Despite all the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ed-harris-said-he-almost-quit-dutton-ranch-get-me-the-f-out-of-here">complaining</a> he did about the significance of his role on “Dutton Ranch,” actor Ed Harris will reportedly be returning for season two.
Per sources who spoke with <a href="https://deadline.com/2026/07/ed-harris-returning-dutton-ranch-season-2-showrunner-change-1236999568/">Deadline</a>, the second season of the popular “Yellowstone” spinoff has already been picked up by the network, and Harris’s character will be part of the story to some degree.
Harris, 75, made headlines earlier this week after going on a rant about how small his role was in the show. He did eventually admit that he thought the series was “pretty good” overall.
“Midway through the first season, I was ready to say, ‘get me the f*ck out of here,’ to tell you the truth,” Harris said on the red carpet for Apple TV’s “The Dink.” “I didn’t feel I was being used. I felt very misled. Prior to signing on for it, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was, and what my character was going to do, and that I was one of the four main characters. And that wasn’t really the case.”
He brought up how one scene of him singing in a bar got cut from the finished product. “They said it was too ‘up’ for the dark ending of the episode … I’m like, ‘F*ck you people!’ That, to me, is reason enough to say, ‘I’m voiding my contract,’” Harris said.
“Dutton Ranch” showrunner Chad Feehan left the series ahead of the premiere due to behind-the-scenes friction. The Deadline sources claimed that this was potentially due to how Harris’s character arc was handled, and said the actor was involved in choosing Feehan’s replacement. Paramount+ has not issued any public statements on these claims.
“Yellowstone” creator and “Dutton Ranch” executive producer Taylor Sheridan has made it a habit to underutilize big stars. He’s addressed this in the past, saying he’s well aware it can cause controversy. He did the same with Demi Moore on “Landman.”
“The critics are going to come after me. I’m underutilizing [Moore], can’t write for women, all this nonsense. Then I’m going to kill your husband and you’re going to have to run the oil company. The critics and me … I don’t care what they think, and it annoys the sh*t out of them that I don’t care. I’ll be the first to tell you that there are things that I do that rage-bait them a bit, and this is one of them. F*ck ’em, honestly,” Sheridan said last month, as The Daily Wire previously reported.

Ed Harris

Ed Harris’ Future On ‘Dutton Ranch’ Revealed After He Complained About Role In First Season

