There’s nothing better than being able to do the right thing and the politically savvy thing while simultaneously paying back a long-time abuser in spades.

And that’s just what the Republicans in Congress did to Hollywood when it abandoned the rush to pass SOPA and regulate the Internet for the benefit of Tinseltown. Astonishingly, considering its usual inability to perform competently at even the most basic level, the GOP not only managed to embrace good policy but drove a wedge into the Democratic coalition that may well have dramatic consequences down the road. And, best of all, it provided a bit of long overdue payback to the smug oligarchs of LA’s West Side who have spent the last couple decades treating Republicans like something you’d hasten to flush.

Hey, suckers, how do ya like us now?

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is only the latest attempt by Hollywood to breathe some life back into its dying business model. Enraged that online “pirates” are passing around bootleg copies of movies, shows, books, music, and all other manner of intellectual property, the industry did what it has done for years: ran to Congress for ever more burdensome and onerous laws designed to hold back the inevitable consequences of progress. 

But this time, it went too far. Perhaps it was Hollywood’s arrogance. Perhaps it was the provisions allowing Hollywood to use the United States government to shut down any website it pleased on the mere accusation of “piracy” without any due process, a power lefty–fascist bureaucrats would be only too eager to accept.

Not surprisingly, the people who make their living on the web were less than thrilled about giving Uncle Sam and the media conglomerates an off-switch.

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A few weeks ago Big Hollywood posted “‘Watchmen’ Creator Joins Occupy Comics,” noting how Deadline.com reported on Alan Moore joined other comic creators in planning a series of comic books in support of the Occupy Wall Street insurgency. In response to that story, I propose that conservatives launch a story and art project with our own perspective on #OWS.

Here is what I mean.

Alan Moore and other comic artists joining together to support #OWS is no surprise, since the comic industry is as left as the rest of the entertainment world. The comic industry previously slammed the Tea Party (although the company and writer of this particular incident later apologized; you be the judge of whether they were sincere), attacked George. W. Bush, presented the U.S. and U.S. military as evil, made an entire celebrated series out of blaspheming God and Christianity (this review of said series is actually quite good even if I don’t entirely agree with it), and has generally churned out leftist propaganda.

I no longer am scandalized at what the comic industry is doing. I expect the behavior, and I don’t envision creators apologizing for it—just as I wouldn’t have expected either Alan Colmes or Eugene Robinson to apologize to Rick Santorum for what they said about the politician’s dead child.

Leftists have made no secret about who they are, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t simply wipe the dust of their town from our feet and stop throwing pearls to them in worthless attempts to change them.

Instead, I propose we fight back.

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Thank you to everyone who participated in the informal have you been ostracized? poll. The results were interesting. More “in the closets” than I expected, and as I read the words, “just keep my mouth shut,” I became rather angry that my fellow Big Hollywood readers feel bullied in the workplace. Because that is what it is: bullying. When a human being fears that he may lose his job if he has the wrong thoughts, he is being bullied. Period. It doesn’t matter if the taunts are in your face or hovering unannounced in the air, only a bully uses his size and power to intimidate others into toeing the line.

Several of you indicated that you have lost your job, left your career or been blacklisted, which is even more disheartening.

Graphic designers and people in advertising, according to the comments, feel compelled to keep a very low profile. It makes sense, because this is an industry where the work must be commissioned. In order to stay employed, the artist needs to stay in the good graces of the powers that be. (more…)

“The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don’t wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules.” – Rob, (played by John Cusack) inn ‘High Fidelity,’ (2000)

Rob (from the movie ‘High Fidelity’) is most definitely right. The art of the mix tape is a finely-honed skill.  It requires patience, a clear understanding of the purpose of the mix, and of course a vast music collection.

I remember the first mix tape I ever received. It started with Bon Jovi’s  ‘You Give Love a Bad Name,’ had Journey’s ‘Open Arms’ in the middle and ended with Def Leppard’s  ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me’ … (and when Momma Murray heard this one, she calmly unwound all the tape from the cassette and threw it in the trash … apparently, that song’s not appropriate for a 14-year-old girl. And I’m pretty sure I was grounded from EVER talking to that boy again) …

Don’t know about you, but my iPhone is pretty much permanently attached to me at all times. And my playlists? They’re sacred. I spend hours categorizing my music and making lists I can turn on at a second’s notice. Today, I’d like to share a playlist with ya … and hopefully, my execution will make Rob proud …

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Mike Flynn recently wrote a cri de coeur on Big Government asking why conservatives have failed to move back the needle on government spending despite the profusion of conservative think tanks, foundations, policy shops, grass-roots organizations, and sundry other pointy-headed groups, mostly based in Washington, DC (although every state now has their equivalents, usually in the state capital.)

