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Jeffrey Jena

Stand Up Notes From Flyover Country: Dithering on Afghanistan

by Jeffrey Jena

The situation in Afghanistan is like a poker game. There are only three options for action: raise, call or fold.  The President seems to be unable to pick one that doesn’t have Americans on both sides of the debate pulling out their hair.

During his campaign for the White House President Obama said, “We have seen Afghanistan worsen, deteriorate. We need more troops there. We need more resources there… I would send two to three additional brigades to Afghanistan.”

obama-afghanistan_preview

He promised to send another ten to fifteen thousand troops to help those already there. He also declared that the war in Afghanistan was the proper front in the war against terror. Now that he is Commander-in-Chief, his vision seems to be less clear.

The military commanders gave the President four troop deployment options earlier this week but he refused all four. Not for military reasons but because of some hooey about the corruption of the government in Kabul and their inability to run a fair election. Mr. President, if our support for governments was based on whether they are corrupt or not and could run a fair election, we would have pulled federal funding from Chicago years ago. The problem with pulling out of Afghanistan, or Chicago for that matter, is that they would fall into violent anarchy. We have already seen that happen in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. (more…)

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Posted Nov 18th 2009 at 4:44 pm in Military, News, Politics | 55 Comments

Big Hollywood

THR: Will Ferrell Is the Most Overpaid Actor In the World

by Big Hollywood

willferrell

Paul Bond at the Hollywood Reporter:

“Looks like “Land of the Lost” has earned star Will Ferrell the dubious distinction of being the most overpaid actor in show business, according to the list makers at Forbes magazine.

“Forbes looked at 100 top actors based on their widely released films over the past five years. It factored in the production costs of those movies against how much boxoffice, DVD and other revenue they generated in order to come up with an operating income for each film, which it then compared with the salaries the stars earned. (more…)

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Posted Nov 18th 2009 at 3:51 pm in Film, News | 123 Comments

Billy Hallowell

‘Gossip Girl,’ CW Network and Entertainment Media Engage in Threesome

by Billy Hallowell

Threesomes are Hollywood’s latest obsession.  Within weeks of the release of Britney Spears’ asinine “Ballad” about engaging in a menagerie, CW leaked details about a threesome they were planning on the hit show Gossip Girl.  In what could easily be confused as part of a massive Hollywood-led campaign in support of teen pregnancy and a wide array of sexually transmitted diseases, CW decided that exploiting filth for a heavy cash flow was more important that exercising common sense and decency.  Surprise!

If you’re thinking, “Threesome?! That’s news to me,” be sure to read John P. Hanlon’s article.” Hanlon explains the whole debacle in detail.  However, I’m here to delve further into the insanity surrounding CW’s latest scheme to nab viewer appreciation.

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The only thing more grotesque than CW’s exploitation of a threesome for ratings is the media’s coverage of the menage a trois.  In a recent article, Michael Ausiello (Entertainment Weekly) was ecstatic over the impending sex scene – so excited that he taunted readers with his foreknowledge telling them, “Though my Gossip mole has asked that I not ID the threesome (on the grounds that it would ruin a major upcoming storyline, or some such nonsense), I can confirm that the kinky tryst will involve one of the following combos…”  Ausiello then proceeds to list possible character combos.  (more…)

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Posted Nov 16th 2009 at 1:13 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, News | 49 Comments

Big Hollywood

Edward Woodward Dead at 79: ‘Shoot straight ya’ bastards, don’t make a mess of it…’

by Big Hollywood


– 

The AP:

“Edward Woodward, the star of films including “Breaker Morant” and “The Wicker Man,” died Monday. He was 79.

“Woodward, who starred at “The Equalizer” on television, died in a hospital in Cornwall after an illness, said Janet Glass of the Eric Glass Ltd. agency in London.

“He won an Emmy Award in 1990 for “Remembering World War II” and a Golden Globe in 1987 for “The Equalizer,” which ran for 88 episodes from 1985 to 1989 on the U.S. network CBS. (more…)

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Posted Nov 16th 2009 at 8:12 am in Celebrity News, News | 53 Comments

Andrew Breitbart

‘Thinking Big’: Breitbart Signs Book Deal With Hachette/Grand Central

by Andrew Breitbart

From the New York Observer:

Breitbart.

