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.

Initially, the Republicans once again fell into Hollywood’s trap. When Hollywood needs something from Congress, it dons the mask of “business” and enlists the GOP ideologically. After all, the Republicans are supposed to love “business.” Until now, they have been blind to the fact that many of the “businesses” that plead for special breaks before them are about as capitalist as your typical Occupy Wall Street mutant – the only difference is nicer suits and better drugs.

They aren’t capitalists; they’re cronyists, either relying on government handouts directly or basking in the protection of special favors. And that’s precisely the opposite of what we conservatives are about.

Businesses compete; “businesses” like the entertainment industry use the government to enact rules and regulations that make it so they don’t have to compete.

So, like Pavlov’s dogs hearing the dinner bell, the GOP started drooling when Hollywood started playing the business card. In fact, Republican Lamar Smith of Texas was only too eager to carry water for it – as were several other normally solid Republicans who should have known better.

Of course, Hollywood laughed. It laughed because it holds Republicans in contempt. For decades, Hollywood has endeavored to depict conservative Americans are weirdos, losers, petty tyrants, religious nuts, baby killing fanatics, and idiots. And, once again, the GOP was falling into its trap and dancing to its tune. “What a bunch of suckers!” snickered the Hollywood big shots.

Oh, and the Democrats? Not an issue. Not only are Hollywood and the liberals in ideological lockstep, but Hollywood represents buckets of money and bushels of glamor. The Dems are always on board for whatever Hollywood wants. They know where their locally-sourced, whole wheat artisan bread in non-dairy buttered.

But something funny happened on the way to the fascism.

There was a backlash. The peasants revolted! Tech savvy Americans, both right and left, saw that the Internet that they had grown up with and embraced was in grave danger of being bound by regulations for the sole purpose of ensuring that the dying Hollywood business model would last a bit longer – at the price of stifling everyone else.

No dice.

The rebellion came as a shock to the GOP congresscreatures, who in reality probably had not given much thought to the contents of SOPA – that is, until all hell broke loose. Suddenly, they became VERY interested in intellectual property and telecommunications law.

The Republicans, pushed by a groundswell of opposition from conservative new media types, bailed. SOPA was a non-starter, and now everyone will be looking the next time Hollywood tries to play them. Hey, Hollywood, there’s a new paradigm in Tinseltown.

And the Democrats who supported SOPA  – and who could not back out no matter how outraged the nutroots got – ended up looking both foolish and like tools of the corporate power structure.  And that’s just what they are.

But it gets better.

It gets better because this was a great object lesson all around. To those in Republicans in Congress, it brought attention to a subject that had been sadly ignored but is vital to a huge number of influential voters. It gave them an issue – Internet freedom – that is truly congruent with conservative values, unlike the past political payoffs to connected Hollywood cronies. We conservatives can run on this.

It was also a lesson to young, tech-savvy people who see themselves as culturally liberal and just kind of voted that way, mostly out of habit.  The group that really shares their values – creativity, enterprise, freedom – is the conservativees. The liberals they counted themselves among wanted to shut down websites, not the conservatives. SOPA opened a lot of eyes.

Everything they thought they knew was a lie. Here was Kevin Bacon, and he was telling John Lithgow not to dance.

Can you say “Wedge issue?”

Internet freedom, besides being the right thing to do, is a powerful banner to carry aloft into the battle for the next generation’s hearts and minds. The young, affluent, educated voters the Democrat Party is counting on for the future have to choose between the stolid, limited, controlled world of the Democrat’s corporate owners or the free market of the conservatives where their only limits are those they impose upon themselves.

The Democrats can’t flex on this – they are bound to Hollywood for money and what’s left of its fading aura. But the GOP? It won’t miss what it never had.

In fact, Hollywood’s history of trashing conservatives only make it sweeter when its emissaries come to us for help and we laugh in their botoxed faces.

With its crappy product, promotion of (mostly) non-stellar “stars” and sneering contempt for the majority of its customers, Hollywood seems desperately committed to failure. That’s why when is asks us for a life preserver, we should be only too happy to hand it an anvil.

Freeman, currently co-starring in ‘Dolphin Tale,’ made that accusation last month in the run up to his film’s release. And while the movie is performing well at the box office, it’s clear it could be doing even better, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The entertainment outlet just posted the results of a new study tracking how actors’ political comments affect the public’s willingness to buy their products.

