Even in Hollywood, Webb’s race was uphill

When it came to the U.S. Senate race that would tip the balance of power in Washington in favor of the Democrats, some of Hollywood’s shrewdest political donors backed the wrong horse.

It’s not that they didn’t like Jim Webb of Virginia. After all, the Vietnam War hero who opposed the war in Iraq is practically one of their own, having written six bestselling novels and the screenplay to 2000’s “Rules of Engagement,” the war drama starring Samuel L. Jackson and Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones. But Hollywood’s political donors just didn’t think the Democrat could ever beat Republican Sen. George Allen. So why waste the time and money?

“Jim was the stealth candidate,” said one of Webb’s early Hollywood supporters, Rick Jacobs, a political activist and chairman of Brave New Films, which recently produced “Iraq for Sale: the War Profiteers.” “The traditional political forces out there were asking, ‘Well, does he have a prayer?’ ”

Turns out he did.

On Thursday, Allen conceded the election to Webb, whose victory secured Democrats’ control of the U.S. Senate. Webb received $21,100 in donations from the entertainment industry, according to an analysis of the latest campaign figures by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. By contrast, the industry gave $142,350 to Allen, who seemed to be the all-but-certain winner and headed for a presidential bid in 2008 -- before his Senate campaign imploded after he used the word “macaca,” considered by some to be a racial slur, at a rally.

Webb’s loyalists here in Hollywood, who struggled for months to build a base for their candidate, were celebrating this week that they had spotted a talent that everyone else had missed.

“He’s the most principled man I’ve ever met,” said director William Friedkin, who has been friends with Webb since they worked together on “Rules of Engagement,” which Friedkin directed. “He’s incorruptible. When he called me some months ago and told me he was going to run, I told him I would support him in any way I could.”

Although Friedkin said that he also figured Webb wouldn’t win, he and his wife, former Paramount head Sherry Lansing, went to work on his campaign.

“I knew it was an uphill battle,” Friedkin said. “At the time, Allen seemed to be one of the front-runners for the 2008 presidential. He was very popular in Virginia. He seemed to be very much in tune with people within the Republican Party. They all gave him support.”

As a result, Friedkin and Lansing had trouble getting people to attend Webb’s fundraisers -- a rare occurrence in Hollywood, where people usually line up behind their friends’ political efforts.

The reaction surprised them. On paper, Webb had all the makings of a Hollywood hero: His bestsellers include “Fields of Fire” (1978), “A Sense of Honor” (1981), “A Country Such as This” (1983), “Something to Die For” (1991), “The Emperor’s General” (1999) and “Lost Soldiers” (2001). “The Emperor’s General” was purchased by Lansing’s former studio, Paramount Pictures, and marked the largest book-to-film deal. His latest book, “Born Fighting,” which is his first commercial nonfiction effort, was published in 2004 by Broadway Books.

For Friedkin, it quickly became clear that a candidate needs to have two things to make it in Hollywood: An issue that everyone embraces (Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill raised about $66,000 from the entertainment industry for her victorious Senate campaign amid her strong backing of stem-cell research) and tremendous charisma (Democratic U.S. Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr. of Tennessee) brought in nearly $200,000 in industry money for his unsuccessful Senate bid).

For some reason, Webb didn’t register with the political heavyweights.

“It was hard to get people to pay attention,” Lansing said. “We would tell them, ‘You don’t understand. This guy is so smart. He’s a maverick.’”

Hollywood political consultant Andy Spahn said entertainment industry politicos are often forced to hedge their bets because so many candidates are coming to town looking for money.

“In an era of contribution limits, people have to determine strategically where to best make their contributions,” Spahn said. Races that come into play late in the game, like Webb’s, can easily be missed.

Jacobs, who was the California chairman of Howard Dean’s 2004 Democratic presidential campaign, said that he met candidate Webb for lunch at the Polo Lounge in May.

“I spent a couple of hours with him and I just fell in love with him,” Jacobs said. “He has enormous credibility. I thought, ‘Maybe he won’t win, but this is the kind of guy we need in the Senate.’ ”

Soon others were on board. Producer Len Hill held a fundraiser. Political blogger Arianna Huffington and producer Lawrence Bender joined up. Actor and director Rob Reiner was particularly enthusiastic. (Reiner had been developing a movie with Webb called “Whiskey River,” which centers on an Iraq war veteran from Virginia, until the project was sidelined when Webb entered the Senate campaign.)

But still, they questioned whether Webb could get the support he needed.

“Harold Ford was raising carloads of money here, and Webb never really got on anyone’s radar screen,” Jacobs said.

To be sure, Jacobs said, that’s changed now.

“He’s a rock star.”

The column explores the intersection of celebrity and politics. Tips and comments can be e-mailed to tina.daunt

@latimes.com.