Celebrities

Entertainment

Hollywood

Paramount

Taylor Sheridan

Television

It’s no secret that conservatives are the David to Hollywood’s Goliath on the pop culture front.
Much of that isn’t their fault. The Heartland is mostly shut out of Hollywood, Inc. Conservative stories rarely get a close-up on screens of any size. The list of openly conservative stars remains microscopically small.
Yet conservatives may have hurt their own cause by going to war with “The Odyssey,” mostly sight unseen.
Director Christopher Nolan’s take on Homer’s epic poem drew endless online attacks from both Right-leaning YouTube creators and conservatives. It’s woke! It’s D.E.I. gone wild! The source material’s translator is a <a href="https://www.slashfilm.com/2219268/how-emily-wilson-feels-christopher-nolan-the-odyssey-adaptation/">woke feminist</a>!
A woke feminist, for what it’s worth, who had some unkind things to say about Nolan’s finished product.
Now, with the film generating rapturous responses from <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_odyssey_2026">film critics</a> and <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/odyssey-audience-cinemascore-even-beyond-031733557.html">audiences alike</a>, that knee-jerk response is looking worse. The film earned a whopping <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/the-odyssey-box-office-christopher-nolan-opening-weekend-shatters-expectations-1236815861/">$264 million globally</a> in its opening weekend, and the subsequent numbers show little sign that it’s a one-weekend wonder.
Nolan isn’t your average Hollywood storyteller. He never weighs in on politics directly, lets his art speak for him, and once made a blockbuster that side-eyed the Occupy Wall Street movement – “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012).
He spent an entire Oscar campaign for 2023’s “Oppenheimer” without shouting “Free Palestine” or attacking a certain U.S. president. He’s also not a social media diva. He reportedly doesn’t own a smartphone and has his assistants <a href="https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/jaelaniturnerwilliams/christopher-nolan-no-smartphone-email">print out emails for him</a>. (Maybe we can all agreed that’s a bit much.)
That should have earned him some respect on the Right, the sense that this wasn’t your average Hollywood progressive weaponizing a classic against Red State USA.
No.
Social media allowed some Right-leaning souls to predict the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldGE53GwLlc">film’s financial doom</a> and slam the film sight unseen. Even Elon Musk entered the chat, pummeling the film for weeks prior to its release.
On one key front, the Right had a point.
Nolan cast trans actor Elliot Page in “The Odyssey,” but he and his team refused to explain what role Page played. That sparked rumors that the part was Achilles, known to all as a fearsome warrior.
Page is five-foot-one and slender.
No matter. That Fake News story ricocheted around the web, desperate for a fact check that took too long to arrive. It’s notable that Nolan didn’t immediately debunk the misinformation, nor did his marketing team.
The latter likely possess smartphones.
Casting Page deserved some raised eyebrows. The actor is intensely political, before and after the transition. Page’s on-screen appearance is a distraction, no matter where you stand on so-called “representation” and trans rights. Period. Good filmmakers should understand that, but like even the very best storytellers in Hollywood, Nolan isn’t perfect.
Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o co-stars as Helen of Troy, a character described as fair-skinned in the text and played by white actors in previous takes on the source material. It’s a race swap! Yes, yes, it is, but it’s a very minor point in a much larger story.
Some savaged the star for not being beautiful enough for the role, a characterization that is both subjective and silly. Plus, Nyong’o has little screen time.
Nolan spoke repeatedly of his attempt to “modernize” the epic tale for modern audiences. Nyong’o’s casting may have been part of that effort. Some other minor “Greek” roles also clashed with the time period. Was Nolan pulling a minor “Hamilton” move, where casting choices took a creative turn to say something about the culture at large?
Right-leaning podcaster Bridget Phetasy leveled the cruelest dig at the film’s conservative critics. She called their <a href="https://www.phetasy.com/p/walk-ins-welcome-400?utm_source=podcast-email&amp;publication_id=348276&amp;post_id=208139218&amp;utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&amp;utm_content=watch_now_gif&amp;r=2rv17&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">attacks “liberal” in nature</a>:
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You had a criticism of making everything political for a decade, and now you haven’t seen the movie and you’re making it political and telling people not to go enjoy a good movie.
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That’s not to say some conservative arguments weren’t solid or leaned on little more than tired talking points to fit their agenda. The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh skewered “The Odyssey” while bringing up salient arguments about the casting, the impact of Page’s character and more.
He actually saw the film and gave his two cents thereafter. Agree? Disagree? He stated his case well.
Andrew Klavan mostly praised the film but found the screenplay wanting, to put it mildly.
The Critical Drinker, who isn’t overtly conservative but leans to the cultural Right, served up a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_W0z6hZlrI">nuanced take</a> that mixed criticism with praise.
Conservatives should take great care in “jumping the gun” on pop culture matters. In a way, that’s what the Left often does. Consider the L.A. Times’ <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/la-times-daily-wire-run-hide-fight-racist/">recent assault on “Run Hide Fight: Infidels,”</a> a movie that doesn’t hit Daily Wire+ until the Fall.
The newspaper read a generic synopsis of the film, set on a college campus where Islamic radicals take charge, and declared the film deeply problematic. The film could inspire violence, the paper argued, while implying it should be censored.
The worst part of this ugly culture war battle? The anger and absolutism behind the critiques. “The Odyssey” is just a movie, albeit a massive one with cultural heft. We can love or loathe it, find it inspiring or wanting.
Walsh is right, to a degree. So is The Critical Drinker and the Left-leaning mainstream critics who adored “The Odyssey.”
Conservatives should still engage in the culture wars, create art on their own terms (when feasible) and not cede Hollywood to the modern Left. The latter would be disastrous.
They also should hold their fire until they see the art in question and bring vital context to their culture war crusades. The Right is working at a distinct disadvantage here. They shouldn’t make matters worse.
***
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. He&#8217;s also the host of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hollywood-in-toto-podcast-w-christian-toto/id1186449155">The Hollywood in Toto Podcast</a>. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en">@HollywoodInToto</a>.

“The Odyssey” New York Premiere

Conservatives Lose A Culture War Battle Over ‘The Odyssey’