Why? It’s the culture, smarty-pants.

By “culture,” I don’t mean Washington, DC culture. I mean pop culture.

While the brightest and most talented conservatives pour into DC and pump out one study after another, endlessly debating arcane policy with a handful of other pinheaded intellectuals, the left has been busy consolidating their iron grip on the real reins of power — movies, TV, music, art.

If half the conservatives who pine to work at Heritage or Cato would only turn their ambitions to moviemaking and showrunning, conservatism might have a fighting chance.

As it is, you can move the musical chairs in DC around all you want, but if you don’t recapture the culture — or even a healthy slice of it — you may win a political battle or two now and then, but you’re destined to always play catch-up in the war long-term.

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There’s a theory that in order to ensure you never get hassled again, you walk up to the biggest guy in the room and knock him on his butt.  If you win, no one will ever mess with you because you knocked the biggest guy in the room on his butt.  And even if he gets up and pounds you into the ground, people will still avoid messing with you because you were crazy enough to try to knock the biggest guy in the room on his butt.

In the battle for the soul of our country, popular culture is the biggest guy in the room.  And it’s time that conservatives took a swing.  The Powerline Prize contest is a potential haymaker in one of the most important battles of our campaign.

Here’s how it describes itself:

The Power Line Prize of $100,000 will be awarded to whoever can most effectively and creatively dramatize the significance of the federal debt crisis. Prizes will also be awarded to the runner-up and two third-place finishers. Anyone can enter the contest—individuals, companies (e.g., advertising agencies) or any other entity, as long as the contest rules are followed. Any creative product is eligible: videos, songs, paintings, screenplays, Power Point presentations, essays, performance art, or anything else, as long as the product is unique to the contest and has not previously been published or otherwise entered the public domain. Entries may address the federal debt crisis in its entirety, or a specific aspect of the debt crisis, such as: the impact of the debt crisis on the young; the role played by the “stimulus” (Where did the money go? Why didn’t it stimulate?); how entitlements drive the debt crisis; the current federal deficit; how the debt crisis impacts the economy; or any other aspect of the debt crisis. The contest is non-partisan. Its purpose is to inform the public about the federal debt crisis.

Conservatives often dismiss the world of art as a milieu of posing half-wits seeking government subsidies for the unsellable, ridiculous and boring crap they churn out for the benefit of goateed posers and other suckers.  This is because an enormous amount of what is today labeled as “art” is manufactured by   posing half-wits seeking government subsidies for the unsellable, ridiculous and boring crap they churn out for the benefit of goateed posers and other suckers.

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Let’s be clear – the upper echelons of Hollywood are dominated by weirdos, losers and mutations.  I’m not judging – I live in LA, so naturally some of my best friends are weirdos, losers and mutations.  I’m simply pointing out a fact.  Most of the normal, hardworking, all-American folks in Hollywood are crew – and they showed it with their heartfelt booing of Michael Moore when he removed the muffin from his pie-hole just long enough to run down our country during the 2003 Oscar ceremony. 

But these great Americans are generally not members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and they don’t get to vote for who takes home the Oscar.  People like Sean Penn do.  And Tim Robbins.   And tranny vomit recipient Susan Sarandon.  

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These are the kind of folks who make up the majority of Oscar voters, so it’s no wonder that the Academy Awards show is so often a festival of nitwittery that leaves normal Americans scratching their heads wondering, “Um, what the hell was that?” 

Oscar has more than its share of astonishing failures, of crazy-uncle-locked-in-the-attic nods that the Academy sorely regretted about the time the after-party coke bowls ran dry.  The terrible Oscar choices listed here are only from the last few decades since the sting of choosing How Green Is My Valley over Citizen Kane and The Maltese Falcon has presumably faded since 1941– well, for some of us.  Oh, and you won’t find Marisa Tomei on this list – she rocks.  Deal with that, haters. 

So, in no particular order of insanity, here are Oscar’s 10 biggest recent screw-ups: ]

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[Editor's Note: This list is arranged in no particular order. Read Part I here.]

6.  “Nuclear weapons are awful.” – Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

There are probably a few inventions that have saved more human lives and prevented more suffering than nuclear weapons.  The wars since World War II, when we quite properly dropped two A-Bombs on Japan and ended the slaughter, have been a mere shadow of what they would have been without our thermonuclear arsenal.  That’s just a fact, and all the posturing about the “insanity” of deterrence in this inexplicably beloved movie can’t change that.  You should love The Bomb.

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Of course, Dr. Strangelove provides a better idea than nuclear deterrence by wholeheartedly embracing anti-missile defense.  Nah, just kidding.  The film advocates nothing except ironic detachment, essentially abdicating any responsibility and simply complaining about a strategy that, well, worked.  And let me be blunt – it just doesn’t hold up after all these years.  There, I said it.  Except Slim Pickens – Slim will always rock. (more…)

Selecting the stupidest liberal messages in movie history is sort of like trying to pick the world’s most annoying rapper – the competition is intense.  There are just so many candidates, and they each suck so badly in their own unique way.

Any attempt to pick the worst of the worst is bound to disappoint someone.  This list by no means contains all of the hackneyed, parochial, and just plain obnoxious bits of liberal received wisdom that the Hollywood brain trust has spewed forth over the years.  For every nitwit insight on the list, there are dozens more floating around the nether reaches of Netflix, waiting to annoy the unwary.  No doubt the commenters will find many more.

So, here my top ten in no particular order:

1. “All American Soldiers are psychos.” – Platoon (1986)

It’s pretty obvious that the American soldier is the greatest force for evil in all of human history – or it would be, if all you watched were post-Vietnam War Hollywood movies.  It seems that to most of the hacks in Hollywood, the mere act of donning an Army uniform turns you into a bloodthirsty killing machine with an appetite for murder.  And that’s not just on the battlefield.  In American Beauty (1999), the conservative Marine neighbor not only abuses his wife and son but murders people because he’s secretly gay!  That’s a liberal stereotype trifecta – they probably think it makes him a prime candidate for King of the Tea Party. (more…)

[Editor's Note: This list is arranged in no particular order. Read Part I here.]

6.  “Being exploited is different from being empowered ” – Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

Often too-easily dismissed as a raunchy teen sex comedy, Fast Time was a tremendously influential and important mirror on young America in the early 1980s.  The fact that it is gut-bustlingly funny – Sean Penn’s turn as surfer/stoner Jeff Spicoli remains his only role where he doesn’t annoy me – seems to overshadow the serious undercurrents, as does the ample nudity culminating in the unforgettable swimming pool scene starring the glorious Phoebe Cates.

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However, there is a very, very dark undercurrent to this movie that provides a serious lesson to young people.  Jennifer Jason-Leigh’s Stacy is a pretty but not-so-bright 15/16 year old who does not understand the difference between love and sex.  In a world of absolutely no parents (not a single one is ever seen), she tries to find love (or at least attention) by basically trying to have tacky sex with every guy she meets – and it’s heartbreaking.  She’s not “empowered” – she’s used.  The ugly scene where she loses her virginity to a guy in his 20s in a Little League dug-out staring at graffiti reading “Surf Nazis Must Die” is a better repudiation of the “hook-up” culture than a hundred lectures.

After scaring off the one guy who actually likes her for herself by trying to bed him too, she seeks comfort underneath his skanky pal.  A grim, humiliating encounter in a pool house leaves her pregnant and she immediately seeks an abortion.  Regardless of one’s stand on the life issue, one cannot be anything other than horrified at how the fact she sees herself as literally nothing but a mere receptacle leads her to feel nothing at all about her decision. (more…)

We conservatives spend a lot of time criticizing Hollywood’s failings, calling out its errors and pointing to its hypocrisies – and this is entirely appropriate since so much of the crap spewing out of the Tinseltown cookie cutter is borderline commie nitwittery masquerading as profundity.  But if nothing good ever came out of Hollywood – if everything it produced hewed to the same lame party-line pinkoism rejected everywhere except in Westside L.A., university faculty lounges, and Washington, D.C. – we all would have stopped paying attention long ago.

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And many conservatives have.  Many of us have thrown our hands in the air and opted out of popular culture completely, exhausted from enduring liberal sucker punches buried within crummy flicks about magic robots battling Dick Cheney vampire clones that we pay $12.50 to see in theaters maintained at the hygiene level of your average bus station men’s room.  You can hardly blame them for giving up.

