John Nolte is Editor-In-Chief of Big Hollywood.
John Nolte
Presenting: The Best of ‘The Stage Right Show’
by John NolteThose of you who have been with Big Hollywood from the beginning know that Stage — Larry O’Connor — Right has been with us from the beginning, as well. He started out as our “theatre guy” and has since branched out as an invaluable go-to guy at all three of the BIGS, writing on everything from The Madness of Howard Zinn to exposing how nepotism can help you to become The Most Dishonest Character Assassin IN THE WORLD!
Larry also does a nightly talk show on Blog Talk Radio, and while it’s on past my bedtime (9pm PST), after listening to the podcasts over the past few weeks I realized that “The Stage Right Show” is very much a part of the BIGS — so much so that we’re leaning on him to change the title to “The Big Stage Big Right Big Show.” Over the weekend I also leaned on him to do even more work and put together a weekly “Best of” show to post here at Big Hollywood for the benefit of our readers.
He’s agreed to take that on, and I thank him for that. (more…)
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Top 20: Unearthing My Own Uncool
by John NolteFilm blogger and sometimes Turner Classic Movies’ programmer,The Self-Styled Siren, came up with a terrific idea for a movie list: That which we love in filmdom that puts our cool credentials into question (And yes, I do have Cool Credentials. My mother keeps them with my badminton trophies). Siren describes the criteria for the list this way:
“As always, it’s best to define terms. By uncool, the Siren doesn’t mean “slightly offbeat” or “quirky” or “underrated.” She means “courting hoots of derision from critical colleagues.” Picking a lesser work of a widely admired auteur doesn’t cut it, because after all, even late Hawks is still Hawks. And picking a film that was once lambasted, but is no longer, is also not exactly what the Siren had in mind.”
I would also add that there are certain uncool films that are now cool to like. The work of Ed Wood, for instance. Those choices shouldn’t count, either. We have to go for what’s embarrassing to admit to, and lucky for you there’s plenty to clean out of my uncool closet.
1. Fox Musicals: Everyone loves those big lavish MGM musicals of the forties and fifties, and those triumphs do represent for me the highest level of artistic achievement we will ever see on film. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the hell out of the musicals Darryl Zanuck’s 20th Century-Fox produced to help Americans through a Great Depression. The name of the game was “simple”; simple stories, simple tunes… And not one true classic film emerged from the bunch. These films weren’t about that. They were about innocent, joyful escapism and to help you along were such stars as Sonja Henie, Carmen Miranda, Betty Grable, John Payne, Edward Everett Horton, Billy Gilbert, Charlotte Greenwood, Alice Faye, Don Ameche, and Cesar Romero. (more…)
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Avengers Movie: Captain America Ashamed to Wear the American Flag? Not Exactly…
by John Nolte
A lesson in why it’s important to read the whole story; because after reading the first two paragraphs my blood was at full boil:
But director Joe Johnston and the team at Marvel Studios have a plan for “The First Avenger: Captain America,” which is due in Summer 2011: They’ve added a new wrinkle to the classic mythology to explain why a scientifically enhanced super-soldier would venture out in the WWII battlefields in a costume that leans a bit heavy on the old Betsy Ross imagery.
“The costume is a flag, but the way we’re getting around that is we have Steve Rogers forced into the USO circuit. After he’s made into this super-soldier, they decide they can’t send him into combat and risk him getting killed. He’s the only one and they can’t make more. So they say, ‘You’re going to be in this USO show’ and they give him a flag suit. He can’t wait to get out of it.”
Captain America “can’t wait to get out of” wearing the American flag? Captain America’s too cool for the American flag?
Because we all know how stripping Superman of his Americanism (and masculinity) worked out for that franchise, right? Before you explode like I did, read on… (more…)
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Top 5: Once Great Directors Who Lost Their Mojo
by John NolteJudging from the reaction a couple weeks back to my Happy Birthday open thread, there aren’t many Big Hollywood readers out there who share my hero worship of Muhammad Ali. When Breitbart starts Big Boxing, I’ll explain all of that but know that one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life occurred on October 2nd, 1980, as I watched my 38 year-old idol and shadow of his former self come out of a two-year retirement and take a terrible and humiliating beating at the hands of Heavyweight Champ Larry Holmes.
At that point Ali was beyond past his prime and had absolutely no business being in the ring with any heavyweight much less the Champion of the World. It was hubris and the lure of a quick payday and believing in his own press that caused The Greatest to embarrass himself in front of millions – which brings me to what it feels like to watch the latest theatrical releases* from these five (in order of my personal disappointment). (more…)
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MSNBC Echo Chamber: When Leftists ‘Debate’ Movies
by John Nolte
Here’s MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Vanity Fair’s Michael Wolff, and WaPo critic Paul Farhi discussing “The Blind Side.” And how illuminating for the “Hardball” audience to hear such a broad diversity of cinematic opinion ranging from hard left to harder left.
Let me save you from watching the video. In order of stupidity from least to worst, here are the three main talking points:
1. White people holding the solutions to minority peoples’ problems is offensive.
2. I agree, but I still liked the movie.
3. Black people are used as a “prop” to make white people feel better.
A couple of times Michael Wolff seems like he’s about to credit Barack Obama, or at least his election, with the success of both “The Blind Side” and “Avatar.” At the last moment, though, Wolff pulls back as though he’s afraid to say it because in his mind the idea might sound grand but just as the words are about to leave his lips he begins to understand how moronic he’ll sound. (more…)
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My Kind of Mogul: Rupert Murdoch ‘Pushing’ For ‘Avatar’ Sequel
by John Nolte
Rupert Murdoch is the CEO and Chairman of News Corporation, which owns in whole or in part, an unbelievable amount of assets in the film, television, news and publishing world. Murdoch is a Mogul and then some. His personal politics are widely considered to be right-of-center, but how interesting that the man who saved America with Fox News is also pushing for a sequel to the most rabidly anti-American, anti-military movie to come out of Hollywood in, well, months:
Asked about potential “Avatar” sequels, chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said on his quarterly earnings call Tuesday that the conglomerate is in “very early talks about it.” Director James Cameron “has ideas” for a sequel, he said, adding: “We will be pushing for one.”
You know what that makes Murdoch in my mind?
My kind of mogul.
If only every entertainment mogul was as profit-driven as Rupert Murdoch.
If only every Hollywood executive with the power to greenlight a television series, film or novel was as supportive of projects that didn’t fit his or her worldview. (more…)
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2009 Academy Awards: Predictions, Anyone?
by John NolteHow did the film industry get so screwed up and turned upside down that the only feeling the annual watching of the Academy Awards elicits from me is dread? Every year, three things hover on my calendar like a big black rain cloud: prostate exam, tax season, Academy Awards — and the metaphorical similarity between all three is somewhat striking.
Obviously my career choice makes viewing the ultimate Hollywood award orgy necessary, otherwise I would return to what is my default emotion for most things: utter indifference. But how sad that it’s come to this. Going back to Johnny Carson’s hosting straight through to Billy Crystal’s, the Oscars were once one of the top three high points of the television viewing season, right after “Battle of the Network Stars” and “Dick Clark’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes.”
Maybe I’m the one who’s changed. Maybe the ceremony was always filled with a striking lack of class – with sanctimonious preening and political abuse hurled at me and mine. Regardless, over time those nine hours have simply gotten more and more torturous to sit through. You’re either on edge waiting to be insulted or on edge hoping one of the few movie stars you still hold some affection for doesn’t disappoint in some way. (more…)
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Top 5: True-Crime Reality Shows
by John NolteOther than “The Sopranos,” scripted television and I parted ways many, many years ago, and it was an ugly break up, as well. When someone has only three reasons to live and one of them is prematurely yanked off the air you have to expect he’ll take it a little personal. (My two remaining reasons are none of your business but rest assure they’re just as shallow and one involves chocolate jimmies.)
“24” lured me back for a few seasons but the epic double standard of watching the same industry that uses three weekly “Law & Order” primetime hours to demonize Christians subsequently air a “Muslims Aren’t Bad Guys” PSA made my stomach hurt to the point to where I’ve been psychologically conditioned to no longer watch. Everyone tells me television is where the best writing and acting is these days, at least compared to theatrical films (there’s a low bar), and that’s probably true. But God invented my DVD-purchasing addiction and Turner Classic Movies for a reason, right?
Which isn’t to say I never watch television. My “Sanford and Son” DVD collection is on regular rotation. As a matter of fact I’m watching “The Greatest American Hero” right now. On regular DVR rotation, though, is the growing list of documentary true-crime series that air constantly on, among others, the Bio, Tru, and Discovery channels.
My decade-long attraction/addiction to these programs has nothing to do with the grisly details involved in the various violent crimes (and I no longer need tips on how to plot, execute and get away with the perfect murder). If your goal is to wallow in crime’s ugliness there’s a series called “I Survived” where victims go into great detail about their abuse at the hands of murderers and rapists. There’s also MSNBC’s awful off-hours “Lock Up” series. Both programs make you want to take a shower. Both are unwatchable. (more…)
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Miss America: Limbaugh Wins ‘Judge of the Night’ — ‘Variety’ Frets Over Political ‘Tinge’
by John Nolte
Politico reports that Rush appears to be having the time of his life as a judge for the Miss America pageant:
On Thursday night, in between rounds of competition, the judges competed for their own crown: “Judge of the Night.”
While competing in the dance-off, Limbaugh stood up and boogied to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” alongside fellow judge Vivica A. Fox.
“Rush Limbaugh has exceptionally impressive fist pumping skills,” tweeted Miss America Live.
Limbaugh’s moves won him the “Judge of the Night” title. His prize: a “Mr. New Jersey” sash bestowed upon him by the host, Miss New Jersey 1995 Dena Blizzard.
Naturally, Variety’s Wilshire & Washington (which, months ago, should’ve been renamed The Interminably Uninteresting All-Things Gay Marriage Live-Blog) puts on a bit of a scold with the headline… (more…)
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REVIEW: ‘Edge of Darkness’ Takes You to the Edge of Boredom
by John NolteIt’s sure nice to have Mel Gibson back on the big screen carrying a gun, seeking revenge for the death of a loved one and quivering with righteous rage. But after seven years off-screen what a shame he couldn’t find a better script. “Edge of Darkness” is a mess. Convoluted, poorly structured and lacking in the important emotional turning points and character moments necessary to make this kind of thriller work.
Gibson plays Boston Police Detective Thomas Craven, an honest cop and inattentive but loving father whose 24-year old daughter Emma comes home for a visit. Things are warm, if a bit strained between them, but she’s ill — violently ill — and on their way out the front door to the hospital she’s shotgunned in a drive-by shooting that was meant to kill him. Or was it?
The plot’s entirely too ambitious, involving defense contractors, corrupt Senators, leftist activists and a gentle yet menacing wine-sipping government fixer named Jedburgh (The Mighty Ray Winstone) whose loyalties shift all-too obviously when the plot requires a nudge — when the screenwriters are stuck. In the “Austin Powers” trilogy he would’ve been called Agent Exposition.
Wintsone continues his perfect record of making everything he’s in better, and Jedburgh is a very interesting character. You do want to know more about him. The problem is that there’s no natural place for him in the film’s narrative. He reminds me of Liev Schreiber’s mysterious John Clark in “The Sum of All Fears.” Another movie where a mysterious supporting player in a disappointing film comes off as though he’s visiting from a much better movie. (more…)
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Barbra Streisand: SCOTUS ‘Enables Corporate Coup of Democracy’
by John Nolte
Barbra Streisand writing at HuffPo.
*scramble* – *scramble* – *scramble*
Truth Translator Rephrase: Barbra Streisand writing at One Of Those Companies The Left Is Okay With Using Unlimited Resources To Affect The Outcome Of Elections:
I felt like I was in suspended animation as I read the Supreme Court decision which essentially enables a corporate coup d’état of America’s Democracy. …
Corporations are not people nor are they individual citizens. They are chartered by states to conduct commerce. And while I certainly don’t pretend to be a constitutional scholar, I have been reading a lot about this and thankfully, many brilliant minds do agree with me.
The intellectual dishonesty from Hollywoodists on this issue is so… so… so… expected.
If you’re opposed to corporations being involved in our electoral process then be opposed to corporations being involved in our electoral process.
But Leftists and Hollywoodists are not opposed to media corporations being involved in our electoral process because 95% of media corporations are liberal. Neither Babs nor Adam McKay nor any Leftist has ever complained that media corporations were exempt from the unconstitutional law the Supreme Court justly overturned — because CNN, ABC, NPR, The New York Times, CBS, etc… all carry water for left-wing causes and politicians. (more…)
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TRAILER: Oliver Stone’s Tired-Looking ‘Wall Street 2′
by John NolteTwenty-three years have passed since the first ”Wall Street” and a decade since news of an upcoming Oliver Stone movie elicited anything above the level of an eye roll. A director who once captured and even created a zeitgeist is now pathetically chasing after it like a dollar bill tied to a string.
After the disastrous “Alexander,” both “World Trade Center” and “W.” were essentially television-level productions self-consciously obvious in their desperation to feel relevant. Arguably, “WTC” ended up being an above-average TV movie but “W.” was a complete embarrassment for everyone involved, especially those Leftist critics who carried its water one percentage below a fresh rating. And now comes a sequel nobody wanted with a truly terrible title: “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” which hits theatres April 23rd.
And as with all Shia LaBeouf movies, the first question that must be asked is: Shia LaBeouf?
Go back and watch the original “Wall Street.” It’s a terrific film with some great acting courtesy of Martin Sheen and Michael Douglas and a compelling story that immediately grabs you as you’re taken on a tour of how things work in the fascinating world of the stock market at the very top level. One of my favorite shots in all films is our first glimpse of Douglas’s Gordon Gekko through his office door just before it closes. Just like Charlie Sheen’s young Bud Fox, oh how we want to know what goes on in there. Great moviemaking. (more…)
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Director Adam McKay: SCOTUS Ruling in Favor of Free Speech is ‘Treason’
by John NolteYou see, Hollywoodists like “Step Brothers” director Adam McKay believe that only the Huffington Post, George Soros, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, NPR, The New York Times, The L.A. Times, Big Labor Unions, and GE (through NBC and MSNBC) should be allowed to use unlimited resources to affect the outcome of political campaigns.
Corporations, big and small, however, just need to shut the hell up. Unless, of course, that corporation is MSNBC or any of those listed above. Confusing, right? Well, thank heaven (and Citizens United) that five wise men on the Supreme Court also went, “Huh?”
You would think that no one would be a bigger champion of an unfettered First Amendment than a leftist Hollywood director. But if you think that, you haven’t been paying attention.
Two separate looks at how the landmark SCOTUS decision is playing out. You decide which point of view is most concerned about the health of our democracy…
Hollywood director Adam McKay:
What the Supreme Court — specifically Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Kennedy — has done, is nothing short of a violent coup for the corporations to seize control of our government. There’s no violence yet, but it will come in the form of many more profit-driven corporate wars in the molds of Vietnam and Iraq and the jailing of millions more non-violent offenders to fuel the corporate built and run prisons. Not to mention dramatic rises in the crime rate as the middle class completely disappears.
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James Cameron: ‘Avatar’ is a ‘Tribute’ to Marines — PLUS: What the Sequels Might Look Like
by John NolteThis is from last week’s Jay Leno Show. Leno interviewed “Avatar” director James Cameron and the relevant parts quoted below start at the 5:50 mark.
—–
Cameron: The anti-military [criticism] is kind of tough for me because my younger brother Dave was a Marine. … I got nothing but respect for those guys. …
I made my main character a Marine … and I imbued him with all the characteristics of heroism, courage and intelligence, and all the stuff I thought would honor them. And I think people are thinking about it too simplistically. …
I asked a special request, I want to talk to Marines that are on the ground. Guys that are forwards. We’re trying to organize going to Afghanistan to show the film to some Marines that are on the ground there. This is my tribute … my tribute to them.
Leno deserves credit for bringing the subject up, but he asks the question as though it’s only “critics” making noise over “Avatar’s” 3D trashing of the military. The United States Marines are none too happy with Cameron’s “tribute,” either. Here’s their Director of Public Affairs: (more…)
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Jean Simmons Has Died
by John NolteWell, the wait is over. Every year I was sure the Academy would get their act together and award this underrated and under-appreciated actress who possessed the most beautiful speaking voice to ever grace a motion picture with a long overdue honorary Academy Award, and every year the Academy never failed to disappoint.
And now it’s too late.
Twice nominated for an Oscar, Jean Simmons brought an exquisite mix of regal bearing, accessible warmth, feminine strength and womanly eroticism to such timeless classics as “Black Narcissus,” “Hamlet,” “Great Expectations,” “Guys and Dolls,” “The Big Country,” “Elmer Gantry,” and “Spartacus.” There were also too many superb but lesser-known gems on her resume to count, but you can start with “Until They Sail” with Paul Newman and “Angel Face” with Robert Mitchum. To set your DVR using her name is to discover a treasure-trove.
So powerful and bewitching was her screen presence that we completely understood and believed that larger-than-life men – Brando, Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster — would fall head-over-heels for her because we fell right along with them. (more…)
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Hollywood Director: White Conservatives ‘More Terrifying’ Than ‘Any Jihadist’
by John NolteThe leftist — and Polanski apologist – film site Cinematical interviewed Joe Carnahan, director of “Narc” and ”Smokin’ Aces” about the direct-to-DVD prequel “Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassins Ball.”
As always, the fact that the fawning interviewer hardly appears to blink at this comment — much less follow up on it — is just as revealing as the comment itself: [emphasis mine]
Cinematical: How did you first conceive of the story?
Joe Carnahan: [SPOILER ALERT] Tom Berenger’s character is very much a right-wing conservative white male, and that’s where it started for P.J. and I. I told my own father, who’s politically-minded in that same way, “Dad, you’re the most dangerous thing on the political landscape because you’re a sixty-year-old white conservative,” and that’s more terrifying than any jihadist. But if you took one of these guys, and you gave them the strength of their convictions to become a jihadist… that, to me, was fun. That was Smokin’ Aces territory. P.J. and I gelled behind that very quickly. [END SPOILERS]
And after that outrageous statement, what’s the follow-up question from our crack team at Cinematical? (more…)
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Polanski’s New Movie Trashes Iraq War, Accuses West of Torture…
by John Nolte
If nothing else, Polanski’s timing couldn’t be better. If you’re a Hollywoodist — even a remorseless child-raping Hollywoodist — looking for a boost from your fellow Hollywoodists, what better way to hold on to your Frat House bona fides than to direct a film like this? [emphasis mine]:
[A]s a filmmaker, Roman Polanski is back in a big, big way with THE GHOST WRITER. Adapted by Robert Harris (author of the excellent FATHERLAND and ENIGMA) from his own novel, the film is about a mildly successful non-fiction hack (Ewan McGregor) who lands the plum gig of shaping the memoirs of a recently ousted British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan) - who bears a none-too-subtle resemblance to Tony Blair. The opportunity is there for the taking because the PM’s former ghost writer washed up dead on a beach somewhere close to Martha’s Vineyard. The only downside to the assignment is the PM’s potentially unlawful participation in secretly shipping British citizens/suspected terrorists off to Guantanamo Bay for the ol’ Jack Bauer treatment.
Here are a couple descriptions of the novel upon which the film is based: (more…)
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ONE YEAR GONE: *Flashback* Hollywood’s Monstrous Bush Derangement Syndrome
by John NolteThis billboard hovered proudly over Hollywood Boulevard soon after the great man’s 2004 re-election. As the Beautiful People filed into the Kodak Theatre for that year’s Academy Awards, this billboard, like most of America, look down on them and laughed.
In just a few short years the very worst among them, the very worst among all of us, would double down on their stupidity and mercilessly launch a cinematic propaganda war whose sub-human endgame meant abandoning 25 million Iraqi innocents — people our nation had promised to protect — into the hands of a terrorist and death-squad meat grinder…
All in the name of proving George W. Bush wrong.
Another George W. Bush accomplishment, another reason we owe so much to him, is due to his unique ability to always be himself — a trait which so frustrated his opponents that many of them inadvertently revealed their ugly true selves to the world. And Leftist Hollywood’s depraved indifference to innocent human life — to millions of Iraqi women and children — was the most striking. (more…)
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ONE YEAR GONE: Hitler Finds Out Scott Brown Won ‘The Lying of the Senate’s’ Seat
by John NolteBecause he is a good and gracious man, George W. Bush worked with Ted Kennedy on No Child Left Behind. He held his hand out across the aisle (something Obama has yet to do), and brought the Senator on board to help craft and put his stamp on that piece of legislation.
