Things didnt turn out quite as planned.
Im glad that the jury saw that your film was actually about something other than a well-documented tabloid scandal.
Elyse Steinberg:Yeah, we were thrilled.
Credit: IFC films
Its about American politics and media.
And it was resonating.
And it was just perfectly times to where our country is now.
Amanda Edwards/WireImage
Josh Kriegman:Anthony and Donald Trump are very different people with very different opinions.
And the public, as we can all see, obviously love it.
But tell me why hes wrong about that.
And you see that play out in Anthonys campaign.
Hes trying desperately to talk about issues and he cant.
You even show regular people on the street, yelling at the media to focus on the issues.
Thats the hope that the movie feels like a deeper look at this person as a real human being.
Were there touchstones for you, like Frederick Wiseman or D.A.
Pennebaker?Weinercertainly reminds me ofThe War Room, about Bill Clintons 1992 presidential campaign.
Kriegman:There were those exact touchstones.
I was turned on to the idea of making documentaries after meeting Pennebaker in college.
That was a genre, specifically political verite, which was very exciting to me.
Its an extraordinary thrill that weve made a movie her that fits into that canon of films.
Steinberg:We were looking at those films and thinking about them all the time.
You said there was 400 hours of footage shot during the course of his campaign.
Can you name parts that were really difficult to lose in the editing process?
Kriegman:There were a lot of little gems.
Inevitably in the process we had to kill some darlings.
And we had our main character.
We didnt have to go looking for him.
What are both of your opinions as to whether Anthony Weiner should have resigned from congress in 2011?
Kriegman:I dont know.
He has said that it was a personal choice that he made.
Steinberg:I dont know that either of us have a strong opinion about that.
Kriegman:it would have been interesting to see how voters would have responded if he stayed in office.
His congressional seat did go to a Republican, before it was changed all together due to redistricting.
Kriegman:Thats right.
The film made me think a lot about the influence of social media.
If there had been Twitter in the 90s, would Bill Clinton have survived his presidency?
Steinberg:Its a good question.
Kriegman:Theres no doubt that having photos changes peoples judgment of the thing.
But its one of those questions that well never know.
That was our goal going in.
I mean, of course the photos changes how we see it.
The goal was to show these different forces at work.
Have there been audiences who thought you were too easy on him?
Steinberg:I dont think weve gotten much of that one.
Kriegman:The range encompasses every possible reaction.
And this is part of whats so interesting about Anthonys story.
There was a similar range of reactions to the actual scandal.
Whats been your relationship with him during the three years since the filming was finished?
Kriegman:Weve spoken.
And he didnt want to see it.
And he hasnt wanted to see it.
He has said that hes not eager to relive it.
That hes someone who in some strange way enjoys being humiliated.
Kriegman:[pauses] Well, hes still living his life.
Huma, his wife, is working for the Hillary Clinton campaign and traveling.
And hes doing the lions share of parenting, which he loves.
And as he says in the film, No one got cancer, no one died.
There is obviously something tragic in the story, but hes still around.
Steinberg:Right, I mean, thats the story.
That someone who did have a great degree of talent was ultimately unsuccessful in translating that through his job.
Kriegman:But life goes on.
And hes the first to acknowledge that.