But as tempting as it is to withdraw from the battlefield, to dig in and hope it somehow changes, surrender was never an option.  This is our culture, not theirs.  And they don’t get to control it. 

The fact is that among the detritus of American popular culture, there are voices of sanity.  Sure, they are nearly drowned out by over-praised hacks like Aaron Sorkin and over-indulged clowns like Oliver Stone.  Yet, occasionally, Hollywood has allowed positive, conservative messages to slip through. (more…)

Conservatives have long been silently known as the “more liberal givers“ despite the slacktivist narrative to the contrary. I can’t count a single conservative of my acquaintance that doesn’t include charitable work in their list of priorities. If we don’t want intrusive government then we need to care for the least among us so that they are not exploited as a reason by the government for bigger government.

My husband owns a recording studio, declared as one of the top 16 in the world by Mix Magazine so it wasn’t unusual when an artist named Becky Kelly called them to present a track, titled “Where’s the Line to See Jesus,” that she wanted to turn into a professional recording. What was unusual was the message: simplistic, heartfelt; one distinct melody with a lesson that extends beyond the boundaries of the holiday season. Along with the song Becky and Chris created the accompanying video below.

I’m proud of all the hard work everyone put into this and especially proud of the song’s biggest benefactor – it’s not Becky, it’s not the studio, but a charity called CFS that has long helped families in need and children who need temporary or forever homes. The charity operates solely on private donations but due to tumultuous economic times, those funds are shrinking. We can’t cede the privilege and responsibility of helping our fellow man to the government; that’s not who we are or what we believe and using the arts is a fantastic way to raise funds and awareness.

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So I’m flipping through a few videos and I come across this treasure [see below]. In a discussion about which vital organs the human body can live without, the writers of Happy Town couldn’t resist inserting a political dig, for no apparent reason. Sure it’s just a joke, but why are these jokes always against Conservatives? Personally, I think the heart of a Conservative gets used a lot more often than the brain of a Liberal. Certainly the “family values” stereotype conservatives own is based on love of family.

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I’m not certain that Liberals really know how to love. They’re pretty good with the hate; in fact I think their politics are based more on their hate of rich people than their love of the poor. The only love I’ve ever seen from a liberal is for their sixteen cats, helpless baby seals, and the cows they refuse to eat.

I also wonder why the producers of Happy Town would do this. Especially in light this new Gallup poll: 42% of Americans now define themselves as Conservative. Inserting a joke like that insults the biggest demographic in American politics seems opposed to the notion of Broadcasting and Making a Profit. Why would television producers pander to the slim 20% of America that considers themselves liberal? (These are the same people who brag at cocktail parties that they NEVER watch television.) Why would you pander to this small minority with little disposable income? What can you sell to people with too many tattoos and piercings to get real jobs? I was not aware that Ramen Noodles was a big advertiser. (more…)

Don’t you read books? It’s a scientific fact; “The entire Fox News Channel is a twenty-four-hour-a-day racism engine.” Thank God for Sarah Silverman because before her (and as a long-time Fox News contributor), I was completely unaware of their covert, racist agenda. We need more truth warriors out there, and I am forever grateful to Miss Silverman for spearheading the movement.

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In a recent interview, the author of “The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption and Pee,” openly accused Tea Partiers of spewing veiled racism. See, the key word here is “veiled.” You rarely see leftists accusing conservatives of blatantly shouting racial epithets anymore. Sure, they’ve tried it a few times. However, realizing that the burden of proof rests squarely on the shoulders of the accuser (i.e. them), they’ve opted to take a different direction. They’ve instead decided to accuse conservatives of speaking in “coded” language.

Side note to Conservatives: Put your secret, racist lexicons and decoder rings away and lay low for a while. They’re on to us.

No, I’m not making this up. In the interview, Silverman went on to say, “… but it’s all coded, all implied.” (more…)

My friends, please watch:

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Don’t  criticize. I think this is absolutely terrific and courageous, a marvelous use of free speech and fearless. It has inspired me to start a new campaign called:  

OUT OF THE HOLLYWOOD CONSERVATIVE CLOSET — WE ARE NOT AFRAID 

Now is the time to let it be known that Conservatives in Hollywood have been punished and afraid for far too long. I know there are many of you out there, lurking in the shadows, scared shitless of not getting hired, losing your homes and being shunned by the Hollywood elite — so I understand you must stay hidden. After all, Conservatives won’t even hire you for fear of being a Conservative sympathiser. The good thing is some liberals might hire you as the token conservative. In any case, think twice before you sign up.  After all we’re only talking about saving our country.

