It's not often that documentary news make Entertainment Weekly's Hit List, but when the subject is our high profile Secretary of State, none of the usual rules apply.
Actually, the Supreme Court is trying to decide exactly which rules DO apply to Hillary: The Movie. The 2008 attack film, by the conservative group Citizens United, was released while Clinton was running for President. It features a number of critics, includng Newt Gingrich and Ann Coulter. The Court has taken on the case to determine whether or not the project should be considered a film or an ad.
Hillary: The Movie was funded in part by corporate money from Citizens United. Federal law currently forbids corporations and unions from spending directly for/against candidates. According to CNN,
A conservative group behind the movie wanted to promote it during the heat of the presidential primary season last year, but a federal court had blocked any ads, as well as airings on cable TV video-on-demand.
The film later aired in several theaters and was released on DVD, outlets that were not subject to federal regulation.
Challengers are framing the challenge as a free speech issue. The Chicago Tribune says:
Citizens United sued to challenge those restrictions. Former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, the group's attorney, urged the court to declare that corporations have the same free-speech right as others. "Freedom is being smothered," he said of the regulations.
Key questions that have come up in the case include determining whether or not a film like this differs from news information programs on public or broadcast television; why the film is allowed to be shown in some places but not others, and how the length of a piece affects its standing as an ad.
Read more:
Variety
Chicago Tribune
CNN.com
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