I just watched (belatedly) HBO’s riveting “Recount” - a primer in US mob politics - when I heard Tim Russert died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 58. Russert appears in several archive footage shots, most importantly the one where Joe Lieberman, appearing on “Meet the Press”, fumbles Gore’s recount efforts.
Russert was not the first. Two and a half weeks ago Sydney Pollack died, two days after “Recount”’s premiere. Pollack was the designated director for “Recount” but handed the job over to Jay Roach due to his illness (Dave Grusin, Pollack’s regular composer, remains the only testament to Pollack’s early involvement). “Recount” is produced by Mirage - the production company co-owned by Pollack and Anthony Minghella. Minghella died prematurely a year ago. Maybe that election was indeed cursed.

If you saw “Recount” you should see this: in 2002, two years after Bush-Gore election debacle, Spike Lee directed a breathtaking and heart quickening documentary about the same story - and did it in 10 minutes. The segment is called “We Wuz Robbed” (it’s included in the anthology movie “10 Minutes Older: The Trumpet“), I show it to my students every semester, it is a true masterpiece of documentary storytelling and political filmmaking told in breakneck speed: