Leno crosses the line from “Tonight Show” host to something closer to a journalist, but at the very least he’s respectful, inquisitive, and lets Congresswoman Bachmann speak — which is how I wish more so-called journalists would behave.  Obviously this issue was going to be the elephant in the studio, so Leno probably felt it was necessary to discuss it, and I’d say he handled the elephant with some class.

So as rioting in London spreads like plaque on rotted teeth, there’s something more toxic than the violence going on.

It’s some of the reaction to it – which stinks of justification.

Says one anarchist, while punks steal chocolate: “This is the uprising of the working class. We’re redistributing the wealth.”

Yep – free sweets – that’s a revolution.

I’m sure those folks in Syria are inspired.

I tell you – I’d hate to be a shopkeeper, knowing that the man looting the store is viewed more romantically than the man stocking the shelves.

But you can find this idiocy anywhere: academia, TV, movies, music… the belief that despicable behavior is okay if you dress it up as a response to “the man.”

But what’s worse is the way we now respond to this crap.

(more…)

Coming soon to a television near you? Good Christian Belles, which was originally titled Good Christian Bitches. Although not guaranteed a slot on the ABC lineup, the original title caused an uproar, which may account for the title change. Regardless, the content of the pilot script (which I have read) should be enough to make those of us who are tired of liberal Hollywood using Christianity as a punching bag to stay away from a show that reminds one of Desperate Housewives with a religious, er, twist.

The plot revolves around the recently widowed (and beautiful) Amanda Vaughn, whose husband Bill died in a car crash. Just about everything the couple owns has been seized by federal marshals because the recently deceased Bill was indicted in a Ponzi scheme, leaving his wife and teenaged children (Will and Sara) with little choice but to pack up what’s left and leave California for Amanda’s native Texas – Dallas, to be precise – and move in with Amanda’s mother Gigi until Amanda can find a job and support herself and the kids.

Amanda not only has to cope with the shame surrounding Bill’s death and helping her children transition, but moving back to her hometown. As daughter Sara discovers one of Amanda’s old high school yearbooks at Gigi’s (who does not want her grandchildren to call her Grandma), it prompts a discussion of Amanda’s past as a popular cheerleader who wasn’t above being a manipulative bitch to get what she wanted. Not proud of her past, Amanda is determined to make a fresh start. Too bad some of the girls she grew up with aren’t willing to let bygones be bygones.

(more…)

Ed. Note: Please welcome Ashley Sewell to Big Hollywood. Someone sent a link to her site and after a quick look I immediately asked if she would join our growing community. When you read what’s below, I think you’ll see why. — J.N.

I was in Austin Wednesday for the Texas Unions Day Off as they paraded around demanding state government keep its dirty paws off their pensions because, you know, we should keep cutting Child Support Programs and the Cancer Research & Prevention Institute so they can continue planning their retirement party in Jamaica, but whatever.

These two aren't going anywhere!

After the crowds dispersed to collect on the boxed lunch they were promised, I was approached by a guy who I immediately identified as a liberal, but not a union member (he wasn’t wearing a solid-color t-shirt, but he did reek of hipster).  We exchanged niceties and politely told each other what we did: I’m a conservative blogger and he works for Moveon.org.

Yah.

Niceties continued and he asked me if I’d mind taking a few minutes to speak with him on camera.  I believe both sides can engage in civil discussions and he was being very kind, so I agreed.

“What are some of your childhood Sesame Street memories?”
Um, what? Keeping up with the polite conversation, I answered about Elmo, Big Bird, counting – you know, Sesame Street stuff.

(more…)

I’m gunna begin this Gregalogue by stating plainly that I’m probably a jerk.

I say this, because when I examine the opinion I am about to give – the reason for that opinion could be that I’m a jerk. So here goes:

Apparently, A DNA test on a strand of hair has cast doubt on the guilt of a dude named Claude Jones, who was executed a decade ago in Texas, while evil George W. Bush was governor.

The guy had been found guilty for shooting a liquor store owner named Allen Hilzendager to death in 1989.

His getaway driver Danny (they’re always named Danny) had been previously convicted of shooting a girl between the eyes – and dumping her in a graveyard.

So, a wonderful pair.

Anyway, much of the “primary” evidence against Jones came from his accomplices. But the hair had been the only physical evidence linking Jones to the scene -and the DNA analysis said it wasn’t his, and could in fact be the victim’s instead.

So the guy was executed, when he shouldn’t have been.

Sad story.

