Faith-based audiences can rally in staggering numbers.
We saw that via 2004’s “The Passion of the Christ,” which shocked Hollywood by earning $370 million stateside.
Subsequent spiritual films earned far less, but “War Room,” “Heaven Is for Real,” “I Can Only Imagine” and the “God’s Not Dead” franchise still out-earned some mainstream fare.
The creators behind the upcoming “David,” an animated musical about King David, think their story can lure in far more than just the faithful.
“David was the second and greatest King of Israel and is one of the most central figures of the Jewish faith and Israeli culture,” says Michael Jenkins, the film’s executive producer. 
“The Christian New Testament records David in the lineage of Jesus, who was at times even called ‘Son of David,’ and David is later described in the New Testament as a ‘man after God&#8217;s own heart,’” Jenkins continues. “Outside of the faith community, David&#8217;s story is well-known and has captured the imagination across many generations and cultures.”
The trick, Jenkins says, is to tell faithful stories with narratives that can attract a wider swath of the movie-going public.
“That&#8217;s a challenge and opportunity that artists and storytellers, who are also people of faith, need to step up to and embrace,” he says.
Hollywood isn’t itching to tell a faith-based story of this magnitude, so the “David” team turned to Angel Studios to light the way. The company, which previously crowdfunded cultural smashes like Dry Bar Comedy and “The Chosen,” is helping to raise the $30 million needed to complete the feature.
That’s on top of the more than $24 million Team “David” already raised.
Patience won’t be a problem. Jenkins says the upcoming film is more than 20 years in the making. Co-director Phil Cunningham, founder of Sunrise Animation Studios in South Africa, wrote the 2002 book “The VIII Son,” what Jenkins calls a first draft, of sorts, of the “David” script.
Since then, Sunrise Animation Studios has been beefing up its staff, craftsmanship and storytelling processes “to do justice to a story as important as David,” he says.
In 2017, Jenkins’ team created a five-minute demo reel to lure curious investors, both large and small. That clips, featuring animation on par with most major studios, shows a young David risking it all to save a little lamb’s life.
One funding partner, Jenkins says, couldn’t get that 5-minute teaser out of his mind.
“It&#8217;s one thing to tell people that this movie will be major-studio quality, but I think the ‘David’ demo has done an amazing job of providing a small taste of the look of David, and the mix of adventure, humor and poignancy in our approach,” Jenkins says.
The team later raised roughly $17 million, which included trips to Israel and assembling a creative team to complete the project.
That team, including animators from “Moana,” “Finding Nemo” and other beloved films, responded to the project’s big picture, Jenkins says.
“These artists could feel that this film was not born in a boardroom but from a deep creative place. It is not a film built to tick [off] boxes, but a film built to inspire a generation,” he says.
In a way, we’ve seen glimpses of King David’s legacy across pop culture for decades.
“David&#8217;s life has inspired artists, writers, musicians and filmmakers from Michelangelo to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Leonard Cohen,” Jenkins says. “Some of these have depicted David very differently from the Biblical account, in ways that Christians and Jews may find offensive, but this just goes to show how far beyond the faith community David&#8217;s story has reached.”
The David vs. Goliath template alone, he says, remains a key underdog inspiration, but some may not know the breadth of King David’s talents.
“David was an elite musician and songwriter, recruited from across a nation to play music for King Saul, and the author of nearly half the Psalms,” he says.
The project’s $55 million price tag may seem imposing, but it’s a fraction of what similar Hollywood fare costs. The 2016 smash “Moana,” for example, is reported to cost <a href="https://screenrant.com/disney-most-expensive-cheapest-animated-films/">between $150-175 million for Disney.</a>
“We’ve always had to be lean, innovative, agile and efficient, because we&#8217;ve built our studio far away from the massive budgets and expenses of Hollywood,” he says. “We have nimble decision-making processes. We work hard at putting the full value of every dollar onto the screen rather than carrying bloated overheads.”
Angel Studios has a sturdy track record when it comes to crowdfunding-style campaigns, but Jenkins says money isn’t the only concern for the project.
“When you set out to tell a story that so many people know so well and love so deeply, it&#8217;s really important to deliver a movie that lives up to expectations, and the sense of ownership that so many people have of this story,” he says. 
Toward that end, Team “David” approaches the material with an eye on both spirituality and authenticity.
Hollywood didn’t always look beyond its own ecosystem to create faith-based epics. Classics like “The Ten Commandments” (1956), “Ben Hur” (1959) and “The Robe” (1953) proved populist tales could flow from Hollywood to Everytown, USA.
Recent Hollywood films like “Noah” (2014) and “Exodus: Gods and Kings” (2014) either played down Biblical miracles or focused on more contemporary themes like Climate Change.
“’The Passion of the Christ’ and ‘The Chosen’ have shown that there is a really significant audience for faith content with excellent production and entertainment quality,” he says. “The same can be said for ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ and ‘The Blind Side,’ which both had faith themes, albeit less directly biblical.”

Old Town, the Tower of David (or Citadel of Jerusalem) and the walls

‘Greatest King Of Israel’: Angel Studios Teams With South African Filmmaker To Bring Animated ‘David’ To Big Screen

Animation

Entertainment

Movies

Readers Pass

U.S.

Fake news is no laughing matter.
It robs us of knowledge, forges false narratives and diminishes trust in journalism.
Sadly, many late-night comedians feast on fake news. They’re not willing to wait for fact checks or other journalistic staples. And they’ve been feasting on it for years, especially <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jimmy-kimmel-admits-he-lost-half-his-audience-for-bashing-trump-and-hes-fine-with-that" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stories tied to President Donald Trump</a>.
The comedians in question show no signs of stopping nor any remorse for their actions. They probably can’t wait for the next fake news cycle to commence. Being a late-night propagandist means never having to say you’re sorry.
It’s an unholy alliance. Journalists share wobbly news stories and comedians turn them into partisan punch lines. And, as a result, faulty narratives make their way into the public conscience.
The latest example shows how late-night comics and crooked reporters work hand-in-glove to creative narratives to attack the Right.
Last summer, the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate seeking classified documents he allegedly took from his presidential days. News outlets breathlessly suggested the documents included nuclear secrets, the kind of information that could put American security at risk if Trump peddled them to the highest bidder.
The walls, at long last, were closing in on the real estate mogul.
Late night comics simultaneously pounced and seized, brimming with outrage over the incident. “The Late Show” found host Stephen Colbert blasting Trump as committing a <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/now/colbert-trump-having-foreign-nuclear-144236974.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“menage a treason.”</a>
<blockquote>How do you explain this to our allies!? “Don’t worry, Prime Minister, your country’s nuclear secrets are perfectly safe, stored at the Mar-a-Lago waffle bar, between the syrup and the Nutella bucket.”</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/sep/08/jimmy-kimmel-mar-a-lago-documents" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jimmy Kimmel joined in, naturally</a>. 
<blockquote>The only people who are allowed to see them are the president of the United States and a few highly cleared members of his council … and anyone who goes into Trump’s closet looking for a broom, I guess.</blockquote>
Trevor Noah of “The Daily Show” fame said Trump would have to <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/daily-show-destroys-trumps-greatest-excuse-for-taking-home-classified-docs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flee the country</a> to avoid prosecution over the nuclear details. 
<blockquote>I mean, he’s the guy who wanted to build the wall,” he explained, “and now he’s going to need to sneak into Mexico. Karma’s a b****!</blockquote>
Now, we’re learning the documents in question were <a href="https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/kevindowneyjr/2022/11/16/shocker-wapo-sheepishly-admits-the-fbi-found-no-nuclear-secrets-or-anything-else-in-mar-a-lago-raid-n1646445" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tied to Trump’s ego</a>, not nuclear details ready to be sold on the open market.
The investigation is ongoing, and the facts may later change, but as of now the breathless reporting (and endless late-night yuks) proved less than accurate.
It’s hardly the biggest example of the late night/fake news connection. Audiences suffered through several years of the Russian collusion story across media headlines. And, at the same time, the late-night comics tore into the narrative.
Monologue after monologue, skit after skit, attacked Trump for treasonously conspiring with Russia to win the 2016 election.
None did so as aggressively as Colbert, who famously called the President Vladimir Putin’s “c*** holster” in one of late night’s most vulgar cracks … ever.
We now know it’s all a fraud, one which the correctly named Deep State had a hand in perpetrating. So where’s the late night mea culpas?
Team Late Night also jumped on Cassidy Hutchinson’s claims that Trump attempted to physically attack a Secret Service driver to swerve the vehicle toward the January 6 protests which later became violent.
The media had a feeding frenzy over the story, and Hutchinson’s testimony spoke to late night TV’s partisan biases. 
Once again, comedians didn’t wait for the facts. They wanted the “clapter,” the fawning response from liberals in the studio audience, and they couldn’t be bothered.
The basement-rated Trevor Noah offered <a href="https://theweek.com/jan-6-committee/1014745/stephen-colbert-and-trevor-noah-size-up-trumps-top-jan-6-tantrums-revealed">fake praise for Trump’s instincts</a> during the alleged fracas.
<blockquote>…fighting your own Secret Service agent is kind of genius on Trump’s part, because he’s hitting the one person who can’t hit back.</blockquote>
Colbert said the story would “make a great season premiere of Kleptocrats in Cars Seizing Power.”
The assembled comics didn’t wait to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/testimony-of-cassidy-hutchinson-appears-to-fall-apart-as-new-reports-surface-about-secret-service" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hear the rest of the story.</a>
Notably, not one but two primary sources refuted her claims. The person who allegedly told her the story denies sharing it, and the Secret Service agent Trump allegedly man-handled offered to testify it never happened.
The matter eventually went away, with news outlets disinterested in following Hutchinson’s narrative.
Even smaller fake news stories get turned into late night wisecracks. In 2019, media outlets suggested President Trump had <a href="https://time.com/4705083/seth-meyers-trump-meals-on-wheels-budget-cuts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gutted the Meals on Wheels program</a>, a charitable effort designed to feed those who can’t get food on their own.
The host of “Late Night with Seth Meyers” raged against Trump and the decision.
<blockquote>Old people voted for you. Your key demographics were old people and older people. They believed you when you said you cared about them. There’s nothing more low-life than lying to the elderly. You should know that. You’re 70.</blockquote>
Except less than 3% of the program’s funding comes from federal funding. So the media and Meyers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fake-news-did-trump-just-kill-meals-wheels-not-ben-shapiro?utm_content=031817-news&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=dwtwitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grossly misrepresented the facts</a> to smite Trump.
Again.
News outlets should go back and update incorrect news stories. The corrections section is a venerable part of journalism, a necessary feature given how even the best reporters can make mistakes.
We’re seeing very little of that happening with the current wave of fake news. Has any major outlet offered a voluminous explanation for the collusion hoax?
And, of course, late-night comics won’t be held responsible for their false narratives.
It’s just a joke, they say. Too bad they’re punching down on the American experiment in the process.
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News&#8217; Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@HollywoodInToto</a>. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Collusion In Comedy: Late Night Hosts Feast On Fake News Over Facts