In a far-ranging poll Penn Schoen Berland conducted for The Hollywood Reporter of 1,000 registered voters to gauge movie-going tendencies of Democrats vs. Republicans, it’s clear political allegiances have shifted entertainment viewing habits. Jon Penn, the firm’s president of media and entertainment research, says that before Freeman’s words, interest in ‘Dolphin Tale’ was considerably higher among conservatives and religious moviegoers than among liberals. After the remarks, 34 percent of the conservatives who were aware of them, and 37 percent of Tea Partiers, said they were less likely to see the film — but 42 percent of liberals said they were more likely. (Five days after Freeman’s remarks, 24 percent of all moviegoers were aware of them.) In fact, overall, 35 percent of Republicans and 45 percent of Tea Partiers consider a celebrity’s political position before paying to see their films, compared with 20 percent of Democrats.

This won’t come as news to Big Hollywood readers. But the study might open up some eyes in Hollywood – and even in the trailers where actors are currently prepping their new lines

Among the poll’s findings:

• Republicans are more likely to wait for home video Democrats are likelier to see movies on opening weekend, while GOP members prefer waiting it out. Republicans assume their values will be assaulted onscreen — so why pay the big bucks?

• Republicans prefer family films; Democrats like edge From hundreds of Oscar winners and classics, Republicans were far more likely to name as favorites ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’; Democrats favored ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ and ‘The Silence of the Lambs.’ Among recent films, Republicans were likelier to choose ‘Soul Surfer’ and ‘Secretariat.’ Democrats? ‘The Social Network,’ ‘Bad Teacher’ and ‘Easy A.’

Of course, there’s an easy answer to the problem of actors getting too political in interviews. They can either avoid controversial topics in toto, or treat those who hold different views with respect, not contempt. Here’s betting conservative movie goers won’t sweat it if Freeman pulls the lever for President Obama in 2012. But if the actor unfairly calls them a racist for not doing the same it will stick in their collective craw for some time.

There’s a familiar adage that recognizing you have a problem is the first step toward recovery. And Hollywood certainly has a problem with discrimination against conservatives. 

As I detailed in my new book, “Primetime Propaganda,” Hollywood insiders routinely discriminate against conservatives, believing them to be untalented hacks and political barbarians undeserving of a paycheck. 

I spoke with top executives, writers, and producers in the industry who agreed that discrimination is common – and some even celebrated it.

But many in Hollywood continued to deny this truth. Marta Kauffman of “Friends” fame – whom I interviewed, and who told me that her writers room was made up of liberals – dismissed such criticisms were “silly.” 

Patrick Goldstein of The Los Angeles Times said that such accusations were largely unsubstantiated, despite the tape I released.

Now, however, the worm is turning. Last week, for the first time, Hollywood openly acknowledged that it has a discrimination problem against conservatives. 

Read the full piece here.

For one, every President seems to really like it.

Case in point – Bush wanted it raised too.

But do you know who was against it then? Obama.

Because, he wasn’t President yet.

Now he is.

Suddenly raising the debt ceiling is paramount.

So to me, the President is like your wife, and the debt ceiling is a credit card. You can’t blame her for loving it.

But it’s time to cut that card in half. We need to say, “Honey, I love you – but hand it over. We’ll live.”

The point is, raising the debt ceiling is easy, because it’s easy!

In the past five years I put on the weight of your average sized child, because I kept raising my “weight ceiling.”

I didn’t die or anything, although over time, my wife found me repulsive.

Still does, actually.

See, no one just wakes up weighing a thousand pounds – they become morbidly obese incrementally.

The same way we end up with a morbid government – it expands imperceptively into a bloated monstrosity that smells bad and embarrasses you in public.

And speaking of money – isn’t it time we find someone who can explain how spending will help you out of a “spending crisis?”

I don’t sober up by drinking more, do I?

Well, maybe I do.

Anyway, you can’t spend your way out of spending crisis and you can’t tax people to make them prosperous.

But if Democrats believe government spending is the answer – - why not do it with tax cuts?

Aren’t tax cuts like government spending – except we’re the ones doing the spending. The government is just handing the cash over to smarter people like you and me.

Lord knows we’ll make better decisions on what to do with our cash. I have my eye on four houseboys. I need new bed posts.

And if you disagree with me, you’re a racist homophobe.

Tonight we’ve got:

John Gibson

Paul Mecurio

Jessica Coen

Then, in late October 2004, I read in a local newspaper that Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters of Los Angeles was coming to my hometown of Trenton, NJ.  She was coming to stump for Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry and our local Democratic Congressman, Rush Holt.  In this election, New Jersey was considered “up for grabs” and both parties were duking it out. 

