HBO has made a name for itself for not only delivering strong original content like “The Sopranos” but deeply biased documentaries like “Reagan.”

Now, HBO’s main competitor Showtime is backing a new documentary on Vice President Dick Cheney. The channel hired R.J. Cutler, the producer behind the pro-Clinton documentary “The War Room,” to give us a new look at President George W. Bush’s vice president and confidante.

Tentatively titled, “The World According to Dick Cheney,” the film will take a look at one of the most powerful vice presidents in history. Here’s director R.J. Cutler’s take on the upcoming film from a Showtime press release:

Like it or not, we live in a world defined by the domestic and international vision of Dick Cheney — perhaps the single-most influential non-Presidential figure in American political history,” said Cutler. “But for all the debate that his re-emergence in the public eye has caused, the fact is that Cheney the man remains an enigma, and the  manner in which he utilized his power and experience to become such a dominating political figure, have been left largely unexplored. This documentary will shine a balanced and multi-dimensional light on this truly polarizing figure.

Will “The World According to Dick Cheney” be a fair representation of the veteran political figure?  We’ll have to wait and see, but consider this snippet from a piece Cutler wrote about how “The War Room” got such unfettered access to Clinton’s campaign.

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The comment section of any blog or internet site is always a re-education. Not about diversity of opinion but about the human condition itself.

No matter how close two people’s opinions might seem to be, eventually there will be a difference of some sort between them.

In short, we are all confronted eventually with the isolation everyone feels because of their own inalterable uniqueness.

Not even Siamese twins can agree about everything.

At such times, philosophers such as France’s Jean Paul Sartre conclude that “Hell is other people!”

“L’enfer est les autres!”

I don’t agree, of course.

What had always been hell for me was the fear and experience of isolation itself.

I then realized how God’s very existence in the lives of men was inspired and maintained by such moments of inevitable isolation.

“Someone or something must and does understand me!”

Then, of course, one’s relationship to such a Something is up to debate.

Does the Something expect something of you, demand something of you and, of course, if you don’t measure up?

Hmmm … what are the consequences?

This is where my immeasurably vital experience with Alcoholics Anonymous comes in: “Let go, let God.”

That is their incantation: “Let go, let God!”

Which means: “Stop asking yourself that stupid question and let God answer it for you and He will.”

And He has.

How?

By erasing the nightmares of anxiety that arose from your asking the stupid questions in the first place.

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I’ve written several articles skewering HBO for producing political projects destined to air immediately prior to the 2012 election, where the vast majority of the cast and crew are passionate Barack Obama supporters, and where the content is aimed at the Democrat’s two favorite Republican villains: Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney. So, when I sat down to watch HBO’s Too Big to Fail, I prepared myself for the worst. What I didn’t expect was the big surprise awaiting me.

Too Big to Fail, which premieres on HBO on May 23, 2011, features a star studded cast recounting the events that led to the financial crisis and bailouts by the U.S. government in 2008. It is a mini-series packed into a 98-minute made-for-television movie where several essential characters are quickly introduced and where finance and economics are casually discussed. It may help if one has a baseline of knowledge about the crisis before watching the movie. If one doesn’t know who Henry Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and Timothy Geithner are or what Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and AIG are, it may prove slightly difficult to follow.

Although the Director, Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, 8 Mile), was limited to telling a very long and complicated story in a very short amount of time, he was able to skillfully pull it off. Perhaps this is because the screenwriter, Peter Gould (Breaking Bad), deftly adapted Andrew Ross Sorkin’s 2009 prize winning New York Times Bestseller, Too Big to Fail. (more…)

Essentially, what Michael Moore and Roseanne Barr are saying here (though she argues with him before she appears to agree on principle) is that America shouldn’t have gone into Libya because George W. Bush destroyed the trust the world had in us. And so, as a consequence, the number one priority for our Pentagon and military is that they should take a “time out” and stop doing anything until the world trusts and loves us again.

