In an early review of Spider-Man 3, Britain’s Times Online reviewer infamously wrote:

Also disappointing is the inability of the director, Sam Raimi, to end the romp without a fleeting shot of the American flag. The Stars and Stripes just happens to be fluttering behind Spidey as he makes his triumphal return to honour, probity and good honest fist-fighting.

I thought of this review the other day after I’d exchanged a few notes with a reader (I certainly can’t call him a fan) who contacted me at my public email address. The guy was unhappy with my treatment of Muslim terrorists in one of my recent novels, and what started as Pee-Wee Herman-level “I know you are, but what am I?” schoolyard taunts quickly devolved into anti-Semitism. I’m part of the Zionist plot, see, and the plot of my book was just a plot within that larger plot.

So what do my Zionist leanings and Spider-Man’s fluttering Stars and Stripes have to do with Remo Williams, that old Eighties action flick? To begin with, Remo Williams isn’t just the title of a 1985 film, produced by Dick Clark and distributed by now-defunct Orion. Remo is also the main character in nearly 150 Destroyer novels (26 of which I’ve had a hand in writing). It’s okay if you didn’t know that. Aside from a quick opening title credit to series creators Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, much of what makes Remo The Destroyer was jettisoned for the movie.

While the original Remo Williams didn’t do well at the box office, it has picked up a cult following through home video and cable. I’ve gotten mail from fans who’d enjoyed the film for years before finding out the books even existed. And if my mailbox is any indication, pretty much everyone who came to the books via the movie agrees with us old-time fans: None of us can believe Hollywood did such a lousy job adapting the characters to the screen. But in our current age of endless updates and reboots comes some fresh cinematic hope, and if things work out Remo will soon be starring in a brand new motion picture adaptation brought to the screen by Sony and some of the folks who gave us Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Hopefully this time it’ll be the real Destroyer we see, a goal best achieved by not ignoring or re-imagining what’s made the book series a success. (more…)

The Trews’ guitarist John-Angus MacDonald didn’t look too far into the future when he first helped form the band. “We were 15 year-old high school students trying to have a wicked show whenever we had one booked,” MacDonald says of his once-modest goals.

Flash forward to today and The Trews boasts two gold records, 10 top-10 singles and opening gigs for the likes of Robert Plant and The Rolling Stones.

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The hard-rocking quartet – lead vocalist Colin MacDonald; brother John-Angus, cousin, drummer Sean Dalton, and long-time pal bassist Jack Syperek – delivers uncomplicated rock that flies in the face of today’s electronica-saturated age.

The ascent has been gradual, the lead guitarist tells Big Hollywood, but with sign markers along the way.

“Hearing yourself on the radio for the first time … the tip of the hat from some of the older guard, like The Rolling Stones … selling out our own tours,” he says. “It’s an extremely special thing.”

The Stones tour revealed the pragmatic side of classic rock. (more…)

My last column offered hypotheses on why America feels that the entertainment industry is having a negative effect on the way things are going in the country these days.  I theorized that many Americans feel that the entertainment industry does not reflect their values, and consequently avoid paying for its content.  I provided support for this argument in the form of several different studies.

Matt Damon and Director Paul Greengrass on the set of the 2010 flop “Green Zone”

There is little doubt that the arts attract people with more liberal perspectives.  That their values should appear in content is therefore not surprising.  These values, including political ideology, may take many forms.  In some cases, they are simply a one-off joke about Sarah Palin.  In other cases, there are full-blown television episodes and movies that directly espouse values, morals, or political ideology often associated with the left-wing of our political spectrum.  I’ve been in countless story sessions for both TV and film.  Some writer-producers are eager to inject their ideology into the content.  Some are not.  But the ones that do are always Liberal.  Sometimes that’s just fine. You can’t make Bulworth or Bob Roberts, under-appreciated and entertaining films, without Warren and Tim and their Liberal ideals. (more…)

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming of Project Runway and Jersey Shore to bring you a new reality show. Here’s the concept: A bunch of patriotic young people decide to risk their lives to defend the United States as well as the liberty and freedom of all Americans. They do it for love of country, education and a chance to be successful in life. They’re braver than the average person and their selflessness is remarkable. The name of the show is “The National Guard.”