Andrew Klavan

Christopher Nolan

Culture wars

Elliot Page

Lupita Nyong’o

Matt Walsh

The Odyssey

Woke Culture

Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery have agreed to delay closing their proposed $110 billion merger until at least June 2027 as they battle a multistate antitrust lawsuit, extending uncertainty over a deal that could reshape the American media landscape.
The agreement allows both sides to avoid a court fight over a preliminary injunction while the case proceeds toward trial.
A coalition of 12 Democratic state attorneys general, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, sued to block the transaction. The lawsuit claims the merger would &#8220;extinguish competition&#8221; in the media and entertainment industries.
If approved, the merger would unite major media brands, including Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming platforms, CBS News, and CNN under one corporate umbrella.
Rather than continue fighting emergency motions, the companies agreed not to close the transaction until June 2027 or until the court reaches a final decision.
Bonta celebrated the agreement as a major victory for the states challenging the merger.
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Today’s agreement is great news for audiences, movie theaters, and the many people who write, build, and create the art, news, and entertainment so many of us enjoy.
We are eager to continue to make our case in court and celebrate another tremendous win in our effort to ensure… <a href="https://t.co/m4LFxiA5tP">pic.twitter.com/m4LFxiA5tP</a>
— Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta) <a href="https://x.com/AGRobBonta/status/2080754504388259849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Today&#8217;s agreement is great news for audiences, movie theaters, and the many people who write, build, and create the art, news, and entertainment so many of us enjoy,&#8221; Bonta said. &#8220;We are eager to continue to make our case in court and celebrate another tremendous win in our effort to ensure this unlawful merger never sees the light of day.&#8221;
New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James also praised the decision, <a href="https://x.com/NewYorkStateAG/status/2080742874610626683">calling</a> it &#8220;a critical victory in our efforts to uphold the law and protect the film and television industries.&#8221;
Paramount defended the merger and said the delay would allow the company to make its case in court.
&#8220;This is the fastest and clearest way to prove that this transaction is good for competition, good for consumers, and good for creators, a conclusion dozens of competition authorities around the world have already reached,&#8221; a Paramount spokesperson <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/paramount-skydance-agrees-halt-warner-bros-merger-june-2027-rcna589137">told</a> NBC News. &#8220;We look forward to proving our case at trial.&#8221;
The merger has attracted attention beyond Hollywood because Paramount is now controlled by Skydance founder and CEO David Ellison, 43, whose acquisition of Paramount was backed by his father, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, a longtime ally and supporter of President Donald Trump. Since Skydance took control of Paramount earlier this year, Ellison has overseen significant changes at CBS News, including bringing in journalist Bari Weiss to overhaul the network&#8217;s news division.
Ellison has drawn praise from President Trump, who has expressed optimism that new ownership could restore credibility to CBS News after years of criticism from conservatives and Republicans.
If this merger happens, one company will control CBS and CNN under ownership that conservatives believe is moving in a different editorial direction.

In this photo illustration, the Paramount logo is seen

One Of Hollywood’s Biggest Deals Just Hit A Wall

Business

CBS News

David Ellison

Donald Trump

HBO Max

Letitia James

Media

Rob Bonta

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Warner Brothers

Actor Ed Harris said he hasn’t been happy with his role on the Taylor Sheridan drama “Dutton Ranch” and even considered breaking his contract to get out of it.
The 75-year-old star plays Everett McKinney, an ally to Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, on the popular “Yellowstone” spinoff show. But he <a href="https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/ed-harris-misled-dutton-ranch-paramount-taylor-sheridan-1236816999/">told</a> Variety he believed the role was going to be more significant, which led to negative feelings.
“Midway through the first season, I was ready to say, ‘get me the f*ck out of here,’ to tell you the truth,” Harris said on the red carpet for Apple TV’s &#8220;The Dink.&#8221; &#8220;I didn’t feel I was being used. I felt very misled. Prior to signing on for it, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was, and what my character was going to do, and that I was one of the four main characters. And that wasn’t really the case.&#8221;
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Ed Harris says he felt “misled” about his “inconsequential” role on “Dutton Ranch,” and that halfway through filming Season 1, he was telling his team to “get me the f&#8212; out of here.”
“Prior to signing on for it, I was talked to quite a bit about what the season was, and what… <a href="https://t.co/StmmazVogC">pic.twitter.com/StmmazVogC</a>
— Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://x.com/Variety/status/2079417877577544079?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
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“I said, ‘I’m feeling underused and inconsequential,’ and they kind of went, ‘Oh,&#8217;” Harris said. “I’m being told my character will have a little bit more to do [in Season 2]. I was just a little frustrated, to tell you the truth,” he added, saying his commitment was for two seasons.
“When I watched the season, it’s fine, it’s pretty good. It seemed like I was relatively important to the story, but the doing of it didn’t feel that way,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;What really pissed me off, to tell you the truth, is the first episode, or the second, they told me before I got to sign on that you get to sing in the bar … and they cut it! They said it was too ‘up’ for the dark ending of the episode … I’m like, ‘F*ck you people!’ That, to me, is reason enough to say, ‘I’m voiding my contract.&#8217;”
Sheridan has been criticized for underutilizing big stars in the past and later expanding their roles, which is what he did with Demi Moore on “Landman.”
“The critics are going to come after me. I’m underutilizing [Moore], can’t write for women, all this nonsense. Then I’m going to kill your husband and you’re going to have to run the oil company. The critics and me … I don’t care what they think, and it annoys the sh*t out of them that I don’t care. I’ll be the first to tell you that there are things that I do that rage-bait them a bit, and this is one of them. F*ck ’em, honestly,” he said last month, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taylor-sheridan-on-his-critics-i-do-rage-bait-them-fck-em-honestly">reported</a>.
“Dutton Ranch” debuted on Paramount+ in May.

