Letterman casts vote for political youngsters

By Gregg Goldstein

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - David Letterman is hitting the campaign trail, backing a documentary on college-age candidates running for office.

His Worldwide Pants production company, making its first foray into a noncomedic venture, will partner with producer Lawrence Bender ("An Inconvenient Truth") and Balance Vector Prods. ("Dying for Everest") on the untitled film.

First-time director Jason Pollock, a former assistant to Michael Moore, has been filming five young candidates running in this fall's elections for the past few months.

"I'm very impressed with Jason Pollock and all the young people in this film," said Letterman, who runs Worldwide Pants with president and CEO Rob Burnett. "When I was their age I was still delivering papers on a paper route, and I wasn't even very good at that."

The film follows two mayoral candidates (Raul De Jesus, 20, of Hartford, Conn., and Eric Smith, 18, of Hobart, Ind.), two city council candidates (18-year-olds Ytit Chauhan of Atlantic City and George Monger of Memphis) and one school board candidate (Tiffany Tupper of Hampton Township, Pa.).

All are up for election November 6 except for Monger, who beat several contenders and came in fourth place October 4.

Aside from "The Late Show With David Letterman," Worldwide Pants has produced the "Strangers With Candy" feature, "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Ed."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter