YouTube furor over 'War Room' comment from '92
Did Kantor say 'white ni**ers'?
By Ben Smith 12:12 PM
The Politico
Pennebaker: Clip Doctored
I just spoke to D.A. Pennebaker, the director of "The War Room," who said his film had been doctored to produce a widely-viewed YouTube clip.
In a clip from his film on the 1992 Clinton campaign, posted to YouTube today, Clinton advisor Mickey Kantor is -- according to subtitles -- seen referring to Indiana residents with an expletive and to his colleague George Stephanopolous with a racial slur.
"He does not say that. He does not say that," said Pennebaker, after viewing the clip.
He said the initial expletive referred to the anticipated reaction in the Bush White House to the fact that Ross Perot's polling numbers were holding strong.
"What he says is he’s surprised Perot’s numbers are holding," said Pennebaker in a brief phone interview. "He says they must be shi**ing in the White House."
The second expletive, he said, appeared to have been entirely fabricated, with new audio dubbed onto the original movie.
Pennebaker appeared surprised and amused by the video.
"A thousand people saw that film in theaters and didn't think" the second expletive had been used, he said. "It's very clearly understandable. It's not like it was in Bulgarian."
In an earlier version posted yesterday, the clip was circulating with a subtitle indicating -- Pennebaker says inaccurately -- that Kantor had insulted Hoosiers; the racial slur appears to have been added to the second version.
The audio in both versions isn't clearly audible; it's possible that the subtitles are incorrect, but that the audio hasn't been deliberately altered.
UPDATE: I spoke to the editor of the video who said that he enhanced, but didn't alter, the audio in the second portion of the video.
(Here's a different version from The Huffington Post. YouTube has now taken the video down.)
By Ben Smith 12:12 PM
The Politico
Pennebaker: Clip Doctored
I just spoke to D.A. Pennebaker, the director of "The War Room," who said his film had been doctored to produce a widely-viewed YouTube clip.
In a clip from his film on the 1992 Clinton campaign, posted to YouTube today, Clinton advisor Mickey Kantor is -- according to subtitles -- seen referring to Indiana residents with an expletive and to his colleague George Stephanopolous with a racial slur.
"He does not say that. He does not say that," said Pennebaker, after viewing the clip.
He said the initial expletive referred to the anticipated reaction in the Bush White House to the fact that Ross Perot's polling numbers were holding strong.
"What he says is he’s surprised Perot’s numbers are holding," said Pennebaker in a brief phone interview. "He says they must be shi**ing in the White House."
The second expletive, he said, appeared to have been entirely fabricated, with new audio dubbed onto the original movie.
Pennebaker appeared surprised and amused by the video.
"A thousand people saw that film in theaters and didn't think" the second expletive had been used, he said. "It's very clearly understandable. It's not like it was in Bulgarian."
In an earlier version posted yesterday, the clip was circulating with a subtitle indicating -- Pennebaker says inaccurately -- that Kantor had insulted Hoosiers; the racial slur appears to have been added to the second version.
The audio in both versions isn't clearly audible; it's possible that the subtitles are incorrect, but that the audio hasn't been deliberately altered.
UPDATE: I spoke to the editor of the video who said that he enhanced, but didn't alter, the audio in the second portion of the video.
(Here's a different version from The Huffington Post. YouTube has now taken the video down.)
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