The Google logo has been blacked out today. Wikipedia, reddit, Mozilla and Twitpic are all blocking access to content.  Even Star Trek icon George Takei has blocked his site.  The moves are displays of cyber-protest against the heavy-handed and ill-conceived Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

From a political and public relations standpoint, this has already been a complete and utter failure for Hollywood and their formerly formidable lobbying arm, the Motion Picture Association of America. Former Sen. Chris Dodd became the new CEO of the MPAA after he realized he would never be re-elected in his home state of Connecticut due to his personal scandals with Countrywide Mortgage and his involvement in the mortgage collapse at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. So naturally, Hollywood hired the failed Senator as their man in Washington. Dodd has been the chief architect of SOPA, which was written with about as much subtlety and constitutional protocol as his equally disastrous Dodd-Frank banking law.

The merits of SOPA and the overall issue of online piracy is a worthy topic, and it can be argued that the federal government should have some hand in policing and enforcing piracy on behalf of private industries and artists who rely on royalties as a major part of their profit structure. These details can and should be debated here and in Washington DC. What is striking about today’s Internet blackout and the over-the-top reaction to it from Dodd is that this arrogant, befuddled and inept former Senator has finally figured out a way to unite the left and the right to focus their passion against a common enemy:  Hollywood. 

When was the last time left-leaning companies like Google aligned themselves with the Heritage Foundation? When have you seen left-wing think tanks like Demand Progress taking the same stand on an issue as Tea Party organizations? How often do you see Huffington Post columnists parrot talking points from the CATO Institute? Yet, thanks to the arrogance and ineptitude of Chris Dodd and the MPAA, these disparate groups are all aiming their ire at the Hollywood industry and the politicians who gladly take their donations and then push through ill-conceived legislation with the subtlety of an elephant in a ballet.

No matter how the SOPA legislation ends up, this episode should send a clear message to Hollywood and the elite few who share the same big government nanny-state desires embodied in the SOPA bill. Annoyance and anger at the pompous industry transcends ideological lines, and when an industry chooses a buffoon like Chris Dodd to handle what should be a nuanced and introspective regulation that polices piracy without stifling free expression, they deserve the black eye they are getting.

Face it, Hollywood: America is telling you to take a leap, and take your failure of a lobbyist with you.

‘BURN NOTICE’ RETURNS — AND YOU SHOULD WATCH

Full disclosure, my brother is an editor on the show but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a terrific piece of escapism with a patriotic protagonist and the awesome Bruce Campbell being, well, awesome:

Just when Michael thought he was out, they pull him back in.

Or rather, he — bad dude Anson, the last member of “Management,” the guys who got Michael burned in the first place — pulls him back in.

Anson (guest star Jere Burns) revealed himself in the summer finale of the show. And in tonight’s episode, “Damned If You Do,” the first of six new episodes that will lead to the Dec. 15 season five finale, Anson continues to blackmail Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) and girlfriend Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) into carrying out his dastardly deeds.

My pretty wife’s “Burn Notice” addiction is unprecedented and also kind of adorable.

WSJ: ‘J. EDGAR’ SUGGESTS THAT HOOVER WAS GAY

As does the trailer. So no surprise there. ‘Variety’ adds that the film contains a ‘homoerotic wrestling scene.‘ More from the WSJ…

Hearing about the direction the movie was headed from his Hollywood connections, Mr. Baker helped draft a letter to the filmmakers, citing “a monumental distortion.” The Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI also weighed in. “We objected to the inference that he was homosexual but didn’t want the letter to be inferring we were opposed to gay relationships,” says spokesman Craig L. Dotlo.

Mr. Dotlo says former members of Hoover’s security detail say they never saw any indication of a romance between Tolson and Hoover. “Is it possible that they could have had a closet relationship? Sure. Our point is that there’s no empirical evidence.”

You see, it doesn’t matter if there’s evidence or not. In Hollywood, all that matters is that there’s a rumor.

There’s no way in hell Eastwood could make this movie without a ‘homoerotic wrestling scene’ or something of the like and survive the politically correct onslaught. He’d be crucified as a bigot, coward, and homophobe.

This is The New Hollywood Production Code. The fascism of political correctness will always trump artistic freedom. To be clear, though, I’m not saying Eastwood caved to this reality. From the statements I’ve read, he believes in the story he told and the way in which he interpreted the relationship between Tolson and Hoover. So more power to him.

That, however, doesn’t change the fact that the current climate in Hollywood would’ve made it impossible for a director to make a different choice without suffering a “Passion of the Christ”-like backlash.

…a peek into the future.

GOOGLE EYES POTENTIAL STRATEGY TO DELIVER CABLE TV SERVICES TO CONSUMERS

From search engine to superpower:

The strategy would involve combining Internet, video and phone services similar to cable and telecom companies, and Google has had exploratory talks with Walt Disney Co., Time Warner Inc. and Discovery Communications about delivering TV channels over the video service.

As long as it’s cheap.

ABOUT THAT BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE PASS

In order to get the Streaming portion through Dish I have to shell out $25 for yet another piece of equipment. This is a problem and will be the problem as streaming becomes the new way we enjoy home video.

It’s not the $25, it’s being forced to have all this new equipment for each new provider. The powers-that-be need to figure out a way to deliver all of this through a single piece of equipment and my vote goes to the Blu-ray player.