Donald Trump

Jimmy Kimmel

Stephen Colbert

A moment from the 2020 thriller “The Boy Behind the Door” speaks volumes about today’s Hollywood.
The story involves a kidnapped boy and his best buddy’s plot to rescue him. The kidnapper briefly leaves his lair, driving off in a car adorned with a bumper sticker that reads, “Make America Great Again.”
It’s not enough that this monster kidnaps children. He’s also a Mega MAGA Republican.
Modern storytellers just can’t help themselves, and that tendency may be tripping up their Oscar aspirations.
Several new films suffer from similar moments, clunky asides that show the screenwriters’ obsession with their political enemies. It often goes back to the real estate mogul-turned-Commander-in-Chief.
Their Trump derangement may come back to haunt them.
Writer/director James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” is a deeply personal look back at his childhood in New York City. The “Ad Astra” director attended a school owned by the Trump family, and that connection plays a pivotal role in the plot.
Banks Repeta plays a middle school student who befriends a black classmate in their public school. Repeta’s character switches to a private school, one run by Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump (John Diehl). And, of course, the school’s &#8220;institutional racism&#8221; rears its ugly head. Two different Trumps appear on screen, neither cameo being flattering.
The film also takes two out-of-left-field swipes at President Ronald Reagan, moments that add nothing to the film save savagely partisan asides. Gray didn’t let his anti-GOP sentiments remain on screen. The auteur compared <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/armageddon-time-director-james-gray-film-tragic-backstory-1235228232/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels</a> in the press: 
<blockquote>I don’t care that Donald Trump doesn’t like it. That man is a vile, destructive force in the country and in the world. And if he hates it or if his acolytes hate it, if Ron DeSantis, Mr. F***ing-Education-Destroying DeSantis wants to hate on my movie, that’s fine with me too.</blockquote>
Turns out they weren’t the only ones eager to &#8220;hate on&#8221; “Armageddon Time.” Most movie goers stayed home rather than give Gray’s vision a chance. The film has earned a pathetic $1.8 million at the U.S. box office despite gaining 1,000+ theaters in its second week of release.
Fellow Oscar hopeful “She Said” recalls the work of two New York Times reporters who chased down every lead possible to expose serial predator Harvey Weinstein. The film opens with the reporters (Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan) digging into allegations against President Donald Trump prior to the 2016 elections before segueing into their Weinstein assignment.
We also learn of people, presumably Trump fans, leaving vile messages to the reporters in question.
Were those early scenes necessary? Perhaps. What’s clearly clunky is how the film leans, hard, into its Patriarchy bashing. It should be more than enough to expose Weinstein, which let the world know many other predators deserved to be outed, too.
“She Said” includes several awkward scenes showing wicked white male characters behaving badly. One sequence, set in a bar, finds a man hitting on Mulligan’s character while she’s having an in-depth conversation.
The sequence is meant to show toxic masculinity in action. Instead, it only showcases how woke storytelling is often unnecessary at best.
The film also had a weak opening weekend from November 18 to November 20, generating a paltry <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt14807308/?ref_=bo_se_r_1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$2,877,000 in worldwide box office receipts.</a>
One of the year’s biggest flops let its third act become a de facto attack on Trump. The star-studded “Amsterdam” (Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Robert De Niro and more) decorate a tale set initially after World War I. The incoherent saga winds up with De Niro’s character, a respected general, getting pressed to give a speech that might ignite a fascistic movement in America to match the one gaining steam in Germany circa 1933.
It&#8217;s very, very loosely based on real events, and the whiplash-inducing third act doesn’t mention Trump by name. Still, letting a notorious Trump hater like De Niro play the general knowing Hollywood’s faux obsession with “far-right” fascism doesn’t take a political scientist to suss out.
Even the liberal Esquire called out the <a href="https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a41495792/amsterdam-movie-review/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obvious Trump comparison</a>.
<blockquote>Clearly, [director] David O. Russell is another creative who saw Trump become the President, lost his mind, and then gathered as many celebrities as he could to defend one of the most agreeable stances in the history of the world: that hate is bad and kindness is good&#8230; It was just the closest thing in American history that David O. Russell could find that mimicked the January 6 insurrection. &#8220;You don&#8217;t get here without things starting a long time ago,&#8221; Bale&#8217;s Dr. Burt says.</blockquote>
“Amsterdam” earned a major theatrical rollout, generating an anemic $14.9 million stateside along with a <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/amsterdam_2022">sour 33% rating at Rotten Tomatoes</a>. Reports suggest the film will cost its studio <a href="https://deadline.com/2022/10/amsterdam-box-office-flop-david-o-russell-movie-1235140204/">nearly $100 million</a> along with any early Oscar buzz.
The upcoming “Empire of Light” from “Skyfall” director Sam Mendes offers a loving ode to the theatrical experience. Mendes’ film, set in England during the 1980s, offers a sizable subplot about the era’s racism. You’d think it was 1950s America, or even earlier, based on the story in play.
Olivia Colman stars as a theater manager who falls for another employee, who is black (Micheal Ward).
Naturally the film takes a bald, unfair swipe at Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and alternately rages against sexism and racism. Both are worthy subjects. Neither is treated with nuance or context, leading to an early, dismal 45% “rotten” roundup at RottenTomatoes.com.
Did the overt political messaging of these films hurt their box office fortunes? It’s hard to say, although audiences can often sense woke storytelling without actually seeing the films in question.
The clunky messaging clearly didn’t curry favor with liberal film critics, though. That, combined with their anemic box office tallies, spells trouble for any Oscar aspirations.
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News&#8217; Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en">@HollywoodInToto</a>. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