Ed Harris Said He Almost Quit ‘Dutton Ranch’: ‘Get Me The F*** Out Of Here’

After criticizing Christopher Nolan&#8217;s &#8220;The Odyssey&#8221; over its casting choices, billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk said he would be willing to bankroll an alternative adaptation of Homer&#8217;s epic. 
Musk, who previously <a href="https://deadline.com/2026/05/elon-musk-the-odyssey-christopher-nolan-cast-lupita-nyongo-helen-1236901704/">blasted</a> Nolan for &#8220;race-swapping&#8221; characters and suggested he was chasing awards with casting decisions, said he would be willing to pony up $100 million to produce an alternative adaptation directed by Mel Gibson.
It&#8217;s unclear whether Musk was serious, but the idea quickly gained traction after an X user suggested he bankroll Gibson&#8217;s version of Homer&#8217;s classic.
“I want Elon Musk to give Mel Gibson $100 million to film an Odyssey adaptation with painstakingly historically accurate ships, armour, weapons, and casting, with all dialogue taken straight from the original poem and delivered in Homeric Greek,” the user <a href="https://x.com/martianwyrdlord/status/2079640327170728085">wrote</a> on Tuesday. 
“I’m down,” Musk replied.
The original poster was blown away by the response, and even if nothing comes of it, there are already alternative “Odyssey” projects in the works. 
Later Tuesday, Musk posted that his artificial intelligence (AI) platform, Grok, would take a stab at it.
“Before this year ends, Grok Imagine will make a full-length movie of The Odyssey that is historically accurate and true to the art of Homer,” Musk wrote, sharing a clip of a dialogue scene posted by another X user.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I want Elon Musk to give Mel Gibson $100 million to film an Odyssey adaptation with painstakingly historically accurate ships, armour, weapons, and casting, with all dialogue taken straight from the original poem and delivered in Homeric Greek.
— John Carter (@martianwyrdlord) <a href="https://x.com/martianwyrdlord/status/2079640327170728085?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The idea of competing adaptations has already begun taking shape. Days before Nolan’s blockbuster debuted, content generator Ash Koosha announced plans to release an AI-generated version of &#8220;The Odyssey&#8221; later this year.
Koosha is best known for debuting another AI-generated feature, “Dreams of Violets,” at this year&#8217;s Tribeca Film Festival.
“We very much hope that Christopher Nolan’s film, The Odyssey, is a raging success at the box office, and in some way that our version of the journey of Odysseus might further that success by bringing to theaters those who might not otherwise come out to see the film, simply because they are curious to see the ultimate in human creation and compare it to one man’s collaboration with AI,” Koosha <a href="https://www.euronews.com/culture/2026/07/15/ai-slop-version-of-the-odyssey-announced-prior-to-release-of-christopher-nolans-epic-block">said</a> of his version.
Meanwhile, “The Odyssey” has become the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/conservatives-had-concerns-about-the-odyssey-now-theyre-praising-it">biggest box-office opening of Nolan’s career</a>. 
While some conservatives initially criticized aspects of the casting before the film&#8217;s release, many have praised it despite those reservations. Others, however, continue to object to several casting choices, including the decision to cast Elliot Page, a transgender-identifying woman, as a male soldier.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk Says He’s ‘Down’ To Fund A Rival ‘Odyssey’

Artificial Intelligence

Mel Gibson

Movies

Matt Damon revealed that a woman served as his stunt double for portions of “The Odyssey,” praising her work and saying she had the “greatest arms.” 
During a recent interview with the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Damon said viewers were actually watching a female stunt double for one memorable scene.
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@happysadconfused/video/7664733238966947103" data-video-id="7664733238966947103">
<section><a title="@happysadconfused" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@happysadconfused?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@happysadconfused</a>Matt Damon’s stunt double on the Odyssey was a woman<a title="♬ original sound - joshuahorowitz" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7664733227759766302?refer=embed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">♬ original sound &#8211; joshuahorowitz</a></section>
</blockquote>
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“When we did the forced perspective stuff of the Laestrygonians — I don’t know if there’s been a thing about how we did it — there were these stunt men who were all seven feet,” the actor said of the giant warriors. 
“And then they got stuntmen who were under five feet, and so my double was a woman, a female stunt performer, who had the greatest arms I’ve ever seen,” he went on. Damon also recalled hugging his stunt double in the catering tent and thanking her for “all the work she put in.” 
“So there are those shots in the movie where you see these giants looming over me, and so it was almost 100 percent my arms in the movie, but you gotta give it up where it’s due,” he said.
The double was identified as Canadian stunt performer Devyn Dalton. She replied to the clip, writing, “It was my honour to double @matt_damon_official.” 
Dalton has also appeared in TV shows, including “Once Upon a Time,” “The Last of Us,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” per IMDb. 
One of the biggest issues plaguing “The Odyssey” is the casting of Elliot Page, a trans-identified actress, as a male soldier. Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro, who had mostly positive things to say about the film, called Page’s casting “an absolute puzzler” because the actress is “about 5’2 and 105 pounds soaking wet and has the voice of a woman. It doesn’t work.”
&#8220;The Odyssey” delivered the biggest opening weekend of Nolan’s career, generating $264.1 million worldwide, including $139.6 million internationally and $124.5 million domestically.

