Fallon says as Romney. "Well, actually, I'm a little nervous," he responds. "Jimmy's probably going to ask me why I decided not to run for president. What should I say?...

He never takes himself too seriously, and Mitt Romney had a blast during his visit to “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” last night (March 25).

The former Presidential candidate opened up his time on the program with a silly “Mitt in the Mirror” sketch that involved Fallon (doing his Mitt impression) sitting on the other side of a mirror and conversing with the real Romney.

Mitt declared, "Alright Mitt, one last look before show time,” and Fallon fired back, "Looking good, Mitt man. Ready for the big interview?" Mitt answered, “Well, actually, I'm a little nervous. Jimmy’s probably going to ask me why I decided not to run for president. What should I say?" Fallon replied, "Just tell him you enjoy the freedom. You get to sit back and relax, golf all the time, go on vacation whenever you want..." Romney stated, “aka be president."...

While Jeb Bush and self-proclaimed rock and roll hater Ted Cruz have already positioned themselves for a 2016 Republican presidential run, the Gop's most well-known candidate and frontrunner, 2012 runner-up Mitt Romney, announced that he wouldn't enter the electoral fray this time around. Romney eschewed his oft-criticized robotic nature with a charismatic appearance Wednesday night on The Tonight Show.

For the former Presidential candidate's appearance, Jimmy Fallon resurrected one of his all-time greatest Saturday Night Live-era gags: The man in the mirror routine, which Fallon previously used to imitate Mick Jagger...

If you're like us and value your sleep, you probably nodded off into your Ambien dreamland before the party started on post-prime time TV. Don't worry; we've got you covered. Here's the best of what happened last night on late night.

Mitt Romney kicked off the late night docket with an appearance on "The Tonight Show," which was surprisingly hilarious thanks to a lil' something called Mitt in the Mirror -- in which the governor talked to his reflection (aka Jimmy Fallon). Let's just say Jimmy does Mitt even better than Mitt!

Time for another edition of Lie Witness News on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" This time, Jimmy's crew took to the streets of Hollywood Boulevard to ask people who claimed to be March Madness fans about a bunch of random basket ball players that definitely don't exist. Prepare for lots of second-hand embarrassment.

James Franco swung by "Late Show...

Last week, Netflix announced it had pacted with Leonardo DiCaprio and his production company to produce a documentary feature and a documentary series to premiere exclusively on the streaming service. Read More: Netflix Dives Deep into Documentaries, Nabbing "Virunga" The DiCaprio deal is yet another high-profile push into the documentary world for Netflix, which first signaled its intention to dive into original documentaries in late 2013 with Jehane Noujaim's "The Square," which was later nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and "Mitt," the documentary about Mitt Romney which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. In 2014, Netflix nabbed "Virunga," which was later nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (and scored DiCaprio as a key partner), as well as other high quality documentaries, including "Mission Blue," "E-Team" and "Print the...

On Friday Mitt Romney announced he's not running for president of the United States again in 2016, and people expressed their various emotions about the news on Twitter. "Mitt Romney," "Mitt Romney Not" and "President in 2016" trended on Twitter as users reacted. Some people were sad, others happy and a few people were asking why the news someone is not running is news at all. Here's a look at what people had to say: At a dive bar, Mitt Romney watches a newscast about him not running. Bartender: "the usual, Mitt?" Romney, gravely: "milk, straight up." —

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Kurt Cobain, Nina Simone and Tig Notaro are among the big names getting documentary treatment at this January's Sundance Film Festival. On Monday (December 8), Sundance announced 13 documentaries that will be premiering out of competition at the Festival, which runs from January 22 to February 1 in Park City. It's a group of films from some of documentary cinema's biggest names and, unsurprisingly, from some of Sundance's most frequent attendees. Sundance regular Liz Garbus ("The Farm: Angola, USA") is taking the previously vacant Us documentary Day One Film slot with "What Happened, Miss Simone?" The documentary looks singer and activist Nina Simone was recently acquired by Netflix, which had "Mitt" in an out-of-competition slot at last year's Festival. Also coming from a Sundance favorite and also with TV distribution already in place is HBO's "Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck," an authorized biopic of the Nirvana frontman that features Frances Bean Cobain as an...