“Amsterdam” European Premiere – Arrivals

How Woke, Anti-Trump Messaging Is Tripping Up Oscar Hopefuls

Hollywood

Oscars

James Cameron’s “Titanic” became the biggest movie of all time in 1997 … before the director <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jan/26/avatar-sinks-titanic-record" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke his own record 12 years</a> later with “Avatar.”
Except “Titanic” looked like it might mimic the titular ship at the box office.
Months before the film’s December 19, 1997, release The Washington Post summarized the oh, so bad buzz surrounding the project. The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1997/05/25/going-down-with-the-ship/5c0ed22f-9c2a-4420-8c4a-b2b983eea681/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paper called the film</a> “over budget, behind schedule and plagued by the sort of vicious Hollywood gossip that causes ulcers in studio executives.”
We know what happened next. “Titanic” earned <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120338/?ref_=bo_se_r_1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$600 million stateside</a> in its initial release (an additional $59 million came with re-releases). Academy Awards voters showered Cameron’s vision with <a href="https://www.oscars.org/collection-highlights/titanic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">14 nominations</a>. The blockbuster walked away with 11 golden statuettes, including the coveted Best Picture trophy.
Cameron did it again with “Avatar,” the 2009 adventure that embraced the latest F/X Hollywood had to offer. The film’s eye-popping 3D imagery made a mockery of films that used the gimmick for a few ‘comin’ at ya!’ moments. The wondrous CGI created a world unlike any we’d seen before on screen.
“Avatar” similarly drew wary headlines prior to its release. An NBC affiliate captured the <a href="https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/avatar-might-be-the-longest-biggest-flop-ever/1863772/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suspicion greeting the film</a> while acknowledging how Cameron had fooled everyone with his “Titanic” triumph.
<blockquote>“Avatar,” by contrast, is not based on any known quantity, something extremely rare in <a href="https://www.nbcdfw.com/topics?topic=Hollywood" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hollywood</a> these days. And its love story concerns a giant blue alien and a man disguised as a giant blue alien.</blockquote>
That leads us to the first major film Cameron has directed since “Avatar” 13 years ago.
“<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1630029/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Avatar: The Way of Water</a>” is one of several sequels Cameron has in store for audiences. The film, in theaters December 16, reunites us with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), his bride Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) and their children as they face new threats to their safety. Plot details are being kept to a minimum by Team Cameron, ever the showman.
Once again, the naysayers are out in full force. And they have some credible points.
It’s been 13 years since the last “Avatar” movie, a project lacking the cultural affection of the James Bond saga, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and “Star Wars.” A new generation of film goers may not grasp Cameron’s place in film history, having directed not just the aforementioned smashes but “The Terminator” and “The Abyss.”
The Comic Con crowd may assemble for the film’s debut weekend, but the saga <a href="https://gizmodo.com/james-cameron-avatar-2-release-date-disney-fox-pandora-1849559989" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lacks that heartfelt bond with Nerd Nation.</a> The “Avatar” franchise could use some love.
<blockquote>Almost $3 billion grossed and yet, very few toys on the shelves, quotes in the lexicon, and only a smattering of extremely brave cosplayers.</blockquote>
“The Way of Water’s” two trailers are gorgeous, but they tell us little, if anything, about the story in play. We barely see any humans in the latest teaser.
Cameron isn’t an auteur like Stanley Kubrick, nor a comic genius like the Coen brothers. He makes up for those gaps in other, more 21st century ways. His tech savvy style embraces the latest Hollywood wizardly in ways few can duplicate. He also helmed two of the best sequels of the modern era – 1986’s “Aliens” and 1991’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day.”
He’s constantly pushing cinematic boundaries, eager to tell stories that force him to push special effects in exciting new ways.
Cameron is one of the few Hollywood artists, like Tom Cruise and Clint Eastwood, who intrinsically “gets” what audiences will line up to see year after year.
Yet his screenwriting chops have taken a hit over the years. Few would argue “Avatar” marked a high-water mark for realistic dialogue. He couldn’t resist using hokey phrases to score political points in “Avatar” like the anti-President George W. Bush line “shock and awe.” That’s a quip even a neophyte scribe might avoid.
Cameron isn’t shy about using his blockbusters as cinematic sermons. Many viewed “Avatar” as a retread of “Dances with Wolves,” the story dovetailing into a saga of an indigenous people fighting back against savage imperialists.
Cameron, now 68, shares how he’s using the expanding “Avatar” franchise to please his inner <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2022/10/avatar-2-the-way-of-water-plot-release-date-cast-1234738051/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eco-warrior.</a> 
<blockquote>Everything I need to say about family, about sustainability, about climate, about the natural world, the themes that are important to me in real life and in my cinematic life, I can say on this canvas.</blockquote>
Let’s remember Cameron once said to a reporter<a href="https://ew.com/article/2010/01/15/james-cameron-reacts-critics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">, “I believe in eco-terrorism.”</a>
And that’s where the Cameron magic may hit a speed bump. Red state audiences are keenly aware of Hollywood’s propaganda machine, now running at full blast.
 They’ve seen Disney employees on Twitter admit to their social engineering tactics, watched beloved franchises go woke and seen stars spout their eco-hypocrisies from the most luxurious stages in the country.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpyrefzvTpI&amp;t=18s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Just ask Leonardo DiCaprio</a>, who played the doomed Jack in Cameron’s “Titanic.”
Sharp-eyed audiences know Cameron made his cast and crew go green on the set, down to the <a href="https://www.slashfilm.com/993673/the-dietary-restriction-every-avatar-actor-had-to-follow-on-set/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">food they ate between takes.</a>
Will that impact “Avatar: The Way of Water” at the box office?
Cameron, never one to admit defeat, has sounded a <a href="https://movieweb.com/james-cameron-has-a-plan-if-avatar-the-way-of-water-bombs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rare note of caution</a> regarding his “Avatar” franchise. He says the one-two punch of the streaming revolution and the pandemic may mean audiences will have their fill of his eco-adventures sooner than later.
<blockquote>The market could be telling us we&#8217;re done in three months, or we might be semi-done, meaning: “Okay, let&#8217;s complete the story within movie three, and not go on endlessly,” if it&#8217;s just not profitable.</blockquote>
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News&#8217; Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en">@HollywoodInToto</a>. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Daily Wire.

Red Carpet Green Dress at the Private Residence of Jonas Tahlin, CEO of Absolut Elyx