But not for me. (more…)

Elite critics and the “I don’t watch TV except for [insert list of shows here]” crowd love-love-love Friday Night Lights, but they always say things like, “It’s not really about football.” I hate conceding that point because it assumes that football isn’t awesome, when in fact, it’s the most awesome thing ever invented. I’ll concede that in the larger scheme of things, the show is about passion, but that passion could only come from football.

I believe football inspires more widespread passion than any of the other major sports in America. Dismissing football when praising Friday Night Lights, therefore, is a bit disingenuous in my opinion. Yes, it’s really about passion, but I don’t think there’s another sport or activity that could replace football and allow the show to remain as honest and relatable. And you don’t have to like football to agree with that, you simply have to recognize football’s place in America in the 21st Century. Especially in small towns, and even more especially in Texas.

To say the fictional town of Dillon, Texas loves them some football is beyond understating. They live it and breathe it. Dillon’s not a big city, not really a small town, either (it’s never really defined, though it doesn’t seem to be a replica of Odessa, the town from the book and movie that inspired the show). Regardless, the show brilliantly captures the highs and lows that come with  living vicariously through the local team, perhaps more brilliantly than did Hoosiers or any other sports related entertainment.

While the show’s qualities – directing, writing, acting, etc. – are many, the best things it has going for it are its characters, brought to life by an achingly good cast. The writers know the archetypes, and so do we, and we know when we meet stud running back Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) that there is a great chance he will blow any and all opportunities to excel and will become one of those guys whose love of the glory days will haunt him forever. Riggins may become a stereotypical small town loser, but FNL takes great pains to show how that comes about. Still, other characters defy our expectations, like Tyra Collette (Adrianne Palicki), who in addition to being hotter than Texas asphalt on the Fourth of July, seems doomed to surviving off of tips from The Landing Strip. But her choices prove there’s more to her than we first realize. Her rivalry with another character, Lyla Garrity (you hear that name and you know she’s cuter than a person should be, and you’re right), transcends the typical bad girl/good girl scenario. (more…)

Do the math. Instead of someone with the last name Rodriguez telling the tale of noble, sympathetic Hispanics victimized by white American southern rednecks  — all of whom are portrayed as murderous racists, what if we had a white filmmaker telling the tale of noble and sympathetic Texas border ranchers victimized by marauding, racist, gold-toothed unwashed Mexicans out to steal their land? Oh, and we would close our story with a stand-up-and-cheer race war where Texas ranchers unite to violently mow down evil Mexicans.

The same Left whose standards are so low that opposition to ObamaCare, same-sex marriage, and the Ground Zero Mosque can only be driven by a “phobia” or “ist” — the same PC Left that hides ”silly” old Bugs Bunny cartoons and can’t broadcast a season of “24″ without including a patronizing Don’t Be Racist to Muslims PSA — sees the vicious portrayal of white Texans in “Machete” as nothing more than a silly goof. I guess it’s easy to convince yourself of that when your principles are based on an agenda as opposed to any sense of consistency or intellectual honesty.

The bottom line, however, is that whether Rodriguez likes it or not, this is still the United States of America, which means he has the right to make whatever film he wants and 20th Century-Fox has the same right to distribute it. But does that mean Texas taxpayers should foot part of the bill for a cinematic slandering of both their state and identity? [emphasis mine] (more…)

The irony of the most anti-capitalist industry in America begging for tax credits/incentives/welfare in order to keep pumping out their anti-corporate/American product is just too rich. Nevertheless, from this story, it’s obvious “Machete” creator Robert Rodriguez is very much counting on mucho tax dollars to make his film… And may still receive them:

Oddly, Machete may have been shot in a different state if not for Perry, who signed a bill last year giving his office the ability to grant larger tax incentives to lure filmmakers to shoot in Texas.

Perry signed the bill at an April 2009 ceremony at Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios. Rodriguez told The Associated Press at the time that, without the bill, he would have had to move the production of projects including Machete to another state.

“Thanks to this bill, I don’t have to go shoot out of the state,” Rodriguez said.

***UPDATE: According to Texas Governor Perry’s office:  “At this time, no funds have been released to Troublemaker Studios.”

I’m assuming this statement is in reference to ”Machete.” But Rodriguez wasn’t going to to shoot “Machete” in Texas without the promise of tax incentives:

****END UPDATE

Not sure which is more revealing about our friends in Leftist Hollywood; the blatantly racist double standard at work in Robert Rodriguez’s ”Machete,” or the fact that the same industry relentlessly lobbying both behind the scenes and up on that big screen to “soak the rich for socialism” is also the biggest group of corporate welfare-whores we’ve ever seen. The Worst People In The World are fully aware tax cuts/credits help businesses to create jobs and obviously feel that they’re the only industry entitled to them.