Andrew Breitbart, a self-described “accidental culture warrior” who used to work with Matt Drudge on the Drudge Report, is writing a how-to book called Thinking Big, aimed at frustrated non-leftists who want to fight back against what the author calls the “Democrat media complex.”

The book will be published by Grand Central, an imprint of Hachette Book Group USA, which paid Mr. Breitbart an advance worth more than half a million dollars. Mr. Breitbart will be edited by Rick Wolff, who also recently edited the autobiography of CNN founder Ted Turner. (more…)

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Posted Nov 11th 2009 at 12:00 am in News | 4 Comments

Iowahawk

Headline Roundup: Troubled American Psychiatrist Allegedly Turns Gun on Warmongers at Ft. Hood

by Iowahawk


Nidal “Gary” Hassan – All-American boy
was haunted by memories of Gitmo,
‘Nam, Hiroshima

INEVITABLY, ANOTHER SOLDIER SNAPS

Distraught pacifist conscientious objector tormented by horrors of war, as far as you know

Newsroom experts: stress, violence, stupidity, tragedy a way of life for GIs

Former M*A*S*H stars say it’s finally time to disarm the military

Hollywood insiders: Sean Penn early favorite for lead in planned Oliver Stone biopic

(more…)

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Posted Nov 10th 2009 at 4:26 pm in News, Political Humor | 108 Comments

S.T. Karnick

Disney’s ‘Christmas Carol’ Disappoints at Box Office, Carrey Slams Capitalism

by S.T. Karnick

Robert Zemeckis’s motion-capture-animation version of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol had a fairly blah opening weekend at the North American box office, finishing first with an unexpectedly miserly total of $31 million in ticket sales. Industry insiders had figured the film to bring in up to $45 million.

Disney studio representatives predict that this latest adaptation of the Dickens classic will do well over time, like Zemeckis’s 2004 The Polar Express. My assessment is that the biggest element limiting the film’s appeal in the pre-release period was the annoyingly frenetic and superficial quality suggested by its promotional trailers and commercials.

Jim-Carey-06_11_09

Jim Carrey’s noisiness appears to be wearing quite thin, and a film that features him as not only the protagonist but also three other characters sounds like far too much of a no longer good thing. Carrey would do well to follow the path of the equally obnoxious Robin Williams and move on to more serious film roles, even if it kills his career. Yes, I’m well aware that Carrey’s occasional serious performances have been pretty awful, but he’s dead either way, and it would be best to die with honor instead of ignominy. (more…)

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Posted Nov 10th 2009 at 3:08 pm in Entertainment, News, Politics | 166 Comments

Billy Hallowell

‘By the People’: Ed Norton and Hollywood’s Mindless Obama Praise

by Billy Hallowell

Amy Rice and Alicia Sams’ documentary, “By the People,” provides a lens into Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.  A guided tour of sorts, the film delves into the Obama’s biggest milestones, while ignoring glaring contradictions and blemishes.  Perhaps two words can best describe it: snooze fest.  Teamed with the films vapidity and its lack of new, unexplored material, there are some intriguing conflicts of interest surrounding its production.

“By the People” is a praise initiative that doesn’t offer much beyond what politicos and Obama enthusiasts already know: Obama was a regular Joe who, through a series of (unfortunate for the American people) events, captured the presidency.

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While Hollywood’s insane obsession with anything and anyone left of center is never a surprise, one should ardently question why HBO, after purchasing the film for seven figures, has chosen to ignore other intriguing political stories.  Why not balance the film with another special or documentary that explores the McCain-Palin campaign?  One could argue, as I’m sure HBO would, that the focus of the film is on to the winning candidate.  Fine.  Argue away, but anyone with a pulse knows we’d be hard pressed to see a similar accolade to a Republican victor.  Furthermore, Sarah Palin’s initial book sales prove that she’s a brand worth exploring.  So, why not go for it? (more…)

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Posted Nov 10th 2009 at 11:11 am in Film, Media Criticism, News, Politics | 65 Comments

Big Hollywood

Fort Hood: Wise Words From Michael Yon

by Big Hollywood

Wise, wise words from Michael Yon: 

Now is not a time to psychoanalyze the attacker by using a media-supplied telescope that already said he was dead, and that there were multiple attackers.  Media: STOP, please.  There will be time to pursue answers and justice after Christmas.  We must remember that family members lost loved ones just before the holidays.  Justice and answers will come with time.