Here’s Why Betting Against ‘Avatar 2’ And James Cameron Is A Mistake

James Cameron

Titanic

Remember Jennifer Lawrence?
No, not the 32-year-old star of AppleTV+’s “Causeway,” another Oscar-bait film released during awards season.
We know all about her.
We mean the young star of “Winter’s Bone,” the indie drama that made her a star at the ripe old age of 20. She dazzled, again, in 2012’s “Silver Linings Playbook,” netting a Best Actress Oscar for her performance.
And, famously<a href="https://people.com/movies/jennifer-lawrence-confronted-anderson-cooper-after-he-claimed-she-faked-her-viral-oscars-fall/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">, she took a spill</a> while en route to the Oscars podium in 2013 to collect her trophy.
The Kentucky native’s interviews gave audiences the impression she was just a heartland gal whose beauty and talent forged her ticket to Hollywood. She earned another Oscar nomination a year later for “American Hustle,” and her star status came with a certificate of authenticity.
Would fame and fortune change Lawrence, dubbed in select press circles <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/jennifer-lawrence-netflix-america-s-sweetheart-upcoming-films-career-hunger-games-a9547846.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“America’s Sweetheart”</a> for her aw-shucks appeal (she once played on her school’s all-boy basketball squad)? Or might the industry’s hard-Left status make her into yet another progressive star weighing in on the latest Beltway shenanigans?
The actress who once said she didn’t “<a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/11/jennifer-lawrence-on-love-fame-boundaries-and-dont-look-up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">want to be a douchebag</a>” took a nastier turn once a certain real estate mogul took an infamous escalator ride in 2015.
Lawrence reacted to Donald Trump’s presidential run as aggressively as any of her peers. She vowed <a href="https://time.com/5053969/jennifer-lawrence-trump-oprah/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to throw a martini</a> in the mogul’s face if their paths ever crossed.
This “Sweetheart” sounded just like her peers. Slowly, Lawrence <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/politics-are-killing-people-jennifer-lawrence-said-shes-feuding-with-conservative-family-over-abortion-gun-control" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaned into her progressive beliefs</a> but took matters one step further.
She started throwing people under the bus. And it started, naturally, with the GOP.
In 2021 <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jennifer-lawrence-radical-wing-republicans-voting-restrictions-psa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lawrence aligned with the group RepresentUs</a> to push the so-called For the People Act targeting voting rules.
<blockquote>Whatever your personal politics are, whatever side of the aisle you find yourself on, you need to know that your vote matters and the outcome of our elections are not maneuvered and manipulated. In Texas, Georgia and Florida and 44 other states, there’s a radical wing of the Republican Party that is actively dismantling America’s right to vote because they don’t have the numbers to win otherwise.</blockquote>
In her 2022 Vogue interview she attacked Republican voters, again, but this time they had company — <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/jennifer-lawrence-october-cover-2022-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the actress’ parents</a>.
<blockquote>I just worked so hard in the last five years to forgive my dad and my family and try to understand: It’s different. The information they are getting is different. Their life is different… I’ve tried to get over it and I really can’t. I can’t. I’m sorry I’m just unleashing, but I can’t f*** with people who aren’t political anymore. You live in the United States of America. You have to be political. It’s too dire. Politics are killing people.</blockquote>
She doubled down on her parents in a separate interview, courtesy of Vanity Fair. She uses MSNBC-style verbiage to attack family members for <a href="https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2021/12/01/a-happy-new-year?utm_brand=vf&amp;utm_social-type=owned&amp;mbid=social_twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">being part of MAGA nation</a>.
<blockquote>It’s wild to disagree on things you thought you would never…there’s no way we’re going to disagree on this in 2021. White supremacy. Attacking the Capitol. Nazis being the bad guys. Or just, science. I don’t know.</blockquote>
To be clear, the Oscar winner just suggested her parents support the January 6 riot, Nazism and white supremacy. Those labels are commonplace in far-Left circles, but they’re usually applied to generic, faceless Republicans by rhetorical bomb throwers on MSNBC.
Lawrence puts a very familiar face on those accusations. Her parents’ faces.
Now, those tribal battles are happening across America, sadly. Most people don’t have access to glossy magazine features to spill their personal dirt, though. And, if they did, they’d likely keep such skirmishes to themselves.
Not Lawrence, apparently. She’s not done with trashing things, though. More recently she’s targeted her own IMDB.com page.
She shares a story about a <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/news/jennifer-lawrence-adele-warned-passengers-flop-1235420909/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">famous singer cautioning her against making “Passengers,</a>” a sci-fi disappointment from 2016 co-starring Chris Pratt.
<blockquote>Adele told me not to do it! She was like, “I feel like space movies are the new vampire movies.” I should have listened to her.</blockquote>
It’s worth noting actors are reticent to trash their own films, with rare exceptions like George Clooney repeatedly mocking his own contributions to 1997’s flop “Batman &amp; Robin.” It can burn bridges with collaborators, for starters. It’s also insulting to the cast and crew, all of whom assembled in a good faith effort to make a fine movie. (It just doesn’t always turn out that way).
Here’s betting Pratt is less than eager to reteam with Lawrence moving forward.
The actress recently <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jennifer-lawrence-passengers-regrets-parted-with-caa-1235254027/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">piled on her former talent agency</a>, CAA, charging it didn’t send personal-sized projects her way.
<blockquote>I found out that a lot of filmmakers that I really loved and admired had scripts that weren’t even reaching me.</blockquote>
Now, she vows to eschew big-budget productions in order to shoot the films she wants to appear in. Smaller. More passion-based. Of course, should her box office fortunes wane she might beg to star in an MCU movie or “Hunger Games” spinoff.
Will she throw herself under the bus in that case?
Lawrence went from a talented, fresh-faced starlet to a star regretful of her fame and eager to publicly trash her own family during puff-piece magazine profiles.
Imagine how she’ll spend the rest of her 30s.

“Causeway” European Premiere – 66th BFI London Film Festival

‘You Have To Be Political’: Why Jennifer Lawrence Is Throwing Everyone Under The Bus

Jennifer Lawrence

Kurt Schlichter once threw a famous author’s spy novel across the room, bored by its contents.
The trial lawyer, Townhall columnist and occasional stand-up could have let his frustration end there. Instead, the devoutly conservative scribe decided to do something about it.
Schlichter penned his first action adventure, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Republic-Kurt-Schlichter/dp/1539018954/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=">People’s Republic</a>,” in 2016. The story followed America’s literal split into red and blue state countries, and the ensuing Civil War-sized fallout.
Now, that saga’s story continues with “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Inferno-Kelly-Turnbull-Kurt-Schlichter/dp/1734199377/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=">Inferno,</a>” the seventh adventure featuring his rugged hero, Kelly Turnbull. It’s an unabashedly red meat narrative, one that celebrates “Sen. Nick Searcy,” toasts conservative radio stars and doesn’t clutch a single pearl as our hero takes down the enemy.
He calls it “fan service” for conservative readers, and he has no regrets about the approach. What’s wrong with connecting with one’s fan base, he says, decrying the oh, so serious sentiment many bring to pop culture.
“Anything you like has to be somehow bad in our culture. Everything has to be a painful death march,” he explains.
Best of all, Schlichter used a mega-company famous for its censorial ways to make it happen.
“Amazon allowed me a way to get past the gatekeepers. There’s nobody to tell me, ‘you can’t say that,’” Schlichter says of his popular, self-published series.
The retired Army infantry colonel had always planned to become a novelist, but he says the “law and military and stand-up comedy and family” got in the way. He refused to let the dream go, though, inspired by the bond he shared with late media mogul Andrew Breitbart.
“We have to make our own culture,” Breitbart told him. The Kelly Turnbull series arrived at just the right time, as he sees it.
The novels check off more than a few boxes for Schlichter. He fulfilled a dream he began nurturing in elementary school, gave the conservative movement a literary hero they could call their own and embraced the technology that streamlined self-publishing.
“Suddenly as a conservative I can have a voice,” he says, adding delivering the goods matters just as much. “You have to be good first before you deliver a message. My books are fun and entertaining, if I say so myself, but I have to do that long before I start making any message.”
His secret to success?
“I wanted to write a book that was all ‘good parts,’” he says. And “Inferno” fits that description, brimming with taut action scenes, betrayals and more. Those seeking soulful self-examination from their macho heroes should look elsewhere, he says.
“I wanted a protagonist who can drive the action,” says Schlichter of Turnbull, whose knowledge of firearms alone sets him apart from his literary peers.
His legal training helped Schlichter write lean, mean adventure yarns.
“In law, your reply brief is 10 pages. Make your point,” he says. “That’s where I came out of … everything is gonna amuse you or make a point I wanna make.”
“Inferno” still brings shadings to the rock ‘em, sock ‘em action beats. The story is set after the Civil War 2.0 wrapped, and while the blue cities remain pinned by their socialist mores, the red state denizens are hardly angels.
Human nature, the author says, brings out the flaws in everyone. That means the saga’s cynical hero has his hands full while trying to do the right thing.
“Inferno,” like recent Kelly Turnbull tales, depicts a worst-case scenario for a deeply divided nation. The saga’s author sounds more optimistic that his dystopian tales will stay on the page and not spring to life all around us.
“I’m always optimistic. I think we’re gonna get better &#8230; the American people will do the right thing,” he says.
He still sees some troubling trends where Americans are self-isolating based on political beliefs, like conservatives flocking to freer states like Florida and Texas.
“We’re segregating ourselves,” says Schlichter, a life-long California resident.
Schlichter laughs at some attacks on his book series, like a critic who dubbed a Turnbull novel “racist.”
“I have bad news honey, I sold 2,000 books that day,” says Schlichter, noting his wife is an Hispanic legal immigrant. He’s not done, though.
“What color is Kelly Turnbull? He’s a big guy, tall and proficient in weapons. Why couldn’t [black actor] Idris Elba play him?” he asks. “There’s no point to making Kelly Turnbull some specific race. He could be any [race]. He’s a Marine.”
The author says his book series does more than engage in the culture in the grand Breitbart tradition.
“It’s a way for normal people to realize, ‘you’re not alone and you’re not hallucinating,’” he says. His 2016 debut novel, “People’s Republic,” might have seemed extreme at the time. Now, in Biden’s America, he says he may have been too conservative in his imaginative settings.
Schlichter brings considerable military chops to the Turnbull series. He served in both the Persian Gulf War and Kosovo and helped his country stateside during the Los Angeles riots and the 2007 San Diego fires mobilizations.
That background comes in handy with “Inferno,” a saga steeped in military expertise and maneuvers.
Schlichter is hardly the only conservative penning addictive thrillers. Brad Thor stands as one of the literary world’s most populist writers, penning hits like “The Last Patriot” and “Rising Tiger.” National Review senior correspondent Jim Geraghty’s “Dangerous Clique” series brims with action and intrigue.
Those authors lean right but pen tales for red and blue state readers alike. Schlichter’s work is unapologetically conservative, and that’s by design. He’s no longer on the battlefield, but the culture wars need all hands on deck, as he sees it.
“This is a life and death fight, and I don’t intend to lose it,” he says.
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News&#8217; Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en">@HollywoodInToto</a>. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Concept American flag on cracked background

