Documentary on Bill Clinton draws large crowd at premiere

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- More than a thousand people turned out Tuesday night for the world premiere of "The Hunting of the President," a film claiming to expose "the 10-year campaign to destroy Bill Clinton."
The 90-minute documentary re-creates interviews conducted for the best-selling book of the same name by Joe Conason and Gene Lyons. Rough versions have already played at four film festivals.
The first public showing, at $50 a ticket -- with the proceeds going to a couple of Arkansas-based charities -- drew a large crowd to a ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, a short walk from where Clinton celebrated his two presidential election victories. It is also next door to the Peabody Hotel, formerly the Excelsior, where Clinton accuser Paula Jones said he harassed her when he was governor.
Attendees included Susan McDougal, who went to jail rather than cooperate with Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr; retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination this year; and former Arkansas Sen. David Pryor.
The film purports to uncover a right-wing manipulation of the media, which the film's producer, Harry Thomason, says began with President Nixon's call to counter liberal messages in the 1970s.
Oscar-nominated actor Morgan Freeman is the film's narrator.