Best of ‘The Stage Right Show’: 3/01 – 3/06

This past week, the Stage Right Show (below the fold) featured a great line-up of guest hosts because I was travelling on a cruise ship and unable to broadcast.  Guest hosts included Adam Baldwin, Mike Rauseo, Billy Hallowell, Ben Shapiro and Eric Porvaznik.  And, the interviews on this week’s highlight show include Bill Whittle, Jeremy Boering, Kevin Jackson, Dana Commandatore, Jason Mattera, John Nolte and Andrew Breitbart. (more…)

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Tags: Andrew Breitbart, Best of 'The Stage Right Show', bill whittle, Dana Commandatore, Jason Mattera
Posted Mar 8th 2010 at 2:59 pm in Entertainment, News, Politics | 317182One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2010/03/08/best-of-the-stage-right-show-301-306/Best+of+%27The+Stage+Right+Show%27%3A+3%2F01+-+3%2F062010-03-08+22%3A59%3A26Larry++O%26%2339%3BConnor

The Best of ‘The Stage Right Show’: Feb 8 – Feb 12

On this week’s highlight show (listen in below the fold), we start with John Nolte talking about the incredible back-and-forth he had this week with Roger Ebert over his semi-coherent Twitter ramblings.

We also have an interview with Andrew Breitbart and Adam Baldwin on location in a bar in Hollywood.  They speak about the current political climate and how Big Hollywood is moving the conversation forward and motivating the tea party movement.

Internet sensation Demon Sheep joined us on Wednesday and provided a lot of laughs.  Big Hollywood contributor Gary Graham also joined us and discussed life in Hollywood as a conservative as well as his recent mission to Haiti.

Finally, Big Hollywood’s Patrick Courrielche was our guest for a thorough interview on the NEA conference call story as well as his life and career before the story broke last year. (more…)

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Tags: Adam Baldwin, Andrew Breitbart, Best of 'The Stage Right Show', demon sheep, gary graham
Posted Feb 15th 2010 at 8:55 am in Celebrity News, News | 3094266 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2010/02/15/the-best-of-the-stage-right-show-feb-8-feb-12/The+Best+of+%27The+Stage+Right+Show%27%3A+Feb+8+-+Feb+122010-02-15+16%3A55%3A59Larry++O%26%2339%3BConnor

‘Hope: The Obama Musical’ Hits…Germany?

The same country that brought us Leni Riefenstahl is now set to deliver Hope: The Obama Musical.  I’m serious, they are really doing this.  The musical is set to open in Frankfurt on Jan. 17th and, in all fairness, it would be wrong for me to give any kind of opinion on the quality of this show before John Nolte flies me out to Germany to see it (John?  I’m waiting…hello?  Is this thing on?) [Ed. Note: Absolutely! Just bring back all your receipts and, uhm, I'll get to them when I can.]

Luckily, the press office for this soon-to-be classic has assembled a slick little YouTube video highlighting all of the big moments of the show.  Believe it or not, this video is meant to inspire you to buy a ticket.

Great, terrific, perfect…  um…  a couple things. (more…)

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Tags: Barack Obama, broadway, germany, Jesus Christ Superstar, John Nolte
Posted Jan 12th 2010 at 3:16 pm in Politics, Theatre | 29139874 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2010/01/12/hope-the-obama-musical-hits-germany/%27Hope%3A+The+Obama+Musical%27+Hits...Germany%3F2010-01-12+23%3A16%3A12Larry++O%26%2339%3BConnor

INTERVIEW: ‘Prancer’ Director John Hancock

When Oscar-nominated director John Hancock made the film “Prancer” in the winter of 1988, he didn’t realize that his tale of a small-town girl (Rebecca Harrell) who believes that one of Santa’s magical reindeer has landed in her hardscrabble Indiana town would stand the test of time. He had made one outright classic with 1973’s “Bang the Drum Slowly,” in which he gave Robert DeNiro his first major starring role (the film also stars Big Hollywood’s own Michael Moriarty) and which Roger Ebert considers the best baseball film ever made, followed it up with the cult-favorite horror film “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death” and had an underrated gem with Nick Nolte called “Weeds” get lost in the shuffle of its distributor’s bankruptcy in 1987, but neither had broken through to become a television or video staple.