Army Colonel Turned Red Meat Culture Warrior: ‘This Is A Life And Death Fight’

Books

Conservatives

Few should be surprised by Hollywood’s war against Elon Musk.
The eccentric billionaire took over Twitter one day, and late-night humorists declared Musk their second-favorite target (behind Donald Trump) the next. Jimmy Kimmel compared Musk to <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/10/31/kimmel-elon-musk-a-piece-of-s-t-for-paul-pelosi-conspiracies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fecal matter</a> in one of the industry’s most notorious slams.
Hollywood stars, albeit from the B-list, followed suit. Tea Leoni, Debra Messing, Alex Winter and others decried Musk’s takeover, fleeing Twitter in protest.
For now.
Horror maestro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-starts-and-apparently-finishes-blue-check-fee-negotiations-with-stephen-king" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stephen King recoiled at Musk’s plan to charge Twitter users</a> for their verification status.
Why would so many artists side against Musk, who vows to allow more speech on the platform? Because Musk vows to allow more speech on the platform.
The entertainment industry should be in lockstep with conservatives when it comes to the modern free speech fight. Their careers demand unfettered expression, the ability to create fresh stories based on their lives and imaginations. It’s the core of what they do. Yet for the last few years Hollywood dwellers seem either disinterested in free speech or actively against it. Much of that can be traced to President Donald Trump.
The former president’s brawling Twitter account enraged the Hollywood Left, so when Twitter banished Trump permanently in 2021 Celebrity Nation cheered. Few voices worried about the chilling effect on free speech or wondered what other political leaders Twitter might cancel next.
Nor did they question why far more incendiary souls, like the Rev. Louis Farrakhan, still have a Twitter account but Trump doesn’t.
Former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe lashed out at then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/michael-stipe-criticises-twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-2926986" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not suspending Trump sooner</a>.
Hollywood activists have been similarly silent as comedians and the web’s premier faux news site suffered relentless attacks on their work. Comedians like Tyler Fischer got banned from TikTok for no credible reason beyond his gags hit the “wrong” target (like Dr. Anthony Fauci). Podcaster and comedian Steven Crowder’s show is <a href="https://mashable.com/article/steven-crowder-second-youtube-strike-suspension" target="_blank" rel="noopener">routinely punished by YouTube</a> without the Hollywood cavalry riding to his rescue.
Fact-checking sites and the platforms that ascribe to them (like Facebook) have comically hounded The Babylon Bee over the last few years, threatening its survival.
The Bee lean on social media giants to spread their stories and provide additional revenue streams.
Hollywood similarly sat on its hands as social media titans censored inconvenient news stories, like the lab leak theory tied to COVID and the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. Stars who weigh in on virtually every hot-button issue flitting across their smart phone screens couldn’t spare any outrage over these unprincipled acts.
When Cancel Culture came for Dr. Seuss over images some deemed racially insensitive, Hollywood tastemakers collectively stood down. Some, like “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4qN-478bYw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">yukked it up over the cancellation</a>.
Celebrities have stayed silent over chronic free speech assaults on college campuses nationwide. This critic once asked “Avengers” actor Josh Brolin about the subject in 2017 while chatting up his “Only the Brave” fire fighter feature.
Brolin said he <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/josh-brolin-free-speech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hadn’t heard of the issue</a> at the time.
Could that still be the case today for Brolin and his peers, given the high-profile cases of conservatives being chased off campuses, attacked or both?
Hollywood’s latest free speech cowardice hits close to home. The battle began in January at the industry’s biggest film event. A documentary examining the fate of former Guantanamo Bay prisoners, “Jihad Rehab,” earned a coveted slot at Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival.
The film earned critical praise upon its debut, but soon naysayers savaged the movie on several fronts. Some claimed the film’s white female director shouldn’t be telling a story rooted in Muslim culture despite her extensive ties to the Middle East.
Others suggested the former prisoners weren’t unable to fully give their consent to be interviewed. The film, they alleged, put their lives in danger.
That chorus, while small, got amplified by Abigail Disney. The heiress, who originally served as a producer on the project, rescinded her support and joined the mob eager to silence the movie.
Those forces mostly succeeded.
Sundance suits officially apologized for showing the film, while Redford has yet to publicly speak on the subject.
The only significant Hollywood player to rally to “Jihad Rehab” director Meg Smaker’s side? <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/oscar-winner-alex-gibney-defends-canceled-doc-jihad-rehab/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oscar-winner Alex Gibney,</a> a staunch liberal and frequent Trump critic.
There’s still hope for the documentary, though. Smaker created a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-unredacted-jihad-rehab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crowdfunding campaign</a> so she could fund the film’s distribution herself. That effort for the renamed documentary, “The UnRedacted,” with a push from author Sam Harris, earned north of $700,000. That’s more than three times what the director originally hoped to raise.
It took Joe and Jane Sixpack to do what Hollywood stars should have – stand up for art.
The film industry once celebrated free speech in blockbuster movies. The 1995 film “The American President” ended with Michael Douglas’ Commander-in-Chief rallying for the right to speak one’s mind, even if the speech is ugly and raw.
The 1996 drama “The People vs. Larry Flynt” recalled the free speech implications of the famed pornographer’s work, siding with him on First Amendment grounds. 

Neil Young, who tried to get podcaster Joe Rogan punished last year for sharing inconvenient views on the pandemic, once anchored the “<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/flashback-neil-young-participated-freedom-of-speech-tour-censorship-joe-rogan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freedom of Speech” rock tour</a> with his old band mates from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.
Would today’s Hollywood even make such a film or stage a tour like that? Chances are they’d flex their social media accounts to silence them.
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News&#8217; Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@HollywoodInToto</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Saturday Night Live – Season 46

‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk Is The Latest Target For Leftist Hollywood Elite