When stories of this kind break, the weatherman becomes the most accurate part of the newscast. We know nothing right now. We know less than nothing because too much of what we’re told is wrong.

All we know is that people are dead and wounded, and families and loved ones are suffering. That’s all that matters right now. The rest is noise.

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Posted Nov 5th 2009 at 9:38 pm in Featured Story, Military, News | 81 Comments

Christian Toto

Interview: ‘The Canyon’ Director Richard Harrah

by Christian Toto

Director Richard Harrah couldn’t believe his good fortune when the forestry service gave him and his crew permission to shoot in the Grand Canyon for his first feature film, “The Canyon.” So Harrah began scouting locations for the film, which follows a pair of newlyweds (Eion Bailey, Yvonne Strahovski) who get lost within the grounds of the national landmark.

canyon

Two weeks before cameras were to roll, the service revoked all their permits. Harrah and crew scrambled for a Plan B, eventually settling on shooting mostly in Moab, Utah to capture the film’s naturalistic setting.

“It was so much better, with a better infrastructure [for filmmakers],” says Harrah, a native of Sun Valley, Idaho.

Harrah ended up shooting a few scenes, guerilla style, in the Grand Canyon.

(more…)

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Posted Oct 29th 2009 at 8:37 am in Film, News | 6 Comments

Frank DeMartini

Bullying Screen Actors Guild Does More Harm Than Good

by Frank DeMartini

A few months ago I wrote a column about the effect IATSE’s wage increase in Michigan would have on future production in Michigan.  Just recently, the company I have my first look deal with decided to produce another picture in Michigan and was informed my column made it impossible for IATSE to negotiate or help us in any way.  They basically said this is the deal, take it or leave it if you want to shoot here; your employee ruined it for you. 

My company then proceeded to disavow any knowledge of my column and said that what I write is of my own doing and not the policy of the company.  This is true.  It is my own doing.  No one tells me what to write or censors my editorial content. 

rrrr

I still believe IATSE is harming the burgeoning film industry in Michigan.  I believe that if IATSE was doing the right thing in Michigan, the state of Michigan would be putting all of the other tax-incentive states out of business.  Producers would be running there in droves. 

Unions are supposed to be the mechanism to level the playing field for the working man.  Their job is to protect the working man from “the man,” and to keep their members employed fairly.  Isn’t employment what unions are really all about:  Especially now when unemployment is so rampant all over the United States, particularly in Michigan and California.  You would think the unions would be bending over backwards to work with “the man” in a mutually beneficial situation.  Let us all do whatever is necessary to keep employment in the United States; not Eastern Europe or Asia.  (more…)

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Posted Oct 29th 2009 at 5:02 am in Entertainment, Featured Story, News | 37 Comments

Big Hollywood

To Boost Plummeting Sales Initial DVD Releases Might Become Purchase-Only

by Big Hollywood

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The Los Angeles Times:

“For those who like renting movies, Hollywood may soon have a message: Prepare to wait.

“In an effort to push consumers toward buying more movies, some major film studios are considering a new policy that would block DVDs from being offered for rental until several weeks after going on sale.

“Under the plan, new DVD releases would be available on a purchase-only basis for a few weeks, after which time companies such as Blockbuster Inc. and Netflix Inc. would be allowed to rent the DVDs to their customers. The move comes as the studios are grappling with sharply declining DVD revenue, which has long propped up the movie business.

“Reed Hastings, chief executive of DVD-by-mail company Netflix, revealed that he had discussed delayed-rental proposals with several of his biggest suppliers. People close to the situation at several studios confirmed that such plans were under consideration and probably would take effect next year. (more…)

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Posted Oct 24th 2009 at 2:02 pm in Entertainment, News | 73 Comments

Big Hollywood

ACORN Scandal Immortalized on ‘South Park’

by Big Hollywood

***VIDEO FIXED!!!***

Watch the full episode here.  ACORN segment begins after the last commercial.

Comment at Big Government.

The ACORN scandal was immortalized tonight on “South Park.” The plot of the season 13 episode “Butters’ Bottom Bitch” is that Butters, the adorably naïve fourth grader starts a “kissing company” that grows to the point where he is a pimping out 10+ prostitutes, many of whom are underage. Always the sharp social commentators, the “South Park” crew sent Butters and Co. to ACORN to try to get a housing grant for these prostitutes:

…Butters get TWO housing loans, and tax-exempt status.