With Netflix in the midst of filming Orange Is the New Black‘s third season and putting $3 million into new content this year, the paradigm seems to have permanently shifted from the service being seen primarily as a content distributor to an established content creator. In other words, its continual production of scripted programming is no longer novel, which is why its push into the exclusive acquisition of nonfiction material is no less remarkable. Following the success of films like Jehane Noujaim’s The Square (a 2013 Oscar contender), Greg Whiteley’s Mitt, and the Holocaust-themed short The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life earlier […]...

With Netflix in the midst of filming Orange Is the New Black‘s third season and putting $3 million into new content this year, the paradigm seems to have permanently shifted from the service being seen primarily as a content distributor to an established content creator. In other words, its continual production of scripted programming is no longer novel, which is why its push into the exclusive acquisition of nonfiction material is no less remarkable. Following the success of films like Jehane Noujaim’s The Square (a 2013 Oscar contender), Greg Whiteley’s Mitt, and the Holocaust-themed short The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life earlier […]...

Superb performances from Tom Hanks as a hijacked skipper and the late James Gandolfini as a disillusioned divorcee are among this week's DVD highlights

For an ostensible Everyman, Tom Hanks has a performer's hunger to please that has shone through some of his most stoic roles. That eagerness, however, is suspended to marvellous effect in Paul Greengrass's titanium-tough tension exercise Captain Phillips (Sony, 12), in which Hanks plays the real-life skipper of an American cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates with nothing to lose. Emotionally bare and physically distressed, Hanks looks palpably out of his depth, and the result is his best performance – unlucky not to receive one of the film's six Oscar nominations. (Riveting newcomer Barkhad Abdi, playing the invading captain, was more fortunate.) It's a formidable fist of a film, yet not even the best Somali pirate thriller of 2013 – happily, its remarkable Danish twin A Hijacking is available on Blinkbox,...

'An already notorious scene sees Romney ironing a shirt while still wearing it'

Reading reports from film festivals can be a frustrating experience, and not only because they're invariably overrun with trite buzzwords like "crowd-pleasing" and "star-making". No, the real problem is that most of the Earth-shattering films described within them won't make it across to British shores for months or even years. It's precisely the opposite sensation of reading a home-entertainment column like this one, where most of the content is far too old to have any bearing on the zeitgeist. Thank heavens then, for Netflix, which is determined to solve both problems this week with the launch of its new documentary Mitt.

The film, which follows former governor of Massachusetts, devout Mormon and noted abortion equivocator Mitt Romney's six-year journey to the 2012 presidential election, had its world premiere just last month at the Sundance film festival. Now,...

New Release

Nurse 3D

R, 1 Hr., 24 Mins.

Consider this deliriously trashy erotic thriller Single White Female in a hospital. With her steamy, screw-loose smile and breathy, sex-kitten voice, Paz de la Huerta vamps it up as a psychotic angel of mercy obsessed with a new co-worker (30 Rock’s Katrina Bowden). (Also available on iTunes and VOD) C+ —Chris Nashawaty

New Release

12 O’Clock Boys

Not Rated, 1 Hr., 15 Mins.

Documentary filmmaker Lotfy Nathan explores the outlaw appeal of an inner-city Baltimore dirt-bike gang through the eyes of a 13-year-old wannabe member named Pug. Daredevil danger is one attraction for the pint-size protagonist,...

Sundance 2014 is officially in the books, and while there wasn’t any kind of big $10 million distribution deal, films like Boyhood, Whiplash, and Frank had receptions warmer than the bizarre Utah weather over the past 10 days, guaranteeing we’ll be talking about them through the rest of the year.