Matt Damon Devyn Dalton

Matt Damon’s Stunt Double In ‘The Odyssey’ May Surprise Fans

Matt Damon

Actress Sharon Stone said she experienced significant withdrawal symptoms after quitting marijuana, warning others that the pot people smoke today is very different from what it was decades ago.
The 68-year-old “Basic Instinct” star discussed what happened after using cannabis following a stroke she suffered in 2001.
“I got off one of my medications that I was on for my stroke last September, and they said I couldn’t go off of it,” Stone said during an <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/columns/sharon-stone-quitting-weed-stopping-stroke-medication-like-going-off-of-heroin-1236816916/">interview</a> with Variety. “They said, ‘You can’t go off of it. You can never go off of it.’ I’m like, ‘I’m going off it,’ and it was like going off of f*cking heroin. I was sick as a frigging dog for four and a half months. I just thought, ‘I want my life back.’ I had gotten off the majority of the drugs over the years that they had put me on. But I was like, ‘I want a drug-free life.’”
“Once I got off that, I decided I’m going to quit smoking pot. And because I think they put so much stuff in it now — they really do — when I stopped smoking pot, I also got sick,” she added. “It’s not like you’re pulling it out of the ground anymore. It’s not like when we were kids. I got pretty sick for a month. I went to my neurologist, and he said, ‘Sharon, I’ve had people dying in the emergency room from marijuana.’”
Stone previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sharon-stone-said-she-lost-18m-after-her-2001-stroke-people-took-advantage-of-me">complained</a> that the stroke had cost her millions of dollars and ruined relationships.
&#8220;People took advantage of me during that time. I had $18 million saved because of all my success, but when I got back into my bank account, it was all gone. My refrigerator, my phone — everything was in other people’s names,” Stone told The Hollywood Reporter in 2024. “I had zero money,” she added.
The stroke occurred when Stone was 43. The Academy Award nominee noticed her body felt numb, and there was a “terrible pain” in her head. She was diagnosed with a brain bleed and given a 1% chance of survival at the time.

Sharon Stone

A-List Actress Warns Quitting Pot Left Her ‘Sick’

Marijuana

Longtime Journey band member Jonathan Cain shared some strong criticisms about far-Left activist Bruce Springsteen, basically telling him to stop talking politics and perform.
“Guys like Bruce Springsteen should shut up, you know,” the keyboardist told The Complete Disaster Network podcast. “Honestly, shut up, Bruce.”
Cain, who is conservative, did the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdHnBWt_hDc">interview</a> back in May but is just now going viral with his comments after it was featured on Blabbermouth and Ultimate Classic Rock over the weekend. Springsteen has been making headlines recently for aggressively anti-Trump rhetoric during his “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour.
“Bruce, I mean, what the heck? I used to like him, and now he’s just annoying,” the “Don’t Stop Believin’” co-writer added. “He’s an annoying, bitter old man. I mean, stop it.”
Cain may be conservative, but he said it’s not something that comes up during performances.
“Now, people say, ‘Well, you’re Christian, and you’re conservative,’” the musician said during the podcast appearance. “And I’m like, ‘So what?’ I don’t preach it on stage. I don’t spend 10 minutes talking about it.”
“You know, you were ‘Born in the USA,’ weren’t you, dude? So act like it,” Cain went on. “But even that song, if you look at the lyrics, I mean, it’s a kind of a diss to our country.”
The far-Left singer, 76, made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bruce-springsteen-doubles-down-on-trump-bashing-calls-it-patriotic">endless political statements</a> during the tour, both on and off the stage. “There’s some very weird, strange, and dangerous sh*t going on out there right now,” Springsteen said during his Manchester stop.
“In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now. In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death.”
He also criticized the Trump administration’s handling of illegal immigration and claimed they were “taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.”
President Trump shot back with a social media post laying out exactly how he felt about Springsteen’s endless tirades.
“Bad, and very boring singer, Bruce Springsteen, who looks like a dried up prune who has suffered greatly from the work of a really bad plastic surgeon, has long had a horrible and incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, sometimes referred to as TDS,” the president wrote, echoing what many on social media were saying. “The guy is a total loser who spews hate against a President who won a Landslide Election, including the popular vote, all Seven Swing States, and 86% of the Counties across America.”