Cancel Culture

Elon Musk

Social Media

Twitter

Bernard Goldberg provided a valuable service to his country back in 2001 with “Bias.” 
The book’s subtitle said it all – “A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News.” Goldberg broke down how the press tilts the scales in favor of Democrats and progressive causes.
To say the problem got worse since then is to belabor the obvious. And while Goldberg continues to fact-check the news very few fellow journalists have joined his cause. Those who do take up Goldberg’s fight — Glenn Greenwald, Matt Taibbi, and Sharyl Attkisson rush to mind — get pummeled by their peers.
Enter Adam Carolla.
He’s not a journalist by trade. He’s a carpenter turned podcast sensation, a comic who follows the funny wherever it leads. And, lately, he sees plenty of funny business from the modern legacy media.
He’s turned his secondary podcast, “<a href="https://www.podcastone.com/Adam-and-Dr-Drew-Show">The Adam and Dr. Drew Show</a>,” into a one-stop shop for debunking media lies. He and his former “Loveline” partner, Dr. Drew Pinsky, break down the latest headlines and explain in terms everyone can grasp how the media has lost its way.
And he’ll use any other platform to make sure listeners know they’re not getting the truth from today’s press.
His <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enf5qzwLbPM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2020 interview with Kirstie Alley,</a> the “Cheers” alum who now questions Hollywood’s progressive groupthink, found the podcaster taking a page from the Trump playbook.
The legacy media is often the enemy of the people, and he brought some receipts.
“I know really decent people and I see what the media tries to do to them, not trying to fact check them but take statements they made and turn them, intentionally, into a bad human. Not a human you disagree with but a bad human … I realize that it works on a large portion of our society and it poisons them….”
Carolla cited how press outlets twisted his friend Dennis Prager’s views into a pretzel in order to demonize the Salem radio talker. Defamed high schooler Nick Sandmann, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-nicholas-sandmann-nbc-news-reach-settlement-in-defamation-suit">dubbed a racist</a> by the press after video of him in Washington, D.C. went viral, is Exhibit B.
“They’re actually getting dangerous now because of the s*** they’re saying. They’re gonna get people killed.”
Carolla addressed the so-called “Big Lie” that President Trump actually beat Joe Biden at the ballot box in 2020, noting how the legacy media’s suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story sunk President Donald Trump’s re-election chances <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu47TyZXUZI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">during a chat with Dave Rubin.</a>
“It’s not that the election was rigged, per se, by the states or the vote counters or mail-in ballots. It was essentially rigged by CNN, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, most all legacy and mainstream media and then Big Tech, all the Googles and Twitter … If you think about just the Hunter Biden story as an example … forget it’s Hunter Biden and what the allegations are … there’s a story that’s a credible story and it would hurt one candidate. I don’t know if it’s three points or seven points … it would definitely be damaging to one of the candidates.”
And polling suggests <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/08/26/2020-election-outcome-would-differ-with-hunter-biden-laptop-coverage-poll/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carolla had a point</a>. He’s only grown bolder since then.
Last year, Carolla shredded media outlets for <a href="https://www.podcastone.com/episode/1464-Surprise-Surprise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over-hyping the Jan. 6 “insurrection.”</a>
“If you say, I saw a lot of the footage, I’ve seen a lot of the data, I’ve heard a lot of the stories of what went on January 6. That did not look like an organized attempt at an insurrection by a white supremacist group. It seemed like a bunch of people rioting who were rogue and untethered.”
The “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/adam-carolla-truth-yeller" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Truth Yeller</a>” comic raged for weeks about one of the culture’s most notoriously Fake News stories — U.S. border agents whipped Haitian immigrants as they crossed into the U.S. from Mexico.
Except nothing of the kind happened. The picture that started the kerfuffle didn’t reflect actual events, something even the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/photographer-who-took-horseback-border-patrol-photos-ive-never-seen-them-whip-anyone" target="_blank" rel="noopener">photographer quickly admitted</a>. That didn’t stop the press or President Biden from clinging to the phony narrative.
A fair, honest press would have shredded that narrative in 24 hours and, later, excoriate officials like Biden for promoting it.
Neither happened, <a href="https://adamanddrdrewshow.com/1579-it-can-be-stupid-and-liar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaving Carolla enraged</a>. And rightly so.
“When is this bulls*** [media bias] gonna end? When it’s gonna end is the two border patrol guys … they gotta f***ing sue CNN. That’s where it ends.”
Carolla delivered the rhetorical kill shot to the legacy media recently. He recalled an ‘80s era Biden scandal in which the <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/vintage-biden-clip-resurfaces-law-school" target="_blank" rel="noopener">then-Senator aggressively lied about his academic record</a>. The media at the time may have leaned to the Left, but reporters often held both parties accountable.
TV networks called Biden out on his lies, and the future president meekly admitted to incorrectly remembering those details.
<a href="https://adamanddrdrewshow.com/1636-things-have-shifted-quite-a-bit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">That would never happen today</a>, Carolla said. And, if anyone has seen Biden’s recent press appearances where he spits out outrageous fibs about gasoline prices, inflation and more, sans fact checks, you know he’s right.
Carolla and Dr. Pinsky also played clips of CNN’s Jake Tapper lobbing deflated beach balls to President Biden over Hunter Biden’s scandals.
Tapper’s blistering follow-up question? “You’re about to turn 80 next month, Happy Birthday, ahead of time.”
Goldberg, despite his Herculean efforts to shame corrupt journalism, couldn’t stop the industry’s corruption from getting worse. Carolla tackles the subject from a different angle, making him a powerful force for journalistic integrity.
He’s not a talking head or political pundit. Nor is he trying to score points for one team or the other. He only leans right these days because the Left checked its sanity at the door.
Carolla’s ability to mine laughs from journalistic malpractice gives him another valuable weapon.
Carolla is doing the work that august platforms should be tackling. Think the Columbia Journalism Review, The Poynter Institute or news stations across the country. They all collectively stand down, letting a professional comedian do their jobs for them.
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News&#8217; Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en">@HollywoodInToto</a>. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Daily Wire.

Shibnobi.com Presents Headliners Ball Benefit For Eastwood Ranch Foundation

He’s Not Buying It: Adam Carolla Lays Siege To Dishonest, Far-Left Media Coverage

Adam Carolla

Leftists

Legacy Media

Media

Elon Musk has his work cut out for him.
The eccentric billionaire recently took over Twitter, vowing to restore previously banned accounts and offer a healthier approach to content moderation.
We’ll have to wait and see how he lives up to those promises.
Twitter’s existing censorship is considerable, of course. Some progressive stars <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/disney-cancel-bette-midler-hocus-pocus-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">can Tweet the ugliest things possible</a> and face no repercussions. The same isn’t true for right-leaning actors like James Woods.
Twitter censorship isn’t alone, though.
Other Big Tech platforms routinely censor thought, from <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/tyler-fischer-interview-fauci-cuomo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">comedians who mock corrupt officials</a> like Dr. Anthony Fauci to august news sites <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/03/25/dorsey-says-blocking-posts-hunter-biden-story-was-total-mistake/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">breaking news no one else dares touch.</a>
Yes, that’s the New York Post’s expose on Hunter Biden.
Now, Indiegogo appears to be doing something similar to a right-leaning graphic novel. “<a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-private-american#/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Private American,</a>” written by comic book veteran Mike Baron, shows a Hispanic hero doing the job the U.S. government refuses to do.
<a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/private-american-graphic-novel-border/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enforce the U.S.-Mexican border</a>.
The graphic novel launched a <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-private-american#/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">successful Indiegogo campaign</a> to fuel its production, more than doubling its $10,000 fundraising goal.
Now, Indiegogo is making it almost impossible to find that page.
Enter “Private American” in the Indiegogo search feature. You won’t find the site’s campaign page in the results. Now, type “Mike Baron” into the same search engine. Once more, you’ll find plenty of other Baron campaigns, but not “Private American.”
Type any other project name into the search feature and the corresponding campaign page pops up as the number one response.
Good luck finding the “<a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-private-american#/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Private American” page</a> unless you have the direct link at the ready. Any word of mouth efforts to promote the project fail if people can’t find it via the search function.
<a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/late-night-big-tech-censors-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big tech censorship</a> remains an existential threat to the grand American experiment. This appears to be just one more example.
Hollywood In Toto has reached out to Indiegogo.com for comment and will update this story as needed.
Campaign creator Chris Braly notes the move could be costing the project dearly.
“No telling how long this has happened, or how much has been lost. But our last campaign on IGG raised nearly $100K (“Thin Blue Line”), and typically the crowdbase grows, but this is an anomaly,” says Braly, adding his colleagues may seek other crowdfunding platforms moving forward.
“We’ve spent a lot of money on marketing, press releases, video, and more, and if we had known IGG was hiding us, we would’ve gone elsewhere,” Braly says.
UPDATE: Indiegogo has not responded to the author&#8217;s request for comment or explanation on the shadow banning.
A version of this story originally ran on the website <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/indiegogo-shadow-banning-private-american/">Hollywood In Toto</a>.
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News&#8217; Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en">@HollywoodInToto</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Highlighted word censorship concept and meaning

Shadow Ban Of Comic Book Series On Indiegogo Is Another Example Of Big Tech Censorship

