Following his win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night, the Oscar-nominated Joaquin Phoenix attended a &#8220;pig vigil&#8221; outside a Downtown Los Angeles slaughterhouse.
Joining alongside several activists, the acclaimed actor told Jane Unchained News that he regularly comes to these &#8220;pig vigils&#8221; due to the &#8220;torture and murder&#8221; of animals he has seen in the meat and dairy industry.
“Most people don’t really know of the torture and murder in the meat and dairy industry,” <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JaneVelezMitchell/videos/192314958577321/UzpfSTc4NzY2MDE1ODA0MjQ3NToxNTk2NTM0MDIwNDg4NDE0/">Phoenix said</a>. “I’ve seen it for what it is, so I have to be here.”
Phoenix went on to lament that people have been brainwashed to believe animals live happy lives on farms, arguing that those who know the truth have an obligation to fight back.
“We have moral obligations to talk about it and expose it for what it really is,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;We are so indoctrinated with these happy images of animals on farms, on the covers of meat containers, at restaurants and it’s a lie. I think people need to know the truth and we have an obligation to do that. Those of us that have seen it for what it really is, we have an obligation to expose it, so I have to be here.”
Despite the event&#8217;s somberness, Phoenix ultimately expressed hope and optimism.
“There is a change that is happening and it’s now just becoming undeniable. Slowly but surely we’re getting there,&#8221; he said. &#8220;As heartbreaking as it is when we’re here giving water to the pigs I have a certain optimism in our community and how committed everyone is. People come down here week after week after week so I had to come here tonight and support and it’s a little antidote to what I was just given, so I’m blessed to be here.”
Joaquin Phoenix has been an outspoken vegan and animal rights activist for many years. Speaking with <a href="https://collider.com/joaquin-phoenix-interview-you-were-never-really-here/#directing">Collider</a> in 2018, the &#8220;Joker&#8221; star said his passion for the cause came after seeing a fish killed on a boat as a kid.
&#8220;Really it was seeing these fish being killed when I was on a boat as a kid,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I guess to stun them, they were throwing them against the side of the boat. I just had a profound strong reaction. It felt like a real injustice. It wasn’t just me, it was my siblings, all of my siblings, except for the youngest, Summer, she wasn’t born. My mom was pregnant with her. I don’t know how to explain it. I think it made me distrustful, and angry, and frightened of humans, humanity. I just thought it was such a gross abuse of power in a way. I think that during that moment we knew that we were not going to eat meat anymore. We said to our parents, &#8216;Why didn’t you tell us?&#8217; It’s amazing. I remember my mom’s face, I remember her crying. She didn’t know how to answer. It became very obvious we weren’t going to eat meat anymore.&#8221;
While accepting the award for Best Actor at the Golden Globes, Phoenix also called out Hollywood for not practicing what they preach regarding climate change.
&#8220;It&#8217;s really nice that so many people have sent their well wishes to Australia but we have to do more than that,&#8221; <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/golden-globes-joker-star-joaquin-phoenix-makes-climate-change-plea-best-actor-speech-1266680">Phoenix said</a>. &#8220;Hopefully, we can be unified and actually make some changes. It&#8217;s great to vote, but sometimes we have to take that responsibility on ourselves and make changes and sacrifices in our own lives. We don&#8217;t have to take private jets to Palm Springs for the awards.&#8221;

US-ENTERTAINMENT-SAG-FILM-AWARDS-PRESSROOM

‘Torture And Murder’: Joaquin Phoenix Attends &#8216;Pig Vigil&#8217; Outside Slaughterhouse Following SAG Awards Win

Golden Globes

Hollywood

Los Angeles

Oscars

Vegetarian

A legal drama facetiously referred to as “woke law” recently aired an episode where the principal cast actually condemns law enforcement while defending gang members.
The show is actually called “All Rise,” about a woman who inexplicably became a judge despite a clear bias against police and prosecutors. The latest episode, which aired Monday, was about an ex-gang member who was charged with murder, <a href="https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/sadi-martin/2020/01/20/all-rise-disses-police-praises-gang-members">according to NewsBusters</a>.
“An ex-gang member is charged with murder and in this trial the prosecution uses a bug in the meeting room to find out what other gang members were involved in the murder, putting the defendant&#8217;s life at risk,” the outlet reported. “Sara Castillo, the court stenographer, feels the need to burst into Judge Lola Carmichael&#8217;s chambers before she makes the decision of whether or not the prosecutor should have done this and in this conversation Sara reveals anti-police sentiments, claiming that gang members are &#8220;used&#8221; to further political agendas and not all of them are criminals.”
Below is the exchange between the stenographer and the judge:
<blockquote>Sara: &#8230; Not all gang members are criminal. They run businesses. They raise incredible families. They contribute to the community. They just need a place to belong, that&#8217;s it. But they all get targeted.
Lola: Sara, I need you to stop.
Sara: People use them. They use these &#8212; these boys, these men, some of whom are my family. They are used by &#8212; as a political platform to get sheriffs elected, to get D.A.s elected, to raise funds for police rather than for social services.</blockquote>
Okay, Sara.
Essentially, the show spends the episode pretending that gang members are just victims of a cruel society while police are opportunistic liars.
NewsBusters’ Sadi Martin has detailed other episodes of the show that are quite eye-roll inducing, such as <a href="https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/sadi-martin/2019/11/05/all-rise-all-pc-latest-episode">an episode</a> from November where a person who identifies as non-binary is suspected of arson but the show suggests we’re supposed to let them get away with the crime because the person’s identity is fluid.
“Guilty. Not guilty. Two options always presented to you, which, as my friend Jax has helped me see, is a very binary way of looking at the law. For what&#8217;s between guilty and not? Less guilty, sort of guilty, guilty but we totally understand why they did it. Turns out guilt, like everything else, is fluid,” the non-binary character’s defense attorney says in court.
The show’s <a href="https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/culture/sadi-martin/2019/09/24/new-cbs-legal-drama-all-rise-all-woke">pilot episode</a> in late September set the tone that minorities are all victims and cops are evil, with the show’s main character, Judge Carmichael, walking into the wrong courtroom (so smart) and seeing a female defendant who was not wearing pants. As NewsBusters reported at the time, “The courtroom scene escalates extremely quickly and almost unbelievably from Carmichael reprimanding people in the room for allowing Daphne in half naked, to the policeman going crazy, pulling a gun and shooting at the judge.”
Yep, exactly what happens in real courts all across America.
The episode continues by showing every minority involved in the case is innocent while every white person is a liar out to get non-white people.

All Rise

Woke TV Show ‘All Rise’ Praises Gang Members, Maligns Law Enforcement

Woke

Prince Harry has not only pitched Meghan Markle&#8217;s voiceover work to Disney CEO Bob Iger, but also to top Disney director Jon Favreau ( of &#8220;The Mandalorian&#8221; fame).
Released on Saturday, new footage obtained by the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7903455/Moment-Prince-Harry-tells-Lion-King-director-Jon-Favreau-wife-available-work.html">Daily Mail </a>shows the duke and duchess of Sussex touting Meghan Markle&#8217;s acting chops while speaking with high-profile celebrities Jon Favreau, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z at a premiere for Disney&#8217;s &#8220;The Lion King.&#8221;
&#8220;If anyone needs any extra voiceover work,&#8221; Harry could be heard beginning to tell Favreau just as Meghan jokingly interrupts to say, &#8220;That&#8217;s really why we&#8217;re here — it&#8217;s the pitch!&#8221;
&#8220;Just not Scar,&#8221; Harry jovially says in reference to the villainous character in &#8220;The Lion King.&#8221;
<iframe title="&#039;She&#039;ll tackle any voiceover just not Scar&#039;: Moment Harry tells Lion King director Jon Favreau" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pUAp9-E3Im8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The recently released footage follows a report from last week which showed Prince Harry speaking to Disney CEO Bob Iger at the same event about Meghan Markle&#8217;s voiceover work.
“You know she does voiceovers,” Harry told Iger at &#8220;The Lion King&#8221; premiere in July.
“Oh, really?” responded Iger.
“Did you know that?” Harry added. “You seem surprised. … She’s really interested.”
“Sure,” said Iger. “We’d love to try.”
Conservative commentator Mark Steyn called it &#8220;the absolute lowest point of the monarchy in the last 100 years.&#8221;
&#8220;I think of all the pathetic things that the Duke of Windsor did after he abdicated when he entertained wealthy Americans and gave them a sort of pseudo glimpse into Royal life,&#8221; Steyn <a href="https://video.foxnews.com/v/6122347498001">told Fox News</a>. &#8220;That&#8217;s nothing like actually touting your wife as available for Lion King 7 or whatever it is.&#8221;
Meghan Markle was hired by Disney to do some voiceover work in exchange for a charitable donation to Elephants Without Borders. Just over the weekend, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflixs-ted-sarandos-interested-prince-harry-meghan-markle-deal-1271376">expressed interest</a> in collaborating with the duke and duchess of Sussex for a project.
Over the weekend, Queen Elizabeth II<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/prince-harry-meghan-markle-give-up-royal-titles-1270934"> unveiled the rather strict terms</a> that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be under as they split from the royal family to pursue a more &#8220;progressive role&#8221; in North America — an act that bars them from being referred to by &#8220;her majesty&#8221; and &#8220;royal highness.&#8221; They were also ordered to repay the money British taxpayers had spent on remodeling their Frogmore Cottage.
&#8220;The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are grateful to Her Majesty and the Royal Family for their ongoing support as they embark on the next chapter of their lives,&#8221; the statement from Buckingham Palace read. &#8220;As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments. They will no longer receive public funds for Royal duties.&#8221;
&#8220;With the queen’s blessing, the Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and associations,&#8221; it continued. &#8220;While they can no longer formally represent the queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty. The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family. The duke and duchess of Sussex have shared their wish to repay Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their U.K. family home.&#8221;

Duke and Duchess of Sussex statement

WATCH: New Video Shows Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Pitching Voiceover Work To Disney Director Jon Favreau

Disney

Meghan Markle

Netflix

Prince Harry

It is, once again, that time of year when actors gather for glitzy galas and give each other awards, droning on endlessly about their &#8220;sacrifices&#8221; for the &#8220;craft.&#8221;
And no one does that better than Robert De Niro, the one-trick pony who&#8217;s made millions playing the same character over and over.
On Sunday, De Niro was the recipient of the Screen Actors Guild &#8220;Life Achievement Award.&#8221; De Niro waxed poetic about the grand achievement.
&#8220;We as actors don&#8217;t do it all alone, we can&#8217;t,&#8221; he said in opening his acceptance speech. &#8220;We depend on each other for collaboration, both onscreen and off.&#8221;
But Bobby D does more than just praise himself. The star of &#8220;Dirty Grandpa&#8221; always likes to get political, and he did so again on Sunday.
De Niro said political leaders who support unions are more likely to also support &#8220;the Affordable Care Act, equitable taxes, humane immigration regulation, a safe environment, a diverse citizenry, reproductive rights, sensible gun control, and fair wages and benefits.&#8221; He added: &#8220;We owe them our support and we owe them our vote.&#8221;
Then, as he does, De Niro moved on to President Trump, calling today&#8217;s political climate &#8220;dire.&#8221;
&#8220;There&#8217;s right and there&#8217;s wrong, there&#8217;s common sense and there&#8217;s abuse of power. And as a citizen, I have as much right as anybody ― an actor, an athlete, a musician, anybody else ― to voice my opinion.&#8221;
And De Niro said he plans to use his platform to push his ideology. &#8220;If I have a bigger voice because of my situation, I am going to use it whenever I see a blatant abuse of power.&#8221; Surprisingly, De Niro then said: &#8220;That&#8217;s all I&#8217;m going to say about that tonight.&#8221;
Sadly, the actors winning awards have refused to take the sound advice comedian Ricky Gervais gave them when he hosted the Golden Globe awards earlier this month.
“If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a political platform to make a political speech,” he told the crowd of limousine liberals. “You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything, you know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So, if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your God — and f*** off. OK?”
De Niro certainly doesn&#8217;t adhere to that philosophy. Last May, he was a presenter at the American Icon Awards, where he once again bashed Trump.
“You didn’t think you were gonna’ completely get away without a f*** Trump moment, did you?” the actor said.
“The individual who currently purports to lead America is not worthy of any tribute,” De Niro said at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. His comments were met with boos. “Unless you think of his impeachment and imprisonment as a sort of tribute — now that’s how you can make America great again.”
“I’m happy to stand … tonight to support the First Amendment,” De Niro said. “The right of the president to be a relentless and unrepentant, lying scumbag, the right of his supporters to not give a s***, and our right to do something about it.”
In June 2018, De Niro used his time on stage at the Tony Awards to shout “f*** Trump!”
Trump has fired back at the actor. “Robert De Niro, a very Low IQ individual, has received too many shots to the head by real boxers in movies,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I watched him last night and truly believe he may be &#8216;punch-drunk.&#8217;”
“I guess he doesn’t realize the economy is the best it’s ever been with employment being at an all-time high, and many companies pouring back into our country,&#8221; Trump wrote.

26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards &#8211; Arrivals

Robert De Niro Blasts President Trump In Yet Another Awards Speech

Donald Trump

Robert de Niro

Actor John Cusack is a big fan of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders&#8217; particular brand of socialism. In fact, as the &#8217;80s actor made alarmingly clear at a Bernie rally in Exeter, NH on Saturday, he believes if we don&#8217;t stop &#8220;predatory capitalism&#8221; in the next &#8220;ten or twelve years,&#8221; we&#8217;re all toast.
&#8220;[T]he billionaires are getting nervous and all the corporate media is — they hate us, they don’t hate us, they&#8217;re confused. And it seems like every conceivable power structure on earth is trying to kill or derail our movement, but we’re still here,&#8221; declared Cusack, in remarks reported by <a href="https://news.grabien.com/story-john-cusack-we-have-10-12-years-save-planet-climate-capitali">Grabien</a>.
&#8220;We know this form of capitalism takes and takes; it takes whatever, whenever, however it wants,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It’ll take our lives, it’ll take our labor, our spirit, our air and water, even our earth.&#8221;
Cusack then echoed an alarmist line often repeated by global warming activist Greta Thunberg, but specifically tying the sentiment to Sanders&#8217; policies.
&#8220;Bernie respects us enough to tell the truth, the hard truth: We have a ten to twelve year window to radically transform our energy systems, or climate change, predatory capitalism, and endless war economies will rob us of the right to any future at all,&#8221; said the actor. &#8220;And as we can see literally every day, the house is on fire.&#8221;
Bernie, suggested Cusack, is our only hope in these desperate times.
&#8220;But as Bernie tells us, this is no time for despair, it&#8217;s no time for anything but action,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Because if we stand together, with him, the future is still indeed unwritten. And there’s nothing more powerful than a movement whose time has come.&#8221;
Cusack then invoked a vaguely defined &#8220;movement,&#8221; by which he appears to mean democratic socialism, which he says is now finally &#8220;close&#8221; to power.
&#8220;We have never had a movement candidate this close to power with a revolutionary movement he’s led and built, ready-to-go, all the way to change the country and help heal the world,&#8221; he said. &#8220;With people of every race, creed, gender, everybody stands together in solidarity when all of us whose labor powers this economy, stop the profiteering and tell the billionaires and the  corporate tyrannies that it&#8217;s time to start treating all human beings with respect and dignity.&#8221;
Video of Cusack&#8217;s remarks below (via <a href="https://news.grabien.com/story-john-cusack-we-have-10-12-years-save-planet-climate-capitali">Grabien</a>):
<iframe title="John Cusack at Sanders Rally: ‘We Have 10 to 12 Years’ to Save the Planet from Capitalism" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bc6CgJP9nro?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Other celebrities who&#8217;ve made millions from Hollywood&#8217;s &#8220;predatory capitalism&#8221; have resorted to Thunbergian rhetoric about climate change in recent months, including &#8220;Aquaman&#8221; (which blew up at the box office) star Jason Momoa, who told the United Nations in September that humanity is &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-aquaman-jason-momoa-says-we-are-a-disease-infecting-our-planet-rips-trump-at-u-n">a disease that is infecting our planet.</a>&#8221;
&#8220;From the atmosphere to the abyssal zone, we are polluted,&#8221; said the &#8220;Game of Thrones&#8221; star. &#8220;It is a known fact that the great garbage patch floating in the Pacific is larger than the country of France. Even at the depths of the Mariana Trench we are discovering nano plastics. And shockingly, there are more particles of plastic in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way. It is shameful.&#8221;
&#8220;Yet, the greatest threat to small island developing states is that entire islands are drowning into the sea due to the enormous volume of emissions generated by the first world countries,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Island nations contribute the least to this disaster but are made to suffer the weight of its consequences.&#8221;
Similar to Cusack, Momoa laid the blame at the feet of capitalism and failure of the government to intervene enough.
&#8220;Our governments and corporate entities have known for decades that immediate change is needed, yet change still has not come,&#8221; said the actor. &#8220;And when the front line is gone, we are doomed. There is no undoing. If you continue to watch unsympathetic to the issues of island nations, this realization will soon come — that you stood by and witnessed the world cross the critical tipping point, ushering in the death of our planet.&#8221;
Momoa&#8217;s speech the U.N. below:
<iframe title="Jason Momoa Addresses United Nations On Climate Crisis (Sept. 27, 2019)" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Bo2UD2wAOs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;