—–

Being a constituent of Congressman Holt and having made friends with some local Democrats, I got permission to film the event as a filmmaker.  However, while I set up my camera, a pair of African American women approached me and flatly asked if I was “a spy.”  (Supposedly, the Republicans were going around filming and disrupting Democrat events.)  I told them that I had permission to be there and to shoot.  One of the women stayed with me, while the other one checked out my story.  After a few tense minutes, they got the word that I was “okay.”  But, I did get a few suspicious looks as I waited for the fiery Congresswoman to speak to the mostly African American crowd.  And when she finally arrived, she spoke words that would change my life.  Because being on the inside of a mostly African American Democratic Party election rally and seeing and hearing what was inferred about the Republican Party and several prominent Black Republicans… reinforced my suspicion that that there was more to this “Black Republican” thing than just a punch line. 

My wife and I would then spend the next six years researching, filming and editing FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN. (Being a Public Enemy fan from my college days, there was no other title for me).  While making my documentary, I would travel to a Presidential Inauguration to kick off the project; follow a Congressional Campaign in Georgia; criss-cross a Hurricane-devastated New Orleans; visit the birthplace of the Republican Party; make multiple trips to the National Archives and the Conservative Political Action Conference; and close out principal photography by filming my Party’s future Presidential nominee campaigning in the first suburb across the border.  And along the way, we’d also have to figure out what kind of film we’d make and what kind of filmmakers we are.  Because being a filmmaker who happens to be Republican is one thing.  Being a filmmaker who happens to be Republican and is making a film about Black Republicans is something else.

So for the first two years, I filmed mostly on my own, thinking we would make a “Maysles Brothers”-style film.  However, as the project went on, we found that no “cinema verite” or “real cinema” technique seemed to work for us.  Most difficult for me to accept was that the problem wasn’t in the material, but in my Direction. 

Over time, I realized that my “Directing problem” really had to do with the White Filmmaker/Black Film issue.   Admittedly, I had let myself become overly conscious of race and storytelling.  I’m old enough to remember the Steven Spielberg/Spike Lee controversy over THE COLOR PURPLE.   My being of the “Caucasian persuasion,” that surely played a part of my trying to just be “a fly on the wall” directing-wise.  The funny part is that after interviewing each participant, we were usually thanked profusely for taking this subject on and asking questions that hadn’t been asked before.  Folks were happy to be a part of the film.  But, when I got to the editing suite, I didn’t remember all that and just saw great interviews that had nice back and forths and no way to cut them together.  Cutting my questions and my voice out of the film would be real tough and probably would negate any real storytelling.  We didn’t want a collection of talking heads.  We wanted real people and real conversations in the film.  Was I really afraid of my own film?  Was there a solution to this? 

Yes, there was.  What helped me quickly get past all this and find my voice was taking a Documentary Producing seminar in NYC and asking the Instructor (a proud Liberal, but I didn’t care) to look at my fifteen-page treatment.  Two weeks later, she mailed it back to me with a big stickie note saying, “Why is a White filmmaker making this film?”  That just pissed me off.  A lot.  So, after a conversation with my Producer (and wife) in our kitchen – we decided that I was going to be a part of the film.  Because it had become obvious to us, that my making it should be part of the story.  I would be in the film as questioner, narrator and with the help of some friends, cast member.  Directing and editing problem solved.  My determination to finish the film… increased by a ten-fold.

As a first-time feature Director, I tried not to think about film festivals or how we would actually release our little epic.  I wanted to concentrate on doing a good job making the film.  We spent a lot of time adding hi-res archival photos from the National Archives, the Library of Congress and other places.  We shot a lot of B-roll and photographs ourselves.  We even bought some broadcast-quality archival footage as I kept re-recording and improving my narration in our 3^rd floor bedroom (AKA, our “Hustle and Flow” recording studio – with old sheets and quilts serving as sound blankets.)  

Having volunteered for years at the Independent Feature Project’s Market in NYC and having directed a film festival here in Trenton– I thought our film would have a decent chance on the festival circuit.  A documentary on Black Republicans was a fresh topic, we did a good job shooting it and we had “great stuff” and even some “stars.”   So in the spring of 2009, we began to submit “rough cuts” to a few festivals.  Applying to film festivals isn’t easy or cheap.  Application fees were running $35-$100 and shipping, DVDs and other costs were adding up quick.  After several months of no word, we got some e-mails rejecting our submission.  One of them was even in French.  Admittedly, the film was longer than we wanted, but it was a “rough cut” and these festivals all accepted “rough cuts.” 