Big Tech

Censorship

The movie star era is no more, and there are plenty of reasons why.
We see stars across the pop culture landscape, from late night shows to social media platforms.
It’s no longer special to see or hear from a Ben Affleck or a Viola Davis. We’ve heard their views many times before on our laptops, smart phones and streaming platforms. Plus, too many stars actively insult audiences and their way of life.
Celebrities rail against Trump voters, for example, or smear those who believe abortion is murder. Some stars can’t get through a press junket without sharing divisive thoughts on race, religion or, most of all, politics.
Need one example? George Clooney promoted “Ticket to Paradise” by suggesting to HBO Max host Chris Wallace that Republicans are <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2022/10/17/george-clooney-claims-republicans-are-a-threat-to-democracy/">a threat to democracy</a>. 
And then there’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/its-not-just-leonardo-dicaprio-here-are-seven-other-celebrity-couples-with-big-age-gaps" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryan Reynolds</a>.
The 46-year-old “Deadpool” star offers a different approach to stardom. He’s often engaging, not divisive, on social media. He entertains sick children with his hospital visits and is generous to a fault given his financial largesse. 
Reynolds, along with wife/actress Blake Lively, open their considerable coffers for <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/ryan-reynolds-blake-lively-donate-water-first-education-and-training-1235118055/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Water First Education &amp; Training Inc</a>., a group that provides clean water to struggling communities, and they similarly wrote a large check to help <a href="https://www.unrefugees.org/news/actors-blake-lively-and-ryan-reynolds-match-1-million-in-donations-to-support-displaced-families-from-ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">displaced Ukrainian refugees</a>.
His on- and off-screen image has remained remarkably consistent over time. He’s the wisecracking hero in the “Deadpool” films, and he tweaked that comic persona for the rare big-screen comedy that actually made us howl, 2021’s “Free Guy.”
In fact, at a time when stars are desperate to escape their image – think Jim Carrey ditching comedy for more dramatic roles – Reynolds holds tight to his comic persona. Even his heroic character in “The Adam Project” saved some screen time for funny banter in the grand Ryan Reynolds tradition.
The Canadian actor is liberal, no doubt. He cheered on progressive Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader and shared the usual “sky is falling” fears over President Donald Trump.
He doesn’t shove those views in our faces, though. He shares them now and then, but he’s far more engaged in his dual duties. Big time movie actor and PR guru.
The latter is his most intriguing element. While some stars promote their films with a modicum of success, Reynolds takes it to the next level.
The latest, greatest example? He broke the news that Hugh Jackman was coming out of superhero retirement to play Wolverine once more.
“Hard keeping my mouth sewn shut about this one,” Reynolds’ cracked on Twitter, an easter egg for fans of his previous appearance as Deadpool in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”
The attached promotional video featured Reynolds, playing himself, wondering how to bring an old MCU favorite into the “Deadpool” saga. We watch the actor pour liquor into his coffee mug, stroll the woods and stare at a typewriter waiting for creative inspiration.
“I have nuthing. Completely empty of here,’” he cracks, second before he bluntly asks Jackman to join the project.
“Sure, Ryan.”
Cue Whitney Houston’s romantic ballad, “I Will Always Love You.” And scene.
The video went viral for all the right reasons, snagging 15 million views on YouTube alone. Suddenly, movie fans couldn’t wait to see Reynolds and Jackman, together again, for “Deadpool 3.”
That’s genius-level marketing, and few stars do it quite like Reynolds. And it’s hardly his first time embracing that approach. He frequently promotes his movies with a combination of humor and heart, getting his hands dirty with the good, clean marketing fun.
He cut several “Deadpool”-themed shorts to promote the films and the franchise in general, including one cursing out “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels over the star’s possible appearance on the show.
Another featured David Beckham, who Deadpool roasts in the 2016 smash, clashing with Reynolds, in character, to promote the first sequel.
The actor’s Maximum Effort marketing company, which he co-founded, now produces these shorts, and his personal touch is all over the finished product. Yes, the company name comes from a quip uttered in the 2016 “Deadpool” feature.
The actor <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffconway/2022/03/15/ryan-reynolds-on-how-mntn-and-maximum-effort-are-changing-the-advertising-world-as-we-know-it/?sh=5dde2c9d4ae3">explored his love of marketing</a> with Forbes earlier this year and how his superhero franchise gave him a “crash course” on the subject.
<blockquote>“Deadpool taught me that necessity is the mother of invention. Deadpool, the franchise, never had the kind of budgets and finances to work with that some of the larger comic book properties did. Two of the greatest adversaries to creativity is too much time and too much money. I learned the value of character over spectacle through Deadpool.”</blockquote>
Need one more example of Reynolds’ un-movie star behavior?
His 2016 “Deadpool” co-star T.J. Miller felt Reynolds didn’t like him while shooting their scenes together for the 2018 film. That brief confession, captured on “The Adam Carolla Show” podcast, revealed an on-set disagreement that felt ugly to Miller.
The revelation quickly made the rounds via social media.
Soon enough, Reynolds caught wind of Miller’s complaint. Some stars might have ignored the issue. Others may have waged war on Miller, a comedian with a <a href="https://ew.com/movies/deadpool-3-tj-miller-will-never-work-with-ryan-reynolds-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">checkered off-screen past</a>. Or, Reynolds could have played the victim or just trashed Miller, a comedian with a checkered personal past.
Instead, Reynolds apparently <a href="https://ew.com/movies/tj-miller-says-he-reconciled-with-ryan-reynolds/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reached out to Miller directly</a>, and the two settled any old differences between them.
&#8220;It was really cool, he emailed me the next day … it was a misunderstanding, so I emailed him back and now it&#8217;s, like, fine.&#8221;
Reynolds didn’t make a public scene of the reconciliation. He handled it behind the scenes like a gentleman.
Reynolds has little in common with many modern celebrities and thank goodness for that.
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News&#8217; Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en">@HollywoodInToto</a>. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

World Premiere Of Netflix’s “Red Notice” – Arrivals

No One Markets A Movie Better: Why Ryan Reynolds Is The Movie Star We Need

Ryan Reynolds

Earlier this year, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bruce-willis-reveals-diagnosis-that-is-taking-him-out-of-the-hollywood-game" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bruce Willis retired from acting</a> after revealing his battle with aphasia, a medical condition that impacts a person’s speech patterns.
The announcement didn’t stop the flow of Willis projects in the pipeline, though.
“Wire Room” hit theaters in September and “Paradise City,” which teams him with screen legend John Travolta, is set for a November release.
We’re still waiting on three “Detective Knight” films with Willis playing the title character and a thriller dubbed “Die Like Lovers,” all completed before his announcement.
That’s on top of Willis’ 2022 release list, which includes “Wrong Place,” “White Elephant,” “Vendetta,” “Corrective Measures,” “A Day to Die,” “Gasoline Alley,” and “Fortress: Sniper’s Eye.”
They all have plenty in common: They’re action-packed, low-budget vehicles that draw little love from critics and let Willis shoot his scenes quickly and go. And each benefits from Willis’ star presence and fan base, commercially speaking.
And none will have a fraction of the cache he earned from “Die Hard,” “Pulp Fiction,” or “The Sixth Sense.”
Now, there’s another Hollywood icon who may be ready to take his place.
Mel Gibson’s A-list status collapsed in 2006 when video emerged of him shouting anti-Semitic slurs at police officers following a drunken driving arrest. More ugly headlines followed, including audio of the “Braveheart” star admitting to hitting his then-girlfriend.
Gibson stepped away from the spotlight, returning years later in a series of indie films that let him slowly build back his industry goodwill.
It worked.
He eventually snagged a prominent directorial project, 2016’s “Hacksaw Ridge,” a critical and commercial success which earned him an Oscar nomination. He didn’t win, but enough of the industry forgave him for his ugly past.
He’s currently directing and starring in the fifth film in the “Lethal Weapon” franchise and may helm the sequel to his box office sensation “The Passion of the Christ.”
Yet he’s suddenly one of Hollywood’s busiest stars in the Willis mold. He’s cranking out action films with smaller budgets that typically go straight to VOD (Video on Demand).
This year alone Gibson has eight feature films to his credit. Most traditional movie stars may have two or three films per year, at best. Stars like Denzel Washington work at a more leisurely pace, taking care to pick the best projects for their skill set.
Not Gibson. And only one has big studio packaging – “Father Stu” featuring Mark Wahlberg.
Most of the Gibson projects feel like films Willis might have considered had he kept on working. They’re genre films, brimming with action, intrigue and mayhem, and Gibson now often plays supporting players despite his Hollywood pedigree.
Take “Hot Seat,” the story of a talented hacker (“Entourage” alum Kevin Dillon) trapped to an explosives-laden chair. Gibson co-stars as a bomb squad cop trying to save the hacker.
Or “Bandit,” which follows a smooth criminal (Josh Duhamel) forced to collaborate with a gangster (Gibson) to support his new love (Elisha Cuthbert).
Why would iconic stars like Willis and Gibson wallow in the B-movie muck in the first place? 
Well, it’s a gig, for starters. These projects often pay well considering the tiny work load in question.
And, given Hollywood’s youth obsession, steady work into one’s 60s and beyond isn’t insignificant. Willis is 67, while Gibson turns 67 in January 2023.
Other established talent, like 58-year-old Nicolas Cage, similarly grab B-movie projects to keep busy and fatten their wallets. Cage famously did so, in part, after getting <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/news/nicolas-cage-defends-vod-films-debt-1235211377/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">collared by the IRS</a>.
<blockquote>“When I was doing four movies a year, back to back to back, I still had to find something in them to be able to give it my all … They didn’t work, all of them. Some of them were terrific, like ‘Mandy,’ but some of them didn’t work. But I never phoned it in. So if there was a misconception, it was that. That I was just doing it and not caring. I was caring.”</blockquote>
For Willis, his busy pace may have been to secure money for his family knowing his medical condition would soon prevent him from working.
Movie stars no longer sell tickets as they once did, witness star-laded bombs like the recent “Amsterdam.” Their names still matter on the international market, where many of these B-movies blossom, financially speaking.
They also help elevate lesser-known titles with names like “Bandit” and “Wire Room.”
There’s another difference between Willis’ late-career choices and the path Gibson may be following. Critics routinely noticed Willis phoning in his performances, citing the lack of enthusiasm he brought to these minor roles.
His health deterioration may be to blame here but given his past work it proved impossible not to compare and contrast.
That’s not the case with Gibson. <a href="https://filmthreat.com/reviews/hot-seat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Here’s FilmThreat’s take on “Hot Seat”</a> and what the “Max Max” star brings to the indie thriller.
<blockquote>&#8220;But really, acting-wise, it is Gibson who enlivens the proceedings. His constant viewing of everything as a chess game feels natural to the character, and the actor is clearly having fun with the fast-talking, smartest guy in the room part. Gibson is as charming as ever and proves what made him a superstar.&#8221;</blockquote>
Variety called the actor’s “Panama” &#8211; <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/panama-review-mel-gibson-1235206203/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Mel Gibson Movie of the Month Club</a> – but couldn’t deny the star’s screen presence against a younger colleague, “Yellowstone’s” Cole Hauser.
<blockquote>&#8220;Trouble is, Hauser can barely hold up his share of the bargain whenever he’s on screen opposite Gibson, even when the latter tones down, slightly, his propensity for wild-eyed, crazy-vibes scenery-chewing.&#8221;</blockquote>
Show business isn’t just a catch phrase. The term reveals the unglamorous side of Hollywood, and the cold realities even the best stars often face. The screen legacies of Willis, Gibson and Cage are just more proof of that truth.
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News&#8217; Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@HollywoodInToto</a>. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