John Cusack

WATCH: Actor John Cusack Goes Full Greta At Bernie Rally: ‘The House Is On Fire’

Bernie Sanders

Capitalism

Climate Change

Global Warming

Greta Thunberg

Jason Momoa

Fans were shocked last week when the 92nd annual Academy Awards nominations were released and some prominent names were missing from the Best Actor category.
Jennifer Lopez wasn’t nominated for her role in “Hustlers,” Adam Sandler wasn’t nominated for “Uncut Gems,” Eddie Murphy was snubbed after appearing in “Dolemite Is My Name,” and Awkwafina didn’t get nominated for “The Farewell,” even after winning for the role at the Golden Globes. The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/01/18/academy-members-viciously-reveal-why-lopez-sandler-murphy-got-snubbed-from-oscars/amp/">spoke to</a> several members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Services about why the actors weren’t nominated.
Terry Moore, who votes on Oscar nominees and was herself nominated in 1952 for her supporting role in “Come Back, Little Sheba,” told the outlet that Lopez’s performance was overrated.
“I would have been shocked if she did get it,” Moore said.
“First of all, ‘Hustlers’ is not an ‘Oscar movie.’ It’s a little too rough around the edges, and I’m assuming some other people in the acting category didn’t see it,” another actor and Academy member told the outlet. “Florence Pugh seems to have gotten the J. Lo spot — maybe because ‘Little Women’ is a prestige movie and she’s a bright, new star.”
“Actors tend to think of Jennifer Lopez as a phenomenon more than an actress, per se. [It’s like last year, when] Lady Gaga lost the Oscar to Olivia Colman — a real actor’s actor,” the unnamed character actor and Academy member said.
This anonymous source also explained why Sandler was snubbed for his performance in “Uncut Gems.”
“That [performance] was a tour de force. He’s emerging as a truly great actor, but then he does cheesy Netflix comedies that are really dumb,” the actor told the Post. He also told the outlet that some Academy voters probably didn’t even watch “Uncut Gems,” “Hustlers,” or “The Farewell.”
“There are a lot of movies, a lot of performances per year for us to watch. Unfortunately, actors become brands. Sandler’s brand doesn’t scream ‘Oscar,’ but Leo Di Caprio’s and Jonathan Pryce’s do,” he added.
The Post suggested Sandler’s joke on Howard Stern’s show may have kept him from the nomination as well, since the comedian said, “If I don’t get [the Oscar], I’m going to f–king come back and do [a movie] again that is so bad on purpose just to make you all pay.”
One voting member told the Post that there “was an arrogance” to Sandler and that his joke showed “a lack of respect.”
Voters also snubbed Murphy because he apparently campaigned too hard for the nomination by hosting “Saturday Night Live,” a show he had ignored for 35 years.
Moore said she “didn’t like his attempt for it,” but said that if Murphy or Sandler make “another great film” they could be nominated.
<ol>
<li>Murray Abraham, the “Amadeus” actor who won best actor at the 1985 Oscars, told the actors who didn’t make the cut this year that, “Either you can accept it graciously, or you can fight against it.”</li>
</ol>
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/2020-oscar-nominations-joker-best-picture-no-women-directors-j-lo-snubbed">reported</a> on this year’s nominees.

Jennifer Lopez

Here’s Why J. Lo, Adam Sandler, And Eddie Murphy Were Snubbed At The Oscars: Report

Adam Sandler

Eddie Murphy

Critics really hate &#8220;Doolittle,&#8221; the new film starring Robert Downey, Jr.
On the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave the movie just a 19% &#8220;fresh&#8221; rating &#8212; and some reviewers really slammed the flick.
“Dolittle is a not a film,&#8221; wrote NPR’s Scott Tobias. &#8220;Dolittle is a crime scene in need of forensic analysis. Something happened here. Something terrible. Something inexplicable.”
Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone was even more brutal. &#8220;Robert Downey, Jr. talks to the animals and hits a career low in this object lesson in cinematic incoherence that will leave children sad and confused and adults scratching their heads. Come back, &#8216;Cats,&#8217; we forgive you.&#8221;
Still, people went. The $175 million movie pulled about $30 million on its opening day Friday and is expected to pull in $60 million worldwide by Monday.
But some moviegoers have been rudely surprised by a gross scene that comes at the end of the movie.
&#8220;This is a spoiler, but I need to share what I just witnessed because I feel like I&#8217;m going insane,&#8221; one viewer wrote on Twitter. &#8220;The climax of Dolittle is LITERALLY him pulling bagpipes out of a dragon&#8217;s clogged asshole, after which a polar bear voiced by John Cena exclaims &#8216;teamwork makes dreams work!&#8217; &#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is a spoiler, but I need to share what I just witnessed because I feel like I&#39;m going insane.
The climax of Dolittle is LITERALLY him pulling bagpipes out of a dragon&#39;s clogged asshole, after which a polar bear voiced by John Cena exclaims &quot;teamwork makes dreams work!&quot;
&mdash; Ryan George (@theryangeorge) <a href="https://twitter.com/theryangeorge/status/1218012896539684871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Wrote another: &#8220;There’s a scene in Dolittle where they pull a literal bagpipe out of a dragons ass and then it proceeds farts for about 20 seconds onto RDJ’s face. That’s all you need to know about this train wreck of a movie.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
There’s a scene in Dolittle where they pull a literal bagpipe out of a dragons ass and then it proceeds farts for about 20 seconds onto RDJ’s face. That’s all you need to know about this train wreck of a movie.
&mdash; dgdelariva (@dgdelariva) <a href="https://twitter.com/dgdelariva/status/1218084964320694277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Movie critic Sara Stewart of the New York Post pondered how Downey felt about the scene. &#8220;There’s got to be a moment, as an actor watches himself on-screen pulling bagpipes out of a CGI dragon’s rear end, that he thinks, &#8216;Have I really fallen this far?'&#8221;
Others were sad about what had become of Downey&#8217;s career. &#8220;Iron Man died so Doolittle could pull a bagpipe enema out of a dragon,&#8221; wrote another Twitterer.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Iron Man died so Doolittle could pull a bagpipe enema out of a dragon.
&mdash; Jennifer (@emojiwitch) <a href="https://twitter.com/emojiwitch/status/1218316915288002560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/universal-tries-to-escape-disaster-by-patching-up-dolittle-11579195165">Wall Street Journal</a> wrote that those making the movie tried to install some quick fixes just before its release. In a piece headlined, &#8220;Universal Tries to Escape Disaster by Patching Up ‘Dolittle’ &#8212; Script rewrites, adding animal characters delayed release of the costly family film,&#8221; the writer notes that Doolittle &#8220;relieves an ornery beast’s indigestion by removing debris from its rectum. Flatulence jokes ensue&#8221;:
<blockquote>The scene was added late in the filmmaking process, one of several efforts Comcast Corp.’s Universal made to try to ensure a return on the $175 million it invested in the family-friendly movie, according to a person close to the production.
The studio’s decision to tinker with a nearly finished film delayed its release by nine months as it commissioned script rewrites and hired two new directors to help with about three weeks of additional photography, according to people familiar with the production. The goal of these measures, these people said, was to craft a sillier movie more likely to appeal to younger moviegoers and overseas audiences. &#8230;
After test-screening Mr. Gaghan’s initial version of the movie, Universal worried it wasn’t lighthearted enough to connect with children and families around the globe, according to people familiar with the production. The studio decided the movie needed more computer-generated animals and more laughs, the people said, and called in filmmakers and screenwriters with more experience in the genre. They said these included directors Chris McKay of “The Lego Batman Movie” and Jonathan Liebesman of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”</blockquote>
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Premiere Of &#8216;Dolittle&#8217;

GROSS: Dolittle Moviegoers Shocked By Climactic Scene Involving Constipated Dragon

Robert Downey Jr.