This isn’t your typical ACORN office. The employees are sharply dressed and working off of widescreen computer monitors in a lavish building (actually, it looks like the woman is sitting in an Aeron chair… we’re not sure even ACORN gets enough government handouts for those). But that’s beside the point. The joy in this scene is that at long last, ACORN is officially a punch line. Anyone who has followed ACORN throughout the years knows this is long, long, long overdue, but today, ACORN’s calling card is that they are the company that, as Butters puts it, “helps pimps and their bitches.” Not sure it gets more damning than that.

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Posted Oct 15th 2009 at 12:16 am in Featured Story, News, Political Humor, Politics | No Comments

John Nolte

Maybe DVD Sales Collapsed Because Movies Suck

by John Nolte

Everyone seems to have an opinion as to why DVD sales have cratered since hitting their peak in 2006, but no one’s looking at the obvious answer. Plunging sales have been blamed on piracy, competing technologies such as video games and low-priced rental outlets like Redbox … everything but the quality of the actual films.

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First and foremost, I’m a movie lover. Nothing competes for my attention in this regard, including dollar rentals and the like. But I’m just not buying anywhere near the number of new releases I did just ten years ago. Obviously, this is anecdotal evidence, so make your own comparisons:

1998  – I purchased 15 of the top 20 money makers…

1999 — 18 of the top 20.

2000 — 16 of the top 20.

2001 — 14 of the top 20. (more…)

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Posted Oct 13th 2009 at 2:31 pm in Entertainment, News | 201 Comments

Alexander Marlow

SNL’s Obligatory Obama Nobel Peace Prize Sketch

by Alexander Marlow

There has been a rumor floating around that Fred Armisen is intentionally, perhaps at the behest of the NBC powers-that-be, making his Obama impersonation as inaccurate and unfunny as possible. With that in mind, consider this phoned-in sketch exhibit number 47 in “The People vs. Saturday Night Live.” (NOTE: The only thing that makes the Big Hollywood editorial staff reluctant to investigate further is that the rest of the show isn’t much funnier.)

Also:
-Why doesn’t SNL ever direct Armisen to look back and forth at two teleprompters like Obama does every time he gives an address? Seems pretty obvious, no?

-Of course, “It looks like the CNN fact-checkers will be busy again this week.” (more…)

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Posted Oct 11th 2009 at 9:37 am in Media Criticism, News, Political Humor | 101 Comments

Chris Stigall

Confessions of a Letterman Intern

by Chris Stigall

David Letterman inspired my broadcasting career.  Twenty years ago, he was an awkward, self-deprecating guy who wore tennis shoes with his blazer and tie. He was edgy, silly, and unconventional compared to the traditions of variety television at that time.  He resonated with an awkward high school kid watching at home in Missouri.  Carson was still the king of late night, and some guy named Leno filled in for him a lot.  But Dave was cool because he didn’t seem to fit in.  Yet, when Carson announced his retirement, Letterman was said to be the heir apparent to the Tonight Show. 

Letterman

As a fan, I didn’t want Letterman to move into Carson’s chair.   Not because Letterman couldn’t handle it.  It just seemed too refined for someone as eccentric and edgy as Letterman.  Turned out NBC saw it that way too when they awarded “Tonight” to Leno.  It pained Letterman.  But it helped to foster that continued edgy, underdog status that led fans like me to follow him to CBS. (more…)

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Posted Oct 8th 2009 at 6:41 am in Entertainment, News, Uncategorized | 104 Comments

Jeffrey Jena

Stand Up Notes From Flyover Country: Janeane Is Off Her Meds and Other Stories

by Jeffrey Jena

I happened to see some clips of alleged Janeane Garofalo on the Bill Maher show the other night. I have a warning for anyone who sees her in person or is near her: Janeane is off her meds again and the voices in her head have taken control.

She is already on record as believing that anyone who does not worship at the Church of Radical Leftism is a “straight up racist.” Beside not understanding the English translation of her argot “straight up,” I am sure that anyone who is even a little bit clear headed can imagine a world where people who thought Condi was dandy and helped Michael Steele get to the helm of the GOP might not take race as the deciding factor with Obama. Be that as it may, Ms. Garofalo assured us that not only were right-wingers racists, but the GOP has been the bastion of White Supremacy since the 1950’s.