But that’s the narrative side of things. When it comes to documentaries, Sundance is traditionally one of the most fruitful film festivals in the world. Here are ten of the most interesting and best received non-fiction titles to keep an eye on in 2014:

Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory

The subtitle says it all for this year’s U.S. Documentary Audience Award winner. In Alive Inside, a social worker brings iPods to elderly men and women suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and the sounds of their youth actually “awaken” them. As one might expect,...

Here's a leftover from Sundance that's also playing on Netflix Instant - Michael Cusumano on "Mitt".

In one scene from Greg Whiteley’s documentary about the two failed presidential runs of the former governor of Massachusetts, Romney complains bitterly about Candy Crowley's interference in the second debate, which led to the infamous “Please proceed, Governor” moment. According to Mitt it was not the moderator’s place to comment or press the candidate for answers.

2014 Sundance Film Festival Coverage: El: Eric Lavallee. Nb: Nicholas Bell. Cc: Caitlin Coder. Js: Jordan M. Smith

Special Screening (1)

Nympho Vol. I – (El: ✮✮✮✮)

U.S. Dramatic Competition (16)

Camp X-Ray – (Nb: ✮✮✮)

Cold in July – (Nb: ✮✮✮ 1/2)

Dear White People – (Nb: ✮✮✮)

Fishing Without Nets – (El: ✮✮✮) + (Js: ✮✮✮) + (Nb: ✮✮✮)

God’s Pocket – (Cc: ✮✮ 1/2)

Happy Christmas – (Cc: ✮✮✮ 1/2) + (Js: ✮✮✮ 1/2) + (Nb: ✮✮ 1/2)

Hellion – (El: ✮✮) + (Jm: ✮✮✮1/2)

Infinitely Polar Bear – (El: ✮✮✮)

Jamie Marks Is Dead – (El: ✮✮✮) + (Js: ✮1/2) + (Nb: ✮✮ 1/2)

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter – (Js: ✮✮✮ 1/2)

Life After Beth – (El: ✮ 1/2) + (Nb: ✮ )

Low Down – (Cc: ✮✮✮) + (Js: ✮✮✮)

The Skeleton Twins - (Nb: ✮✮✮1/2) + (El: ✮✮✮1/2) + (Cc: ✮✮✮1/2) (Review)

The Sleepwalker – (El: ✮✮✮ 1/2) + (Js: ✮✮✮1/2) + (Cc: ✮✮✮✮) + (Nb: ✮✮✮)

Song One – (El: ✮✮) + (Js: ✮✮1/2)

Wish I Was Here – (Cc: ✮✮)

U.S. Docu Competition (16)

Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory (Js: ✮✮✮)

All the Beautiful Things

Captivated The Trials of Pamela Smart: (El: ✮✮✮)

The Case Against 8

Cesar’s Last Fast

Dinosaur 13 – (El: ✮✮) + (Js: ✮✮) (Review)

E-team (Js: ✮✮✮)

Fed Up

The Internet’s Own Boy:...

Politics aside, Mitt Romney is a pretty remarkable guy. It takes a lot for anyone to run for president of the United States even once, but the former Massachusetts governor tried twice, and now both of those campaigns are the subject of the new Netflix documentary appropriately titled Mitt.

There are many things we already knew about the Republican nominee and his large Mormon family, but the doc takes the viewer behind the scenes of some of the most critical and personal moments in both of Romney’s runs. From every high and low and “47 percent” comment, we see more...

As the Mitt Romney documentary Mitt continues to create buzz at Sundance, the former Republican presidential candidate hit Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to help the show's host slow-jam the news. Taking on a role previously filled by President Obama, Brian Williams and Chris Christie, Romney brought word of Obama's upcoming State of the Union Address over the Roots' sultry R&B groove.

7 Things We Learned From the Mitt Romney Sundance Doc

The segment offered Romney an opportunity to plug the new documentary, as well as take a few...