So, we kept whittling down the film, “killed some darlings” along the way and got the film’s running time down a lot.  With a shorter and stronger film, we started applying to the Spring and Summer, 2010 festivals with our “fine cut.”  Some festivals were big, some not so big and some were documentary-only and prestigious.  As each festival deadline went by… still no luck.   

We could have given up, but we wanted to push on and break through the festival wall as Filmmakers who happen to be Republican.   Our subject matter was too important to us to simply turn tail.  We just had to find the one festival that would accept our film.  If that happened, other festivals would follow and FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN would be the “feel-good movie of the summer.”  Well… summer came and WAITING FOR SUPERMAN took that slot. 

For our last shot, we applied to a small, boutique documentary festival thinking a smaller festival (it got less than 400 submissions) would be easier.  Wrong again.  No love would be sent our way at all.  I won’t name names, but we applied to fourteen different film festivals and went 0 for 14, baby!  What really stunk was that only a few of the festivals would ever give us feedback.  The little feedback we did get was that our film was interesting, had an impressive cast, but was “a little too long to get a screening slot.”

So, DIY (Do It Yourself) Distribution would now be our route.  With limited funds (ours) and no distributor, we decided to go DVD first and then work our way through semi-theatrical, streaming, VOD and so on as opportunities arose.  We wanted to launch the film before the 2012 Presidential Campaign really got going.  So, to prepare for a Spring, 2011 release, we had to plan out an affordable budget, find a DVD vendor, finish up our graphics, and finally, create a realistic marketing and distribution plan. 

A Cardinal rule in Filmmaking is “Don’t let the Director edit the trailer.”  Well, a rule that I go by is from the Young M.C. – “Got no money and you got no car, then you got no woman and there you are.”  Well, we didn’t have money for a trailer editor ($5K-7K), but I still have my 1996 Geo Metro (122,000 miles) and my amazing wife (and Producer), Tammy.  So, I set to work.  Sitting in a diner by myself (I’m from New Jersey.  We do diners, not Starbucks), I went through our transcript and picked out great lines of dialogue or other bits that really jumped out on their own.  Underlying all this was making sure that our three-minute trailer was entertaining and that it represented the film well.  We showed it to a bunch of family and friends during the Holidays and the feedback was good.  Weeks later, our lawyer cleared everything and we put the trailer up on our website, www.fearofablackrepublican.com and on YouTube.  That began the launching of our movie.  

Our next step was finalizing everything with our DVD vendor and completing the final prep work.  We did the basic DVD artwork and copy on our end.  A good local artist and neighbor created our key artwork in barter for some hand-crafted jewelry made by guess who?  Our Producer, Tammy.  We got everything to the DVD vendor and - FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN is now available on DVD and for screenings. 

To “officially” launch the film, we decided to go to the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, DC.  I would go by myself for the first two days and Tammy would be there with me for the last day.  Our strategy:  treat CPAC like it was our Sundance. 

Showing up with 2,000 postcards, I was pretty pumped and nervous.  There aren’t any case studies on launching an indie doc film like ours at an event like CPAC.  Particularly, given the subject matter and questioning tone of our film… who knew what would happen? 

But, as I approached people and tried to strike up conversations about the film and why we made it – I realized that we made the right decision.  Not just going to CPAC, but to DIY our own distribution. That feeling of controlling your own destiny, while fleeting at times, just can’t be beat.  As I shook another hand and gave each person a postcard, I became more confident in myself as an artist and as a filmmaker. 

We are just getting the film out of the editing room (our spare bedroom) and we don’t know what will happen – but, we aren’t going to wait for someone to come along and knock on our door.  We are going to do the best we can and hope that people will respond and buy the art that we created.  And while that happens, we’ll start working on our next film. 

I want to thank Big Hollywood for everything they have done for right-leaning artists and entertainers.  No place like Big Hollywood existed when we started our film.   Now that it does and is thriving, other filmmakers and artists have a place to feel safe and at home. 

See you on the next one…

Director Joe Wright in an interview with the left-wing site MovieLine:

“I think that the action genre is a very interesting one in terms of its place in a social context. I think that Paul Greengrass showed us with the Jason Bourne films that it was possible to make an action movie with a social conscience, a political-social context. You know, it’s not an accident that the journalist in the third film is writing for The Guardian newspaper. And so, I was interested in making such a film, because most action films that I see are misogynistic and misanthropic, and kind of gun-loving, Republican bullsh*t. And that concerns me because those are the films young people are going to see.”