“Blood Father” – Photocall – The 69th Annual Cannes Film Festival

How These Veteran Actors Use Low Budget Action Flicks To Keep The Fire Burning

Bruce Willis

Mel Gibson

Nicolas Cage

Once President Donald Trump left the Oval Office, Hollywood jumped aboard the vaccine train.
Celebrities far and wide pushed the jab from their social media perches, the late-night landscape, and even “Saturday Night Live.”
Stars who <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/stephen-colbert-brutally-mocks-pro-trump-coronavirus-protesters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shamed Americans</a> for protesting the COVID lockdowns during the Trump era, promoted mass vaccinations with equal vigor.
One could argue in favor of the logic behind the push at the time. We were told the vaccines not only protected us from the virus’ worst symptoms, but helped prevent recipients from spreading it to others.
We later learned the vaccine’s efficacy waned in subsequent months, some still died after receiving boosters, and the shot’s ability to stop the spread was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/scandalous-pfizer-exec-tells-eu-lawmaker-covid-jab-was-never-tested-to-show-it-blocked-transmission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more hype than reality</a>.
“Breakthrough” infections went from rare to commonplace. Some argued about the vaccine’s side effects, <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/study-confirms-link-between-covid-19-vaccination-temporary-increase-menstrual-cycle-length" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including interruptions in the menstrual cycle</a>. That’s despite early findings there was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/23/covid-vaccines-periods-menstruation-changes-data-experts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“no data” to suggest such a link.</a>
Celebrities aren’t doctors. They don’t spend long weekends in labs poring over the latest medical findings. Yet they used every bully pulpit possible to promote vaccinations and shame anyone who disagreed, without acknowledging the various sides of the public debate.
Dozens and dozens of stars <a href="https://people.com/health/celebrities-and-politicians-get-covid-19-vaccine-photos/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shared their vaccination photos</a> on social media to promote the cause.
&#8220;My wing is feeling a little sore, but it&#8217;ll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy,&#8221; Big Bird tweeted.
Far-Left singer John Legend, who has supported the Defund the Police movement, told Gayle King why he got his shot.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve seen the devastation, the separation &#8230; we did Christmas on Zoom. I want to get back with my family &#8230; and not fear their health and their safety.&#8221;
“Saturday Night Live” also got into the act, sharing pro-vaccine messaging in multiple segments.
An April 2021 sketch on “Saturday Night Live” featured a faux game show named “Will You Take It?” in which guest host Daniel Kaluuya played a doctor all but begging his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocJCAfFQgCQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unvaccinated family members</a> to get the jab.
Naturally, the unvaccinated are portrayed as slow, God-fearing, and stubborn, to be kind.
A December 2021 SNL sketch featured Kate McKinnon as Dr. Anthony Fauci, along with lines mocking GOP politicians who <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/snl-can-only-laugh-americas-vaccination-quandary-rcna8485" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cautioned against mass vaccinations</a>.
Outgoing “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah <a href="https://www.primetimer.com/watch/trevor-noah-rips-anti-vaxxer-novak-djokovic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">excoriated tennis great</a> Novak Djokovic for not getting vaccinated, even though being young and in peak physical condition meant he had little to fear from the virus.
The most infamous example is Stephen Colbert’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSkFyNVtNh8&amp;t=3s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Vax Scene</a>.” The sketch featured musical numbers, including dancing needles, in an attempt to promote the medical treatments.
“We are the Vax Scene, get your shot right now in your arm, it won’t hurt, then go hug your mom.”
“In-noc-u-lation, for the whole nation, get a shot in your arm and get a haircut.”
Here’s what one YouTube commenter blithely commented underneath the clip: “If anyone has ever wondered what propaganda actually looks like, you’ve found it … ”
Howard Stern took a combative tone regarding the vaccine. Those who chose against the jab, he said, deserved to <a href="https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/howard-stern-hospitals-ban-unvaccinated-people-1235157846/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suffer the consequences</a>: “It’s time for you to get it. Now, if you don’t get it, in my America, all hospitals would be closed to you. You’re going to go home and die. That is what you should get. Absolutely.”
Stern famously admitted to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/too-much-for-me-howard-stern-recalls-exhausting-first-time-leaving-his-bunker-in-2-years-for-fear-of-catching-covid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">becoming a recluse during</a>, and after, the pandemic.
His pal Jimmy Kimmel used his late-night perch to similarly swipe at the unvaccinated, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jimmy-kimmel-suggests-hospitals-should-refuse-to-treat-unvaccinated-covid-patients">suggesting that they should be banished from hospitals</a>. He also served up <a href="https://mashable.com/video/kimmel-covid-19-vaccination-childrens-book" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a faux children’s book to mock the unvaccinated.</a>
“Dot Got a Shot” ends with the child receiving a COVID vaccination, even though children represent a microscopically small threat of serious illness or death due to the virus.
Kimmel capped the book by suggesting anti-vax parents were akin to flat-earthers.
Of course, there may be a simple answer to this obsequious behavior on Hollywood’s part, beyond a willingness to do the Democrats’ bidding at every chance.
A new <a href="https://www.judicialwatch.org/covid-19-vaccine-campaign/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Judicial Watch exposé</a> showed how the Biden administration aggressively pursued social media platforms, celebrities, and late-night television shows to push its pro-vaccine, no questions asked agenda.
 Here’s a sampling of their proposals and plans.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Vaccine engagement package to all entertainment talent and management agencies</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Vaccine engagement package to all media companies and show producers</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Start celebrity Share the Mics</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Late night hosts vaccination video</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Launch Hollywood comedy writers video content</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Work with YouTube on an original special about vaccinations targeted to young people (similar to the YouTube’s Dear Call of 2020 special)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Request that the major live TV entertainment shows feature hosts being vaccinated on air (ex: the hosts of The Voice)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Request vaccination specials with BET, The Undefeated, Desus &amp; Mero, Sneaker Shopper. Hot Ones</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Work with the Hollywood guilds to work vaccination messaging into scripted and reality TV shows (ex: Writers Guild, Directors Guild.)</li>
</ul>
It’s hard to say how successful every part of this strategy proved, but it’s clear it either met with some success or Hollywood, Inc. read the administration’s mind.
Again and again.
It doesn’t mean the various stars who promoted vaccines, and aggressively shamed anyone who questioned their efficacy, don’t have more explaining to do.
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="http://www.hollywoodintoto.com/">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News&#8217; Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en">@HollywoodInToto</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Biden Admin Aggressively Pursued Celebrities, Late Night Shows To Push Pro-Vaccine Agenda

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