The show won’t fit the anti-military narrative of Hollywood productions like The Green Zone or Avatar, but that’s OK. Like I said, this show is based on reality.

Luckily, we have videos for the first episode of our new show. A group of new National Guard recruits recently sat down with pollster Frank Luntz to talk about why they joined the service. The footage is inspiring and flies in the face of Hollywood’s relentless anti-military stereotypes. In fact, these videos present a very diverse picture of America’s finest men and women. (more…)

In the 20th season premiere,“Survivor”nice guy Colby Donaldson is literally dragged through the sand by a member of the opposing team. Colby’s face is covered in sand as his opponent drags his body to help his own team win the challenge. After the challenge, Colby looks embarrassed and defeated. Thus, the battle between heroes and villains began on the fun and entertaining new season of the long-running CBS program.

When “Survivor” premiered a decade ago it was a hugely popular show celebrated on magazine covers across the country. EW.com even noted that the first season finale of the program was  the second highest-rated show of the last decade. Since that time the series has continued to do well in the ratings for CBS and has helped spawn numerous other reality shows. Although I watched the earliest seasons of the program and the “All Stars” season, I have not been a devout fan.

Because the 20th season includes some of the most high-profile players from past seasons, I decided to watch again to see if the show was still as entertaining as I remembered. This season the contestants have been divided into two groups: heroes and villains. (more…)

This is a non-profit group run by Jimmy Jean-Louis. Most of you will recognize him from his role on the television show “Heroes.” He’s also been on Fox News today with Shep.

Outside of my political life, I do still have some friends in show-biz; good people, people whose opinions are rock solid, and when they tell me Jimmy’s a stand up guy doing the right thing for the right reasons… Well, that’s good enough for me … and I’ve already put my money where my mouth is.

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NBC gives new meaning to the phrase “green screen” next week, spreading a pro-environmental message across five of its prime-time entertainment programs – AP News.

When Arthur Miller wrote “The Crucible” it was rightly seen as a brilliant allegory to the House Un-American Activities Committee.  It was a brilliant piece of drama about the Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th Century with obvious corollaries to the political climate of post-World War II America.  And no matter where you fall on the political spectrum you must recognize the play as a classic in the canon of American drama.

My admiration for much of Miller’s work gives me enough confidence to say that he would view the current efforts to ham-handedly inject political statements into television sitcoms as absolute crap.  It takes a deft hand to send a message without it seeming like you are sending a message… and the writers of “The Office” and “30 Rock,” as glib as they may be, are no “Arthur Millers”.

I love “The Office.”  I’m one of those apostates who actually like the U.S. version better than the original (must be my knee-jerk patriotism at work).  But I saw my very first example of lousy (and I mean REALLY lousy) writing this season when they tried to force the issue of “Volunteer-ism” into the storyline. (more…)

One of the good things that came out of the tragic events of 9/11 is that heroism has reacquired some of its original luster.  I’m not certain when it lost it, not at all certain when bravery above and beyond the call of duty gave way to meaning nothing more or less than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Looking back, I have an idea it happened during the Jimmy Carter administration when hostages were taken in Tehran.  People who had been abducted by the minions of Ayatolah Khomeni, and held captive by Iranian thugs, were being widely hailed as heroes by the American media. 

I’m not suggesting that a hostage can’t also be a hero.  Apparently Sen. John McCain behaved like one when he was a POW, volunteering to be beaten by the Vietnamese in order to spare the men in his charge.  But I’m afraid that your run-of-the-mill hostage is no more a hero than were any of the unfortunate passengers in the planes that were crashed into the World Trade Center. 

It is appropriate to grieve for innocent victims, but we should stop short of lionizing them.  Otherwise, how do we distinguish between those who simply die and those who perish trying to save others?  For instance, the U.S. Air Force pilot who was shot down behind enemy lines, surviving on bugs and swamp water in Kosovo, was not a hero; the pilots who risked their own necks flying in to save his, were.  (more…)

Kicking back listening to Bonnie Tyler belt out “Holding Out For A Hero” made me think of a recent visit to Hollywood where I had the opportunity to speak with a few producers and screenwriters, truly good people all. 