My Blockbuster subscription is for a free 30-day trial, but I’ll likely hang on to it. I like being able to get DVDs from the actual store.

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SCOTTDS’ EPIC LINK-TACULAR

‘BURN NOTICE’: BRUCE CAMPBELL TEASES BIG GUEST STARS AND BIGGER EXPLOSIONS

THE WRITERS OF ‘THE SMURFS’ ARE NOW WRITING A ‘POPEYE’ MOVIE

JUSTIN BIEBER ADDRESSES PATERNITY SUIT ON ‘TODAY’

BURT REYNOLDS TO PLAY HIMSELF ON ‘ARCHER‘

THE SECRETS OF HOLLYWOOD AGENCY MAILROOMS

INEVITABLE: FROM THE MAKERS OF ‘AUCTION HUNTERS’ COMES ‘LUGGAGE WARS‘

MEET THE NEW MISS MONEYPENNY

SIMON KINBERG WRITING ‘X-MEN: FIRST CLASS’ SEQUEL

STEPHEN FRY REUNITED WITH LOST WALLET DURING NIGHTMARE JOURNEY

STARZ ANNOUNCES ‘SPARTACUS: VENGEANCE’ START DATE

FIVE SHORT FILMS INSIDE LONGER ONES

EVEN SALMAN RUSHDIE IS MOCKING KIM KARDASHIAN

WRITERS HIRED FOR ADAPTATION OF GRAPHIC NOVEL ‘BOILERPLATE: HISTORY’S MECHANICAL MARVEL‘

CANON UNVEILS NEW DIGITAL CAMERA SYSTEM FOR FILM, TV PRODUCTION

BATMAN SPARKS A RIOT IN NEW YORK

PICS FROM ‘MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL’

ANDY SERKIS WILL RETURN FOR ‘APES’ SEQUEL

WHOOPS! CLEANER SCRUBS AWAY PART OF ARTWORK

PLAYING ‘GRAND THEFT AUTO’ IS SEXUAL HARRASSMENT, APPARENTLY

15 ZOMBIE MOVIES CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT

FIRST LOOK: BILL MURRAY AS FDR IN ‘HYDE PARK ON HUDSON’

THE 10 MOST EXPLOSIVELY MASCULINE CAPTAIN KIRK BATTLE TECHNIQUES

EFFECTS GURU RICHARD TAYLOR DISCUSSES HIS WORK ON PETER JACKSON’S ‘DEAD ALIVE‘

FILM SCHOOL 101: YOUR PROJECTIONIST AND YOU

COULD LEGALIZING POT RUIN THE STONER MOVIE EXPERIENCE?

HOLLYWOOD’S SCARIEST RUMORS, MYTHS, AND LEGENDS

20 FACTS ABOUT ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S ‘THE BIRDS‘

FOR YOU SCREENWRITERS: HOW TO HANDLE DIALOGUE

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LAST NIGHT’S SCREENING

Cars 2 (2011): Going to write a full review today. Short version: Straight-to-video story wrapped in breathtaking visuals and brilliant physical direction.

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CLASSIC PICK FOR SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5

2:00 AM EST:  Requiem For A Heavyweight (1962) –  A washed-up prizefighter tries to free himself from his ruthless promoters to build a new life. Dir: Ralph Nelson Cast:  Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney. BW-85 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format.

Two things about this beautifully heartbreaking movie that deserve more discussion. The first is how against type the actors are cast and how well it works. Quinn is the gentle giant, the victim; Gleason is a son of a bitch; Rooney is all repressed, helpless rage — the story’s impotent conscience.  The second thing is the stunning black and white cinematography. This is a beautifully filmed production where you feel as much as see the seedy world in which it takes place. Both the design and the lighting add as much to the success of the story as any other element.

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--Please send tips/suggestions/requests/complaints to jnolte@breitbart.com

Hollywood superstar Will Ferrell is surrounded by eight “celebrities” in a satirical defense of the health insurance companies.

And I use the term “celebrities” loosely. One is the only recognizable character from the cult series “Heroes,” another is a star of a popular cable series that was recognized at Sunday’s Emmy Awards, another is a star of a cable series that nobody ever watches, one is from Comedy Central’s Reno 911, another is his best friend, one is the star of the hit movie franchise “Scooby-Doo,” and to give the clip credibility, two of the “celebrities” actually play doctors on TV.  I will give a prize to anyone who can name all eight without using Google®.

Is this the best Hollywood can come up with? Other than Ferrell, most of these people don’t even have a Q score high enough to make it on “Dancing with the Stars,” or “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here!”

So where are the A-listers? It seems like most of them have been trying to rebuild their careers. People who were stars in the early part of this century saw their earnings take a nose dive as they learned that a lot of conservatives watch TV and buy movie tickets, CDs, and DVDs.

As for the video, it seems a little hypocritical that Will Ferrell is complaining about insurance company profits since he made scads of money just for wearing tights and doing pratfalls. Meanwhile, health insurance companies do a lot of good for people by providing life saving health care most people would never be able to afford otherwise. They also cite unfounded statistics like 80% of America supports a “public plan” and that insurance companies have denied claims based on spelling errors.

Oh yeah, and it’s supposed to be funny. The clip is posted on the site “Funny or Die”… In the immortal words of Patrick Henry, “Give Me Death!”