–
Just a couple years later, in the middle of a tough war in Iraq, Kennedy would play the scorpion to Bush’s frog when his ugly, ungrateful, unpatriotic, selfish, leftist default position would rear its ugly partisan head when he accused Bush of being a fraud who cooked up the war for personal political gain.
Today, let us celebrate the delicious irony that Kennedy the Horrible’s Senate seat is about to be occupied by a rock-ribbed conservative who believes in and campaigned on everything Kennedy the Horrible opposed. Yes, a pro-water-boarder will sit where “The Lying of the Senate” once did. (more…)
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REVIEWS: ‘Blind Side’, ‘Nine’, ‘2012′ and More….
by John NolteHere are capsule reviews of films that have already been covered pretty well here at BH or that just kind of faded away in theatres. That’s not a judgment of how good and bad they are, but all things considered, a full blown review seems unnecessary.
Be Italian!
What say we don’t.
Set in go-go Rome circa 1965, director Rob Marshall (the wildly over-praised Oscar-winning “Chicago”) does a solid job of (intentionally) recreating a time and place straight out of Fellini’s “8 ½.” And that’s about all he’s got going for him … other than the rare musical that would’ve benefited from the removal of the musical numbers. The songs are dreadful, and other than to prove Kate Hudson’s not her mother, serve no purpose above clunky, tuneless exposition.
Daniel Day-Lewis preserves his dignity as Guido the Film Director who’s without a script or even an idea for one as all the expensive people and pieces are put into place to start shooting in just a few days. He’s conflicted, you see… Torn between his wife (Marion “The Truther” Cotillard), his mistress (Penelope Cruz), and his muse (Nicole Kidman) … not to mention the advice he receives from his confidant (Judi Dench) and mother (a completely wasted Sophia Loren). And in there somewhere is NFL-owner Fergie, typecast as – well, that’s mean – as the Ideal Woman who stirred Guido’s loins as a young man. (more…)
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Hitchcock, #1 Overrated Director?: Bravo, Ben Shapiro!
by John Nolte
After Ben Shapiro first submitted the article that created such a hailstorm yesterday, here’s what our email exchange looked like:
Ben,
Hey, you’re right, Scorsese hasn’t made a movie worth a shit since ‘96, but…. David Lean??? Hitchcock??? We must have a vigorous debate over many beers.
Ben responded:
Yes, and then you can explain the plot of Mulholland Drive to me!
The only thing that comes close to the pleasure of watching movies is the pleasure of debating them. And that’s what was so invigorating about Ben’s list of the Top Ten Overrated Directors Of All Time and the just as invigorating response from the readers.
We could all come up with lists like this, lists that defy the conventional wisdom in one area or another. Taste is subjective. Certainly there are those who somehow find themselves in the enviable position of being “cinematic tastemakers.” But… (more…)
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REVIEW: ‘The Lovely Bones’ Just Kind of Lie There
by John Nolte“My name is Salmon, like the fish. First name, Susie. I was fourteen years old when I was murdered on December 6th, 1973.”
After a limited theatrical run for what is likely to be a fruitless search for year-end award affection, director/co-writer Peter Jackson’s “Lovely Bones” finally goes wide in a couple thousand movie palaces today to in order to prove to every American that winning an Academy Award can turn an otherwise talented director into the very definition of tone deaf and self-indulgent.
Jackson’s film is a serious one dealing with big themes involving child murder and grief and justice and the afterlife. But incredibly, dropped right in the middle of all this harrowing drama, is a flat-out comedy montage straight out of a Chris Columbus movie that has Susan Sarandon’s grandmother-character fumbling and stumbling about like Uncle Buck with the household chores, including — yes! — an out-of-control washing machine. Better yet, it’s all set to a pop song.
Maybe the projectionist was having a laugh with a deleted scene from “Mr. Woodcock.” Regardless, it was the equivalent of a cinematic silver bullet. The movie never recovered. (more…)
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REVIEW: ‘Book of Eli’ Delivers God, Guns, and Guts
by John Nolte“One day I heard this voice, like it was coming from inside me. It led me to a place… I found this book, buried deep in the rubble… And the voice told me to carry it west…”
Credit where credit is due… Hollywood is trying. Granted, six years have passed since “The Passion” proved we Christians can be convinced to return to a medium that has spent decades taking great pleasure in insulting who we are and what we believe; and with that clinical Christmas card of a follow up called “The Nativity” it seemed as though they would never figure it out. But between the unapologetic Christian “Blind Side” and now the down and dirty “Book of Eli,” there’s reason to hope the Pagans of the Pacific might have just moved a little closer to cracking our code.
