'Recount' Goes Hollywood, but Washington Still Split

Bush lawyer: "They won the movie. We won the election. Don't get them confused."

ByABC News
April 30, 2008, 8:14 PM

April 30, 2008— -- The theory goes that, after time passes, one can look back and laugh at even the most painful experiences.

That theory was put to the test Tuesday night when politicians, lawyers and journalists involved in the 2000 Florida election recount gathered to see how that real-life political drama plays out in a forthcoming HBO film.

"Recount," which was written by Danny Strong and stars Kevin Spacey, Laura Dern, Denis Leary and Tom Wilkinson, was met with raucous laughter by an audience that was dominated by many of the political and media types depicted in the film.

Power brokers who attended the dinner and screening on the tented tennis court of former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee and wife Sally Quinn among them John Kerry, Tom Brokaw and Pat Buchanan appeared to enjoy the film, which premieres May 25 on HBO.

But tensions over the disputed outcome of the 2000 election were not far below the surface.

"They won the movie," said Bush lawyer Ben Ginsberg. "We won the election. Don't get them confused."

"The stay was indefensible," Gore lawyer David Boies later remarked in a reference to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to halt the Florida recount before it was completed.

"For them, winning was everything," he added, referring to the Bush team.

Mary Boies, the wife of Gore's lawyer, needled Ginsberg about the record of the man he helped install in office.

"So, how do you think he did?" she asked, referring to President Bush.

"I'm only responsible for getting him elected," quipped Ginsberg, before adding that he still believes that Bush was the right man for the times.

Although Gore's allies are far from heeding Justice Scalia's recent admonishment on "60 Minutes" to "get over" the U.S. Supreme Court decisions that ended the 2000 presidential race, a lawyer to the former vice president thinks the message from "Recount" is clear.

Instead of only seeking recounts in a handful of heavily Democratic counties, Gore should have asked for a statewide recount, according to one of his attorneys.