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Keeping in mind one of the favorite saying of my friend Larry Elder, “Facts are like kryptonite to toe-tag liberals.” (Mr. Elder defines liberals as “toe-tag” if they believe in government intrusion in our lives from birth until they put the tag on your toe in the morgue.) I will present a few facts to try to bring Janeane back into the real world. (more…)

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Posted Oct 7th 2009 at 9:55 am in Featured Story, News, Political Humor | 118 Comments

Joseph Lindsey

Let’s Free Other Child Rapists While We’re At It…

by Joseph Lindsey

weinstein072408_0
Harvey Weinstein

Members of the Hollywood community have signed a petition to have Roman Polanski released from jail. When is the Hollywood community also going to demand the release of 58 year old rapist Bruno Vece?

On January 31st 2009 the past finally came back to haunt Bruno Vece who has been jailed for 20 years for sexual crimes he committed decades ago. Bruno Vece, of Loram Way, Alphington, had been found guilty of raping an underage girl in the late 1970s.

What Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, David Lynch and other Hollywood elites need to know about Bruno Vece is that he has built a new life since he committed these crimes over 20 years ago; he’s a new man with a new family and now it has been destroyed. (more…)

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Posted Oct 6th 2009 at 10:00 am in Celebrity News, News | 72 Comments

Greg Gutfeld

Daily Gut: An Olympic Fail

by Greg Gutfeld

So while chuckleheads like Jesse Jackson and Senator Roland Burris hilariously blame George Bush for Chicago losing the 2016 Olympics, whiny columnists like Mike Lupica are up in arms that conservatives might be gloating over President Obama’s big screw-up. Apparently laughing at all this is somehow anti-American, because Obama is our President, and he was doing this for all of us.

olympic fail

You know… kind of like when Bush was trying win a war in Iraq – and all those left wingers stood behind him.

And that’s my first point: The right has every right to gloat over Obama’s humiliation, because, thankfully, NO ONE DIED. Unlike, say during the Iraq war, where, whenever there was a roadside bombing, the progressives did their own special victory dance – using the consequences of war to gloat over an embattled president and an unpopular country. I didn’t hear much of the smarmy press calling them out. (more…)

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Posted Oct 5th 2009 at 2:38 pm in Daily Gut, News, Politics | 114 Comments

John Nolte

Socialism and Christian-Bashing Crash at Box Office

by John Nolte

michael_moore_loser

Tough times for leftie Hollywood. Nothing’s gone right this week. None of this is their fault, of course. In order to understand that it might not be a good idea to rally around a child rapist, bash religion in a religious country or trash capitalism in a capitalist country you have to live in the real world…

Steve Mason:

Michael Moore’s CAPITALISM tanks!

Ricky Gervais has launched his second consecutive box office bomb as The Invention of Lying (Warner Bros) only mustered $2.2M or so to start the 3-day. The comedy should finish #5 with approximately $6.5M for the weekend. … (more…)

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Posted Oct 3rd 2009 at 8:32 am in Film, News | 265 Comments

Greg Gutfeld

Daily Gut: Letterman’s Jokebag Has Gotten Smaller

by Greg Gutfeld

So David Letterman just admitted on his Thursday show that someone had been blackmailing him for $2 million. That someone apparently claimed he had information on the comic doing “creepy things.” Instead of paying up, however, Letterman set him up – and the blackmailer, a CBS producer, was promptly arrested.

David Letterman

Now, a lot of people are laughing at the sweet irony of it all: a comedian who makes millions poking fun at the predilections of politicians gets nailed for a few of his own (I`m dying to know why he won`t dismiss the adjective “creepy;” whatever he was doing must make Marv Albert blush).

But I`m not one of those people. (more…)

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Posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 11:35 am in Entertainment, News | 134 Comments

NewsBusters

‘NewsBusted’ 9/29/09 — Comedy News from the Right

by NewsBusters


(more…)

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Posted Sep 29th 2009 at 6:06 pm in Media Criticism, News | 16 Comments

Andrew Breitbart

Podesta Spends Soros’ Money Stupidly

by Andrew Breitbart

This week’s Washington Times column:

A telling event occurred on Sept. 15, Day 6 of the drip, drip, drip ACORN video rollout. President Obama met for lunch with former President Bill Clinton at trendy Il Mulino in New York City.

