Actress Maya Hawke, daughter of A-list film stars <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ethan-hawke">Ethan Hawke</a> and Uma Thurman, admitted she was cast in the 2019 Quentin Tarantino film “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/movies">Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood</a>” because of her famous parents.
The 25-year-old star previously faced backlash for making it sound as though the role was earned through merit. Hawke clarified those statements during a new <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/maya-hawke-uma-thurman-ethan-hawke-nepo-baby-2qqk5hmm9">interview</a> with The Times of London.
“I’ve been wildly made fun of for this clip when I said, on the red carpet, that I auditioned,” she told the outlet. “I never meant to imply that I didn’t get the part for nepotistic reasons — I think I totally did.” 
She said filmmaker Tarantino was trying to “cast a lot of young Hollywood,” which in this case included Margaret Qualley (Andie MacDowell’s daughter) and Rumer Willis (Demi Moore and Bruce Willis&#8217; daughter). 
When asked if she believed she “deserved” the part, Hawke replied,“‘Deserves’ is a complicated word. There are so many people who deserve to have this kind of life who don’t, but I think I’m comfortable with not deserving it and doing it anyway. And I know that my not doing it wouldn’t help anyone. I saw two paths when I was first starting, and one of them was: change your name, get a nose job, and go to open casting roles.”
The actress added, “It’s OK to be made fun of when you’re in rarefied air. It’s a lucky place to be. My relationships with my parents are really honest and positive, and that supersedes anything anyone can say about it.”
Hawke became a household name while playing Robin Buckley in the popular Netflix series “Stranger Things.” She also had roles in “Do Revenge,” “Asteroid City,” and “Maestro.”
The actress also spoke on the topic while promoting “Wildcat,” the Flannery O’Connor biopic her father directed.
“I had moments of insecurity about it while we were shooting the movie,” she told <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/features/ethan-maya-hawke-wild-cat-interview-nepo-babies-toronto-1235710651/">Variety</a> in September. ”But the internet doesn’t have a lot of nuances. My dad has been a massive teacher for me, and we want to work together. We like being with each other.”
Her dad, a four-time Academy Award winner, also chimed in on the topic: “If someone wants to criticize us for working together, that’s totally fair. You have to let people have their opinion. You just have to try to do a good job when you’re onstage.”

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Maya Hawke Admits She Was Cast In Tarantino Film For ‘Nepotistic Reasons’

Maya Hawke Admits She Was Cast In Tarantino Film For 'Nepotistic Reasons'

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Tinsel Town has turned some of the biggest movie genres against Heartland USA.
Science Fiction? James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise doubles as a climate change screed, while his “Terminator” franchise diminished Arnold Schwarzenegger in favor of a Girl Power aesthetic with the 2019 “Dark Fate” installment. Recent Marvel Cinematic Universe films hyper focus on LGBTQ themes and aggressive diversity casting over, you know, fun.
Horror? Woke shockers like “Antebellum,” “Candyman,” and “They/Them” speak for themselves.
Is the Western next?
A new short film, albeit one featuring two major stars, is getting plenty of buzz.
Shot in southern Spain’s Tabernas desert, “<a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/global/pedro-almodovar-gay-western-strange-way-of-life-italy-latin-america-mubi-1235580205/">Strange Way of Life</a>” stars Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as two gunmen who reunite after 25 years. The half-hour film has been described by [Pedro] Almodóvar as a “queer Western, in the sense that there are two men and they love each other,” the director said last December on Dua Lipa’s “At Your Service” podcast. 
It&#8217;s “Brokeback Mountain” redux. One could also say it’s a kissing cousin to “The Power of the Dog.” That 2021 Netflix original featured a closeted gay cowboy (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his connection with a local outcast (Kodi Smit-McPhee).
The film earned 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
The latest spin on “revisionist Westerns” could be the new normal, and it involves more than closeted gay cowboys revealing their sexual appetites. 
The Western is as American as baseball, apple pie, and reality TV. The genre thrives on rugged individualism, masculine heroes, and themes that speak to the country’s character. Classic Westerns like “High Noon” (1952), “Shane” (1953), and “The Searchers” (1956) taught generations about sacrifice, honor, and what it means to be a man.
In short, it’s the American experiment.
The Western hero was far from perfect. He might drink too much or struggle with his emotions. When danger came, however, the townsfolk knew who to call. He didn’t blame others or wallow in his misery. He got his hands dirty and set to work.
Female heroes mattered, too.
Movies like The Daily Wire’s “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/terror-on-the-prairie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Terror on the Prairie</a>” featured a strong female lead (Gina Carano), but the essential Western elements surrounded her brave defense of her nuclear family.
The Nicolas Cage/Nick Searcy indie “The Old Way” followed a gunslinger (Cage) training his daughter how to sling lead to protect herself. 
The Western’s DNA is anathema to major film studios. Too much toxic masculinity, they say. Where is the diversity? Why are these stories glorifying guns for self-defense?
Is “Strange Way of Life” a sign of stories to come?
The Western faded from the pop culture landscape in the late 20th century years as legends like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood either passed or passed on the white hats to a new generation. Oaters became passe, as CGI fueled a string of blockbuster movies and superhero adaptations.
The genre never went away. TV shows like “Longmire,” “Justified,” and, more recently, “Yellowstone” captured the Western’s ethos despite modern trappings. Each enjoyed sizable success, with the latter becoming one of the most popular shows across the cluttered streaming landscape.
Few stories inspire as much passion, and viewer loyalty, as the ongoing Dutton saga.
Subverting the Western fits snugly into liberal Hollywood’s worldview. Movies once celebrated the American way of life, extolling freedom, self-reliance, and sacrifice against impossible odds. Now, the films that celebrate all-American principles (<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/affleck-damon-deliver-with-air-a-pro-capitalism-three-pointer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">like the recent “Air”</a>) stand out as exceptions to the pop culture rule.
And, of course, American culture is swiftly shared across the globe, our most curious export. While Chinese movies praise the communist nation and its achievements, American filmmakers (under no such governmental pressure) often do the opposite.
The Western must be demystified, rearranged, and revised to blast the past and embrace the new American ethos. Films like 2017’s “Hostiles” turn on the mistreatment of the American Indian, a valid theme that often swamps storytelling essentials.
Even the liberal RogerEbert.com review noted that Christian Bale film <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hostiles-2017" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lacks nuanced portraits of the Indian characters</a>. Woke sensibilities make it harder to turn minority figures into flesh-and-blood souls. 

