No ‘Rectal Cancer’ Questions, Please: Reporter Booted From Sean Penn Event
by John Nolte
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Could Sean Penn look anymore smug and sanctimonius as he allows some offscreen water carrier to fight his battle for him? At about the 20 second mark you can see the the rage build in Penn’s eyes. They scream: “How dare you hold me accountable for my words. Don’t you know I’m an actuh!”
You have to wonder what kind of cancer he was wishing on this polite young woman. Or how he managed to restrain himself from this choice opportunity to delight once again in his infamous fetish with the human bum.
A Yeas & Nays reporter was publicly berated and threatened to be escorted out by police on Thursday night when the reporter asked actor Sean Penn a controversial question about his humanitarian work in Haiti.
Penn, who recently has been criticized for his motivations in helping to rebuilding Haiti, recently told CBS News he hopes his critics “die screaming of rectal cancer.” (more…)
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REVIEW: ‘The Crazies’ Disappoints With Cheap Scares
by John P. HanlonThere is a scene in the movie “The Crazies” where a couple of men investigate to see if there was a plane crash in the area. Instead of going for easy thrills (i.e. people popping out of dark places to frighten the characters), the scene builds up drama and then ends with a creepy camera shot. Unfortunately, unlike this particular scene, the movie often relies on quick and easy scares rather than building up tension and intelligent thrills.
“The Crazies” revolves around a small community where a virus takes over the population. One of the first scenes in the movie shows a tranquil baseball game with the sheriff (Timothy Olyphant) in attendance. Out in the distance, a man walks onto the baseball field carrying a gun. A confrontation ensues between the sheriff and this seemingly drunk man and soon thereafter other people in town start acting strange. As more people begin acting out of character, the sheriff investigates what caused this change in behavior and why people are acting like zombies.
For its scares, the movie often relies on “the crazies” popping out of places and scaring people. Wherever the characters go, there always seems to be someone hiding in a bedroom, in a kitchen and even (in a creative sequence) in a car wash. Unfortunately, this is part of the film’s problem. Instead of relying on interesting and original sequences, the plot just moves the characters from one setting to another where zombies appear from nowhere. (One wonders how long crazies stand in one place silently waiting for the lead characters to show up so that they can jump out and surprise them. Do crazies pay board games while they wait for potential victims?) (more…)
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Tom Hanks: War on Terror, War in Pacific Driven By ‘Racism and Terror’
by John NolteYou can watch these very troubling 25 seconds below and understand why Tom Hanks would never have the backbone to leave the comfortable echo chamber of MSNBC and enter an environment where he might be challenged. After the actor is done defaming the war against Imperial Japan as a war of “racism and terror,” he doubles with his anti-American slander and says the same of today’s War on Terror. And no one at Morning Joe challenges him. Not Tom — Greatest Generation — Brokaw, not Scarborough, and Mika Brezezinski can’t wait to agree with him.
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Hanks made similarly outrageous statements in another interview, which I touched on earlier this week – comments that caught me completely off guard. As you might have read in Michael Broderick’s article from yesterday morning, “The Pacific” was a project Big Hollywood was eager to champion and cover. Obviously, we’ll have to see what Mr. Racism and Terror has in store for us on HBO over the coming weeks. But at this point you have to wonder if the Oscar-winner’s obvious issues regarding the War on Terror might not have colored what we’re about to see in his miniseries. Given the opportunity, Hanks has certainly been eager to tie together both wars into a damning but thoroughly indefensible political statement that portrays our country and military in the worst possible light.
We all assumed ”The Pacific” would be another “Band of Brothers,” and maybe it will be. But much has changed since “Brothers,” a miniseries produced prior to 9/11 (the HBO premiere was Sept. 9th, 2001). The very real Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS) that has taken over so much of Hollywood and turned otherwise impressive filmmakers into ham-handed propagandists hadn’t quite taken hold yet. However, today Hanks is showing all the symptoms. Will this affect “The Pacific?” (more…)
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Daily Gut: Slime Is Almost Always Green
by Greg GutfeldMany moons ago I wrote about how phony environmentalists use their so-called ethical beliefs to justify arrogant and asinine behavior. Examples abound: a socialite rails against plastic bags, as she boards her private jet to eat bat testicles with a shaman. An angry, goateed celebrity rails against neocon chickenhawks, days before being arrested for domestic abuse. A scabby rock star condemns us for not giving enough to the poor, as he passes chlamydia around like a snack tray.
