THE BUZZ: FREEZE FRAME — Just a month ago, some of Hollywood’s biggest stars were gathered in downtown Los Angeles, shelling out more than $30 million for President Joe Biden as they munched on popcorn and listened to Julia Roberts, Jimmy Kimmel and George Clooney croon his praises. Fast forward to this week, and Tinseltown is singing a much different tune. Clooney’s New York Times op-ed on Wednesday was the starkest example yet of the rapid about-face within the film industry as bold-faced names join the chorus of calls for Biden to step aside after the first presidential debate, including filmmaker Rob Reiner, animation heir Abigail Disney and Netflix head Reed Hastings. “The Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020,” Clooney wrote. “He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.” That’s far more blunt than any of the cautious statements coming from Democrats in Washington, still dancing around the subject of the president’s political viability. And while Biden loyalists may be tempted to tell actors to stay in their lane, it’s hard to ignore an industry that the Democratic Party has become so reliant on for money and publicity. Liberal Hollywood’s growing discontent also threatens a drop-off in top-dollar donations to key, down-ballot races. Keeping Donald Trump out of office has long been the top priority for much of Los Angeles’ politically-engaged entertainment world, but now they’re seeing a future where Biden could drag down other critical Democratic candidates, putting Republicans in control of the White House, House and Senate. “Even if Trump does win, you still need the backstop of having the House or the Senate,” said Michael Trujillo, an LA-based Democratic consultant who previously worked with Reiner and attended the Clooney fundraiser last month. “And if Biden is killing all three institutions, I get why these donors want to remove Biden.” It’s particularly notable to see an industry that’s built on artifice and storytelling calling foul on the narrative that the Biden campaign is trying to sell. Some have turned their ire toward movie mogul and campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg, who has long defended Biden’s age as an asset. The Biden campaign on Wednesday sought to downplay Clooney’s op-ed, and argued to CNN that the president stayed at the fundraiser three hours longer than the actor, demonstrating that the 81-year-old Biden has more stamina than the 63-year-old “Ocean’s Eleven” star. But the celebrity sway for voters can’t be discounted: Clooney is an iconic figure, and his op-ed may have a better chance of influencing the average American than voices on Capitol Hill. “It will get into the pop culture. TMZ will talk about it. TikTok influencers will talk about it,” said Brian Goldsmith, an LA-based Democratic consultant who has worked extensively in the media industry. “It’ll cut through to the voters in ways that other inside-DC machinations don’t.” GOOD MORNING. Happy Thursday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? In the Bay Area talking about public safety.
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