In an interview with Joe Rogan for his popular podcast released Wednesday, superstar actor Robert Downey Jr. explained why he ultimately chose to take on the role of self-important actor &#8220;Kirk Lazarus&#8221; for Ben Stiller&#8217;s 2008 comedy &#8220;Tropic Thunder,&#8221; a role that included Downey dressed for most of the film in blackface and doing a hilariously bad impersonation of an African-American man as imagined by an egotistical Hollywood A-lister.
Asked by Rogan if he could make a film like &#8220;Tropic Thunder&#8221; today, Downey suggestively responded, &#8220;Oh, you could do it &#8230;,&#8221; a line that drew a big laugh out of the host (video below).
&#8220;Tropic Thunder,&#8221; Downey explained, reminded him of his father&#8217;s 1969 dark satire, &#8220;<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064855/">Putney Swope</a>,&#8221; about a &#8220;token black man&#8221; on the executive board of an advertising firm who is accidentally put in charge and then gets a chance to reshape the corrupt company and, in the process, is forced to &#8220;confront his own corruption.&#8221;
When Stiller contacted him about playing the role, Downey said, he was initially enthusiastic, then began doubting the decision. &#8220;I thought, yeah, I&#8217;ll do that, and I&#8217;ll do that after &#8216;Iron Man&#8217;,&#8221; said Downey. &#8220;Then I started thinking, this is a terrible idea!&#8221;
&#8220;Then I thought, hold on, dude, get real here. Where is your heart?&#8221; said Downey. &#8220;And my heart is, A, I get to be black for a summer, in my mind &#8230; So there&#8217;s something in it for me.&#8221;
Having gotten another big laugh out of Rogan, Downey got to what he made clear was his true motivation for taking on the role: &#8220;The other thing is I get to hold up to nature the insane, self-involved hypocrisy of artists and what they think they&#8217;re allowed to do on occasion — just my opinion,&#8221; he said.
Downey also pointed to having a chance to work with Stiller, for whom he has immense respect, and who Downey praised for handling the inevitably &#8220;offensive nightmare of a movie.&#8221;
&#8220;And also Ben, who is a masterful artist and director — probably the closest thing to a Charlie Chaplin that I&#8217;ve experienced in my lifetime — he writes, he directs, he acts,&#8221; said Downey. &#8220;If you had seen him when he was directing this movie, you would have been like, &#8216;I&#8217;m watching David Lean, I&#8217;m watching Chaplin, I&#8217;m watching Coppola.&#8217; He knew exactly what the vision for this was; he executed it. It was impossible to not have it be an offensive nightmare of a movie — and 90% of my black friends were like, &#8216;Dude, that was great.'&#8221;
Asked about the other 10%, Downey said, &#8220;I can&#8217;t disagree with them, but I know where my heart was,&#8221; adding that he knows that&#8217;s &#8220;never an excuse to do something that is out of place and not of its time.&#8221;
Rogan responded by suggesting that, unless people&#8217;s sensitivity on the issue changes, the film might be &#8220;the last time&#8221; we see black face in humor again. &#8220;We almost lost the Prime Minister of Canada because he did brown face, he pretended to be Saudi Arabian,&#8221; Rogan added, referencing the Justin Trudeau scandal.
&#8220;It&#8217;s an interesting and necessary meditation on where is the pendulum, why is the pendulum right, where is the pendulum maybe cutting a little into what could be perceived as heart-in-the-right-place openness of its time,&#8221; said Downey. &#8220;There&#8217;s a morality clause here, on this planet, and it&#8217;s a big price to pay. And I think having moral psychology is job one.&#8221;
Video below via the &#8220;Joe Rogan Experience&#8221;:
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<iframe title="Could You Make Tropic Thunder Today? w/Robert Downey Jr. | Joe Rogan" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9ugC3TXSKoE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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WATCH: Robert Downey Jr. Explains Why He Played Blackface Role In Joe Rogan Interview

Joe Rogan

The front-runner&#8217;s Hollywood backers aren&#8217;t a &#8220;who&#8217;s who&#8221; of Tinsel Town. It&#8217;s more like, &#8220;who is that again?&#8221;
The former First Lady attracted a Who’s Who of Hollywood elites during her failed 2016 presidential campaign. This celebrity PSA captures a small group of A-listers who pleaded with voters to make her the country’s first female president.
<iframe title="IMPORTANT" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nRp1CK_X_Yw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
We don’t know who will be the Democrat’s presidential candidate yet. Still, week after week, poll after poll suggest former Vice President Joe Biden will square off against President Donald Trump come November.
So where is Hollywood’s support for Biden? You have to squint to see it.
An “exclusive” in the <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/joe-biden-campaign-rolls-first-celeb-2020-endorsements-1268274">far-left Hollywood Reporter</a> trumpets the first official wave of Biden’s celebrity backers. Does the story name check Bruce Springsteen? Scarlett Johansson? Beyonce? Ellen DeGeneres?
What about the<a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/taylor-swifts-miss-americana-netflix/"> newly woke Taylor Swift?</a>
No.
<blockquote>Actress Vivica A. Fox and actor Sean Patrick Thomas are endorsing Biden, and will be hitting the campaign trail in the near future, as the former senator seeks to capitalize on his top-tier status as Democrats begin casting their primary ballots.</blockquote>
The pair are part of “several waves of famous fans in the run-up to the Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina primary contests,” according to THR.
Both Fox and Thomas has been working in Hollywood for some time, but their celebrity cache is a fraction of what A-list stars bring to the pop culture table.
THR framed the news as credible and important. Buried near the bottom of the story? Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 79-year-old socialist, boasts a far more impressive squad of celebrity supporters.
<blockquote>Sanders’ endorsement roster features a long list of actors and entertainers, including Cardi B, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon and Shailene Woodley. (Emily Ratajkowski joined Team Bernie this week.)</blockquote>
Biden’s presidential campaign has been marred by a series of unforced, occasionally laughable, errors. He’s mixed up the states he’s campaigning in, shared a bizarre story about a gangster named <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/09/16/joe-biden-tells-story-corn-pop-wilmington-swimming-pool/2340548001/">“Corn Pop”</a> and delivered uninspired debate performances.
His unsteady health has dogged his campaign, too, including one CNN town hall appearance where his eye appeared to fill up with blood.
<iframe title="Biden&#039;s Eye Bleeds During CNN Town Hall" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s203ba36u4s?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“I don’t know if he wants to be president or the next Bond villain,” “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon cracked after that incident.
Once the primary smoke settles, Hollywood may rally to Biden’s cause in a similar fashion to Clinton’s 2016 campaign. That’s more than likely the case.
For now, Biden can summon only two “name” stars for his all-important primary push.
A version of this article is also published on <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/joe-biden-hollywood-vivica-fox/">Hollywood In Toto</a>.

Joe Biden

Meet Biden’s Shockingly Small Celebrity Support Team

James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson confirmed once and for all that the titular franchise character can be &#8220;any color&#8221; &#8212; black, white, brown &#8212; but he will always be a he.
Speaking with Variety, Barbara Broccoli said that she and her half-brother have agreed there will be no gender-flip for the James Bond series.
“He can be of any color, but he is male,” Broccoli said, as reported by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/james-bond-casting-longtime-franchise-producer">Fox News</a>. “I believe we should be creating new characters for women — strong female characters. I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that.&#8221;
The next James Bond installment &#8220;No Time to Die&#8221; will be released this coming April and will be Daniel Craig&#8217;s last outing as the debonair MI6 agent. Broccoli added that his departure has been &#8220;traumatic&#8221; for her.
“I’m in total denial,” she said. “I’ve accepted what Daniel has said, but I’m still in denial. It’s too traumatic for me.”
Last year, reports and rumors began to swirl that black-British actress Lashana Lynch would be the next 007 agent in the wake of James Bond&#8217;s retirement; however, the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-01-15/james-bond-woman-producer-barbara-broccoli" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Los Angeles Times</a> recently reported that the film&#8217;s trailer appears to have dispelled those rumors.
Leading up to the trailer’s release, the film was dogged by multiple leaks and rumors as to how the makers plan to usher the infamously lecherous British spy into the #MeToo era. Lashana Lynch <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/its-an-evolution-james-bond-actresses-talk-bringing-the-famed-spy-into-the-metoo-age">told The Hollywood Reporter</a> recently that making a #MeToo-conscious movie was important to everyone involved in the film’s production.
“Everyone was really responsive to having her be what I wanted,” Lynch said of her character. “You’re given a fresh perspective on a brand-new black woman in the Bond world.”
“I didn’t want someone who was slick. I wanted someone who was rough around the edges and who has a past and a history and has issues with her weight and maybe questions what’s going on with her boyfriend,” she later added.
Lynch even suggested to screenwriter Waller-Bridge the possibility of a scene in which her character is on her period. “We had one conversation about her maybe being on her period in one scene, and maybe at the beginning of the scene — and I spoke to Cary about this — throwing her tampon in the thing,” said Lynch.
As is the case with every franchise movie, the Bond films live and die by their villains, and “No Time to Die” made the bold choice of featuring Academy Award winner Rami Malek (of “Bohemian Rhapsody” fame) in the coveted role. Though the trailer gave little indication of the villain’s plan or motives, initial reports were that he would be an eco-friendly mastermind.
“His unnamed nemesis — nicknamed Greenfinger by insiders — has a lair powered by an algae farm and with a Zen garden,” reported <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/10214824/james-bond-eco-friendly-villain/">The Sun</a> back in October. “As the plot is shrouded in secrecy, it is not clear what the villain is plotting to do or how 007 confronts him. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga is so keen to keep the plot under wraps he has reportedly filmed three endings. But an eco-friendly villain would be a Bond first. One theory is that algae blooms can produce deadly toxins.”
<iframe title="JAMES BOND 007: No Time To Die Trailer (2020)" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VTnDYxwhSaI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