In fact, due to legal hassles, “Jessica” wasn’t available on video until many years later, and “Weeds” has never made it to DVD because the negatives suffered the rare indignity of being completely lost by its producer. Meanwhile, “Prancer” – in which John brought a healthy dose of reality rather than schmaltz in portraying the girl’s struggling parents – has held up so strongly that it was recently named #19 on BH Editor-in-Chief John Nolte’s list of the 25 greatest Christmas movies of all time, with Nolte calling it a “lovely, low-key, tender family film with a rich spiritual theme.”

(more…)

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Tags: "Prancer", Christmas, Christmas Movies, John Hancock, John Nolte
Posted Dec 25th 2009 at 11:36 am in Entertainment, Film, Reviews | 2835744 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ckozlowski/2009/12/25/interview-prancer-director-john-hancock/INTERVIEW%3A+%27Prancer%27+Director+John+Hancock2009-12-25+19%3A36%3A38Carl+Kozlowski

I Am Stage Right

It has been almost one year since I began writing here at the Big Blogs of Breitbart.com.  When it all began, I was motivated by the events that brought down Sacramento Music Theatre executive Scott Eckern.  Ironically, his story, which inspired this new avocation also served as a real-life lesson in the new political world we inhabit.  You see, Mr. Eckern was forced to resign his position because it was discovered that he donated money to the anti-same sex marriage Prop. 8 campaign.  Knowing that, I would have been a fool to put my name on the things I’ve written here.  So, “Stage Right” was born.

Since then, I have been fortunate enough to have free-reign on all things theatre at Big Hollywood (gently guided by the collective wisdom of Andrew Breitbart and John Nolte) and I’ve had a fantastic time writing about the industry, about the non-profit world… even about my favorite shows.  But now, things have changed just a bit.

It started with Patrick Courrielche’s now famous expose’ on the NEA Conference Call.  Just like the Scott Eckern story, what bothered me most at the time was the media and especially the left-leaning theatre writers’ attack on Patrick.   Instead of showing any level of skepticism over the appropriateness of staff members of the NEA and the White House coordinating discussions with artists about how they can help move the President’s agenda by creating works of art in favor of specific issues, Patrick was attacked and libeled for the sin of telling the truth and bringing the subject to light.

Next came the media’s reaction to James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles’ blockbuster series of videos exposing the corruption at ACORN offices from sea to shining sea.  Again, the venom and outrage is directed at the messenger while the message gets rationalized and obfuscated.  This story raised my ire to such a degree that I began posting at Big Government. (more…)

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Tags: ACORN, Adam Lambert, Andrew Breitbart, andrew lloyd webber, beauty and the beast
Posted Dec 23rd 2009 at 8:46 am in Art, Politics, Theatre | 283750138 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/12/23/i-am-stage-right/I+Am+Stage+Right2009-12-23+16%3A46%3A05Larry++O%26%2339%3BConnor

Sesame Workshop VP: ‘Pox News’ Comment on ‘Sesame Street’ in Praise of Fox

Last night, VP of Sesame Workshop Sherrie Westin joined Bill on “The O’Reilly Factor” to defend a recent show where “Sesame Street” trashed Fox News:

So, PBS, if it is true, as VP of Sesame Workshop Sherrie Westin indicated in the above segment, that the GNN (Grouchy News Network) clip exposed by Big Hollywood three weeks ago was in praise of Fox, then how do you explain this?!?!:

I don’t know what was in the head of the producers, but my guess is that this was one of those parodies that was too good to resist. But it should have been resisted. Broadcasters can tell parents whatever they think of Fox or any other network, but you shouldn’t do it through the kids. -PBS Ombudsmen Michael Getler

I guess that means you were against Pox News before you were for it, or something? (more…)

