Why Forged Reunions Grew to become One Of This Cycle’s Scorching Fundraising Developments – .

When the Wisconsin Democratic Party announced a Happy Days reunion that Sunday to raise funds for the final sprint leading up to election day, one member was noticeably absent: Scott Baio.

Donald Trump’s supporter wrote on Twitter that the show was being used as a “political farmer”.

The result, however, has been more exposure to the event, which in fundraising circles is exactly what is wanted in the final weeks of a presidential campaign, a time when donors are inundated with online appeals.

The past few weeks have seen a flurry of reunion events, casts of old TV shows, and cult hits that have given the political money race a retro feel to the future.

It wasn’t until the coming weekend that the actors from Seinfeld met on Friday for a Texas Democratic Party event, on Saturday for a Wet Hot American Summer for Joe Biden’s campaign and on Sunday for the Happy Days event for the Wisconsin Democrats.

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The idea seemed to take off last month when the Wisconsin Democratic Party hosted a cast reading of The Princess Bride that raised $ 4 million and attracted 100,000 donors. That was more than the party that started in 2016.

State party chairman Ben Wikler said someone on his team was friends with someone who then turned to Cary Elwes.

“Cary was really excited about the idea of ​​bringing the team back together and went a step further and wanted to read a script,” said Wikler. “This friendship became a snowball moment.”

One fan of the film who was not happy was Ted Cruz, who complained that “any Princess Bride fan who wants to see this perfect film gotten out of Hollywood politics can now do it”. However, his attention only served to arouse interest in the event.

Wikler said the fundraising campaigns for the reunification started “as soon as people saw what was possible in the quarantine era. Everyone is at home now, so it’s possible to bring combinations of people together in what would have looked like a fever dream. “

The party has also held reunions of the Veep and Parks and Rec occupations. Next week they are planning a meeting for the cast of Superbad with Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow, Bill Hader, Martha MacIssac, Greg Mottola and Evan Goldberg.

What has undoubtedly helped make things easier is Zoom, as organizers no longer have to juggle travel plans and other arrangements. But there is also a sense of urgency among the participants. Wikler said that in many instances of their events, at least one performer will take the lead in promoting the event.

Most of the reunification events focused on the show itself, with trivia and cast interviews, rather than spending lengthy time on partisan politics. But they undoubtedly have the pull effect, that is, when the stars of your favorite shows want Trump out, don’t they?

Back in 2008, Ron Howard starred in a Funny or Die video where he reunited with Happy Days star Henry Winkler and Andy Griffith, star of the Andy Griffith Show, to support Barack Obama’s campaign, all on theirs old characters went back.

The Trump campaign drew on pop culture figures as well, with the same kind of kickback. On Sunday, the Beach Boys appeared at a Trump fundraiser in Newport Beach. Original member Mike Love, a supporter of the president, holds a license to the name. Other members, Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, issued a statement to Variety clarifying that they had nothing to do with the event.

As with Baio, not all cast members agree with the politics of the rest of the cast, and some cast members may not want to get into the political battle.

Long-time Star Trek fan Pete Buttigieg was among the politicians who attended the Biden campaign reunion and told the . podcast that the event was a dream come true.

“We’re talking about a childhood fantasy about being able to interact with these cast members,” he said. “At some point there was a cast member, a relatively obscure Next Generation character who comes back in the newer series Picard, and I realized I could reach into my closet and find the old action figure I had of that character. So I got geeked myself in a huge way. “

Others too. “We were all absolutely trained by Stacey Abrams,” said Buttigieg. “She’s the next level.”