How the Movies Spawned ‘The First Assassin’

You’ve heard it said before: “The book is better than the movie.” But the movies helped me write my new book, The First Assassin.

The First Assassin is a historical thriller set primarily in Washington, D.C., at the start of the Civil War. Bestselling author Vince Flynn blurbs it on the front cover: “An excellent book–it’s like The Day of the Jackal set in 1861 Washington.”

The Day of the Jackal is a twofer: Both the book (by Frederick Forsyth) and the movie (the 1973 version) are excellent. But the book is still better. It’s super excellent.

Anyway, I started working on The First Assassin in 1996–more than 13 years ago. Yeah, that’s a long time. It was the project I kept setting aside when something more pressing came along, such as the birth of a child or a writing deadline that came with a guaranteed paycheck. (more…)

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Tags: Abraham L, abraham lincoln, Charles Pomeroy Stone, Civil War, Col. Charles Rook
Posted Nov 18th 2009 at 1:18 pm in Books and Literature, Featured Story, Film | 26392617 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jmiller/2009/11/18/how-the-movies-spawned-the-first-assassin/How+the+Movies+Spawned+%27The+First+Assassin%272009-11-18+21%3A18%3A29John+J.+Miller

‘Sesame Street’: It’s About My Children, Not the Puppet

Just as I suspected, it has happened.  They are trying to “Falwell” me and my colleagues here at Big Hollywood for raising concerns about “Sesame Street’s” description of Fox News as “Trashy.” We are “stupid,” “idiotic” and we are whining and pathetic (impressive debate tactics there, Mr. Socrates).  And, according to PBS’ own Ombudsman, Michael Gelter, we are….  right:

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

I was planning on letting the issue die after being romanced by Media Matters, but I noticed something fascinating.  I’ve written here about a lot of subjects.  Mostly about theatre and the arts, and I also defended that “racist-fascist” Rush Limbaugh,  but, never has a post of mine gotten the kind of hate-filled comments this one did.  Also, for the first time I started receiving hate e-mails… the long, rambling, Holden Caufield kind of e-mails (you can forgive me for feeling a little “Grouchy”).  What gives?  Why was this post different? (more…)

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Tags: big hollywood, Fox News, free to be you and me, holden caufield, Media Matters
Posted Nov 6th 2009 at 1:49 pm in Culture, Television | 25944687 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/11/06/sesame-street-its-about-my-children-not-the-puppet/%27Sesame+Street%27%3A+It%27s+About+My+Children%2C+Not+the+Puppet2009-11-06+21%3A49%3A58Stage+Right

The Tragi-Comedy of Sonia Sotomayor

“I’m looking through you, where did you go? I thought I knew you, what did I know? You don’t look different, but you have changed. I’m looking through you, you’re not the same.” — Lennon/McCartney: “Rubber Soul,” 1965

When Sonia Sotomayor was nominated in May, I wrote a satirical essay for Big Hollywood called The ‘Magic Latina’. The title was a send up of the “Magic Negro,” or “Magical Negro,” a fictional stereotype common in film and literature. The “Magic Negro” has been criticized by white and black commentators alike. Blacks, most famously Spike Lee, but many others, view the role as ultimately degrading. As Rita Kempley, writing for DVRepublic, said about the “Magic Negro,” “What’s the deal with all the holy roles?” The core of the critique is that the characters are given special powers and/or underlying mysticism. It is not that the characters per se are so bad.  The perception is that this kind of character, the selfless and powerful, insightful, and sometimes magical being, is always black, has no “interior life”, and is always serving white people. To name a few at random, they include such famous stars as Hattie McDaniel (”Gone with the Wind”), Sidney Poitier (”The Defiant Ones”), Morgan Freeman (”Shawshank Redemption,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Bruce Almighty”), and Laurence Fishburne (”The Matrix”). (more…)

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Tags: morgan freeman, Obama, Sonia Sotomayor, Spike Lee, Supreme Court
Posted Jul 24th 2009 at 10:33 am in Entertainment, Politics | 18779435 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mrulle/2009/07/24/the-magic-latina-part-2-the-tragi-comedy/The+Tragi-Comedy+of+Sonia+Sotomayor2009-07-24+17%3A33%3A50Michael+S.+Rulle+Jr.

Photos surface from Clint Eastwood’s new movie THE HUMAN FACTOR – A solid bet to be in the Best Picture race?

