By Lincoln Anderson
English film director Nick Broomfield spoke at the Angelika theater on West Houston St. Saturday after the 8 p.m. screening of his new film, “Sarah Palin: You Betcha!”
In the film, Broomfield goes to Wasilla, Alaska, Palin’s hometown, where she was mayor, and tries to interview the former G.O.P. vice presidential candidate, as well as her friends and foes. However, after initially telling him, “You betcha!” to his interview request, Palin, and husband
Todd subsequently snub Broomfield. Word gets around town that he’s allegedly doing a “hit piece” on them.
Broomfield does manage to interview Palin’s father, Chuck, and even buys some moose antlers from him.
Also causing people to keep silent, the Assembly of God, of which Palin was a member, is a powerful force in Wasilla, and speaking against her would be seen as betraying the church.
But he does find one former high school classmate who will talk — in Alexandria, Egypt, where she’s married to an Egyptian doctor. The woman says Palin was the “teacher’s pet” and queen bee of the girls in her class.
Another is a pastor who says Palin, if elected, would be a serious threat to start a nuclear war. He said he fears her having “her finger on the button.”
“In a way, it’s a biography of someone who grew up in a small, evangelical community,” Broomfield said. “I think she really does believe that God called on her to go into politics. It’s not an act.”
Asked why the Republicans picked Palin as John McCain’s running mate, Broomfield said, “They had 48 hours. They knew they were 12 points down — Lieberman had been rejected. I think they expected her to have the kind of knowledge a governor would have — they were deeply shocked.”
When he began working on the film a year ago, Palin was considered the frontrunner for the G.O.P. presidential nomination.
As for her future now, he said, “I think she really needs the limelight — and she’ll do something where she gets that attention, whether it’s on Fox or something else.”