This will only work if those of you currently in the closet will all join me. We will set up times and come to you if need be. Once we get enough names — known and unknown — we can begin.  (more…)

I make horror movies for a living. I’ve produced, written or directed zombie movies, werewolf movies, alien invasion movies, vampire movies, serial killer movies, freaky Frankenstein movies and yes, a film about giant, mutant whooping cranes (links may be NSFW). I’ve studied, analyzed and researched how to scare people.

Clearly, if I want to scare leftists, all I have to do is hold up a picture of Sarah Palin.

Of course, the leftists will assure you that they aren’t scared of Sarah Palin. Why would they be? She’s dumb. She’s goofy. She hasn’t brushed up on the real issues. She’s a quitter. She’s not a real contender.

Whatever. After that Tea Party speech half of the DNC had to check to see if they’d wet their pants. Her book tour was more disturbing to them than the “spider walk” scene in “The Exorcist”.

But why? What makes her so scary? (more…)

The only surprising thing about hearing that Law & Order was going to take on the Bush administration over “torture” is the realization that Law & Order is still on the air.  This car-wreck of a series has been bouncing around NBC’s schedule since the first Bush administration doing the impossible – making lawyers look even worse.  Thanks, guys.

Law & Order’s mysteries are as unpredictable as where the sun will come up tomorrow morning.  In a typical episode, when the cops arrest a gang member you can safely bet the climatic trial denouement will reveal the real killer to be either the wealthy corporate executive,  the ambitious conservative politician or the hypocritical Christian preacher.  You know, kind of like in real life. (more…)

Your correspondent, as absorbed by the Warhol Museum, 117 Sandusky Street, Pittsburgh, PA.

A dance craze— like “freaking”— it is not, but rather, a point of view.

Back in January of this year, Andrew Breitbart announced “Big Hollywood’s modest objective: to change the entertainment industry”.  The announcement is as important as it is radical, assessing the power of Pop Culture in shaping global attitudes and standing athwart contemporary assaults on Western values, yelling, as did William Buckley in 1955, Stop.

Ask yourself: Is a vision of the world that is contrary in almost every way to the prevailing cultural paradigms a difficult “sell”?  Given this is always so, how is such a challenge overcome? (more…)

Last Tuesday evening I was privileged to attend a dinner at which Karl Rove was the keynote speaker.  The event was put on by the Heritage Foundation, the premiere conservative think tank of Washington, DC, of which I am proud to be a supporting member.  While Mr. Rove’s speech covered numerous topics, one point that he made has stuck with me and, I believe, should serve as a light for conservatives as we travel through the political wilderness. 

While Mr. Rove has been defined by the media and Hollywood elite as a partisan attack dog and nicknamed forebodingly as “The Architect,” he came off as anything but and emphasized that conservatives should be careful to work with our current president in a respectful manner.  When he mentioned President Obama’s name, a few overzealous members of the audience shouted out their less than positive feelings about the man; and Mr. Rove quickly and gently reminded them that our president has made some decisions that conservatives should applaud. From the surge in Afghanistan to military tribunals, Mr. Rove explained that President Obama has taken the right steps in regards to some very important issues that face our nation.   (more…)

This series of essays was not intended to be a laundry list of conservative literary authors – laundry lists are always boring and never helpful.  Instead, they were intended to be an investigation only, examining the dearth of conservatives in literature with an eye toward discovering the reason for this curious state of affairs and formulating a course for its possible correction.

As to the first, we have reached a tentative answer: A combination of temperament and values in the conservative mind combine to make the writing life both less suitable for, and less attractive to, conservatives.  The question remains:  What is to be done?

Let us state the obvious first  – conservatives who are so inclined must write, write often, and write well.  But that is not enough.  They must submit their work to literary magazines, publishing houses and agencies, large and small, again and again if need be.  Getting your work to market is a long, disappointing slog, with no guarantee of success for even the best of work.  Liberal writers know this and engage the process nonetheless; conservatives must do likewise. (more…)