Bio : Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President
JIMMY CARTER ROCK & ROLL PRESIDENT was created by the award-winning director Mary Wharton, producer Chris Farrell, and writer Bill Flanagan. The film premiered to rave reviews as the closing night of the recent AFI Docs Fest (where President Carter sent his virtual congratulations), after originally being scheduled to open 19th Annual Tribeca Film Festival in April. CNN Films acquired the broadcast rights earlier this month. Greenwich will release the film in theaters and virtual cinema this September.
JIMMY CARTER ROCK & ROLL PRESIDENT chronicles the role of popular music in propelling a relatively unknown candidate from Georgia to the White House, and the significant role that music has played in President Carter’s life and work. The film shows how Carter's life-long passion for music gave him an unexpected edge as a presidential candidate, as he tapped into a force that transcended racial and generational divides, and often party lines. Carter’s appreciation for all genres of music and friendships with the likes of Bob Dylan, Gregg Allman, Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and Willie Nelson, helped to define his administration.
JIMMY CARTER ROCK & ROLL PRESIDENT combines intimate interviews with Carter and an eclectic cast of contributors including Willie Nelson, Bono, Bob Dylan, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Jimmy Buffett, Roseanne Cash, Chuck Leavell, Paul Simon, Andrew Young, and Madeleine Albright. Featuring rare, archival era-defining live performances from Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, Paul Simon, and Bob Dylan, among others, director Mary Wharton traces how Carter’s genuine approachability, combined with the unifying power of music, became key to his political appeal, and allowed him to connect with voters who may only have known him as a small-town peanut farmer.
President Jimmy Carter said, “When Chris and Mary came to Plains to show the film to me and my family, it was entertaining and emotional for all of us. The film exceeded my expectations in every way. I’m thrilled that “Rock & Roll President” will reach a broad audience on CNN. Despite the difficult times we are in, the film highlights my personal belief that we should remain hopeful and that music is a powerful source of hope in trying times.”
Producer Chris Farrell and Director Mary Wharton commented, “We’ve been so gratified with the warm reception that online audiences have had for our film, and we are thrilled that Greenwich will give the American people the opportunity to experience it in a theater this fall. The first time we spoke to Andy and Ed we knew they understood that the story of an incredible man and his love of music was not just entertaining but also very timely. President Carter shows us that character and good works can serve as a guide not just for our leaders but for all of us, and that music can bring us together even in turbulent times.”
The deal was negotiated by Ed Arentz and Andy Bohn at Greenwich Entertainment and by Dan Braun and Josh Braun of Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers. JIMMY CARTER ROCK & ROLL PRESIDENT is a Not Just Peanuts production. It was financed by Thunder Moccasin Pictures. Dave Kirkpatrick served as a producer. Executive producers include Dan Braun, Peter Conlon, David Crawford, and Mary Wharton. The film was lensed by James Fideler, and edited by Mari Keiko Gonzalez.
ABOUT MARY WHARTON
Director Mary Wharton won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Music Film for her documentary feature SAM COOKE: LEGEND. Other notable feature film credits include JOAN BAEZ: HOW SWEET THE SOUND, the platinum-selling concert film PHISH: IT, and FARRAH FAWCETT FOREVER.
ABOUT GREENWICH ENTERTAINMENT
Founded in 2017, Greenwich Entertainment is an independent film distribution company specializing in distinctive, theatrical-quality narrative and documentary features. In 2018, Greenwich handled the record setting theatrical release of Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi’s Academy Award-Winning Documentary Free Solo, which grossed over $17M at the North American box office. In 2019, Greenwich released two of top the documentary hits of the year with Andrew Slater’s Echo in the Canyon ($3.4M) and Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice ($4.3M) from Oscar winners Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. Recent narrative releases include Isabel Coixet’s The Bookshop starring Emily Mortimer and Bill Nighy and Madeleine Olnek’s Wild Nights with Emily starring Molly Shannon. Upcoming releases include James Erskine’s Billie and Ebs Burnough’s The Capote Tapes. Greenwich is led by an experienced management team that has overseen more than 150 theatrical releases generating over $100 million at the US box office and garnering 8 Oscar Nominations. www.GreenwichEntertainment.com
ABOUT SUBMARINE
Submarine Entertainment is a hybrid sales, production and distribution company run by twin brothers and co-founders Dan Braun and Josh Braun. Submarine has been responsible for the sale of six of the last twelve Academy Award winning documentaries: AMERICAN FACTORY, 20 FEET FROM STARDOM, MAN ON WIRE, THE COVE and SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN. Submarine has recently been involved in the production and sale of multiple non-fiction series, including THE DEVIL NEXT DOOR, EVIL GENIUS, THE KEEPERS, LENOX HILL, PICK OF THE LITTER and WILD WILD COUNTRY, which won the Emmy for Best Documentary Series in 2018. Submarine's principals also represent the comic book libraries Creepy and Eerie, which are being developed across all platforms