House Thespian
Roll Call Staff
Who knew that Linwood Duncan, the unassuming press secretary for Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.), has been dabbling in acting on the side and turns up with a bit part in the new movie “Eden’s Curve”?
Based on a true story, the flick features Duncan as the
dean of a small college in Virginia that has to deal with a controversy that develops around an 18-year-old student named Peter who gets involved in several intimate relationships.
“It’s been my golf,” Duncan told HOH about his acting, which has previously been relegated to appearances on stage. “This is the first film I’ve been in.”
Duncan has played everyone from Sherlock Holmes to Sir Thomas More in dozens of shows in the D.C. and Charlottesville, Va., areas. He was approached by a longtime friend, Jerry Meadors, screenwriter and producer for “Eden’s Curve.”
The new movie has been especially popular at gay and lesbian film festivals across the country because the lead character gets mixed up in relationships with his male roommate as well as the roommate’s girlfriend. Then another male student fights for the attention of Peter, which leads to some kind of violence, according to newfestival.org.
“Consequently, Peter finds himself drawn to a third man, his poetry teacher, Ian — an attraction with serious and devastating repercussions,” says the site.
It’s left to Duncan, as head of the school, to deal with the mess. “I think I did credibly well,” he said, adding that he has no plans to leave his day job. “I much prefer politics.”
Strange But True. The race for GOP party chairman in Virginia must be a bit strange for Sen. John Warner (R) to watch unfold.
The contest, which comes in the wake of an eavesdropping scandal that toppled party Chairman Gary Thomson, pits GOP Treasurer Richard Neel Jr. against Kate Obenshain Griffin.
Obenshain has the backing of much of Virginia’s Hill delegation and her former boss, Sen. George Allen (R), and insiders peg her as the clear frontrunner for the post. Republican officials say Warner is also backing Obenshain in the Sept. 6 race, though the Senator was out of the country last week and unavailable for comment to HOH.
Neel told HOH that he has spoken to Warner’s staff and “they have not led me to believe that he has made an endorsement.”
Warner has more than a passing interest in the battle because the fathers of both Neel and Griffin perished together in a plane crash 25 years ago that led to the Senator’s original election to the chamber.
Robert Obenshain, the GOP nominee for the Senate in 1978, died in a tragic plane crash after besting Warner at a state party convention. The pilot of the plane, Richard Neel Sr., was a party activist.
Warner, who had finished second to Obenshain for the nomination, was tapped to replace him in the race. He won the general election — and the rest is history.
“Kate Griffin and I share in a very personal way a very tragic situation,” said Neel. “It had a significant impact on both of our families. For that reason, I have always had a deep respect for Kate and her family.”
Scenes From the Recess. It’s been so slow on Capitol Hill during the August break that even Democrats frustrated by the lack of specifics from Arnold Schwarzenegger have still gotten caught up in the excitement surrounding the California gubernatorial candidate.
One Senate Democratic aide flipped on the television last Monday morning to see CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC all going live to Schwarzenegger’s drive-by at a summer school program in New York. Tired of Arnold-mania, the staffer tuned over to the USA Network as a diversion.
“But at the same time on USA [was] his classic movie ‘Junior,’ in which he becomes the world’s first pregnant man,” said the staffer. “Gotta love this country.”
By the end of the week, however, at least two other cable channels announced that they were pulling the plug on all Schwarzenegger films until after the Oct. 7 recall election. The Sci Fi Channel and FX put the kibosh on Arnold’s flicks amid concerns that the dozens of other candidates in the race could have invoked the government’s equal-time rule.
Energy and Commerce Committee: Barton Holds the Line for the GOP
March 15, 12 a.m.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) knows he’s outnumbered. He knows the Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he serves as ranking member, have the ability to “slam things through” when they want to. Read Full Article
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