IMDB News:

Alec Baldwin has called on Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron to resign over his handling of the ongoing News of the World phone-hacking scandal.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has been at the centre of claims reporters at his now defunct U.K. tabloid, which he closed earlier this month, used a private investigator to illegally access voicemail messages belonging to royals, celebrities, and the families of crime victims.

Britain’s leader Cameron has been dragged into the controversy because he hired the newspaper’s former editor Andy Coulson as his communications director. …

In a post on his Twitter.com page, the actor writes, “Cameron should resign. England is filled with people who could do a better job.”

(more…)

If you’re hip to the movie news, by now you know that British actor Henry Cavil has been cast as Superman in Zach Snyder’s upcoming reboot.  That’s right, a man born and raised in the British Isles will be portraying an American icon.  When it was announced, many in the blogosphere assumed that we “wingnut fascists” would be outraged at the thought of an non-American playing the Man of Steel.  They assumed that our narrow-minded jingoism would prevent us from endorsing a solid actor nabbing the lead role in a highly anticipated film.  As usual, they were wrong.  We true film buffs could care less where the actor hails from, we just want a movie that is true to the character and kicks some ass.  Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns” had an American Superman, but failed miserably in the aspects that mattered most.  It wasn’t true to the character and didn’t really kick any ass.

But the casting does reveal a couple of interesting things.

Contrary to the propaganda coming from the Hate-America crowd, we are far more open to such things than other cultures, especially the British.  There was a lot of snark when Gwyneth Paltrow and Renee Zellweger applied their best British accents to their portrayals of Emma and Bridget Jones.  Plus, I doubt that the producers ever entertained the idea of casting an American Harry Potter or a Dr. Who born in Iowa.  What about James Bond?  Not only have they never considered Americans for the lead role, but they’ve turned down both Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino as directors.  Every Bond director has hailed from a Commonwealth nation.  Apparently, it’s okay for other countries to maintain “national treasures” and “cultural icons,” but for Americans to suggest doing the same means we’re racist, nativist, and generally close minded.  You see, to the rest of the world, we don’t actually have a culture.  How can we?  We are a nation made of other nations, a population of hyphenates who lack a common identity.

Well, this Prussian-American filmmaker calls foul.

Not only is Superman a Brit, but as NBC points out, so are Batman, and Spiderman.  NBC mistakenly lumps Wolverine into the group, but any geek worth their salt knows that Wolverine a.k.a. Logan is Canadian.  And Hugh Jackman who plays Wolverine is Australian, not British.  Oh, well, more quality fact-checking from NBC.  We should be used to this by now. (more…)

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The Mighty Michael Caine as an elderly vigilante gunning down street punks after reaching his breaking point?

Oh. God. Yes.

Christian Toto has more, including a second trailer and a warning about the obvious hand-wringing we can expect from left-wing critics (but I repeat myself):

Film critics make things worse, gnashing their teeth over the fact that audiences might – gulp – be rooting for the vigilante to win the day.

If “Harry Brown” is a straight-forward vigilante film in the vein of “Death Wish” and “Taken,” you can most certainly expect the same critics who root for the undermining of America and our military in one lousy Iraq War film after another to express “thoughtful concern” over audiences rooting for the death of murderous street punks (which will hopefully be cold and violent deaths either preceded or followed by iconic tough guy lines like, say, “You failed to maintain your weapons.”) (more…)

Today, with the help of Big Hollywood’s Leigh Scott, I begin my tribute series to Governor Sarah Palin.

Scott Leigh, a horror film-maker reminiscent of my not-always-so-hard-times spent with Larry Cohen, had this to say about what the Left fears about Sarah Palin:

What they fear is that Palin would actually stick to fiscally conservative principles. She would reform the tax laws to make them fair and rational. She would clip the influence of labor unions. She would end the unholy alliance of Big Government and Big Business. She may actually extend women’s rights to choose to include how they spend their money, where they send their kids to school, and what caliber handgun they want to buy. 

In short, Sarah Palin is the essence of American identity: individual freedom married to individual responsibility and, dare I say, the sacredly unique individuality vested within all of us upon conception, an American signature more indelible than that of John Hancock.

In light of the Liberally Dark Warnings about conservative homophobia, Sarah’s appearance on Greg Gutfeld’s increasingly irresistible RED EYE is de rigueur.

Right now, and unless I’m informed otherwise, the adorable Mike Huckabee is therefore “one-up” on Sarah. (more…)

Dear Big Hollywood readers, it gives me great satisfaction to report to you that BH has been out on point not only on compelling film industry issues, which will never be covered in promo rags like Variety and the Hollywood Reporter (but then again, AMPAS and the studios aren’t buying us off), but on many controversial issues being played out in America and the greater world at large as well.

I know this to be true. Being a news junkie myself, I have found time after time as I was reading about a supposedly breaking subject, like ABC’s recent coverage of the targeted LGBT murders in Iraq, that it had already been on display for all to see in Big Hollywood posts for months.

Not to toot my own horn, but…well, okay, I’m tooting my own horn. And those of Andy Breitbart and John Nolte, who have given I, and so many other wonderful and insightful Hollywood right-wing fringe types, a magnificent bullhorn we otherwise would not have. We appear to be doing the dirty jobs our media just refuses to do. It’s a labor Hercules would completely sympathize with. (more…)

I have always thought that men and women are different. 

No kidding, professor.

No, really, they are. I don’t mean in all the right places, of course, but somewhere else, with movies, in enjoying the things we see in the movies. 

I remember seeing Gunga Din (1939) for the first time and knowing from the opening shot that this was my kind of film. This was a guy film. Not a wishy-washy movie filled up with dance numbers and kissing scenes, but a guy flick. Great guy stuff was in this movie, and I was sold on it from the first pounding of that thunderous mighty gong. When Alfred Newman’s score turned from playful to ominous faster than you can say, ‘trouble in Tantrapur’, I knew I was in for a good one. This was the kind of movie you watched on a Saturday afternoon with your dad or with your pals. This was adventure!  (more…)

FROM : ALL US CONGRESS AND PRESIDENTS OF THE US

TO: ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE EARTH AND THE AMERICA.

CC: Madame Pelosis, Hary Reide, Sen. Frank, Not Bush. Mr. Gietner Taxes.

Dear American Friend!,

Oh the happytimes for us are coming without Bush. Assureing the future pleasent times for the Americans. Her’is what we are doing for this things: (more…)