Translation? Sitting on our hands as untold thousands of civilians are butchered in the Middle East will help rebuild the trust the people in the Middle East have in us.

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I’m always impressed by how compassionate the likes of a Michael Moore can sound as he speaks evil. To him the Pentagon taking a ”time out” takes precedent over saving thousands of innocent lives. Moore can lie all he wants, he can say the French should have taken the lead in Libya, but he knows full well that the French are incapable of summoning the kind of military might necessary to do what needed to be done last week. There’s plenty to criticize regarding Obama’s stunning lack of leadership, clarity and commitment, but the idea of America standing helplessly by as a potentially historic Middle East uprising is gunned down and butchered, is unthinkable.

It was the same with these people and the war in Iraq. I had no problem with those who opposed the war before we went in. But once we were there, once the Iraqi people stood up and voted for our side, we had and have a moral obligation to stand with them until they can take over the security of their country. And yet, knowing the consequence of an American withdrawal on the Iraqi civilian population, knowing what the death squads and terrorists would do to  millions of innocents who trusted us, wicked people like Michael Moore and, yes, Barack Obama still did everything in their power to make that happen.

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So that impromptu press conference on Friday was fun. For a brief moment, I felt like I had traveled back to the mid nineties, and every year of time travel had knocked a sandwich off Bill Clinton. He resembled one of those inflatable “party Clintons” you hire for events – but Obama had neglected to blow this one up.

There, our President actually said, “I’m going to take off,” letting Clinton take over – something he could not resist. Handing him the podium was like giving him a Playboy Bunny made of hot dogs. He didn’t know whether to eat it, or bang it.

And, it reminded me of trying to buy a car. Faced with two sales guys of murky seniority – it’s the top guy who ends up heading out to close a bigger deal. For some reason, I’m always stuck with the rambling, folksy guy. He’s got all the time in the world to tell you about his grandkids. That’s Clinton.

So what does this say about Obama?

That he’s too cool for school.

He’s a man with other things on his brain (egg nog, maybe) and boy is he tired of our lack of appreciation. So a hand-off to Bill made sense. Afterward, the old man can play Santa at the house.

Which leads me to this great idea I have for a new cop show. One cop is the aloof guy – confident in his ambivalence, tired of your complaining. The other, a jovial narcissist, never missing an opportunity to insert himself in comical situations, and women. (more…)

So in the last few days, Obama has met with a group of lefty bloggers, and hit the Daily Show. At a time when most of the country is deeply dissatisfied with Captain Perfect, he’s done what most men do.

He made a booty call.

Yep, rather than reach out to those who are frustrated, disaffected, or even undecided about what to do this Tuesday – he called the folks he knew would comfort him: the awestruck progressives.

Yeah, it feels good. But it doesn’t help much.

I mean, no matter what Obama does, the progs are still going to vote for him. Even the lefty bloggers – who rightly questioned the President on gay rights, will always go home with him at last call. And Stewart’s entire criticism of Obama can be boiled down to, “Hurry up, dude.”

Fact is, none of these people will ever cheat on him, so he wasted his breath.

But it underscores two key points: (more…)

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According to the current edition of the New Yorker, magazine, Beverly Hills billionaire Haim Saban donated $7 million to the Democratic National Committee for its new headquarters shortly after former president Bill Clinton personally lobbied the president of Brazil to approve a private business deal that netted Saban $1.5 billion in capital gains.

Describing the 2001 sale of Saban’s Fox Family network to Disney, which brought the Egyptian-born Saban — a dual citizen of Israel and the U.S. — $5.3 billion, author Connie Bruck writes:

Because Disney and Fox Family operated internationally, the deal required regulatory approvals from many countries. “Brazil could have been a deal-breaker,” Chernin recalled. In a confidential memorandum written on October 1st, Fox Family’s attorneys in Brazil explained that the deal would have to be reviewed successively by three government bodies; from past experience, the attorneys estimated that the process would take between six and eight months, which would push the deal past the deadline, at the end of October. Disney refused to close without Brazilian approval. Both sides retained counsel for the anticipated litigation.

