Former Vice President Joe Biden’s speech accepting the Democratic party’s nomination for president was met with wide praise from across the entertainment industry.
“Nothing ‘sleepy’ about that speech,” said writer-producer Damon Lindelof (“Watchmen”) to Variety. Lindelof was a vocal supporter for Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the primary election, but he said that Biden’s speech left him convinced that Biden is “the only and best candidate for this moment.”
“I felt passion and authenticity and a desire to heal,” he continued. Lindelof praised Biden’s evocation of the daughter of George Floyd, whose death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers helped to spark nationwide protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the segment preceding Biden’s speech with 13-year-old Brayden Harrington, who said he struggled with a stutter until Biden shared his methods for overcoming his own stutter.
“When Joe reminded us in his speech of his own struggle [with stuttering], I felt it in my chest,” said Lindelof. “Julia Louis-Dreyfus said she’s all in. I am too.”
For Franklin Leonard, founder of The Black List, Biden’s speech was “a perfect capstone” the overall production of the four-day convention, held virtually across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted by speeches from Biden’s wife Jill, Barack and Michelle Obama, and vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
“I have to admit it’s entirely unexpected for me because I definitely underestimated him as an orator,” said Franklin, also a vocal support for Sen. Warren in the primary. “It was an excellent speech, incredibly well delivered.”
Franklin felt the entire DNC was an impressive feat. “My compliments to everyone involved in planning the convention’s production from every editorial assistant to Biden himself,” he said. “Could easily have been a disaster, and they created an entirely new paradigm for what conventions will look like from here on out.”
Maikiko James, director of programs at Women in Film, the nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting female filmmakers, appreciated the production values, and thought Biden’s speech was “compelling and heartfelt.” But her takeaway from the whole convention went far beyond speeches.
“We are at so much more than an election,” she said. “We have to be doing so much more than voting at this moment. For me, it’s really about how do we take an opportunity to transform our entire system. Because the polls are truly just the beginning of the work of a long political process that we all have to be engaged in now.”
Many other industry figures took to Twitter to react to Biden’s speech. Here are some highlights:
Actor Octavia Spencer: “This speech and leadership is what America needs right now.”
Singer and actor Bette Midler, over multiple tweets: “FANTASTIC SPEECH BY BIDEN!! I BELIEVE WE WILL SURVIVE THIS ERA!! I BELIEVE WE WILL! F— YOU, TRUMP! You’ll never get close to that speech, you miserable toad!”
(Excerpt) Read more in: Variety