For the second consecutive day, the New York Post featured the ACORN scandal on its cover – complete with James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles in their outrageous “pimp and ho” costumes.

Does anyone think the president and the former president were unaware that the city in which they were dining was mesmerized by the ACORN scandal – especially since ACORN had bragged that its employees had kicked Mr. O’Keefe and Ms. Giles out of their New York office?

The Sept. 15 edition of the New York Post explored the political angles and directed attention to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s investigation into why an ACORN office in its jurisdiction helped instruct a prospective brothel owner how to hide his prostitution proceeds in a tin in his backyard.

No one in the morally superior media world has asked, why did Mr. Obama have lunch with Mr. Clinton that day? So let me take a guess, and it seems like an obvious answer. Mr. Obama, under siege by a video-a-day expose that was exposing the Democratic Party to an avalanche of consequences (ACORN defunded in the House and Senate, ACORN delinked from the census, etc.), needed advice from the last president to navigate through a major political scandal.

(more…)

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Posted Sep 27th 2009 at 5:47 pm in News, Politics | No Comments

Carl Kozlowski

BIG HOLLYWOOD INTERVIEW: Quentin Tarantino, a Glorious ‘Basterd’

by Carl Kozlowski

Editor’s Note: After the publication of this piece we made an internal discovery that this interview was not a one-on-one interview between our writer and Quentin Tarantino, and that some of the questions attributed to “Big Hollywood” were asked by other journalists in what was a roundtable interview.
 
Upon discovering this, we temporarily removed the piece from the site until all the facts were known and a proper correction could be added.

Quentin Tarantino exploded on the world film scene in 1992 with “Reservoir Dogs,” a brutally profane yet ingeniously plotted and often funny deconstruction of the heist-film genre. He took things to a whole other level in 1994 with “Pulp Fiction,” reviving the foundering careers of superstars John Travolta and Bruce Willis while launching the star careers of Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman while winning a Best Screenplay Oscar himself. 

tarantino

Yet in the 15 years since that classic, Tarantino hasn’t been able to score quite as big an impact. 1997’s “Jackie Brown” made just $39 million, while the two “Kill Bill” films scored $70 million each yet were considered hyper-violent trifles compared to what he was really capable of. And he really bottomed out with 2007’s “Death Proof,” which made up half of “Grindhouse,” a three-hour homage to the trashy drive-in films of America’s past. Its 21st-century audience didn’t get the joke and largely ignored it, earning just $27 million at the US box office.  (more…)

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Posted Sep 27th 2009 at 6:54 am in Featured Story, Film, News | 69 Comments

Big Hollywood

VIDEO: Limbaugh and Leno Enjoy Spirited Political Talk

by Big Hollywood


*Below the fold: Watch Rush run over Al Gore … twice!*

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Rush Limbaugh: Always on message, articulate, charming, convincing…

Jay Leno: Always a gentleman.

Great ten minutes.

Now close your eyes and imagine what a smarmy, self-satisfied, adolescent punk Letterman would’ve been. Oh, wait… (more…)

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Posted Sep 25th 2009 at 5:38 pm in Celebrity News, News, Politics | 101 Comments

Joseph C. Phillips

Racial Schizophrenia

by Joseph C. Phillips

Speaking to NBC News Anchor Brian Williams, former president Jimmy Carter (who was taking a breather between having tea with dictators and lunatics) proffered that not only was South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson’s inappropriate outburst during President Obama’s speech before a joint session of congress fueled by racism, but the wider opposition to Obama is also based on the fact that Obama is black. Said Carter: “I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he’s African-American.”

wright-and-obama

During Obama’s 400th speech defending his plans to reform healthcare the president responded to charges that the proposals before congress would provide healthcare for illegal immigrants. The President called the charges false whereupon Wilson forgot his home training (or lost his mind) and called the President a liar.

As it happens, similar words were falling from my own lips at that very same moment. I think most people recognize that a private citizen calling the President a liar in the privacy of their living rooms is rather a different animal from elected officials doing so during a Presidential address. I would also like to believe that most thinking people recognize that boorish is not the same thing as racist. (more…)

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Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 8:33 pm in News, Politics | 43 Comments

Adam Baldwin

Serve.gov Somebody: NEA’s ‘Onramp for Agents of Change’

by Adam Baldwin

“It may be the Devil, or it may be the Lord. But, you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” – Bob Dylan


“Rule #7: A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” – Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

For a presidential candidate to dispatch his agents of Change® to recruit artists & entertainers into his campaign is one thing. He understandably wished to avoid becoming old news. Heck, even radical activists get bored. So, to maintain their excitement and involvement, professional community organizers must constantly devise new tactics. And, as so many enjoy smugly reminding us all, “the ‘One’ won!”