“The Book of Eli” isn’t just Christian, it’s off-the-rails Christian … literally. Heathens might as well hit the lobby at the end of the second act because the final act is all about the faith. You’re more than welcome to stick around, but I have a feeling those of you with red strings tied ‘round your wrist will be checking your watch for the last twenty-minutes. Not we Bible-thumpers, though. That’s when it all comes together; and it’s moving and smart and best of all, not some hyper-reverent snoozer.
So, thanks Hollywood. Oh, I’ll be kicking your ass again in a sec, but for now… really, thanks. (more…)
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The Wrap: Cameron Claims Anti-American ‘Avatar’ Isn’t
by John NolteTo fully appreciate the absurdity of the statements uttered by “Avatar’s” writer/director James Cameron in defense of his film the other night, you have to get a feel for the setting. The Q&A took place during an industry screening of “Avatar.” That means an exclusive audience packed with fellow frat boys, sorority girls and a gaggle of suck up pledges. Trust me, there have been Ku Klux Klan meetings with more ideological diversity. Better still, this was an industry screening at the ArcLight Theatre, and for those of you fortunate enough not to be familiar with Los Angeles — that means this was a frat party at THE frat house.
Welcome to Inside-Inside-Inside Hollywood, where James Cameron is Doug Niedermeyer, the Big Man on Campus:
“Avatar” director James Cameron responded to right-wing critics of his blockbuster hit movie on Tuesday night, saying that “as an artist, I felt a need to say something about what I saw around me.” …
But he rejected comments by critics that the film is un-American even if it is an allegory for American military forays.
“I’ve heard people say this film is un-American, while part of being an American is having the freedom to have dissenting ideas,” Cameron said, prompting loud applause from a capacity crowd at the ArcLight Hollywood.
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Earthquake Relief: ‘Hollywood Unites For Haiti’
by John Nolte
This is a non-profit group run by Jimmy Jean-Louis. Most of you will recognize him from his role on the television show “Heroes.” He’s also been on Fox News today with Shep.
Outside of my political life, I do still have some friends in show-biz; good people, people whose opinions are rock solid, and when they tell me Jimmy’s a stand up guy doing the right thing for the right reasons… Well, that’s good enough for me … and I’ve already put my money where my mouth is.
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James Cameron: ‘Like the Redneck NRA Supporters They Are’
by John Nolte
This appears to be accurate. Both Ain’t It Cool News and JoBlo.com have posted James Cameron’s full “Avatar” script. To triple-check I went to the 20th Century-Fox site and found that they posted the same script, as well. After being as careful as possible (wouldn’t want to smear Cameron like he did the U.S. Marines. NOTE for Leftist hair-splitters: former Marines), I bring you a scene written by James Cameron that was cut from the final film but serves as a glimpse at the director’s childish prejudices and mindset:
INT. ARMOR BAY – DAY
TROOPERS issue automatic weapons and magazines to a long line of mine workers. The miners lock and load like the redblooded redneck NRA supporters they are.
BLASTING TECHS are setting radio-detonated primer charges into two-ton stacks of EXPLOSIVE COMPOUND. The stacks are band-strapped together on pallets.
TRACKING WITH SELFRIDGE, staring around him in growing dismay as he walks through the full-scale mobilization. He approaches Quaritch, who is barking orders amid a hive of activity around the ampsuits.
SELFRIDGE
This thing is completely out of control!Quaritch ignores him, turning away to focus on ordnance loading.
SELFRIDGE
Listen to me! I am not authorizing you to turn the mine-workers local into a freakin’ militia!
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REVIEW: ‘Daybreakers’ Delivers the Vampire Goods
by John Nolte“Life’s a bitch, and then you don’t die.”
What’s frustrating about watching an extremely satisfying B-level horror film like “Daybreakers” is that you wonder why every movie can’t have as simple and effective a story. Here you have this little grinder dumped in theatres during the dog days of January starring a few respected names (Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill) but no big stars, and yet it manages to tell its story with more lean, mean and steam than monster hits like “Transformers 2” (which sucked) and “Sherlock Holmes” (which didn’t). When did watching a simple, easy to follow, well-paced story unfold on the big screen become the exception?