2020 National Board Of Review Gala

James Bond Producers Confirm Once And For All: He Can ‘Be Any Color,’ But He Will Always Be Male

Feminism

James Bond

MeToo

Actor Robert De Niro, in case you didn’t know, is also a constitutional scholar.
The “Goodfellas” star thinks President Trump will flout the Constitution because he will “likely start a war” in order to stay in the White House for 12 years.
“He’s going to be history at one point, though he’d love to be president for life,” De Niro recently told The Daily Beast. “He jokes about it. I think that if he became president for a second term, he’d try to have a third term, and let smarter people manipulate it into getting us into some kind of altercation: a war.”
The presidential historian bloviated on. “The only other president who served a third term was [Franklin D.] Roosevelt because he was in a war, and this fool would go and start something. This was what [film director] Marty Scorsese was saying, and I said, ‘Marty, I never thought of that. I never thought he’d go for a third term if there was a war or something,’” De Niro said.
CNN’s S.E. Cupp, who hosts a weekend show called “Unfiltered,” recently took to Twitter to pass along the theory that Trump will try to demand a third term.
“Remember when [New York City Mayor Michael R.] Bloomberg demanded a third term as mayor and got it?” she asked her 415,000 followers. “Trump will do the same. Beware, the same autocratic impulses “
And Trump-hating director Michael Moore said much the same thing earlier this year. (It’s interesting that the liberals who spout these conspiracy theories are all giving Trump at least another term, warning that the problems only begin when he tries to snatch a third term.)
Last June, Trump fed the fires.
“The good news is that at the end of 6 years, after America has been made GREAT again and I leave the beautiful White House (do you think the people would demand that I stay longer? KEEP AMERICA GREAT),” he tweeted.
The conspiracy theory has exploded since Trump ordered an airstrike to take out the world’s No. 1 terrorist, Qassem Soleimani, a major general in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and commander of its Quds Force, a division responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations.
De Niro, it’s worth pointing out, starred in a movie called “Wag the Dog,” about a president, seeking reelection, who faces scandal and is extricated by declaring war against Albania. The film was released a month before news of President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky broke — when Clinton initiated two anti-terrorism bombing campaigns in the subsequent year of impeachment. Some wags in the media said the embattled president was trying to “wag the dog.”
So now, with Trump mired in his own impeachment furor, speculation is swirling that he, too, is trying to wag the dog.
Even though tensions between the U.S. and Iran have quieted in the last few days, Trump is well aware of the strategy, designed to bring about a swell of national pride and a “rally ‘round the flag” effect that could help an incumbent (although the effect is usually short lived).
During President Obama’s tenure, Trump repeatedly predicted that Obama would attack Iran in order to help him get reelected. He first warned about such a nefarious plan in 2011, tweeting that Obama “will attack Iran in the not too distant future because it will help him win the election.”
“@BarackObama will attack Iran in order to get re-elected,”  Trump tweeted in January 2012. In July, he tweeted: “Just as I predicted, @BarackObama is preparing a possible attack on Iran right before November.” Right before the election, he tweeted: “Don’t let Obama play the Iran card in order to start a war in order to get elected — be careful Republicans!”
While Obama could have been — “could have been” — trying to start a war with Iran to win election (a spurious theory at best), what the amateur constitutional scholars like De Niro and Ms. Cupp and Moore don’t seem to know is that Trump can’t start a war to secure a third term.
There’s something called the 22nd Amendment, which says a person can only serve two elected terms as president.
“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once,” says the amendment, which was passed after Roosevelt had won third and fourth terms, a move that broke custom but no constitutional limit at the time.
End of story.
Will someone please let De Niro know?
*Joseph Curl ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2014 and covered the White House for a dozen years. He can be reached at josephcurl@gmail.com and on Twitter at @JosephCurl. A version of this article ran previously in The Washington Times.

S.E. Cupp, a conservative pundit

CURL: Liberals Terrified That Trump Will Try To Sneak A Third Term

Michael Moore

Comedian Ricky Gervais did something he knew many of his peers would &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-ricky-gervais-explains-why-he-says-things-people-will-hate-him-for-predicts-blowback-ahead-of-golden-globes">hate</a>&#8221; him for at his fifth and self-declared &#8220;last&#8221; stint hosting the Golden Globes last week — he unflinchingly tore into virtue-signaling Hollywood, repeatedly putting his fellow celebrities in their place for their various hypocritical stances, and famously instructing winners to &#8220;come up, accept your little award, thank your agent, and your God and f*** off, OK?&#8221; The result: his popularity has skyrocketed.
According to The Hollywood Reporter&#8217;s new rankings on its &#8220;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/social-climbers-charts-ricky-gervais-goes-no-1-golden-globes-gig-1268649">Social Climbers</a>&#8221; charts, Gervais is now not only the top-rated comedian, he&#8217;s also the No. 1 ranked actor. The rankings come after Gervais trollingly pointed out to his critics online that he&#8217;d gained over 300,000 new followers within 24 hours of the Globes.
The &#8220;Social Climbers&#8221; charts are &#8220;rankings of the most popular entities on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, with global data provided by social media analytics company MVPindex,&#8221; THR explains. &#8220;The chart&#8217;s methodology blends engagement to entities&#8217; social media accounts along with weekly additions of followers/subscribers.&#8221;
THR&#8217;s latest charts are based on data collected two days after Gervais&#8217; widely cheered speech, which THR describes as being interpreted by &#8220;some&#8221; as &#8220;a dressing down of Hollywood elites.&#8221; All the buzz surrounding Gervais translated to a massive spike in social media engagement, including being mentioned on Twitter some 384,000 times, a 989% increase for the comedian.
The result is Gervais coming in No. 1 on the Top Actors list, his first time there since July 2018, THR notes. Gervais also currently enjoys the top spot among comedians, the fourth time he&#8217;s done that since last August. Below are the two THR charts Gervais currently sits atop thanks to his roasting of Hollywood:
Top Actors 
1. Ricky Gervais (+23) 
2. Dwayne Johnson (-1) 
3. Jennifer Lopez (+4) 
4. Millie Bobby Brown (=) 
5. Priyanka Chopra (-3) 
6. Jennifer Aniston (+4) 
7. Camila Mendes (re-entry) 
8. Lily Collins (+9) 
9. Salma Hayek (re-entry) 
10. Reese Witherspoon (re-entry)
Top Comedians 
1. Ricky Gervais (+7) 
2. Kevin Hart (-1) 
3. Lil&#8217; Duval (+1) 
4. Colleen Ballinger (-2) 
5. HaHa Davis (+5) 
6. Desi Banks (-3) 
7. Chris D&#8217;Elia (=) 
8. Kathy Griffin (re-entry) 
9. Joe Rogan (-4) 
10. Rickey Smiley (-4)
Gervais responded online Sunday to fans vaulting him to the top of the two lists. &#8220;Thank you,&#8221; he tweeted. &#8220;Although, as the new champion of the people, I have to tell you that I prefer animals.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thank you. Although, as the new champion of the people, I have to tell you that I prefer animals. <a href="https://t.co/ErfqZ7O5Ar">https://t.co/ErfqZ7O5Ar</a>
&mdash; Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1216382075844071429?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In his opening remarks at the Golden Globes (full transcript below), Gervais came out guns blazing — and taking aim at many people in the room, which he suggested he felt even more free to do since this would be &#8220;the last time&#8221; he&#8217;d be hosting the show.
&#8220;You’ll be pleased to know this is the last time I’m hosting these awards, so I don’t care anymore,&#8221; he began. &#8220;I’m joking. I never did. I’m joking, I never did.&#8221;
&#8220;Let’s go out with a bang, let’s have a laugh at your expense,&#8221; he said, firing a warning shot right from the start. &#8220;Remember, they’re just jokes. We’re all gonna die soon and there’s no sequel, so remember that.&#8221; He went on to torch Hollywood for hypocrisy on sexual harassment, human rights abuses, and corporate corruption.
Amid backlash from the media and other Hollywood defenders in the days after the Globes, Gervais appeared to revel in all the outrage and hyperbole, touting his rapidly growing number of followers, mocking his critics, posting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ricky-gervais-posts-list-of-reminders-for-outraged-critics-twists-knife-in-media">reminders</a> about how politics and humor works, and explaining why many celebrities — particularly liberals — deserve a thorough roasting.
“I didn’t roast Hollywood for being a bunch of liberals. I myself am a liberal. Nothing wrong with that,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ricky-gervais-reveals-why-he-roasted-hollywood-liberals">explained</a> on Twitter last Wednesday. “I roasted them for wearing their liberalism like a medal. I’m such a snowflake, liberal, I can’t even really hate them for it. But my job is to take the piss. I did that.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ricky-gervais-posts-list-of-reminders-for-outraged-critics-twists-knife-in-media">Ricky Gervais Posts List Of Reminders For Outraged Critics About ‘Left And Right-Wing,’ Twists Knife In Media</a>
Below is the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/never-gonna-happen-ricky-gervais-responds-to-reaction-over-golden-globes-performance">transcript</a> of Gervais’ opening comments at the Golden Globes:
<blockquote>You’ll be pleased to know this is the last time I’m hosting these awards, so I don’t care anymore. I’m joking. I never did. I’m joking, I never did. NBC clearly don’t care either — fifth time. I mean, Kevin Hart was fired from the Oscars for some offensive tweets — hello?
Lucky for me, the Hollywood Foreign Press can barely speak English and they’ve no idea what Twitter is, so I got offered this gig by fax. Let’s go out with a bang, let’s have a laugh at your expense. Remember, they’re just jokes. We’re all gonna die soon and there’s no sequel, so remember that.
But you all look lovely all dolled up. You came here in your limos. I came here in a limo tonight and the license plate was made by Felicity Huffman. No, shush. It’s her daughter I feel sorry for. OK? That must be the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to her. And her dad was in Wild Hogs.
Lots of big celebrities here tonight. Legends. Icons. This table alone — Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro … Baby Yoda. Oh, that’s Joe Pesci, sorry. I love you man. Don’t have me whacked. But tonight isn’t just about the people in front of the camera. In this room are some of the most important TV and film executives in the world. People from every background. They all have one thing in common: They’re all terrified of Ronan Farrow. He’s coming for ya. Talking of all you perverts, it was a big year for pedophile movies. Surviving R. Kelly, Leaving Neverland, Two Popes. Shut up. Shut up. I don’t care. I don’t care.
Many talented people of color were snubbed in major categories. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about that. Hollywood Foreign press are all very racist. Fifth time. So. We were going to do an In-Memoriam this year, but when I saw the list of people who died, it wasn’t diverse enough. No, it was mostly white people and I thought, nah, not on my watch. Maybe next year. Let’s see what happens.
No one cares about movies anymore. No one goes to cinema, no one really watches network TV. Everyone is watching Netflix. This show should just be me coming out, going, “Well done Netflix. You win everything. Good night.” But no, we got to drag it out for three hours. You could binge-watch the entire first season of Afterlife instead of watching this show. That’s a show about a man who wants to kill himself cause his wife dies of cancer and it’s still more fun than this. Spoiler alert, season two is on the way so in the end he obviously didn’t kill himself. Just like Jeffrey Epstein. Shut up. I know he’s your friend but I don’t care.
Seriously, most films are awful. Lazy. Remakes, sequels. I’ve heard a rumor there might be a sequel to Sophie’s Choice. I mean, that would just be Meryl just going, “Well, it’s gotta be this one then.” All the best actors have jumped to Netflix, HBO. And the actors who just do Hollywood movies now do fantasy-adventure nonsense. They wear masks and capes and really tight costumes. Their job isn’t acting anymore. It’s going to the gym twice a day and taking steroids, really. Have we got an award for most ripped junky? No point, we’d know who’d win that.
Martin Scorsese made the news for his controversial comments about the Marvel franchise. He said they’re not real cinema and they remind him about theme parks. I agree. Although I don’t know what he’s doing hanging around theme parks. He’s not big enough to go on the rides. He’s tiny. The Irishman was amazing. It was amazing. It was great. Long, but amazing. It wasn’t the only epic movie. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, nearly three hours long. Leonardo DiCaprio attended the premiere and by the end his date was too old for him. Even Prince Andrew was like, “Come on, Leo, mate. You’re nearly 50-something.”
The world got to see James Corden as a fat p****. He was also in the movie Cats. No one saw that movie. And the reviews, shocking. I saw one that said, “This is the worst thing to happen to cats since dogs.” But Dame Judi Dench defended the film saying it was the film she was born to play because she loves nothing better than plunking herself down on the carpet, lifting her leg and licking her [expletive]. (Coughs) Hairball. She’s old-school.
It’s the last time, who cares? Apple roared into the TV game with The Morning Show, a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing, made by a company that runs sweatshops in China. Well, you say you’re woke but the companies you work for in China — unbelievable. Apple, Amazon, Disney. If ISIS started a streaming service you’d call your agent, wouldn’t you?
So if you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech. You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg.
So if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent, and your God and f*** off, OK? It’s already three hours long. Right, let’s do the first award.</blockquote>
&nbsp;