Mitt Romney was game for some self-deprecating self-promotion last night when he hit the late night stage to slow jam the news with Jimmy Fallon. Romney’s on the campaign trail for Mitt, the new Netflix docu tracking his two bids for Presidency. The film premiered in Salt Lake City as part of the Sundance Film Festival last week, where the Republican former Massachusetts governor dropped in unannounced and spoke with Deadline’s Dominic Patten. Netflix releases Mitt on January 24. Watch Romney get down with Fallon and The Roots: Related: Romney On How He Liked ‘Mitt’ Docu – “Enjoy Is The Wrong Word”...

After tweeting at Mitt Romney about his impending flight from JFK to Salt Lake City, Zach Braff immediately ran into the erstwhile Republican presidential nominee on the plane. It was an excellent guess on Braff's part, as both the Mitt Romney documentary and Braff's Wish I Was Here are debuting at Sundance. Also, Utah is where Mitt Romney keeps all of his belongings and loved ones, so it stands to reason he would travel there at some point.The two subsequently laughed and talked and made Hunger Games references and became the best of friends. Mitt even promised to come see Zach's movie at Sundance. Seatmates forever.

Like Barack Obama and Chris Christie before him, Mitt Romney took the Late Night stage on Friday night to slow jam the news with Jimmy Fallon -- delivering a self-deprecating version of his 2012 stump speech.  The former Republican presidential nominee -- who's been on a media tour as Netflix promotes the campaign doc Mitt -- stopped by the late night show for five minutes of riffing on pop culture set to the jam of house band The Roots.  Romney took the jabs about losing the election and his infamous "47 Percent" remark in stride. He also name checked both Netflix

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The Netflix Original Documentary "Mitt" will begin streaming tomorrow, January 24th, at 2pm Et, one week following its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The film, the latest from "New York Doll" director Greg Whiteley, takes an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at former Republican Party presidential candidate Mitt Romney from 2006 to the 2012 presidential election. "Mitt" is the third doc acquisition from Netflix, coming after "The Short Game" and current Oscar nominee "The Square." Read More: Sundance Review: 'Mitt,' A Portrait of a Politician as We Never Saw Him on the Campaign Trail Here are two new clips in promotion of the film ahead of its streaming premiere tomorrow -- the first shows Romney discussing his upcoming debate with President Obama, while the latter shows him preparing his concession speech after it becomes clear that he will lose the election.

Filmmaker Greg Whiteley was given total control over his documentary Mitt – which premiered this week at the Sundance Film Festival – so long as he promised not to release any footage until after the 2012 presidential election. That unfiltered access proved extraordinary: We see the former Massachusetts governor goofing around in the snow, tearfully praying with his family, chatting in SUVs and hotel rooms, prepping for debates and debriefing with aides. Mitt presents the political campaign as both home-movie and horserace and is almost entirely uninterested in policy. Whiteley's platform is practically nonexistent,...

“What do you think you say in a concession speech?” Greg Whiteley’s illuminating and often funny Mitt opens on Election Night 2012, in one of many nondescript hotel rooms viewers will become acquainted with as the insider documentary winds on, as the Romney family grapples with the news that their patriarch will not be winning the presidency tonight (or, if they are to be believed when it comes to Romney’s political career, ever). Mitt Romney calmly accepts the news while reclining on a couch, his brow furrowed as he attempts to come up with a concession speech. “What do you think you say in a concession speech?” he asks and, distracted and dismayed, no one can give him an answer. Whiteley’s film then zings back six years, as the Romneys gather in similar style to, as ever, discuss Mitt’s political choices. Romney has long stood on a platform that hinges on the value and...

A campaign trail documentary about Romney's defeat to Barack Obama paints the former candidate as a more likeable guy than we saw on the stump, says Xan Brooks

Ahead of the Sundance screening of Mitt, a festival organiser takes to the stage to explain that Greg Whiteley's documentary on the 2012 presidential nominee is officially incomplete. There are some typos in the credits, she says, and the print still needs to be properly colour-corrected. In hindsight this last piece of information makes a whole lot of sense. We came expecting to see Mitt Romney in monochrome. But the man on the screen appears positively radiant.