“Haim said, ‘Let me make a phone call—maybe I can get something done here,’ ” Chernin told me. “He was extremely helpful in getting Clinton to help. Clinton called the President of Brazil.” Matt Krane [Saban's former laywer and tax adviser] recalled how Saban described to him what had happened: “Saban had called the Fox Family attorney in Brazil and asked, ‘How long will it take?’ It was months. He said he asked the lawyer, ‘Who is your finance minister?’ The attorney understood, and he said, ‘There is no political pull available in this process.’ Saban called Bill Clinton and asked, ‘Can you help me?’ ” Soon afterward, the approval came through.

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Many thanks to all for making my new book “Hollywood on the Potomac” a success.  In the first week, it is already hitting Non-Fiction Bestseller lists in bookstores.  It’s available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Borders and many major independents in Los Angeles and Hollywood.  It features over 200 photos and stories that detail the fascination between Hollywood stars and Washington power-players.

Here’s an excerpt:

Chapter Five, Personalities, Politics and Powerbrokers

Somehow late night talk shows became a logical first step for politicians to reach voters. Somehow rock stars became a political voice of the disenfranchised. Somewhere along the way, American politics and pop culture personalities began to blend. (more…)

It’s going to be a very sparse one this week, since Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, and Jon Stewart were all on vacation. (Last week, everybody but Stewart and Colbert were on vacation so I didn’t watch. They re-ran those episodes this week, but except for the Michael Jackson stuff, there wasn’t really enough overlap material to judge them fairly).

Lamest Attempt at Obama Joke: David Letterman claimed that Obama was in Russia, hiking the Appalachian trail.

Letterman also used John McCain as a foil on three different nights to compare the disparity between winners and losers of the last Presidential election: While Obama traveled to Russia to meet with Putin, McCain was chasing kids off his lawn. While Obama was in Italy, McCain was heating up a can of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee; While Obama was in Italy meeting with the G-8, McCain was on his front porch in Arizona, waving at cars. (more…)

You all know the story to date. Former Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was given the bum’s rush out of Tegucigalpa to Costa Rica by Honduras’ military on June 25th. In the days since, this apparent brutal seizure of power has received worldwide condemnation, most particularly by the Organization of American States, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, Nicaragua president Daniel Ortega, the Castro brothers of Cuba and President Obama. Ya, I know. Bear with me. That’s just the setup.

Manuel Zelaya

July Fourth, the OAS ejected Honduras from its membership for refusing to reinstate Zelaya, but too late. The defiant interim Honduran government, now led by Roberto Micheletti, had already said in so many words, “you can’t fire me! I quit!” In short, the mouse gave the eagle the finger. I can appreciate that. At present, the possibility of sanctions is very real, a fact that could hurt the already hardscrabble nation very deeply, especially if the coffee trade is affected. (more…)

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

Returning once again to the land beneath the Big Hollywood sign for a most important poll question. “The Stoning of Soraya M.” has received powerful rave reviews across the political spectrum. The buzz is hot. From the leftie pundits at HuffPo (who only seem to be discovering the true human rights horrorshow nature of that regime now, most curious) to the Righties at Big Hollywood and elsewhere, SORAYA M. is a must-see movie that will linger with you long after you’ve left the theater.

Strangely enough, Amnesty lnternational’s Elise Auerbach doesn’t like it. Because stonings in Iran are so rare, don’t you know. No suspension of disbelief for Ms. Elsie. I’m sorry, what’s her job again? Oh yeah, Iran Specialist for Amnesty International. Go figure. Personally, I happen to think one stoning is one too many. And it wasn’t the only one, not by a country mile! But that’s just me. I’m not an Iran specialist for AI. Like, say, Ms. Auerbach. Nice work if you can get it, huh, Ms. Elsie? (more…)

After a week that will go down in history as the moment Republicans finally stood up for themselves, comics are not laying off John McCain’s former running mate just yet. Bill Maher said that Iran was propped up by oil revenue and run by a religious whacko, just like Alaska. Letterman, despite frequent jokes about the amount of hate mail he has been receiving, couldn’t help mentioning that Gay Pride week was the only time of year when you can see hundreds of men dressed up like Sarah Palin.