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Tags: Bill O'Reilly, GNN (Grouchy News Network), John Nolte, Media bias, Michael Getler
Posted Nov 25th 2009 at 12:49 am in Culture, Politics, Television | 26839826 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/11/25/sesame-workshop-vp-sesame-streets-pox-news-comment-was-in-praise-of-fox/Sesame+Workshop+VP%3A+%27Pox+News%27+Comment+on+%27Sesame+Street%27+in+Praise+of+Fox2009-11-25+08%3A49%3A45Big+Hollywood

The Boggy Nature of Fear

Halloween is a time of fright and fear. It’s a favorite time of year for many kids. Of course the candy helps, but that’s not all of it. It’s really about the feeling. The leaves are falling, the skies are darker, the weather is getting colder and there’s still more cold to come. It’s a time for spookiness, mystery and the unknown. So, as I write this, on a dark and stormy night, well, actually,  it’s the afternoon, but it is very dark and very stormy outside. My mind turns to this season, to Halloween, to fear.

There are a lot of films that scared us as kids, and still scare us. Many of the films today are far too graphic for my tastes. Heck, most of television is, too, for that matter. So, I should say right at the outset that I’m not a fan of gore, not in any way shape or form. I know some folks out there are big on the stuff, but not me. Sure, I’ve seen some, the classic Herschell Gordon Lewis, Romero and Savini works, but none of the modern multi-sequel films that grace our theaters with single word titles. I don’t mind being scared. As most would agree, we all need a good scare every now and then. It’s good for you. It’s thrilling. But gore isn’t thrilling for me. It’s sickening. I like to be thrilled, I don’t wish to be sick. Besides, I’ve seen enough of the footage and descriptions of films like “Saw” and “Hostel,” which I rebel against, regardless of how “intelligent” or “clever” they are reported to be. (more…)

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Tags: blair witch project, CSI, earl hamner, Fear, fouke monster
Posted Oct 31st 2009 at 5:42 pm in Film | 25265848 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smann/2009/10/31/the-boggy-nature-of-fear/The+Boggy+Nature+of+Fear2009-11-01+00%3A42%3A14Schizoid+Mann

‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’: An Alternate View

So, John Nolte didn’t much care for the new “Harry Potter” movie. If memory serves, he didn’t care for movies 1-5, either. He admits, however, to never reading the books. This is a fatal error in appreciating the “Harry Potter” films, in my opinion.

John is like Charlie Brown and the football — forever doomed to dislike these movies, but he keeps coming back for more. Because the “Harry Potter” films are made for the books’ readers, period. In fact, you might say it’s a unique genre unto itself.

Let me attempt to head off the expected response to this: a movie should stand on its own, without requiring familiarity with the source material. Ordinarily, I agree with this. And I agree that the “Harry Potter” movies would probably be better off if they tried harder to satisfy this rule.

But it seems as though the filmmakers made a conscious or semi-conscious decision at some point early on to make these movies for the readership, not for the general public. They’re really cult films. And with such lavish budgets, if they were based on any other source material, they’d be a financial debacle. (more…)

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Tags: capitalism, Consumerism, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, John Nolte
Posted Jul 17th 2009 at 4:47 pm in Featured Story, Reviews | 185938113 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/aleigh/2009/07/17/harry-potter-an-alternate-view/%27Harry+Potter+and+the+Half-Blood+Prince%27%3A+An+Alternate+View2009-07-17+23%3A47%3A20Andrew+Leigh

What Political Correctness Reveals About the Politically Correct

John Nolte’s review of “Brüno,” a film I haven’t yet seen, tackles Sasha Baron Cohen’s previous film “Borat,” a film I have seen about twenty times. That being said, Nolte is dead-on in his appraisal of the film: it found favor with the left-wing elitists because it poked fun at us regular folk. But in praising “Borat,” they revealed something about themselves, something I’ve known to be true since the summer of 1994.

