‘Southside With You’ producer John Legend, Obama discussed film

While in town to promote “Southside With You,” John Legend revealed Thursday that he had recently chatted about the movie with one of the two principal characters portrayed in the movie: President Barack Obama.

Legend, who serves as an executive producer on the Chicago-made film that focuses on the day the future president and first lady went on their first date, said, “I talked to the president about it. We did a fundraiser together in Los Angeles a couple of months ago, and I asked if he was aware of the film. He said he had heard about it.

“I told him I was part of the team and hopefully he would get a chance to check it out soon. Since he’s on vacation now, this would be a good time to watch it,” quipped Legend with a big wink.

Turning a bit more serious, the music mogul said he understood it must be difficult to watch someone else portray themselves on-screen.

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“I’m sure the Obamas will be fact-checking the whole thing when they do watch it. I understand that impulse. But Richard [Tanne, the film’s director and screenwriter] based it, of course, on the publicly available information that has been out there about their first date. They’ve talked about it, including the movie they went to see and other details of their first date. But obviously, Richard had to fill in some blanks and imagine what the dialogue might have been between Michelle and Barack on that first date — and what their interaction might have been like.

“So, hopefully the Obamas will think it feels honest to what went on between them, even if it’s not a word-for-word transcription.”

Legend also noted that he met up with another big music star while in town — revealing that on Wednesday, “I got into the studio with Chance the Rapper, so I wanted to get the most out of my trip to Chicago.” The two musicians both are scheduled to perform at Chance’s Magnificent Coloring Day festival, Sept. 24 at U.S. Cellular Field.