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais Responds To Rising To No. 1 Comedian, Actor On Charts After Golden Globes

Following the unveiling of the 92nd annual Academy Award nominations, outrage has erupted in various corners of social media and the blogosphere over the complete absence of women filmmakers in the Best Director category, sparking outcries of sexism and patriarchal oppression.
During the presentation ceremony, actress Issa Rae echoed the frustrations of many when she specifically congratulated &#8220;those men&#8221; nominated for their achievements in directing.
“Congratulations to those men,&#8221; Rae said in a sarcastic quip recalling that of actress Natalie Portman when she famously stated &#8220;here are the all-male nominees&#8221; at the Golden Globes in 2018.
Though various women directors were listed in the many declarations of injustice, the name most frequently cited was Greta Gerwig for her work on the latest iteration of &#8220;Little Women.&#8221; Here&#8217;s how <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/no-women-nominated-best-director-at-2020-oscars-1268599">The Hollywood Reporter</a> (THR) framed the controversy:
<blockquote>For the 2020 ceremony, Lulu Wang (<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/farewell-review-sundance-2019-1179427">The Farewell</a>), Greta Gerwig (<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/topic/little-women">Little Women</a>), Marielle Heller (<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/a-beautiful-day-neighborhood-review-1237823">A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood</a>), Lorene Scafaria (<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/hustlers-review-1237018">Hustlers</a>) and Alma Har&#8217;el (<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/honey-boy-review-1178233">Honey Boy</a>) were all notably left out.
If Gerwig had been nominated, the nod in the category would have solidified her as the first woman to be nominated for directing twice. She was previously up in the category in 2018 for Lady Bird. Additionally, Wang would have become the first woman of Asian descent to be nominated.
Only five women had been nominated for the directing Oscar: Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Lina Wertmüller (Seven Beauties), Jane Campion (The Piano), Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) and Gerwig. In 2010, Bigelow became the first and only female director to win in the category.</blockquote>
People were quick to voice their frustrations on social media in response to the &#8220;patriarchy&#8221; scoring yet another win.
&#8220;No Greta Gerwig for ‘Little Women,’ no Lulu Wang for ‘The Farewell,’ no Lorene Scafaria for ‘Hustlers,’ no Melina Matsoukas for ‘Queen &amp; Slim’ no Marielle Heller for ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.’ Once again, the Oscars nominated five men for best director,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/RaminSetoodeh/status/1216717038569259008?s=20">tweeted</a> Ramin Setoodeh of Variety.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not writing anything about the Oscars today because I&#8217;m off work with a fever, but these nominations can absolutely get in the bin. The Academy is sexist &amp; everyone just decided to ignore Tarantino&#8217;s Weinstein/Thurman issues in favor of Hollywood nostalgia,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/Hello_Tailor/status/1216751333010739207?s=20">tweeted</a> Gavin Baker-Whitelaw.
&#8220;Excited for The Oscars ceremony when whomever the woman they get to present Best Director makes a comment about how all the nominees are men and the crowd all cheers like crazy and we all retweet it a million times and then absolutely NOTHING changes,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/TVsCarlKinsella/status/1216722659205054464?s=20">tweeted</a> Carl Kinsella. 
&#8220;When The Oscars voting body is overwhelmingly white, male and with an average age of near the grave we really have to question what validation from them even means. Filmmakers like Lulu Wang, Alma Harel, Mati Diop and Greta Gerwig made the films that moved me this year not clownman,&#8221; said one Twitter user. 
Despite women being snubbed in the Best Director category, Brian Welk of <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/oscars-2020-women-record-31-percent-nominations/">The Wrap</a> noted that women overall scored 31% of the nominations this year.
&#8220;Despite the outcry over a second straight year without a woman nominated for Best Director, the Academy showed record progress in gender parity on Monday: Women made up 31.1% of this year’s Oscar nominees, the highest percentage ever,&#8221; wrote Welk.