Jonathan Cain

Journey Star Slams Bruce Springsteen As ‘Bitter Old Man’ Over Anti-Trump Rants

Musician Slams Leftist Agitator Bruce Springsteen: 'Annoying, Bitter Old Man'

Bruce Springsteen

Music

Trump Derangement Syndrome

Christopher Nolan&#8217;s “The Odyssey” delivered the biggest opening weekend of the director&#8217;s career, generating $264.1 million worldwide, including $139.6 million internationally and $124.5 million domestically, according to <a href="https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/the-odyssey-christopher-nolan-biggest-global-debut-1236815981/">Variety</a>. 
“The Odyssey” has become the biggest worldwide opening of Nolan’s career, a record previously held by “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012), which earned $249 million, and “The Dark Knight,” which earned $198 million, as the outlet noted. 
The film&#8217;s record-setting debut comes despite pre-release criticism from some conservatives over several casting decisions. After seeing the movie, however, many have praised Nolan&#8217;s latest epic.
Several conservatives admit that despite a lot of build-up about casting decisions Nolan made, including putting in transgender-identifying actress Elliot Page as a male character and race-swapping Helen of Troy by casting Lupita Nyong’o, the movie is absolutely worth seeing. 
Ben Shapiro, Editor Emeritus of The Daily Wire, had heaps of praise for the film, saying there were flaws, but they weren’t enough to spoil the entire movie. 
“Nolan is unparalleled. He’s the best director working today, without a doubt. He just creates iconic movie after iconic movie,” Shapiro said during his review. 
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He also said Matt Damon shined as the movie’s lead. “I think he’s great in nearly everything. He sort of disappears into the part in a way that he doesn’t in a lot of other movies. He’s great as Odysseus.”
As for other casting decisions, Shapiro was also full of praise, save for a few of the more glaring choices. “Robert Pattinson as Antinous is an excellent antagonist. He’s sleazy and gross. Tom Holland as Telemachus is excellent, well cast. Anne Hathaway does a great job as Penelope,” he said.
Shapiro said Nyong’o was actually a fine choice of Helen of Troy unless Nolan was going to cast an actual Greek star in her place.
“So, I know a lot of people were like, ‘Oh my god, Lupita Nyong’o is supposed to look like Diane Kruger.’ I don’t know. Diane Kruger doesn’t look very Greek. She’s German,” Shapiro said. “Lupita Nyong’o is a beautiful woman. But here’s the thing, actually, in the script, Nolan goes out of his way to explain that the war wasn’t really launched over Helen being gorgeous.”
Shapiro did mention Page’s casting as Sinon, saying it was an “absolute puzzler” from Nolan because the actress is “about 5’2 and 105 pounds soaking wet and has the voice of a woman. It doesn’t work.”
Madeline Fry Schultz <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/go-ahead-watch-the-odyssey">reviewed</a> the film for The Daily Wire&#8217;s Upstream, calling it, “a big, glorious summer blockbuster based on a pillar of the Western canon. It explores mercy, hospitality, vengeance, family bonds, honor, and, of course, homecoming.” 
Like Shapiro, she said the issues with the film don’t outweigh the benefits. “With the ‘Odyssey’ controversy, conservatives are getting hung up on the details (some more troublesome than others) when the headline is that one of Hollywood’s best directors just made a three-hour-long film about a father returning home to his family, facing terrifying monsters and deftly wielding his bow and arrows on the way.”
“It’s beautifully shot, it has mass appeal, and there’s little in the film itself to subvert Homer’s epic tale, which is now reaching a new audience,” Schultz wrote. 
Another Upstream reviewer pointed out what many others were saying: that the film is infused with Christian themes.
“Christian morality has become so deeply embedded in Western life that even secular people treat many of its assumptions as universal. They reject Christianity as a religion while continuing to believe that compassion is superior to force, that the weak and downtrodden possess inherent moral worth, that guilt should result from cruelty, and that forgiveness rather than retaliation is a sign of strength,” Rob Henderson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-christopher-nolan-couldnt-bring-himself-to-do?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Rob+Henderson&amp;category=Upstream&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=What+Christopher+Nolan+Couldn%E2%80%99t+Bring+Himself+To+Do">wrote</a>. “Nolan can’t resist placing a Christian (or secular Post-Christian) moral code within a pagan hero.”
Critics and audiences agree that, despite its flaws, “The Odyssey” is a masterpiece. It currently has a 95% critical rating and an audience score of 97%.

Conservatives Had Concerns About ‘The Odyssey.’ Now They’re Praising It.