How ironic to realise that the greatest Mitt Romney campaign ad should arrive too late to save him, blowing in to Park City, Utah, a full 14 months after he slumped to defeat against Barack Obama. Whiteley shows us a side of the candidate we never knew existed.

Sundance may be viewed by outsiders of a certain stripe as a haven for lefty aesthetes who live in something other than the "real" world. But today the fest offers Americans a doc that achieves in an hour and a half something Republicans wanted desperately to do throughout 2012: It makes Mitt Romney human. Lovable, even. Greg Whiteley's Mitt, by viewing two election cycles exclusively through the Romney family's eyes, does for the candidate what Sundance films more regularly do for the poor, the disenfranchised, and the very very quirky: It puts us in his shoes and reminds us how

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"If people really got to know who you are, it could be a successful campaign," Craig Romney says to his father near the beginning of "Mitt," when the family's gathered for the holidays in 2006, discussing the pros and cons of Mitt Romney running for president. Seven years on, the statement serves as a retroactive laugh line. Who, among his detractors or his supporters, felt like they really got to know Romney, a candidate who was broadly categorized for changing his positions on issues, and who came across as so stiff some jokingly likened him to a robot? "Mitt," directed by Greg Whiteley (of "Resolved" and "New York Doll"), is a quietly compelling documentary that follows Romney and his family along both his 2008 and 2012 campaigns, and that presents a man who's decidedly human, has a sense of humor and some firm beliefs. Even if you care little about him as a...

It’s that time again. The biggest American film festival is upon us, and this year the Ioncinema crew will be descending on Park City with eight feet on the ground and eight eyes on Park City’s various and plentiful screens. Eric Lavallee, Nicholas Bell, Caitlin Coder and I will be covering just about every inch of this year’s festival here at Ioncinema.com, as well as on that ever increasingly vibrant instanews network – Twitter. Be sure to follow @ioncinema and, as stated above, my personal handle @Rectangular_Eye, as we’ll be tweeting throughout the festival with breaking news, reviews, and sightings, all the while trying to keep up with the massive amount of content sure to be coming from this year’s Sundance filmmakers themselves, most of which have their own Twitter accounts and are listed at length below (minus the world & short programs). Whether you...

Buyers and sellers headed to Sundance next week want to know: Will Amazon and Netflix bid alongside Harvey Weinstein and HBO for the right to release the festival’s most popular movies? Both companies are placing more emphasis on “originals” – movies and TV shows they offer viewers that no competing service can provide. Sundance is a popular venue for finding new product, and Netflix is already releasing one movie playing there – “Mitt,” a documentary about Mitt Romney. “Netflix has a lot of money and they love this idea of originals, “John Sloss, a lawyer, sales agent and manager, told TheWrap.

If you had told Greg Whiteley in 2006 that he was going to spend the next six years of his life on the road covering a presidential candidate, he probably would’ve reconsidered the opportunity he had initially pursued so diligently. “I just couldn’t have imagined swallowing up six years of life working on this project,” says the documentary filmmaker who was just coming off making two well-regarded movies in a three-year span. “I showed up on Christmas Eve, met the family for the first time and filmed them discussing whether or not should run. And I just didn’t stop filming for six years.

With part three of our Sundance Twitterverse series, we see the biggest names in non-fiction commenting outside the realms of their films. For the many subjects of We Are The Giant (@WeAreTheGiant_), Twitter has served as much more than just a place to find breaking news, but as a weapon wielded in the name of freedom. Many of these brave souls are represented below.