“Simple” doesn’t mean dumb, either — or clichéd. It means simple; it means you’re able to repeat the story to someone else in under a minute. Go ahead and try to tell someone the story of “Sherlock Holmes.” You can’t. It’s too convoluted. The director couldn’t tell you the story. The best he could do is try and explain it. Anyone who’s done any serious amount of screenwriting will tell you that nothing’s harder than simplicity, and yet for all the many millions our top screenwriters make, somewhere along the line…
What I meant say was, “Daybreakers” is my kind of movie, and not just because there’s all kinds of senseless violence and vampires — though one or the other is usually enough. (more…)
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‘Paranoid Elements Think Hollywood Has Proactive Agenda’
by John NolteLast week I posted an article from the Washington Post asking… “Hollywood Gets More Religious?” When the author of that piece used the planet-worshipping “Avatar” and Christian-ridiculing “Invention of Lying” to back his point that Hollywood’s suddenly jumped on the Religion Train I was skeptical, but left that one up to the readers to decide.
Agenda? What agenda?
Daniel Krandall over at “The American Culture” took a look at the same piece and smelled a different rat, but a rat nonetheless:
The only explanation I can come up with to explain those who deny Hollywood’s left-wing agenda is that they want to remain on the “Above the Line” cocktail party invite list. Either that they are lying to themselves, and are nothing more than useful idiots to left-wing ideologues.
The Washington Post recently reported on Hollywood’s turn toward films promoting spiritual themes. The litany of spiritual themed movies includes Avatar, The Road, The Invention of Lying, The Lovely Bones, The Blind Side, The Book of Eli, Legion, and The Last Station. While many might pause at the “spirituality” the Dream Factory promotes in some of these films, I was struck by this opening quote from Greg Wright, editor at HollywoodJesus.com:
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Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ Shows Hollywood How to Trash America and Make a Profit Doing So
by John NolteThe crowing we’re seeing from leftists over the belief that the roaring success of the anti-American, military-bashing, feast of political correctness that is Avatar represents some sort of validation of their worldview or a comeback for liberal film-making only begs one question: What took them so long?
You can’t blame them, though. After years of watching helplessly as liberal films flopped at a heartwarming 100% rate while conservative-themed films such as “Rambo,” “Gran Torino,” “Taken,” ”Knowing,” “and “Dark Knight” made money, it only makes sense that to lost-in-the-desert Lefties, Cameron’s garishly colored 3D cartoon makes hamburger look like a steak dinner.
There’s little doubt Avatar will end up as the number one or two top moneymaker worldwide of all time, out-performing the conservative Dark Knight (#5) and another epic that frequently finds its way on to a number of conservative movie lists as a favorite: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (#2).
So the question is: Do politics have something to do with the an event film’s box-office success? To a point, I think so. But does the fact that the exponentially more awful but pro-military, pro-American, anti-Obama Transformers 2, which was also a monster hit this year, cancel Avatar out? For argument’s sake, let’s say not. (more…)
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Spoilerific Thoughts: ‘Avatar’ is No ‘Dances With Wolves,’ and More…
by John NolteSpoilerific means there are spoilers. I hope that’s clear, because now that these films have been out for a while it seems safer to give away more information regarding plot and go into greater detail as to what’s so terribly wrong with them. In the case of “Precious” and “Up in the Air” there was more I wanted to say in the initial review and didn’t. With “Avatar” I just want to address the “Dances With Wolves” comparisons.
Avatar vs. Dances With Wolves
Comparing Kevin Costner’s elegant and moving Oscar-winning Western to the junk that is “Avatar” is unfair. There are similarities in the messaging, but when it comes to the execution and storytelling – the only thing that counts — the juvenile “Avatar” is a Scooby-Doo episode compared to “Wolves.”
In the first twenty-minutes (heck, in the trailer), the ham-fisted James Cameron telegraphs every plot point, character arc and moment, right down to the natives’ trendy spiritualism and insufferable sanctimony, all the way through to the protagonist’s eventual decision to turn on his own people and fight for his nobly dull new friends. The climax of “Titanic” is more surprising than ”Avatar,” and there are drivers-ed films with more humor. (more…)
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