US-ENTERTAINMENT-FILM-TELEVISION-GOLDEN-GLOBES-ARRIVALS

Oscars 2020: Outrage Erupts After Lady Directors Snubbed

Sexism

The 92nd annual Academy Award nominations were released on Monday. Leading the pack with a total of 11 nods, including Best Picture, is Todd Philips&#8217; &#8220;Joker,&#8221; trailed closely behind by Martin Scorsese&#8217;s &#8220;The Irishman.&#8221; The streaming giant Netflix enjoyed a total of 20 nominations between &#8220;The Two Popes,&#8221; &#8220;Marriage Story,&#8221; and &#8220;The Irishman.&#8221;
Even though Taron Egerton received the Best Actor Golden Globe (Musical or Comedy) for his performance as Elton John in &#8220;Rocketman,&#8221; his name did not make this year&#8217;s Oscar list. Neither did Actress Jennifer Lopez for her supporting role in &#8220;Hustlers.&#8221;
Like the Golden Globes, the big upset generating all the buzz on social media is the total absence of women directors in the Best Director category, specifically Greta Gerwig for &#8220;Little Women.&#8221; Below is just a sampling of what some critics have been saying:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OscarNoms?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OscarNoms</a> are such a mess like how are the director noms just male?? JLo didn’t get nominated?? All the supporting actress noms are white women?? Only one PoC up for Best Actress?? The Farewell being snubbed like that?? Why am I even mad like this is surprising??
&mdash; Fatima⁷ (@fatimafarha_) <a href="https://twitter.com/fatimafarha_/status/1216718586171068416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Here is the full list of this year&#8217;s nominees, courtesy of <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/oscar-nominations-2020-complete-list-nominees-updating-live-1267880/item/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>:
Best Picture 
1917 (Universal) 
Ford v Ferrari (Fox) 
The Irishman (Netflix) 
Jojo Rabbit (Fox Searchlight) 
Joker (Warner Bros.) 
Little Women (Sony) 
Marriage Story (Netflix) 
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Sony) 
Parasite (Neon)
Actor in a Leading Role 
Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory) 
Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) 
Adam Driver (Marriage Story) 
Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) 
Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)
Actress in a Leading Role 
Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) 
Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story) 
Saoirse Ronan (Little Women) 
Charlize Theron (Bombshell) 
Renée Zellweger (Judy)
Actress in a Supporting Role 
Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell) 
Laura Dern (Marriage Story) 
Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit) 
Florence Pugh (Little Women) 
Margot Robbie (Bombshell)
Actor in a Supporting Role 
Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) 
Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes) 
Al Pacino (The Irishman) 
Joe Pesci (The Irishman) 
Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Directing 
Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) 
Sam Mendes (1917) 
Todd Phillips (Joker) 
Martin Scorsese (The Irishman) 
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Adapted Screenplay 
The Irishman (Steven Zaillian) 
Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi) 
Joker (Todd Phillips &amp; Scott Silver) 
Little Women (Greta Gerwig) 
The Two Popes (Anthony McCarten)
Original Screenplay 
1917 (Sam Mendes &amp; Krysty Wilson-Cairns) 
Knives Out (Rian Johnson) 
Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach) 
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino) 
Parasite (Bong Joon Ho &amp; Jin Won Han)
International Feature Film 
Corpus Christi (Poland) 
Honeyland (North Macedonia) 
Les Miserables (France) 
Pain and Glory (Spain) 
Parasite (South Korea)
Production Design 
1917 
The Irishman 
Jojo Rabbit 
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 
Parasite
Film Editing 
Ford v Ferrari (Andrew Buckland &amp; Michael McCusker) 
The Irishman (Thelma Schoonmaker) 
Jojo Rabbit (Tom Eagles) 
Joker (Jeff Groth) 
Parasite (Jinmo Yang)
Cinematography 
1917 (Roger Deakins) 
The Irishman (Rodrigo Prieto) 
Joker (Lawrence Sher) 
The Lighthouse (Jarin Blaschke) 
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Robert Richardson)
Visual Effects 
1917 
Avengers: Endgame 
The Irishman 
The Lion King 
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Costume Design 
Jojo Rabbit 
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 
The Irishman 
Joker 
Little Women
Sound Mixing 
1917 
Ad Astra 
Ford v Ferrari 
Joker 
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 
Sound Editing 
1917 
Ford v Ferrari 
Joker 
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Original Score 
1917 (Thomas Newman) 
Joker (Hildur Guðnadóttir) 
Little Women (Alexandre Desplat) 
Marriage Story (Randy Newman) 
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Documentary Feature 
American Factory (Netflix) 
The Cave (National Geographic) 
The Edge of Democracy (Netflix) 
For Sama (PBS) 
Honeyland (Neon)
Documentary Short Subject 
In the Absence 
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) 
Life Overtakes Me 
St. Louis Superman 
Walk Run Cha-Cha
Makeup and Hairstyling 
1917 
Bombshell 
Joker 
Judy 
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Animated Feature Film 
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Dreamworks) 
I Lost My Body (Netflix) 
Klaus (Netflix) 
Missing Link (United Artists Releasing) 
Toy Story 4 (Pixar)
Animated Short Film 
Dcera (Daughter) 
Hair Love 
Kitbull 
Memorable 
Sister
Live-Action Short Film 
Brotherhood 
Nefta Football Club 
The Neighbors’ Window 
Saria 
A Sister
Original Song 
&#8220;I Can&#8217;t Let You Throw Yourself Away&#8221; (Toy Story 4) — Randy Newman 
&#8220;(I&#8217;m Gonna) Love Me Again&#8221; (Rocketman) — Elton John &amp; Bernie Taupin 
&#8220;I&#8217;m Standing With You&#8221; (Breakthrough) — Diane Warren 
&#8220;Into the Unknown&#8221; (Frozen 2) — Robert Lopez &amp; Kristen Anderson-Lopez 
&#8220;Stand Up&#8221; (Harriet) — Joshuah Brian Campbell &amp; Cynthia Erivo
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

25th Annual Critics&#8217; Choice Awards &#8211; Arrivals

2020 Oscar Nominations: ‘Joker’ Best Picture, No Women Directors, J. Lo Snubbed

In a recent <a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/01/10/1917-nationalism-wwi-trump/">Salon article</a>, writer Matthew Rozsa criticizes the new World War I drama “1917,” directed by Sam Mendes. Rozsa’s primary issue with the film isn’t artistic, however, but political. He feels that the movie is too nationalistic and that it doesn’t do the thematic heavy lifting required of a modern war movie.
Rozsa states that the Great War didn’t necessarily spring from a larger, black and white issue – such as slavery or fascism – but instead from different countries attempting to assert their own dominance. As such, claims the author, any WWI story – like “1917” – told from the perspective of a single country is perpetuating a dangerous mindset; one that assumes the superiority of one’s own country. In other words, a movie like “1917” has a responsibility to think globally, even as it tells a limited story.
Of course, Rozsa is entitled to his opinion. We all have ideas of what a movie should or shouldn’t do, especially when it falls into a specific genre, such as horror or, in this case, war. But, of course, just because we have opinions doesn’t mean they’re valid, particularly if they start to become prescriptive. Suddenly, a personal preference becomes the ultimate standard by which a movie is measured and, if it falls short, we rob ourselves of the opportunity to engage with a movie on its own terms.
Early in the article, Rozsa writes, “Any film set during that conflict has a responsibility to account for the horrors of nationalism, much as a film that takes place during the Civil War must deal with slavery, and one that occurs during World War II must acknowledge fascism.” While I agree that for certain movies to ignore overriding themes or events can be less artistically satisfying than if they acknowledged them, I really dislike the schoolmarmish tone that Rozsa strikes here. He is attempting to dictate how any film that has the temerity to take place at a certain time in history should go about portraying that period, and he does this from a place of assumed 20/20 hindsight. When we have a clearer view of history, surely a filmmaker should try to incorporate that view into their work, right?
Film critic Roger Ebert, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSzP9YV3jbc">when defending</a> the Asian American-centered film “Better Luck Tomorrow” against the claim that the film should do a better job representing its demographic, bellowed out, “Asian American characters have the right to be whoever the hell they want to be! They do not have to ‘represent’ their people!” What Ebert was advocating for was the right of a filmmaker – any artist, really – to have their own point of view, limited though it may be.
When writers like Rozsa, who would appear to approach art first through the lens of politics, insist that a movie has a responsibility to “account for the horrors of nationalism” or “deal with slavery” or “acknowledge fascism,” I’m reminded of that wonderful quote from Roger Ebert. Sure, we may prefer that movies discuss their subjects a certain way, but a director is under no obligation to do so. To require a movie to approach its material the way we’d like is to ignore the notion that a filmmaker may actually have a reason for not doing so.
Many of the best movies ever made have willfully omitted certain facts or different points of view in order to better express the opinions of the filmmaker. This is the very nature of art. We may like it; we may not. But it’s this kind of variety – the opportunity to allow an artist to do something we may not agree with – that makes art so valuable. It is about engagement between the artist and audience, who may have differing opinions. A film has the right to be whatever the hell it wants to be. And the day that art is only considered acceptable when it affirms a pre-approved narrative is the day that art is rendered pointless.

“1917” film.