Documentary Premieres

The Battered Bastards of Baseball – @MavsDoc

Finding Fela

Director/Producer Alex Gibney – @alexgibneyfilm

Editor Lindy Jankura – @lindyjank

Composer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti – @felakuti

Freedom Summer – @FreedomSummer64

Writer/Director Stanley Nelson – @StanleyNelson1

Happy Valley

Director Amir Bar-Lev – @amirbarlev

Producer John Battsek – @DiegoisGod

Lambert & Stamp

Music: The Who – @TheWho

Last Days in Vietnam – @LDVFilm

Screenwriter Keven McAlester – @KevenMcAlester

Life Itself – @EbertMovie

Subject Roger Ebert – @ebertchicago

Producer Zak Piper – @ZakPiper

Mitt

Director/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor Greg Whiteley – @greggor10

This May Be the Last Time

Director/Producer Sterlin Harjo – @SterlinHarjo...

Netflix not only partnered with the Weinstein Co. for their Golden Globe after party but on several new TV series as well. Ted Sarandos has always been close to the indie film community. In fact, he picked up Oscar doc contender "The Square" and plans to make it available for streaming on January 17--the day after the nominations--followed by a theatrical release in some cities in March. They're even buying billboards around Los Angeles for the film--it's hard to imagine the usual distribution suspects doing that.  In fact Netflix has an opening night doc at Sundance, "Mitt," an intimate four-year look at Mitt Romney's bid for the presidency, which will be released theatrically in eight cities at the end of the fest, taking advantage of all the immediate hype and buzz it generates in Park City. Netflix wants to buy about ten docs a year, Sarandos told me at the BAFTA pre-Globes party.

Over the years, numerous cinemas and tv shows have delved into the topic of politics, with varying degrees of success. Documentaries have been no different, often being able to provide a perspective that other genres are unable to. The newest documentary to join that group comes from Greg Whiteley. Titled Mitt, the movie is Whiteley’s third feature, and takes a look at the Us politician Mitt Romney during his 2012 Presidential campaign. Set to make its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival before being released to a larger audience via Netflix later in the month, the first trailer for the documentary has now been released, and can be seen below.

(Source: First Showing)

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Mitt Romney has taken the high road and accepted Melissa Harris-Perry’s apology after she made a few nasty jokes about his family photo.

After saying that Mitt Romney‘s African American grandchild should marry North West, MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry took to Twitter to apologize for her out of line comments on Dec. 31. Now, he has spoken out about the situation, and accepted her nice apology.

Mitt Romney Accepts Melissa Harris-Perry’s Apology

On Jan. 5, Mitt sat down for Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, where he was asked about how he felt of Melissa’s segment on her MSNBC show.

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“Well first let me just note, we love this little guy a great deal!” he said of his grandson Kieran Romney. “He was an answer to prayer and we love that he’s part of our family. He is part of our family. That being said,...

2Nd Update, 8:20 Am: Will cable news programs steer clear of comedy after MSNBC‘s botched Melissa Harris-Perry end-of-year show left her tearily apologizing for the show’s gags targeting Mitt Romney‘s adopted black grandson, and Fox News Channel devoting yet more airtime to MSNBC’s show host foot-in-mouth epidemic? Most recently, Romney was a guest on Fox News this past Sunday, in the course of which, during a segment known as “Romney Reacts To MSNBC For Mocking Family Photo”, he told Chris Wallace, “I recognize that people make mistakes and the folks at MSNBC made a big mistake. They’ve apologized for it. That’s all you can ask for. I am going to move on from that. I am sure they want to move on from it. Look, I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself and they’ve apologized for this and, you know, I think we can go on from there.

MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry is taking back the jokes she made after Mitt Romney shared his family Christmas card on Twitter. Melissa and her guests poked fun at Kieran Romney during her show, saying that Mitt’s adopted black grandchild who sat on his lap she should marry North West.

Melissa Harris-Perry meant “no offense” by the conversation on her show on Dec. 29, in which her guests, Pia Glenn and Dean Obeidallah all made black jokes after they showed the family photo that Mitt Romney posted on Christmas Day.

Melissa Harris-Perry Apologizes

On the show, Melissa showed the picture while her guest Pia sang “one of these things is not like the other.” She followed it up with, “and that little baby, front and center, would be the one.

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Melissa laughed hard, and then commented that what she wants to see in 2040 is a wedding between Kieran and baby North West.