Their big message: military films aren’t working. The country is weary and doesn’t want war films as entertainment. Rather, they say, the good citizens of our nation want to escape with the fictional heroes in movies such as “Transformers,” “X-Men,” and “Spider-Man.” 

Military movies may not be working because Hollywood presently refuses to capitalize on the real life heroes in combat everyday. Everyone loves a good hero and for Hollywood to embrace the notion that there might be a valorous man or woman worthy of a feature film may lend creditability to the cause for which they are fighting. And we can’t have that. 

Instead, their latest war films are partisan propaganda as opposed to realistic and balanced. Somewhere between the screenplay and the final edit group therapy takes place and movie houses release message films as opposed to realistic action movies.  (more…)

In a new listing of film and TV’s coolest heroes, James Bond emerged in the top spot — while rival spy Jason Bourne was MIA — finishing behind the likes of young Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In its 20 All-Time Coolest Heroes in Pop Culture rankings, Entertainment Weekly listed 007 #1 — a move not likely to please fan’s of every hippie’s favorite spy (other than Valerie Plame), that assassin with a conscience, Bourne. In fact, if EW was going to run a Top 2 All-Time Most Cheesed Off Folks right now, it might rank Bourne’s cinematic creators –Team America star Matt Damon and United 93 director Paul Greengrass — in that order.

Damon or Greengrass seem obsessed with attacking the James Bond films and the character himself every chance they get. Mixing up a bitter soup of professional envy at Bond’s legacy and success, personal insecurity at producing movies beholden to Bond and (of course) self-righteous political arrogance, both artists froth at every opportunity to brand Ian Fleming’s creation a soulless killer. Ignoring Bond’s efforts to battle terrorism and global crime, they stamp him a militarist imperialist misogynist. (more…)

The new Stephen Sommers-directed G.I. Joe movie headed to theaters this summer kicked the U.S.A. out of the bunker and put “The Real American Hero” under international command. The thinking at the time by Hollywood execs held that the U.S. was hated by the rest of the world and could no longer be seen as heroic.

Superman Returns screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris shortened Superman’s call to arms to just “Truth and Justice” because “The American Way” was supposedly not worth fighting for anymore. They then proceeded to transform The Man of Steel into a simpering, self-absorbed drama queen.

Why has Hollywood worked so diligently to remove well-focused, admirable heroes from American movies? The primary reason was George W. Bush’s presence in the White House and the primary focus of his administration — the war against Islamic militants. (more…)

The Drew Barrymore-produced romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You has made the jump from catch-phrase to self-help book to movie hit. With an all-star cast this classic ‘chick flick” appears to be winning the weekend after posting a spectacular $10.5M in opening day ticket sales. That should mean a 3-day start of $27.4M or so, easily out-pacing holdover Taken (Fox) and three other new wide releases. With this kind of opening, Not That Into You could reach almost $60M by the end of next weekend (a 4-day Presidents/Valentine’s combo), which would forecast a potential $90M in US ticket sales.

The new movie developed by New Line and now released by Warner Bros is based on the book of the same name co-written by former Sex & the City scribes Greg Behrendt and Liz Tucillo. The line itself has come to be a reassuring fallback for women in the dating scene (and I’m guessing single guys have adopted the mentality as well in the rough-and-tumble world of dating).

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I imagine this question will be heard in homes across America in years to come. And why not? We’ve been told by Hollywood that members of our military are rapists, cold blooded killers, and more. They are taking part in an illegal war, bombing villages and torturing innocents. I mean, why would they make movies about such things if they weren’t true?

I’m constantly amazed by the attitudes of some in our industry toward the military. Personally, the fact that I’m a former Marine is often met with incredulity. Apparently, I’m “pretty cool for a Marine” and I “seem so normal”. My favorite is the look on someone’s face when they ask, “Why would you join the Marines?” while they visually inspect for some previously undetected mental defect.

Being both an actor and a veteran allows me to come at this issue from a different angle. I know the men and women that we, in this industry, often portray. To say that, thus far, we have done them a disservice is an understatement.

It would be a travesty to allow our brave men and women serving in the Global War on Terror to be remembered in the way they are currently being represented by the films coming out of Hollywood. The extended families of our military members number in the millions. We’re basically telling them that their loved ones (their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters) are pieces of shit. Not only is this reprehensible, it’s not good business.

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