Revisit the Rudy Giuliani performance that earned James Woods an Emmy nomination
It might be hard for many of us to remember, but there was a time when Rudy Giuliani wasn’t America’s Hobgoblin, but rather America’s Mayor. Long before the man ranted about voter fraud conspiracies behind a podium while hair dye dribbled down his cheeks like petrol tears, there was even a USA Network-produced TV biopic starring conservative cheerleader, James Woods. Even by 2003's basic cable television standards, the redundantly titled Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story is hokey, hagiographic, and ridiculous, but, perhaps due to the nation’s renewed patriotic fervor in the aftermath of 9/11, it somehow earned Woods an Emmy nomination.
A lot (and we mean a lot) has happened since then, including countless instances of Giuliani finding new, ingenious ways to squander America’s good faith, so it’s not too surprising most of us forgot about the existence of Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story. But, as we all should certainly know by now, the internet never forgets.