Poli-end-zone-dances notwithstanding, for the President of the United States of America to use the power of his Office and the lure of his NEA’s favor, potential grant funds and the ideological “yes, we-can-change-the-world” Hope® & prestige for artists to create promotional propaganda for his Serve.gov & Corporation for National & Community Service partisan political agenda, produces an entirely different pattern and data set. (more…)

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Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 5:58 pm in Culture, Law, News, Politics | 32 Comments

Sullivan

Limbaugh: White House Using Fed Arts Agency to Push Obama Agenda

by Sullivan

From El Rushbo:

rush_limbaugh

Do you remember that NEA phone call? I think it was back in August, the 21st or the 25th, and it featured basically a coordination from the White House to the National Endowment for the Arts to promote Obama’s health care and parts of his domestic agenda. One of the artists on that call got hold of Breitbart and said they’re turning the National Endowment for the Arts and www.Serve.gov, the latest website out of the White House, into political instruments, and there are four pieces written on this at BigGovernment.com. But all it really exposes up ’til now is that the NEA was lying about their coordination with the Obama White House on spreading propaganda. This is the thing that George Will had a comment on This Week, said some laws were broken in this call. Then after some attention was focused on this they announced that the National Endowment for the Arts director of communications Yosi Sargent had been reassigned. They said he was fired but he was actually just reassigned. (more…)

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Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 4:00 pm in Art, Culture, News, Politics | No Comments

Patterico

The NEA, The White House, The Lies and The Cover-Up

by Patterico

Big Hollywood today reveals the extensive proof that shows the White House used the National Endowment for the Arts to push a political agenda favorable to President Obama. But it gets worse: the Administration lied about it, and tried to cover it up.

You already know the background: an NEA spokesman participated in a conference call designed to encourage artists to further Obama’s legislative agenda. This was revealed back in August at Big Hollywood. What is new today is the full transcript of the call — and how clearly the NEA was involved in urging artists to propagandize for Obama.

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Naturally, the NEA and the Obama administration denied this. According to the Los Angeles Times (in a blog post, of course, and not an actual newsprint story), the NEA denied any purpose to further a legislative agenda:

The NEA issued a statement saying that it took part in the conference to help inform arts organizations about opportunities to sponsor volunteer service projects themselves, or have their members take part in other volunteer efforts. “This call was not a means to promote any legislative agenda, and any suggestions to that end are simply false,” the statement said. (more…)

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Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 1:00 pm in Art, Law, News, Politics | 73 Comments

Ben Shapiro

Demand Congressional Investigation: NEA Conference Call Broke Laws

by Ben Shapiro

In the aftermath of the Andrew Breitbart/James O’Keefe/Hannah Giles-broken ACORN scandal, President Obama and his allies in Congress have distanced themselves from the community organizing goliath.  Congress has cut off funds, and Obama has refused to speak about the matter.  End of story, right?

Wrong.

gavel510pix

There’s only one problem: the ACORN mentality – pinpointing and mobilizing particular groups in support of a radical-left agenda – is no longer restricted to government-funded private non-profits like ACORN.  The ACORN mentality now dominates the government itself.  Taxpayer dollars are being used by elected officials to encourage the deification of President Obama and his agenda.  And one of the chief organs of the government propaganda machine is the National Endowment for the Arts.

Let’s start from the beginning.  On August 25, artist Patrick Courrielche told the story of a conference call he attended on August 10.  That conference call was hosted by the NEA, the White House Office of Public Engagement, and United We Serve.  The goal of the conference call: “to help lay a new foundation for growth, focusing on core areas of the recovery agenda – health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education, community renewal.”  The call would push “a group of artists, producers, promoters, organizers, influencers, marketers, taste-makers, leaders or just plain cool people to join together and work together to promote a more civically engaged America and celebrate how the arts can be used for a positive change!” (more…)

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Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 11:11 am in Art, Law, News, Politics | 116 Comments

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