That was the best year for movies that I can recall. That summer alone we had “Forrest Gump,” “True Lies,” “Speed,” and everyone was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Cannes winner “Pulp Fiction.” And we also had “The Lion King.” I remember the critic for my campus newspaper, The Red & Black (Go Dawgs!), panned the film, noting that the “Circle of Life” song, sung by a gay man, was really about keeping groups of people, particularly minorities, in their place. I thought this was bizarre and brought it up with some of my classmates. (more…)

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Tags: "Forrest Gump", "True Lies", 1994, Borat, Bruno
Posted Jul 10th 2009 at 11:57 am in Featured Story, Media Criticism, Political Humor, Politics | 180202211 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ccannon/2009/07/10/what-political-correctness-reveals-about-the-politically-correct/What+Political+Correctness+Reveals+About+the+Politically+Correct2009-07-10+18%3A57%3A02Cam+Cannon

Review: ‘The Hurt Locker’

Updated.

Epigraph: a quotation set at the beginning of a literary work or one of its divisions to suggest its theme.

Epigraphs crop up occasionally in literature and film, but more frequently on the SAT exam.  In fact, I am using the definition of epigraph as the epigraph for this review.  If you are to the right of Bill Clinton, all you need to know about “The Hurt Locker” is its epigraph: “War is a drug.”

Incredibly, the mainstream media is trying to position “The Hurt Locker” as politically neutral.  The mainstream media are dense. “War is a drug.” Drugs are bad.  Thus, war is bad.  This is a left-wing film.  End of story.  Witness the first five seconds of the movie and read the epigraph; if you still have the audacity to trumpet its neutrality, you should be committed to an insane asylum or the newsroom at MSNBC.  (more…)

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Tags: Addiction, air-raiding villages and killing civilians, Anthony Mackie, anti-war movies, Bill Clinton
Posted Jun 27th 2009 at 7:52 am in Media Criticism, Reviews | 17250654 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/amarlow/2009/06/27/review-the-hurt-locker/Review%3A+%27The+Hurt+Locker%272009-06-27+14%3A52%3A40Alexander+Marlow

On the Record, Off the QT and Not Very Hush-Hush

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…)

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Tags: abc, Academy of Motion Picture arts and Sciences, Adrianne Curry, Ali al-Sistani, AMPAS
Posted Jun 3rd 2009 at 5:20 pm in Entertainment, Politics | 14768226 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/06/03/on-the-record-off-the-qt-and-not-very-hush-hush/On+the+Record%2C+Off+the+QT+and+Not+Very+Hush-Hush2009-06-04+00%3A20%3A57John+T.+Simpson

Adventures in the Scream Trade, Take One

If you’re wondering if I was about to opine on the craft of gut-twisting horror stories, you’d only be half right. I’m actually talking about real life here. As many of you may know from my earlier posts, I first flame-throwered onto the scene here at Big Hollywood about a month ago, on the occasion of Team Oscar’s could-not-be-more-ill-advised taking off for the unfriendly skies of Islamist Iran.

I knew they were going to get punked! They were going to Punkedville! In fact, I was so sure of it, I was the one who broke the story in the US off the French wires to Drudge and Nikki Finke.  One Hollywood Jihadi PR roadside bomb detonated. War Is Hell.

Look at their trip from my POV. I remember the whole balls-to-the-wall anti-Apartheid campaign from the mid-eighties. ‘I Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City,’ remember? By the way, wasn’t Little Stevie great in that video? Love him! Point being, if the racist South African apartheid regime was unworthy of cultural exchange, why was the gay-hanging, women-stoning, child-executing, blogger-killing, hostage-taking fascist regime in Iran worthy of a gold-plated Academy PR kiss? (more…)

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Tags: AMPAS, Andrew Breitbart, angelina jolie, Annette Bening, ben stiller
Posted Apr 6th 2009 at 5:58 am in Celebrity News, Entertainment, News, Politics | 9749414 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/04/06/adventures-in-the-scream-trade-take-one/Adventures+in+the+Scream+Trade%2C+Take+One2009-04-06+12%3A58%3A54John+T.+Simpson