From stars ranting about the Kyle Rittenhouse case to Gina Carano’s latest movie announcement, here are the biggest entertainment stories you may have missed in the past week.
Celebrities Sound off On Rittenhouse Verdict
After deliberating for nearly four days, a jury acquitted teenager Kyle Rittenhouse of all charges related to his Kenosha, Wisconsin shootings, and Hollywood was not happy to see justice served. The following are just a few of the many, many famous folks upset over the verdict.
Mark Ruffalo, Marvel’s favorite big green superhero, posted a series of lengthy tweets about the decision. “After all we have seen and heard about these weapons of war, these killing machines, there is no doubt that people who faced this young man were more afraid of him than he was of them,” he said in one, adding “He was the one with a weapon of war, loaded and ready to be used on people. Justice weeps bitterly today.”
Actress and Sports Illustrated cover girl Brooklyn Decker tweeted, “What a disaster. The precedent is terrifying. The injustice is hard to stomach.”
Immediately following the jury’s pronouncements of “not guilty,” LeVar Burton wrote, “Tell me again there are not two kinds justice in America!”
Actor Josh Gad, best known for the live action “Beauty and the Beast” and voicing snow man Olaf in “Frozen,” tweeted, “It has now been put it out there that vigilantes can just go and kill people protesting issues like racial equality whenever they want and get away with it. Think about that for a second.”
Director Ava Duvernay was similarly incensed, calling Rittenhouse a “murderer” and quoting the parents of one of the rioters he shot, saying, “The verdict ‘sends the unacceptable message that armed civilians can show up in any town, incite violence, and then use the danger they have created to justify shooting people in the street.’”
Pop star Lizzo said, “The system is not broken. It works. In the favor of white supremacy.”
Rachel Zegler, who is set to star as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming remake of “West Side Story,” indulged in open America-bashing, saying, “Kyle Rittenhouse being acquitted on all charges after such heinous heinous crimes is the epitome of white privilege and exactly what is wrong with this godforsaken country.”
Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator Finneas tweeted, “The verdict has shown that it remains legal to murder while white.”
Bravo host Andy Cohen fumed, “”What in the actual F–K!? #KyleRittenhouse”
Late-night host Samantha Bee posted, “Acquitting Kyle Rittenhouse sends a message to future Kyle Rittenhouses that they’re free to incite violence and then claim self-defense. This is not justice.”
Scandal’s Kerry Washington implied the Kenosha rioters who threatened Rittenhouse’s life were merely exorcising their “free speech” rights. “Elections matter. The lives of Joseph Rosenbaum & Anthony Huber mattered,” she tweeted, adding, “They should be alive today. Our 1st amendment right to free speech should not cost any of us our lives.”
Broadway legend Pattie Lupone claimed, “The Rittenhouse verdict gives them permission to kill,” though she didn’t specify who exactly “them” was.
Finally, horror master Stephen King wrote, “So…the white guy goes free. Is that the message?”
But again, that’s just a sampling. If I were to list them all, we’d be here all day.
Gina Carano Joins Hunter Biden Biopic
As if the artist previously known as Cara Dune hadn’t made her independent status clear enough by partnering with The Daily Wire to make original feature films, this week, Gina Carano announced she is joining a project sure to put her on mainstream Hollywood’s bad side.
“My Son Hunter,” which recounts the headaches Hunter Biden’s hard-partying and shady business dealings have caused President Joe Biden’s administration, is already shooting in Serbia. Carano will play a “world-weary” secret service agent who was on-hand to witness Hunter Biden’s most notorious scandals.
Producer Phelim McAleer told Deadline Carano’s character “provides a voice of truth and sardonic comedy over the absurd dealings of the Biden family and various Chinese, Russian, and Ukrainian oligarchs.“ He further revealed, “She is present throughout the film – commenting and sometimes narrating the absurd life and party lifestyle of Hunter Biden and the dodgy dealings of his father.”
The team behind “My Son Hunter” is shaping up to be a powerhouse of entertainment industry iconoclasts and rebels. Along with Carano, the film also stars critically acclaimed British actor, Laurence Fox. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, one of the oldest drama schools in the world, Fox came to fame in such highbrow television series as “Foyle’s War” and “A Room with a View” and Oscar-winning films like “Gosford Park” and “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.” More recently, he has starred in indie productions like Mel Gibson’s “The Professor and the Madman” and the hit PBS series “Victoria.”
But in the last few years, Fox has made as many headlines for his off-screen political incorrectness.
In January 2020, he insisted during an appearance on the BBC’s political debate show “Question Time” that Meghan Markle is not a victim of racism. When an audience member accused him of “white privilege,” Fox argued that terms like that, in fact, are racist. He also spoke out against the U.K.’s strict Covid lockdown measures last year, encouraging fans to ignore social distancing and quarantine orders.
Behind the lens, director Robert Davi, who came to fame in films like “Die Hard” and “License to Kill,” has also shown no shyness when it comes to bucking Hollywood’s lockstep leftism. He frequently speaks at conservative conventions and conferences and endorsed Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020.
Oscar Race Heats Up With Surprisingly Politics-Lite Lineup
Everyone in the entertainment media (your friendly Daily Wire entertainment reporter included) knows that late fall means Oscar bait. Therefore, it usually also means the release of the most preachy, agenda-driven storytelling of Hollywood’s calendar year. Last year, for example, brought us laughable American history revision (“Trial of the Chicago Seven”), a tedious screed against patriarchy (“Promising Young Woman”) and a pitiful attempt to paint Jesus as a communist (“Mank”).
Surprisingly though, the films vying for the top prize of 2021 are so far comparatively free of politics.
All five of Variety’s top contenders for Best Picture right now shockingly have little-to-nothing to do with modern American partisanship.
Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical “Belfast” focuses not on U.S. policy, but on Ireland’s, exploring the violent conflicts in the Northern Irish capital city at the height of The Troubles.
The Benedict Cumberbatch vehicle “The Power of the Dog,” boasts some serious prestige with critical darling Jane Campion in the director’s chair. But while the film does brush up against themes of homosexuality and implies manliness can be toxic, the story of a sadistic Montana rancher who torments his brother’s wife doesn’t have any overtly political messages to push.
Given that Will Smith’s biopic “King Richard” centers on the father of tennis champs Venus and Serena Williams, you might expect it to spend plenty of time virtue signaling about racial barriers. But it’s far too smart for that and wisely stays focused on the complex figure at the center.
Sci-fi fans around the world breathed a sigh of relief when it became clear that director Denis Villeneuve wasn’t going to follow the path of Marvel or Star Wars and inject jarring contemporary ideology into the beloved story of “Dune.” All the politics in the space epic are organic to the world author Frank Herbert created.
Say what you want about Lin-Manuel Miranda’s occasional leftist political comments, the man’s body of work makes it clear he loves the American dream. “TICK, TICK … BOOM!” tells the story of yet another dreamer trying to make it in the tough game of Broadway.
Of course, it’s still early days in awards season, so insufferable agenda-grinding could yet arrive. But so far, even Hollywood appears to have tired of politics masquerading as art.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.