—–

In the case of “Machete” the tax cuts/credits you and I pay for are being used to intentionally stoke racial tensions.

Infowars.com not only discovered that “Machete” sucked hard on the public teat for funding, but a copy of the script they managed to get their hands on confirms that the actual film is somehow more incendiary than the ”Fuck Arizona” trailer Rodriguez released last week:

Worst of all, Robert Rodriguez’ incendiary race film ‘Machete‘ was made, in part, with help from tax incentives and location access provided by the Texas Film Commission, a division of Governor Rick Perry’s Office. A spokesperson from the organization confirmed that Rodriguez has indeed applied for funding. (more…)

So this week, in Texas, the State Board of Education will be making important decisions about your child’s curriculum.

I say “your child,” because I have no kids – unless you count my ferrets “Captain Sparkles” and “Dangerzone.”

They’re children to me, but alas they don’t read books.

Yet.

Anyway, this 15 member board will be deciding what’s in and what’s out, and then publishers will follow – since Texas, after all, is one of the largest textbook buyers in the world.

Now, I keep hearing rumors about scary changes being made to the books. But, I think, we’re missing the point. It’s not about what’s being replaced in textbooks, but what’s being excluded entirely, from the process. (more…)

Stop the servers!  Jackson Williams at the Huffington Post has a newsflash:  Actor Matthew Marsden Hides His Right-Wing Political Views.

This raises a couple of questions.  The first is, “Who is Mathew Marsden?”  Well, he was an up-and-coming young English singer and actor with athletic roles in Rambo and Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.  Which leads to the second question – why would writer Jackson Williams be so giddy about the revelation that Marsden apparently does not hew obediently to the Hollywood left’s party line?

Well, it sure isn’t because he’s interested in giving Marsden’s career a boost.  Like the grinning little snot in every elementary school class who gets off on the high of narc-ing out the other kids to the schoolmarm, Jackson’s purpose was to tattle to every producer, agent, actor and other Hollywoodoid that Marsden had been a bad, bad boy.  He exercised his right to think for himself. Maybe Jackson should wear a sash:  “Political Hall Monitor.”  But it’s clear that his article is simply a nomination of Marsden for a spot on the New Hollywood Blacklist. (more…)

In Parts One and Two of this interview, Mr Lebaron described the many legal, moral and ethical problems plaguing the California legislative process. In Part Three, Mr. LeBaron describes how We The People can begin to bring the long-hallowed and honorable traditions of enlightened American lawmaking back to the State House in Sacramento.

Q: How could such a law as the Honor In Office Act be enforced?

JERROL: There are some legislators who will perjure themselves day in and day out. There is no hope for them, unless someone reports the violation. However, we are dealing with partisanship. That means that 45-55% are Democrats and 45-55% are Republicans, typically. The Honor In Office Act plays very nicely into that. Newly elected lawmakers might be far more conscious of the new rules. There are other lawmakers in office who have lost their way, because they have had no way to protect themselves from the less scrupulous. (more…)

In Part One of this interview, Mr. LeBaron provided background on his own classic American and Hollywood success stories, and why he started the Honor In Office campaign. Today, Mr. LeBaron tells us what Honor In Office is all about, and why real reform is so badly needed in Sacramento.

Q: Can you describe for me, specifically, what Honor In Office is all about?

JERROL: If you look at the header at the Honor In Office homepage you will see the phrase, “There was a time in this country when our leaders’ signatures meant more.” Be it the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or bills passed by Congress to conduct the People’s business, our Founding Fathers and early members of Congress drafted, read in full, debated at length, and either passed or rejected whatever legislation was before the Congress. (more…)

THE BACKSTORY

From all appearances, Jerrol LeBaron’s life is both a classic American and Hollywood success story. Having started out in the construction industry in and around Los Angeles, Mr. LeBaron became restless and purchased a small jewelry business, which he owned and ran for seven years. In 2000, after dabbling in screenwriting and discovering just how difficult it was to market scripts in Hollywood, Mr. LeBaron sold his jewelry business and started the online Writers’ Script Network, now known today as Inktip.com.

Today, InkTip is the most successful venture of its kind in Hollywood, matching spec screenplays with prospective studios, producers, and other film industry insiders looking for new material. An average of twenty films a year are made from scripts discovered on InkTip. Mr. LeBaron’s bi-monthly magazine, containing the loglines of hundreds of screenplays in the InkTip database, is distributed industry-wide. Having optioned a script off of InkTip myself, I can personally testify to its success. (more…)

From ABC:

DWTS is a long way from Washington D.C.’s world of politics, so we’re anxious to see just how well this Texas native can do the two-step!