Well, now research has backed up what we already knew: environmentalism is just a shield for jackasses to act more jackassy.
In a University of Toronto study, students were asked either to buy eco-friendly products or their conventional counterparts. For the green buyers, their good behavior (gauged by a number of tests) dramatically dropped. They cheated on games, lied to the researchers in order to win cash, and in an honor system designed to pay everyone – the greenies stole six times more than the eco-less consumers.
Also, they skinned and ate thirteen cats. (more…)
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REVIEW: Not Much Dreamy In ‘Wonderland’
by Darin Miller“Alice in Wonderland” director is Tim Burton a recognized genius of signature atmospheric animation and cinematic story and style. The story’s screenwriter, Linda Woolverton, who has penned Disney classics like “The Lion King,” is also a masterful story-teller. But their styles hardly mix, and the surreal atmosphere of “Alice in Wonderland” can’t hide this fact.
“Alice in Wonderland” borrows elements of both of author Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, telling the story of a grown Alice who is set to marry the oafish son of her deceased father’s business partner. But as her trophy wife future pans out before her, she gets cold feet and flees her engagement party, inadvertently chasing a rabbit in a waistcoat and falling down a hole into a strange world. Once there, she learns that it is her destiny to rescue “Wonderland” from a swollen-headed Red Queen, obsessed with beheading others. As a rebellion brews in preparation for the foretold day of victory, Alice must reconcile that to save Wonderland she must battle the terrifying dragon-like Jabberwocky. Despite the dreamy atmosphere of Wonderland, Alice slowly realizes that if she accepts the task of slaying the Jabberwocky, it might kill her. (more…)
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REVIEW: ‘Brooklyn’s Finest’ Is a Fine Film
by John P. HanlonOn paper, aspects of “Brooklyn’s Finest” may sound like parts of a familiar cop film. The film focuses on the lives of three cops, one of whom is only a few days from his retirement. We have seen generic characters like him in films before who are trying to manage their last few days in a police uniform. However, this film builds a strong character out of the retiring police officer and the two other film leads as it injects them into an exciting and gritty movie that is well worth the price of admission.
The three main characters in the film are all New York cops, each of them facing difficult circumstances in their lives. Richard Gere plays the aforementioned retiring cop, Eddie Dugan. Ethan Hawke plays Sal Procida, a young cop trying to buy his family a new house because the materials from the walls of his current apartment are making his pregnant wife sick. Don Cheadle plays undercover cop Clarence Butler, who is trying to get promoted so he can complete his undercover duties. Each of these three characters is trying to break free of something, whether that something is the police force, a tough financial situation, or undercover work. The movie chronicles a few days in their lives as they work to escape from their own respective circumstances. (more…)
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Does Michael Moore Hate Working People?
by Phelim McAleerAnd does the self-proclaimed defender of the working and middle classes actually know anything about them and how they live?
My questions were prompted after a “letter from Michael Moore” popped into my inbox. It was promoting the DVD launch of his documentary Capitalism – A Love Story.
Mr. Moore acknowledges that some may not have watched it in the movie theater because they were working too hard but then blames poor ticket sales on the behaviour of the very workers he pretends to defend in his documentaries.
He seems to detest working people and how he thinks they behave in the movie theater.
But for those of you who didn’t get to the theater, what’s your excuse? Didn’t want to sit through 20 minutes of TV ads up on the screen before the movie started? Don’t like sitting next to people who have 6 important cell calls to make during the film? Feet get stuck to the floor after two hours of people spilling their 164 oz. sodas, thus preventing you from getting up when the film’s over?
So in Mooreland the workers of the world are boorish, inconsiderate slobs who eat and drink to excess and mess up their theaters.
It is clear Michael Moore despises his audience, but perhaps even more tellingly, he does not even seem to know how they live or even what the inside of a movie theater looks like these days. (more…)
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HBO’s ‘The Pacific’: An Interview with Jon Seda
by Michael BroderickUPDATE: “The Congressional Medal of Honor” is now listed as the ”Medal of Honor” and the “Gladiator” film mentioned is no longer listed as the version directed by Ridley Scott. Thanks to our ever helpful fact-checking commenters.