The big topics of the week were Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the presidential fly killing:

The election of Mahmoud was compared by the talk show hosts alternately to the 2000 Presidential and the 2008 Minnesota Senate elections. Fallon claimed that now that his opponent lost, he’ll go on to make a documentary about Global Warming.  David Letterman actually did a joke almost every single night, changing the punchline from Florida voting machines, to Pat Buchanan, Al Gore, Al Franken and Jeb Bush.  Bill Maher used Norm Coleman then criticized his audience for not knowing who he was talking about. The funniest line was Ferguson’s who claimed that Iranian politics have finally gotten as corrupt as Chicago. (more…)

The crime is complete. Judgment has been passed. The killing stones are in hand. As per the harsh stoning penal code of Iran’s Islamist thugocracy (for however long that lasts) where the crime took place, my stones are not so big as to kill right away, not so small you can’t call them stones. And I’m winding up like Nolan Ryan. Feel free to pick up a stone of your own. But wait for it!

And let me make this perfectly clear, even if they do say Jehovah!

Sentence must be read before being carried out. And unlike Soraya M., the board members of the Asylum of Motion Picture Airheads and Stooges will deserve every rock that’s thrown their way. I also believe that, in light of events in Iran today, the following commentary will stand out in much starker prominence than it did when I first started reporting on them in early March, when Team Oscar first set off for the Unfriendly Skies of Islamist Iran. (more…)

Every article you read these days from the liberal media has a very clear message:   the Republican Party is dead and should be buried.  Conservatism is in shambles.  The Democrats have the upper hand and the correct solution for the country.  Tax and Spend is working.  The Stimulus is working.  Foreign powers love us.  All is happy in liberal land. 

I beg to differ.  In fact, I believe the evidence is stronger each day that the Republican Party is making inroads into the Democratic “majority.”  The election happened and Obama and the Democrats are in power.  We have to live with that for another 18 months.  But when one looks at the trends a new picture begins to develop. 

All evidence indicates that the country is going the other way and still leans center-right.  Look at what happened in Virginia yesterday.  In a hotly contested Democratic primary for governor, R. Creigh Deeds, a conservative Democrat, whooped an ex-head of the DNC and staunch supporter of the Clintons.  Deeds is about as far to the right as the Democratic Party gets.  He is so pro-gun that he supports concealed weapons in bars and nightclubs.  I’m not even sure if I go that far.

 Why did Deeds get the nomination?  Well, according to every article and news report, it is because the Virginia Democrats are afraid of losing the governorship in November to the Republican candidate.  Robert McDonnell is a staunch Republican Conservative and the Virginia populace is definitely to the right regardless of whether the state went with Obama.  A liberal Democrat is never going to win Virginia right now and probably never.  (more…)

You know, people, I really wish I knew what the story was regarding President Obama’s puzzling diplomatic approach to Islamist Iran. Inquiring Minds Want To Know. This ain’t no movie, and I really don’t like the storyline to date. Haven’t since 1979. So what’s the script? White House Productions seems to be holding the storyline in blackout mode, and at this point I’m ready to put former FOX reporter Roger Friedman on the job of rooting it out. He sure did a bang-up job on “Wolverine.”

To be fair, I actually gave the President credit in this March 26th opinion piece entitled “Is President Obama Turning The Tables on Iran?” See, it occurred to me that the President might be undertaking a very brilliant strategy toward the Islamic Republic. If the President offers the Iranian regime nothing but carrots and gets nothing but sticks in return, then the regime is exposed as the hard case it really is. Nobody could say the President hadn’t tried every means at his disposal to make peace. (more…)

- Summer, 1987:  In a stunning and unprecedented move, President Walter Mondale has stepped in and saved the Broadway musical “42nd Street” from eviction at the Majestic Theatre.  The theatre’s owners had earlier announced that they were using a standard clause in the production’s booking agreement and had given an eviction notice to the show due to low ticket sales.  Subsequently, the theatre owners have also announced that in January of next year, the Majestic will be the new home to British import “The Phantom of the Opera.”