Box Office

Rapper Boosie BadAzz is demanding money back after two lobbyists allegedly charged him $600,000 in exchange for a Trump pardon that never came.
The 43-year-old hip-hop artist has had multiple run-ins with law enforcement over the years and was most recently facing prison time for felony possession of a firearm, which could result in up to 10 years in prison, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/18/us/boosie-badazz-pardon-lawsuit.html">reported</a>. 
He had previously pleaded guilty to a third-offense marijuana possession charge in 2009 and was sent to prison in Louisiana.
Boosie, whose real name is Torrence Ivy Hatch Jr., was reportedly approached by Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl with a promise that they could help secure a pardon. But they didn’t, so Hatch is requesting half his money back, the outlet noted.
“I was in a bad position, and they preyed on me, bro,” Hatch told NYT in an interview. The lobbyists disagree, saying the fallout has tarnished their reputation. Burkman wrote in an email that the rapper “has smeared us unfairly.” 
Burkman added that the duo had conducted a “massive, highly tailored advocacy campaign across Congress, the executive branch and leading political influencers and media figures” as they attempted to secure the promised pardon. “In 25 years, we cannot think of a single client for whom our firm has done more work than Boosie,” he said. 
The outlet reported that a signed contract states that if a pardon was not secured by a certain date, Hatch was entitled to half the money back, which is what he is requesting. But NYT noted that there appears to be a typo, as the pardon was promised by January 2025, but the contract was signed in September 2025. 
The rapper was sentenced to three years of supervised release and 300 hours of community service in January 2026.
While he’s not back behind bars, Hatch is unhappy with his sentence as it keeps him from performing in other countries. “I’m loved all across the world and I can’t even go overseas and make money,” he told the outlet.
Rappers seeking presidential pardons from Trump are a hot topic lately. Last week, convicted sex offender R. Kelly submitted a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-issues-response-after-random-r-kelly-pardon-request">“random” pardon request</a>, prompting a response from the White House confirming the submission without indicating whether it would be approved. Kelly is currently serving a 31-year sentence for racketeering, sex trafficking, and child pornography.
The White House shot down rumors last fall that a presidential pardon for rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs was imminent. As of now, Diddy is still behind bars, serving a four-year sentence for soliciting prostitution after being acquitted of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.

Boosie Badazz

Rapper Seeks $300K Refund After Bid for Presidential Pardon Falls Apart

Rapper Requests $300K Refund After Lobbyists Fail To Secure Presidential Pardon

Pardon

Rapper

Bruce Springsteen thinks the best way to love your country is to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/bruce-springsteen-reignites-trump-feud-says-critical-patriotism-defines-patriot">slam it from one concert stage to the next.</a>
Aaron Lewis would rather sing about the values that make America great: Faith. Resilience. Pride in the country. And gratitude that seems to elude The Boss on the latter’s 2026 No Kings tour.
Lewis, the Staind lead singer who segued into country stardom with the 2011 EP “Town Line,” pours out his patriotism on his new album, “Give My Country Back.” And yes, the title track is as fiery as expected. Lewis shreds Americans eager to fundamentally transform the freest country in the world.
<blockquote>
Now we’re standing on the shoulders of the ones that went before 
Proud of what they did to make it all worth dying for 
Yeah, you bite the hand that feeds you 
And it ought to be a crime 
You wave a flag from somewhere else while you’re burning mine
</blockquote>
Lewis, 54, tells The Daily Wire his sixth solo album extols a value that’s in short supply today: accountability.
“You don’t have to look very far in either direction to see hundreds of examples of there being no accountability left in this world,” Lewis says. That, and a lack of gratitude for the country’s many blessings, can’t help but stick in the singer’s craw.
“I’m very lucky. I’ve been able to travel all over the world with the job I’ve had for 30 years … this is the most amazing country on the face of the planet without a close second,” Lewis says.
“If you’re 50 years old and older, it’s now your responsibility for your grandkids and children to receive from you a better country than you received from your grandparents and your parents,” he adds. “We’re the only country where it works that way.”
“Give My Country Back” finds Lewis weighing in on issues of gratitude and love of country, steeped in his textured vocals and an old-school country spirit. You can smell the leather and grit on his honky tonk tracks.
You won’t miss his message, but he says the delivery method for most of his material isn’t meant to push anyone away.
“I’m never trying to hit anybody over the head with it &#8230; nobody wants to get screamed in their face,” he says. “When you start that, they stop listening.” And he shares his deeply held opinions for a reason.
That said, the title track is getting a live reaction akin to his biggest hits, think “Am I the Only One” and “Country Boy.”
“I usually know pretty quickly that I did something right,” he says of the live audience feedback.
He describes other new tracks, like “Bad Thing To Be Good At,” as an example of an older, wiser musician “owning all of my s***.”
The new album, produced by Sol Philcox-Littlefield, finds Lewis collaborating on many of the tracks. It’s a different writing process from the one he embraces with Staind music, and it’s one that took some time to process.
“It’s just a different culture in the country world,” he says. “It honestly felt good at first … it took all the onus and weight off my shoulders.”
The singer co-wrote five of the album’s 10 tracks, working with veteran collaborators like Jeffrey Steele, Bobby Pinson, Travis Meadows, and Casey Beathard.
The difference is in the level of satisfaction he finds when he harnesses a personal outlook, which isn’t quite the same here – “it almost feels like I’m cheating,” he quips. He might return to a more personal approach for his next country release.
Lewis maintains a dual strategy for his career. He has fall tour dates planned with Staind while currently bringing “Give My Country Back” to concert venues nationwide. He still draws a clear distinction between projects.
“I’ve never pulled any punches whatsoever … I’ve really just said whatever the f*** was on my mind,” he says, an approach that applies to his solo music.
With Staind, he follows a different course.
“I don’t say anything during the entire [live] Staind show, and at the end I say, ‘goodnight,’” he says. “I do all of my talking … all of my opinions or thoughts or whatever it may be, only when it’s my name on it. I have put in quite a bit of effort to ensure that there is a separation.”
Call Lewis the “anti-Boss.” And, since the interview wasn’t for a Staind project or tour, he weighed in on Springsteen’s hard-Left pivot.
“He has been a member of the elite class for so long,” Lewis said of the New Jersey rocker, whom he dubs “disconnected” from the working class. Springsteen has taken heat in recent years for his sky-high concert ticket prices, something he has defended rather than addressed, all while he keeps railing against President Trump on stage and off.
“Everything he stands for is bulls***.  It’s all just anti-American bulls***. I don’t have any tolerance for it,” Lewis says.
The Rutland, Vermont native has straddled two major genres over the past 15 or so years, and he’s not against stretching some more.
He envisions another side of his musical life, a trippy, electronica sound that has caught his attention. He’s already mastered two genres. Why not another?
He says he’d like to duck away with a collaborator well versed in that style and “just see what comes out of it.”
***
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. He&#8217;s also the host of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hollywood-in-toto-podcast-w-christian-toto/id1186449155">The Hollywood in Toto Podcast</a>. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto?lang=en">@HollywoodInToto</a>.