Misogynistic? Misanthropic?

For the record, this is the same director who crafted an entire love story — the truly awful “Atonement” — around the word “cunt.” And because I’m a generous guy, I’d rather be called a liar than ask anyone to suffer through that turgid, overwrought pail of pretension. So no, don’t waste your time even with a Netflix.

His attacks on us make perfect sense, though. Nothing he’s done thus far has set the box-office on fire, so why not buy another chance by lashing out at the Right. When you’re known as the first director in history to make Robert Downey Jr. boring, you need some kind of quickie resume enhancer.

Well, at least now that the Republicans hold one chamber of  Congress, “the moderate” Jon Stewart can claim with a little credibility that he’s speaking truth to power. Other than that, look at how little of his nearly nine-minutes of schtick targets Obama and the embarrassing “conflictinator” that was MSNBC on election night.

Even the audience sounds tired.

Below is Stewart’s interview with Chris Wallace, who takes the comedian’s smirk-shots well:

By raw statistics, that would indicate over a quarter of the entertainment business is Republican. Now it could just be that Republicans are more generous.  Democrats are notoriously cheaper than a Barney Frank ferry ride. Al Gore spent more money on harassable masseuses than he gives to charity. Bill Clinton’s idea of charity is giving away used underwear (though in fairness, some of the clothing he soiled is now considered museum quality). Joe Biden spends more on polishing his tooth marks out of his shoes than he routinely gives away.

Democrats are as hypocritical as Leonardo DiCaprio’s private jet. They talk all the time about the uncaring rich not helping the poor, but come tax time, the charitable giving recorded on their Schedule As is dwarfed by their mortgage interest on their luxurious abodes. Democrats think their public service and undying support of a powerful state is tantamount to charity.

Perhaps showbiz Republicans give more, since their money says the words they can’t speak at work. When you have to put in eight-plus hours alongside people who can’t hold back their opinions about the ignorant bigoted tea-bagging Republicans, you’re bound to come home and take revenge with your checkbook.

Or maybe we just have more to spend. Usually people don’t discover Republicanism until they’re in the upper tax bracket. It’s strange how money looks from the other side of the fence. I know a comedian who once had a line about nobody needing more than three million dollars a year, that any dime you make above three million should be confiscated, because if you CAN’T make it on three million dollars a year, you’re an idiot and don’t deserve it anyway.

The last time I saw him joking about a maximum wage I knew he had made good, because he was now claiming that nobody needed more than $150 million a year. I’m glad that he’s doing well for himself, and he’s learned that three million dollars is not as much as a starving artist might imagine. Especially in show biz, where 25% is taken straight off the top, before the IRS and the State of Wherever-You-Unpack-Your-Suitcase get their share.

But I truly suspect that the amount of Republicans in the industry is far underestimated. Democrats just tend to be louder so it appears like there are more of them.  Here at Big Hollywood, there are only a handful of showbiz types who have revealed themselves. I think more need to come out of the attic, at least for the inner peace they will find. It isn’t healthy for everyone to keep their opinions locked up inside.

I say come out of your hiding places everyone. I think there are more of us out here than anyone can imagine. It’s really liberating to no longer pretend that the economy is in great shape, and the President is competent. And the next time your co-worker claims that at least He’s not as bad as Bush, remind them that a four percent unemployment and a deficit under a trillion dollars would be a welcome relief right about now.

—–

One of the reasons Henry Winkler was on Behar’s show was to talk about the children’s books he’s written that deal with his disorder, not his case of Sarah Palin Derangement Syndrome, but his dyslexia. I won’t make fun of dyslexia because for some, like me; it’s no laughing rettam.

Behar’s interview with “The Fonz” is a prime example of Hollywood liberals placing their political ideology first and a chance to reach out to those who don’t live in New York, L.A. or Darfur last. How many American families who loved Sarah Palin’s book would be moved to buy Winkler’s books after comments like that? Not many in this political climate.

Hollywood has been thrashing into our lives like a school of angry liberals for too long. Every now and then an old Hammer Head like Henry Winkler rises up out of nowhere to debase the American family while expecting us to hand over cash to see him swim in a tank. To think I once had a “Happy Days” lunch box fills me with shame.