Wednesday evening saw the local premiere of the Sundance Channel’s docu-series “Brick City,” about gangs and crime fighting in Newark, N.J.
But at the pre-screening reception at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association offices, director-producers Marc Levin and Mark Benjamin had their sights on their next project. “We want your superintendent of schools [Michelle Rhee],” Benjamin told Mayor Adrian Fenty. “We want her, we want you. And we’re looking for a D.C. policeman.”
If “Brick City” is any indication, it would mean plenty of screen time for Fenty, because Newark Mayor Cory Booker, a longtime Fenty pal, figures prominently in the series.
Taking the microphone before the screening, he joked, “I love when we’re standing next to each other so people know we’re not the same person.” He confessed to the crowd that a DC cabbie once thought he was Fenty. Booker, who was born in Washington, said that Mayor Fenty is “is making my mom and dad very proud.”
Nor did Fenty miss a beat, saying, “You can imagine my excitement when I heard Sundance was going to do a documentary on a tall, good looking, bald-headed mayor.”
Also on hand: Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, who also executive produced. “What’s going on in Newark can act as a model for cities across the country” — including D.C., Whitaker told reporters.
Forest Whitaker and wife Keisha Nash
Mayor Fenty with actor-turned-White House aide Kal Penn
Photos: Nancy Ostertag