Aaron Lewis In Concert – Detroit, MI

Country Music’s All-American Anti-Springsteen

Aaron Lewis

Country Music

“Sex and the City” actress Cynthia Nixon has been appointed to screen New York judges despite having no legal training or experience whatsoever.
The leftist activist and failed gubernatorial candidate was just appointed to serve on the Commission on Judicial Nomination by New York Chief Judge Rowan Wilson, as the New York Post first <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/16/us-news/cynthia-nixon-appointed-to-panel-that-screens-recommends-ny-judges/">reported</a>.
“The Commission’s mandate is a powerful one: the Constitution requires that the Governor choose Judges of the Court of Appeals only from the nominees of the Commission,” the panel’s website says. 
Nixon, who is a fervent supporter of “trans rights” and other radical leftist causes, ran for governor in 2018 and endorsed democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor last year. Her appointment to the commission is seen as yet another negative consequence of Mamdani’s win.
“This is part of the damage [Mamdani] will do to NYC. Long after he’s gone the effects of the leftist lunatics will continue because they will be [embedded] in public offices. F*ck everyone who voted for this snake,” one X commenter <a href="https://x.com/nypost/status/2077834145141502154">wrote</a>. 
Nixon describes herself as “the mother of a proud trans man” and has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sex-and-the-city-actress-rallies-over-trans-medical-procedures-for-minors">spoken publicly</a> about the issue.
“My wife and I, our lives are filled with the most amazing, beautiful, brave trans people, young and old… but especially young,” the actress said at one New York rally last year. “My trans kid had his top surgery at NYU a number of years ago,” she continued. “…the idea that this city is filled with young people who thought they had a place to go where they could receive the highest care and that place has now been shut to them, sickens me. Sickens me to my core.” 
Nixon described President Trump’s inauguration and subsequent executive order to protect children from irreversible gender procedures as “horrific” and “an assault.” 
In the past, the “SATC” star has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cynthia-nixon-denounces-anti-shoplifting-laws-stealing-basic-necessities">denounced anti-shoplifting laws</a> and has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/candidate-new-york-governor-cynthia-nixon-calls-frank-camp">referred to</a> Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a “terrorist organization” all the way back in 2018.
Former prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy told the Post that Nixon’s appointment proves that things are going downhill in New York. “Appointing a celebrity activist with zero legal background to help shape the future of our judiciary sends the wrong message entirely,” she told the outlet.
“This is part of a broader trend in New York: politics increasingly taking precedence over public safety and common sense,” Komatireddy added. “At a deeply critical time when New Yorkers are demanding safer streets and greater confidence in our institutions, our leaders should be focused on restoring trust in the justice system and not turning judicial appointments into a political game.”

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