This doesn’t mean a film genre needs to be replicated over and again.
Previous revisionist Westerns cling to the genre’s core elements. Many rightly praised Clint Eastwood’s 1992 classic “Unforgiven,” a look at a gunslinger reflecting on his violent handiwork. Some genres need a nip or a tuck to bring them back to life.
Other revisionist classics include “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969), “Little Big Man” (1970), and “Django Unchained” (2012).
American audiences always crave the Western essentials, though, which means classic Westerns will find new generations to delight. Let’s hope they can enjoy newer versions alongside the classics. One might come from Mr. “Yellowstone” himself.
Costner is set to direct “Horizon,” a sprawling Western set before, and after the Civil War. The large cast, including Costner, Jena Malone, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Haden Church, promises to tell its story through multiple perspectives.
Chances are there’s enough Dutton left in Costner to make “Horizon” a worthy addition to a deeply American film genre.
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.

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Terror on the Prairie

Actor Ethan Hawke has joined the chorus of the few but vocal celebrities who have denounced cancel culture due to its stifling of free speech.
Speaking with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jan/30/ethan-hawke-its-just-a-petrifying-time-to-speak-about-male-sexuality">The Guardian</a> in promotion of his novel, &#8220;A Bright Ray of Darkness,&#8221; Hawke said that the current cultural climate has made it difficult to talk about issues such as male sexuality and its idiosyncrasies.
&#8220;It’s a book in which sex is described regularly and frankly. [The protagonist has a relationship with a much younger woman.] Did you find this difficult in the current environment?&#8221; asked The Guardian.
&#8220;Our sexual identity and the relationship we have through it, to ourselves and to others, is defining in our lives. And in the light of cancel culture and shaming – while a lot of this moment is very helpful – it’s a difficult time to say: &#8216;I want to be open about the idiosyncrasies of human sexuality,'&#8221; he said. &#8220;What’s that great Mark Twain line? &#8216;The aim of art is to alleviate shame.&#8217; We’re in this period now when you can’t even write about bad behaviour because it might seem like you’re condoning it. You have to be able to create a character who does things they wish they didn’t do. I went back and forth on it, because it’s just a petrifying time to speak about male sexuality. If you can’t shine a light into dark corners, the demons that live there will never go away.&#8221;
Ethan Hawke&#8217;s condemnation of cancel culture follows &#8220;Breaking Bad&#8221; actor Bryan Cranston, who lamented that such a culture kills forgiveness.
“We live in this ‘cancel culture’ of people erring and doing wrong — either on purpose or by accident — and there’s less forgiveness in our world,” he said.
“I think we’re unfortunately in a coarser environment. I think our societies have become harder and less understanding, less tolerant, less forgiving,” he added. “Where does forgiveness live in our society? Where can we accept someone’s behavior if they are contrite, if they are apologetic and take responsibility? Isn’t it possible that forgiveness plays a part of that and they are welcomed back in, as opposed to creating more fences, creating more, ‘you’re out, you’re in, that’s it.’ You make one mistake, gone.”
Cranston felt that society needed to “take a second look” at the concept of ostracizing people, extolling the concept of mercy and forgiveness as a human strength.
“I think we need to take a second look at that, exhale, and realize that asking forgiveness and receiving forgiveness are not weaknesses, but are human strengths,” he said.
In early January, actor Rowan Atkinson, forever known as Mr. Bean, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rowan-atkinson-star-of-mr-bean-condemns-cancel-culture-a-medieval-mob-looking-for-someone-to-burn">likened cancel culture</a> to the “digital equivalent of the medieval mob roaming the streets looking for someone to burn.”
“The problem we have online is that an algorithm decides what we want to see, which ends up creating a simplistic, binary view of society,” Atkinson told the U.K. Radio Times. “It becomes a case of either you’re with us or against us. And if you’re against us, you deserve to be ‘canceled.’”
“It’s important that we’re exposed to a wide spectrum of opinion, but what we have now is the digital equivalent of the medieval mob roaming the streets looking for someone to burn,” Atkinson added. “So it is scary for anyone who’s a victim of that mob and it fills me with fear about the future.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bryan-cranston-cancel-culture-kills-forgiveness">Bryan Cranston: Cancel Culture Kills Forgiveness</a>

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Ethan Hawke Denounces Cancel Culture: ‘A Petrifying Time To Speak About Male Sexuality’

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Ethan Hawke

Maya Hawke Admits She Was Cast In Tarantino Film For ‘Nepotistic Reasons’

Does Hollywood Want To Wrest The Western Out Of Conservative Hands?

Ethan Hawke Denounces Cancel Culture: ‘A Petrifying Time To Speak About Male Sexuality’