President Barack Obama, never one who would miss an opportunity to massage his connection to Tinseltown, is set to speak at the headquarters of DreamWorks Tuesday.
The ostensible reason is for Obama to speak on the economy, but there is no reason to doubt that it’s payback time; the DreamWorks founding trio of Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen has made huge contributions to Obama in the past. Spielberg and Katzenberg each gave $1 million to an Obama super-PAC during the 2012 campaign, and Geffen hosted a $1.3 million fundraiser in 2008 at his plush Hollywood digs.
It’s not just DreamWorks; Obama is appearing at a $32,400-per-plate event hosted by Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman on behalf of the Democratic National Committee as well as an event for House Democrats at Magic Johnson’s home where the tickets run from $2,500 to $15,000 per person. To top it off, there is a dinner at Haim Saban’s home (the producer of Power Rangers and the head of the company that owns Univision) where the tickets start at $16,200 per person.
What’s the ostensible connection between Hollywood and the economy? According to White House spokesman Josh Earnest, “The American motion picture and television industry is a growing industry and continues to create thousands of jobs all across the country.”
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