Ed. Note: Starting Sunday, March 14th, HBO begins its 10-part miniseries “The Pacific,” which follows the United States Marine Corps through WWII in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. This $100 million production re-teams a number of those (including Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg) involved in HBO’s unforgettable 2001 miniseries, “Band of Brothers,” which many, including myself, consider to be one of the finest productions about WWII made for television or any other medium.
I’ve asked Michael Broderick, an actor, former Marine, and top-notch writer to be Big Hollywood’s point man on this project. He’ll be snagging whatever interviews he can, reviewing many if not all of the episodes, and keeping the Big Hollywood community up to date and informed on what is sure to be a seminal moment in television, a terrific piece of entertainment, and a worthy tribute to our Veterans. — JN
The Pacific: An Interview with Jon Seda
What a long, strange trip it’s been.
I entered the Marine Corps in nineteen eighty *cough* at the tender age of seventeen, secure in the knowledge that upon completion of my four year hitch, I would move to Hollywood and become a popular and sought after actor.
Instead, I fell in lust and, upon leaving the Corps, followed my John Thomas to New York City. That was okay. They have actors in New York, right?
No contacts, no formal training and no idea what I was doing, I ended up in a fantastic little rock and roll band instead. We made a good run of it through the 90s. In fact, I met my wife while I was playing CBGB in 1998. (more…)
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Television and Gun Accuracy Don’t Mix
by John LottHas “Burn Notice” gotten new writers? They used to have some very insightful comments about guns and crime (e.g., see the episode in season 2 entitled “Lesser Evil”). Yet, now one needs a scorecard to keep tracks of all the errors in some of the shows. Take some of the errors in the most recent show, “Partners in Crime,” posted on Hulu.
At 10:10 into the episode, Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) explains to Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan) that an individual who they are checking up on in Florida, “Owns a gun, but it is registered.” The only problem is that Florida, where the show is said to be occurring, and the vast majority of the rest of the US, doesn’t have gun registration. Indeed, only four states require the registration of handguns and one state requires the registration of all long guns (several other states require the registration of so-called “assault weapons.”
At 16:20 Sam Axe says: “The cops are probably matching ballistics right now even without your gun.” Ugh? Now I concede there’s possibility that this comment might have been geared solely to freak out Tim (the suspected thief”, but given the previous conversation about guns being registered between Weston and Axe, I am not so sure. And there are never any knowing winks between the main characters to indicate that they are in on some joke they’re playing on the bad guy. (more…)
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Daily Gut: Rules to Avoid Failure
by Greg GutfeldSo this week, in Texas, the State Board of Education will be making important decisions about your child’s curriculum.
I say “your child,” because I have no kids – unless you count my ferrets “Captain Sparkles” and “Dangerzone.”
They’re children to me, but alas they don’t read books.
Yet.
Anyway, this 15 member board will be deciding what’s in and what’s out, and then publishers will follow – since Texas, after all, is one of the largest textbook buyers in the world.
Now, I keep hearing rumors about scary changes being made to the books. But, I think, we’re missing the point. It’s not about what’s being replaced in textbooks, but what’s being excluded entirely, from the process. (more…)
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Sean Penn: Journalists who Call Chavez a Dictator Deserve to Go to Prison
by Pam MeisterWhat is it with Sean Penn? When he’s not busy wishing rectal cancer on his critics (and looking constipated while doing it), he’s slamming Americans who dare to say mean and nasty things about his pal Hugo Chavez. I kid you not!
In a recent appearance on Bill Maher’s HBO show, Penn showered praise on Venezuela for assisting him in assisting the quake victims in Haiti. He also claimed to have a little sympathy for those who hold America-as-an-evil-empire-looking-to-conquer-the-world views. Then he turns around and says journalists here who call Chavez a dictator (shudder) should do a stint in the hoosegow:
The collaborative opportunity in Haiti, when you talk about Hugo Chavez, and some of the other people who are demonized [think Castro], and you know, when some of these countries accuse us of an occupation – where I believe this was strictly a humanitarian action by the United States military, and an incredible one – I’m a little sympathetic. Because every day, this elected leader is called a dictator here, and we just accept it! And accept it. And this is mainstream media, who should – truly, there should be a bar by which one goes to prison for these kinds of lies.