But, in an effort to “save American jobs” and keep an American musical from having to make way for an imported show, President Mondale has deemed “42nd Street” “too big to fail”: “This show has been running since 1980 and has been providing jobs for hundreds of working families in New York.  My administration is determined to keep this production running and to keep these long-suffering, union workers on the job,” the President said. (more…)

*A detainee was shot in the groin with a BB gun during an interrogation incident. The interrogator had pointed it at the eyes and faces of other detainees before the emasculating testicle shot took place.

*A detainee was ritualistically beaten and left with a wound 7 inches around and 1/2 inch deep on his butt that required two surgeries. Apparently the detainee was told that it would “toughen up your hide.”

*3 soldiers stripped a 19 year old detainee down to his boxers and started firing BBs at him from about 5 feet away. They then tried to get the detainee to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, which he refused.

*Soldiers made detainees lie down naked in a makeshift pool filled with six inches of ice water, beer, kitchen garbage, and urine. Other soldiers took turns standing on a stepladder above the pool and attempted to drop raw eggs into the mouth of the detainees lying in the fluid. (more…)

In the 80’s my quest was to see the Letterman show live.  I LOVED his sense of humor. Memorable segments were “the guy under the stairs,” Larry “Bud” Melman, “Fun with Rupert,” and Biff Henderson’s “Map Across America.” I also got a kick out of Dave’s mom going to and reporting on the Olympics as well as her “name that pie” bit on Thanksgivings. My ultimate fav was Dave’s wacky antics with Mujibar & Sirajul.  It was all comic originality; fresh, silly, and sometimes mindless, but really entertaining and funny.

Disappointingly, by the time I finally did see the show in 2004, the bits I loved ceased to exist and most likely had been banished to the “Late Show” archives.  Rather than attending my first show with eagerness, it was just a cheap way to kill an evening during a business trip.  Since I didn’t have a ticket, I knew I’d need to charm my way in.

A friend had told me that to get in the front row they have “audience scouts” outside the theatre looking for people who are attractive, friendly, expressive, and bubbly.  Being an actress I knew how to play that part, so I glammed up and put on my best New York artsy chic and set out to the Ed Sullivan Theatre.  The “audience scouts,” who looked all of about 14-years-old, were out in front waiting for their subjects to approach.  Oh, to be that young making so little money but holding so much power!  Knowing what I must do, I got my “bubble on” and with just the right amount of star stuck enthusiasm I approached one of the 14-year-old keepers of the audience paperwork! (more…)

You all know the drill. The recent vague and controversial DHS report on right-wing extremism, the cover of which DHS might just as well have put on the Republican Party platform. The endless puerile teabagging jokes from the fourth estate’s finest, giggling into their microphones like ten-year-olds who just found a tittie mag.

CNN reporter Susan Roesgen even called a Tea Party “anti-government and anti-CNN” when her pro-government handout rant to a Tea Partier was rudely interrupted. Ms. Roesgen took particular offense at a sign of Obama with a Hitler moustache. “Why be so hard on the President of the United States though with such an offensive message?” the offended Ms. Roesgen asked.

Yet in 2006, Ms. Roesgen was perfectly comfortable with this Satan/Hitler Bush mask, jokingly calling it a Bush ‘look-alike.’ I guess it all depends on which POTUS you’re hard on. Right, Suzie?

And therein lies the rub. Dissent was SO patriotic not so long ago, wasn’t it? Dissent against war, dissent against torture, dissent against wiretapping, dissent against Gitmo, dissent against rendition, dissent against government abuse of power. In fact, now-Secretary of State Clinton was quite vocal on the matter back in the day: (more…)