Entertainment

Ebert Interviews Clinton

By Dan Collins

February 3, 2000 / 12:48 PM EST / CBS

President Clinton, in an interview with Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert published Thursday, said he had not thought about a top-level movie industry job after he leaves the White House but might enjoy it.

"I don't know," the president said when Ebert asked about speculation he might be in line to succeed Jack Valenti, 78, as head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Valenti has headed the organization since 1966.

"I'd enjoy doing anything that allowed me to see every new movie that came along," said the 53-year-old chief executive. "But I've never given it any thought."

Mr. Clinton admitted to a ravenous appetite for movies, saying he saw nearly ever movie that came out when he was a child and that admission to the neighborhood theater was 10 cents.

He also said a movie that had affected him deeply was The Harmonists, a 1999 film about three Jews and three Catholics who form a jazz group in pre-Nazi Germany.

"He loves movies," said CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller. "There's no doubt about that."

However, Knoller points out that the president has said he has had no talks and made no commitments about any jobs after he leaves the White House.

The interview, recorded three weeks ago, will be shown on Ebert's syndicated TV show this weekend.