Okay, so he’s not officially a dictator. Neither was Saddam Hussein, you may recall – he won 100 percent of the vote back in the day. How about we call Hugo “dictator in waiting” instead? Would that make Sean feel better?
Let’s take a look at some of the things Venezuela’s duly elected leader has done lately: (more…)
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Soderbergh’s ‘Che’ and Historical Accuracy, Part II
by Humberto FontovaPart I of this series can be found here.
Steven Soderbergh made certain his new movie, “Che,” about the life of revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, couldn’t be attacked — at least on a factual level. (CNN Entertainment, January 1, 2009)
“I didn’t mind someone saying, ‘Well, your take on him, I don’t really like,’ or ‘You’ve left these things out and included these things.’ That’s fine,” Soderbergh said. “What I didn’t want was for somebody to be able to look at a scene and say, ‘That never happened.’ “(CNN Entertainment, January 1, 2009)
Well, Mr Soderbergh (and CNN), pull up a chair.
Soderbergh’s movie shows Che Guevara steely-eyed and snarling with defiance during his capture. Why, only seconds before, Che’s very M-2 carbine had been blasted from his hands and rendered useless by a fascist machine gun burst!
Then the bravely grimacing Guevara jerks out his pistol and blasts his very last bullets at the approaching hordes of CIA-lackey soldiers!
The (typical) viewer gapes at the spectacle. His eyes mist and lips tremble at Soderbergh and del Toro’s impeccable depiction of such undaunted pluck and valor.
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R.I.P. Corey Haim: 1971-2010
by Big Hollywood
Actor Corey Haim, 38, was found dead early Wednesday (March 10), the Los Angeles County Coroner and the LAPD confirmed to MTV News. While neither would comment or speculate on the cause of death, a police source reportedly told KTLA that the actor, who rose to fame in the 1980s alongside longtime pal Corey Feldman, died of an apparent accidental drug overdose. The coroner’s office told MTV News that an autopsy is planned. …
Haim was born in Ontario in 1971 and as a teenager found fame in Hollywood. His first role was in 1984’s “Firstborn” with Sarah Jessica Parker and Robert Downey Jr. He was one of the best-known young actors of the decade, alongside other notable actors like C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe, Judd Nelson and Emilio Estevez. He starred in films like “Silver Bullet,” Lucas” and most famously 1987’s “The Lost Boys,” with Feldman as well as Kiefer Sutherland.
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NBC’s ‘Community’ an Exemplary Sitcom
by S.T. KarnickIn addition to its well-publicized, disastrous experiment with moving Jay Leno to primetime, NBC has done some good things this year. Perhaps the best of these is the new sitcom Community.
The concept is simple but rich in characters and potential comical situations. Suspended lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) has been sent back to college because his academic degree was discovered to be phony. Now he’s stuck at the local community college—which he describes as a “school-shaped toilet.”
The show includes at least a few genuinely amusing moments per episode, but it also takes its characters seriously to some degree, which makes it more than just a string of gags. In the first episode, Winger ends up leading a Spanish-language study group even though he has little grasp of the language. The various members of the group are comically beset by a multitude of emotional, social, and functional problems.
Winger, however, very quickly (and somewhat implausibly) turns the group into what he describes as a “community.” The tables are soon turned on him, however, as he is revealed to all as a shallow, selfish, conceited moral relativist. This is not characterized as a good thing. (more…)
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‘Soraya M.’: Shaping Hollywood with Our Wallets
by Seth MitchellLast week, I finally saw “The Stoning of Soraya M.” at a special screening. The film tells the haunting and disturbing tale of an innocent Iranian woman murdered in cold blood in a tyrannical society. It has been reviewed numerous times here at Big Hollywood, and I will spare you another, other than to say it is a deeply moving and effective drama.
While the story itself is quite unnerving and will sit with you for days, what is most upsetting about the film is that it did not hit the mainstream in the way that it deserved. This is unfortunate because the story of Soraya should be heard all over the world.
So often we hear of the injustices that occur in our world today, shake our heads and move on to our daily tasks not wholly understanding what we have just talked about. This film doesn’t allow us to do that. Instead, the film places a vivd and graphic picture of the suffering and torture that is occurring in our world at this very moment. This film is not about promoting political ideologies, or pushing religious dogma, but rather is about bringing awareness to a topic that is almost altogether ignored by our society, and does so with the highest of artistic integrity. (more…)
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