Shonda Rhimes on Producing 'Hillary' Convention Film: 'It Could Have Been Three Hours'

Entertainment Tonight
Updated

Before Hillary Clinton made history at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night as the first woman to ever accept a major party's nomination for president, viewers got to know a little more about the former Secretary of State with the moving, biographical short film, Hillary.

The in-depth look at the candidate's life, which was narrated by Morgan Freeman and created by Shonda Rhimes, gave an intimate look inside the Democratic nominee's life and legacy.

While making the documentary, Rhimes sat down with Clinton for hours, drinking coffee together at the presidential hopeful's kitchen table, and the Scandal creator recently opened up about the fascinating sit-down.

WATCH: Hillary Clinton Makes History With Presidential Nomination, Celebs Cheer Her Speech

"I wanted everyone who sees it to feel like they were sitting with a friend, drinking coffee, so that had to be authentic," Rhimes explained in an interview with People.

According to Rhimes' producing partner, Betsy Beers, the toughest part of putting the film together was humanizing a public figure who's been in the harsh media spotlight since her husband, Bill Clinton, became president in 1992, and figuring out which of the many elements of her illustrious political career needed to be included.

"There were so many stories that one of the massive challenges for us initially was, honestly, sifting," Beers said.

"It was a mini-series when we first started. It could have been three hours," Rhimes added.

WATCH: 'Scandal' Star Tony Goldwyn Calls Hillary Clinton 'Ultimate Gladiator' After Directing Her Star-Studded PSA

As the creator, producer, and writer of some of the most popular shows on TV, Rhimes said working on a project as fascinating and intrinsically dramatic as this biopic was "invigorating."

"As a writer who builds characters for a living, it was exciting to take an actual human being and pieces of who she is and see how it builds a person and her character, why she is who she is," Rhimes shared. "And the best part? I didn't have to add a plot twist!"

The touching biopic turned out to be the perfect introduction to Clinton's bold, groundbreaking speech in which she outlined her campaign goals, slammed the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, and accepted the Democratic nomination to the thunderous applause of the DNC audience.

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The historic speech was meet with great acclaim, even from cast members of Rhimes' hit political drama, Scandal. Stars Kerry Washington, Scott Foley, Katie Lowes and Tony Goldwyn chimed in on Twitter with messages of support and adoration.

Goldwyn, who stars as President Fitzgerald Grant on the popular ABC drama, spoke with ET's Nischelle Turner at the DNC on Tuesday, where he opened up about campaigning for Clinton during the primary elections. Check out the video below to hear more.

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