One of the most influential Republican figures in the early 2000s, Tom DeLay rose through the ranks in the United States House of Representatives to become the Majority Leader of the Republican Party. His aggressive “Grow the Vote” method of party discipline, where he never lost a vote, earned him the nickname of “The Hammer” from the Washington Post.

The site is loaded with overwhelmingly angry comments from the entitled Left show’s fans making it clear the choice of Delay will cost ABC viewers: (more…)

It was a little after midnight when I crossed over the bridge from Laredo, Texas into the sister city of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. After having my car searched I was cleared through the Mexican Customs’ check point where the military was staged and drove towards my destination. I had a source of mine, a local reporter, call me four hours earlier to tell me to meet him at a specific restaurant at 1 a.m. because he had some photographs and information I was looking for pertaining to a specific series of brutal murders that had taken place in the Laredo corridor.

This wasn’t all that unusual-most of the investigative journalists in Mexico work under intense circumstances given that they often come into information relating to the drug cartels that they either can not, or will not, report on because it would be a death sentence for them, so they give the information to someone like me who will get it aired or published in way that does not connect them.

I arrived early to the restaurant and since the weather was so pleasant, I decided to take a seat on the patio and have a glass of tea. I sat there for a few minutes when my source arrived and sat down, ordered a drink and handed me a large white envelope. He told me this was everything I had been asking his editor about the day before and that I should be careful how I use them. I thanked him, (by paying him) and we talked for about twenty more minutes and he asked if I could give him a ride home. (more…)

Twenty-four year-old Susan La Muse has god-like powers. Actually, her powers surpass those of God since she can reconstitute dead people from scraps of debris and restore them to full health and cognizance. She waves her arms and AIDS disappears from Africa. Every internal combustion engine changes to electric (although the question of what is generating this electricity is never answered.)  She makes disparaging remarks about being a “white girl” while celebrating every other race. And she solves most of her problems through sex. 

Straight sex, gay, bi, group, it doesn’t matter to the sexually omnivorous Susan whose libido knows no bounds. In her most asinine encounter, which becomes key to “world peace,” Susan pulls a train of skinhead Nazis who quickly see the light, accept their “bi-curious” strains and copulate with her and one another. Thereafter, anyone who views her sex tape becomes one with the world and all living things. And “Kumbaya” was heard in the land.   (more…)

On a hot summer evening, in a bar in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico just across the bridge from Laredo, Texas; a thirty year-old man, on his knees, surrounded by a dozen armed guards, can be heard begging for his life, he cries for one more chance to make it right with the boss, one more chance to see his family—one more chance at life.

His boss happens to be the man who dictates the life and death of every soul in the Laredo corridor, listens to the pleas but has already made up his mind. He stands as judge and jury in this court and it’s clear, he’s heard enough. So he pulls a diamond studded, pearl handled pistol from his belt and slowly hands it over to one of his newest recruits. He tells the recruit to put a bullet in the condemned mans head as he sobs uncontrollably—and so, without hesitation the young man pulls the trigger four times over. (more…)

The first time you face armed, foreign troops on American soil, something inside you changes. You experience a cold, hard sensation deep in your core. There is an internal shift as the reality sinks in that despite having the strongest military in the world, there are Americans who are not safe on their home soil.

Obama and Mexican President Calderón

I experienced that shift on a cold October night in 2005, when, at a distance of approximately 21 yards, we filmed armed, uniformed soldiers escorting a mule train into the United States.

Guardsmen from Tennessee experienced it in the same location 15 months later when soldiers from Mexico advanced on their observation post. The foreign troops twice attempted to flank the Guardsmen. The Guardsmen were twice ordered to observe and fall back until reinforcements arrived. (more…)

Day 5 felt a bit different. Maybe it was the fact that we did not have 40-50 mph crosswinds, or perhaps it was the larger than expected turnout of American Legion Riders, but all of the riders could tell that this was going to be different than the previous four days. The R2R crew took off on the ride through Johnson County to Cleburne with a relief that the tailwinds had returned.

As soon as the ride reached the first big town of Whitney, you could tell the difference was the amount of people that had come out to greet the riders.

Each day, the local American Legion Auxiliary helps plan and support the event. Whether it is our lunch stop, dinner, or getting the local schools and business showing their support for the wounded warriors. (more…)