Kal Penn to host livestream coverage of Obama's address
Click to viewActor Kal Penn will have a starring role at the Democratic convention hosting the convention's official livestream prime-time coverage on Thursday leading up to President Obama's acceptance speech.
The Obama campaign announced the livestream coverage plan today in a video featuring Obama, Penn, and his Harold & Kumar co-star John Cho. It is the first time the Democratic convention has involved livestream coverage.
In the video, Obama appears to be having a serious phone conversation about his campaign. "Just remember that I'm trusting you on this and I'll see you there," Obama says in the video, which cuts to Penn and Cho sitting on a sofa, watching television, surrounded by soda and snacks in an homage to the marijuana-smoking characters they play in their movie franchise.
Penn will host a Hollywood-heavy line-up of livestream show guests including singer Marc Anthony, and actors Elizabeth Banks, Aisha Tyler, Olivia Wilde, Fran Drescher, Zach Braff and Alexis Bledel, as well as Obama campaign officials.
Penn served in the Obama administration for about two years, and Penn is a reported favorite of Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia.
As USA TODAY reported Sunday livestream coverage of the conventions has become more popular as broadcast and cable networks have scaled back prime-time coverage, but online shows can cover gavel-to-gavel action on the convention floor.
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