If I was forced today to guess which 2009 release will win the Academy Award for Best Picture, I would first complain that it’s impossible to guess right. Then I would put my money on Clint Eastwood’s The Human Factor (Warner Bros). In mid-March, it’s silly to start discussing which upcoming movies will be Academy Award contenders, but there are some films, still in production, that seem to have the pedigree to “go all the way.” Eastwood’s next movie as a director, based on John Carlin’s Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela & the Game That Changed a Nation, seems like a decent bet.

Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman acquired the film rights to the book, and he will play a post-prison Nelson Mandela with friend Eastwood directing. The Human Factor will tell the story of how the 1995 World Cup Rugby Final between heavily-favored New Zealand and underdog South Africa helped to heal the post-Apartheid racial divide. Matt Damon, sporting blonde hair, has reportedly trained hard in order to credibly play South African captain Francois Pienaar. Some photos have begun to show up from the current production.

(more…)

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Tags: academy awards, Best Picture, blood work, changeling, Clint Eastwood
Posted Mar 14th 2009 at 9:26 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Steve Mason's Box Office | 8014260 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smason/2009/03/14/humanfactor/Photos+surface+from+Clint+Eastwood%27s+new+movie+THE+HUMAN+FACTOR+-+A+solid+bet+to+be+in+the+Best+Picture+race%3F2009-03-15+04%3A26%3A28Steve+Mason

And the Oscar for Best Non-Sexual Nudity goes to…

The film industry in Hollywood is the most rewarded vocational field in the world. Having been a part of the “Big Hollywood” launch team, I followed roughly forty-eight award shows this year. Generally, I would characterize them as slightly self-aggrandizing. By the way, I’m not confused; awards are nice (consult my bio), but why are there so many award shows? The people who win awards are rarely underappreciated.  Take Kate Winslet for example, one of Hollywood’s most overrated actresses.  I always feel I’m watching her act. Peter Mayhew was more organic as Chewbacca than Winslet as a suburban housewife in the off-putting “Revolutionary Road.” But Hollywood seemingly invents awards to celebrate Winslet and her ubiquitous bare breasts.

What irritates most is that while the shows may differ, the awards are roughly the same.  In sports, there’s only one MVP, one Rookie of the Year.  Yet every year, we are bombarded with the Oscars, the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, and the BAFTAs.  Not to mention all those snooty little film festivals in upscale ski towns. (more…)

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Tags: ashton kutcher, award shows, BAFTAs, Beyonce, big hollywood
Posted Mar 3rd 2009 at 3:17 pm in Entertainment | 7174690 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/amarlow/2009/03/03/and-the-oscar-for-best-non-sexual-nudity-goes-to/And+the+Oscar+for+Best+Non-Sexual+Nudity+goes+to...2009-03-03+23%3A17%3A44Alexander+Marlow

My First Assignment: “Gone Baby Gone”

I promised in my earlier post that I would watch more movies.

Well, tonight I watched a doozie on Starz, and I must say, I have to give Benjamin Geza Affleck props. I have made fun of him publicly (it’s easy!) but this guy picked good material and directed it wonderfully. His brother Casey is phenomenal.

It’s like nothing I expected with a name like “Gone Baby Gone.” I thought Susie had me watching a chick flick. It was anything but. Ed Harris and his wife Amy Madigan, the douchebags that crossed their arms when Elia Kazan was awarded a lifetime Oscar, co-starred. So does Morgan Freeman who was injured in a mysterious car crash in Mississippi last year. But Casey Affleck really emerges the savior of this creepy and gritty missing child crime mystery tale.

Whoever cast the Boston grotesques that littered the film, my hat’s off to you. These profoundly ugly people really created a backdrop that made you want to root for the kid not to be found and brought back to her natural origins.

If Ben is willing to rethink his love of Marxism and former neighbor, pal and history revisionist Howard Zinn, perhaps there is redemption for him. After seeing this film, I can’t help thinking he’s gotten a bum steer in this impossible town. He certainly has talent.

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Tags: amy madigan, ben affleck, casey affleck, ed o'neill, gone baby gone
Posted Jan 11th 2009 at 12:08 am in Entertainment, Reviews, Uncategorized | 1524535 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/abreitbart/2009/01/11/my-first-assignment-gone-baby-gone/My+First+Assignment%3A+%22Gone+Baby+Gone%222009-01-11+08%3A08%3A56Andrew+Breitbart