Jimmy Carter Makes Us Feel Like LosersJimmy Carter has a new title on his Nobel- and Grammy-studded résumé: movie star. But the other night at a screening of The Man From the Plains, Jonathan Demme’s new documentary about the former president, Carter was still adjusting to being a leading man. “I’m waiting to see whether I’m going to be a villain or a hero,” he joked. Making the movie, he said, made him empathize with the plight of reality-TV stars. “Demme intruded in my life sixteen hours a day, week after week,” Carter said. “When I got up in the morning, he was there with two or three cameras; when I walked down the corridors, he was there in front and back with two or three cameras. He would excuse me on occasion — always when I went to the restroom.” The movie followed Carter on the book tour for his controversial Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, the 25th book he’s written during his activist post-presidency. Right! That doesn’t make us feel lazy or anything! So, does he have any advice about what the current president might do once he leaves the White House? “I’d be a poor adviser for someone who wants to ‘replenish the coffers,’” he said. Snap!—Janelle Nanos