SMITH: Salon Writer’s Criticism of ‘1917’ Is Ridiculous

1917

Salon

In a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/director-terry-gilliam-says-hes-tired-of-white-men-being-blamed-for-everything-that-is-wrong-with-the-world">recent interview</a>, film director Terry Gilliam commented on his reluctance to embrace the #MeToo movement, referring to it as a “witch hunt.” This view certainly sets him apart from his peers in Hollywood, but that’s really nothing new for Gilliam. He’s always been a little different. The lone American member of Monty Python, Gilliam is an accomplished provocateur and, while I’m fairly certain his politics probably don’t line up with mine, his tolerance for mob mentality is extremely limited. He makes movies about loners and misfits who, like Gilliam himself, operate well outside the mainstream. Among his filmography are cult classics like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Time Bandits,” and Oscar-worthy fare such as “The Fisher King” and “12 Monkeys.”
But perhaps Gilliam’s greatest cinematic achievement is his 1985 science fiction film “Brazil.” The story of a naive dreamer oppressed by an authoritarian government will likely sound familiar to most, as it is the core idea behind George Orwell’s iconic “1984.” While obviously inspired by that novel, Gilliam here chooses to embrace his comedy roots and find the absurdity within the darkness, playing up the soul-crushing farce at the core of governmental bureaucracy. The result is a film akin to Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove,” acknowledging the humor amidst horror, bringing the inherent despair to the surface in a way that a straightforward drama never could.
“Brazil” features a premise that many conservatives will appreciate. While many science fiction films like “Alien” and “RoboCop” focus on the inhumanity of corporate greed, Gilliam instead presents the smiling evil of a government with absolute control over its populace. From the drudgery of endless paperwork (“This is your receipt… and this is my receipt for your receipt”) to the chilling assumption of government inerrancy (“Mistakes? We don’t make mistakes”), “Brazil” shows us a world where individualism is constantly, cheerfully suppressed in favor of mindless, banal provision.
Featuring delightful performances from Jonathan Pryce, Ian Holm, and Gilliam’s Python cohort Michael Palin, the nervous politeness of the characters underscores the complete lack of any real personality within this cold, gray world. There is no passion, no romance, no adventure. Everything that we yearn for – the things that make us human – is ignored by this government, replaced by comfort and safety. Of course, should any citizen decide that they’re not totally satisfied with what has been generously provided for them by their leaders, there is the ever-present threat of government force looming over the proceedings.
With “Brazil,” Terry Gilliam provides a funny, fascinating, but ultimately quite depressing image of an ever-growing government that would appear to care for its citizens, but is actually much more interested in retaining its own power. It is a cautionary tale about the travails of being an individual in an increasingly-monolithic society, where refusing to simply go along with the appearance of tranquility and tolerance can get you, shall we say, cancelled.
It is a brilliant film, and one that deserves to be revisited. Because, though it is now thirty-five years old, its themes are more relevant than ever.

“Brazil.”

SMITH: A Film For Conservatives In Terry Gilliam’s ‘Brazil’

Terry Gilliam

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has signed a deal with Disney to do voiceover work, giving a hint as to the trajectory of her and Prince Harry’s lives now that they&#8217;ve pulled out of being senior members in the British royal family.
Markle will do &#8220;voiceover in return for a donation to Elephants Without Borders, an organisation that helps to track and protect the animals from poaching,&#8221; <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/voiceover-deal-with-disney-hints-at-future-career-path-5sr0jmjvd">The Times</a> reported.
The British tabloid, though, said the move could cause problems.
&#8220;[I]t also touches on sensitive areas, allowing room for accusations that the couple are cheapening the royal brand and will compromise themselves for money. According to one report, during tense talks before Christmas, senior members of the royal family accused the couple of already signing a deal with ‘firms including Disney,'&#8221; The Times wrote.
The Duchess of Sussex has already recorded the voiceover, doing so “before the royal couple left for their six-week break to Canada to celebrate Christmas,&#8221; The <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7875243/Meghan-Markle-signs-voiceover-deal-Disney-return-donation-elephant-charity.html">Daily Mail</a> reported. British tabloids say the deal included more work for the movie and television company.
The Mail, too, said the move will reverberate, and noted that the royal couple&#8217;s earning potential is sky high.
&#8220;If the couple decide to keep their royal titles while touting themselves for hire, their combined money-spinning potential could be greater than any A-lister in history. As superstars of the international circuit, they would be able to command six or even seven-figure fees just for turning up at an event,&#8221; said The Mail.
<blockquote>Experts said becoming a brand ambassador for a global giant such as or Apple could earn the couple tens of millions annually. A nine-figure sum each year – $100million – would add up to $1billion (£760million) over a decade.</blockquote>
The royal couple, who wed last year in a storybook ceremony, last week announced that they would withdraw from their roles as senior members of the royal family.
“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,&#8221; they said in a statement posted on Instagram.
&#8220;We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,” they wrote. “It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.”
&#8220;This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge, and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support,&#8221; they concluded.
Prince Charles is reportedly desperate to keep the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the fold, <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/prince-charles-determined-keep-harry-21256979">The Mirror</a> reported:
<blockquote>A senior palace source said: “There’s a genuine fear from Charles that this could be the beginning of the end for Harry and Meghan’s involvement with the family and that, in his words, would be ‘an utter tragedy.’”</blockquote>

The Duke &amp; Duchess Of Sussex Visit Sussex

HOLLYWOOD BOUND: Duchess Meghan Markle Signs Voiceover Deal With Disney

Ricky Gervais, the perpetually snarky British comedian, set social media on fire after he mocked arrogant Hollywood in his opening monologue when hosting the Golden Globes.
&#8220;So if you do win an award tonight, don&#8217;t use it as a platform to make a political speech, right?&#8221; he said. &#8220;You&#8217;re in no position to lecture the public — about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg.&#8221;
Uh-oh. Gervais explained that his approach was to mock the &#8220;privileged egos in the room&#8221; as if he were &#8220;the bloke sitting at home who shouldn&#8217;t have been invited.&#8221; It was too accurate to be funny. It stung. Los Angeles Times TV critic Lorraine Ali spoke for the Tinseltown crowd when she wrote, &#8220;The last thing anyone needed was for the smirking master of ceremonies to reprimand them for having hope.&#8221;
Here&#8217;s what Ali doesn&#8217;t get. It&#8217;s not that celebrities are dumber than average, though so many undoubtedly are. But being an actor or a director doesn&#8217;t make you smarter. No one tends to look up celebrities&#8217; level of education when they pontificate — or, as would be more appropriate, their level of expertise on whatever issue is floating their boat.
Add to that the arrogance they internalize for being an &#8220;artist&#8221; with the added &#8220;humanity&#8221; of pretending to be all kinds of different people. Their &#8220;compassion&#8221; is expected to overrule any question about their knowledge.
Of course, Gervais couldn&#8217;t stop the inevitable pompous political speeches. Most notable was actress Michelle Williams&#8217; insisting she never would have arrived at her high station in Hollywood life without the ability to get an abortion.
Surprise, surprise! Williams stopped going to school at 15 — a nearly exact match for Gervais&#8217; Greta Thunberg joke.
The other passionate speaker of the night was Patricia Arquette, who decried our nation being &#8220;on the brink of war&#8221; with &#8220;a president tweeting out a threat of 52 bombs including cultural sites, young people risking their lives traveling across the world, people not knowing if bombs are going to drop on their kids&#8217; heads.&#8221; She urged everyone to vote (Democrat) in 2020.
Arquette ran away from home at 14 and never went to college. She has no expertise on foreign policy, national defense or geopolitical thought.
Everything that followed the Gervais comedy routine underlined his critique. Embarrassed by the Americans&#8217; taking out Iranian terrorist mastermind Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Michael Moore obsequiously apologized to Iran — in Farsi.
Moore dropped out of the University of Michigan, Flint after his freshman year. One safely assumes his knowledge of Farsi doesn&#8217;t go beyond those words.
In the same week, Moore spoke on his podcast to actress and model Emily Ratajkowski, and they both professed their support for Bernie Sanders for president because capitalism is the &#8220;enemy.&#8221;
Ratajkowski attended the University of California, Los Angeles for one year and then decided to model full time.
When President Donald Trump spoke to the nation about taking out Soleimani, comedian Kathy Griffin mocked him for mispronouncing the word &#8220;tolerated.&#8221; She tweeted: &#8220;This should be an exhibit in one of the articles of impeachment. They should just quietly add it as, y&#8217;know &#8216;exhibit 1958542785&#8217; or something. #Trump #SniffyMcAdderall.&#8221; Trump isn&#8217;t just dumb; he&#8217;s on drugs.
Griffin never went to college. Her parents wanted her to go. She wanted to be famous instead.
Rosie O&#8217;Donnell tweeted, with no capital letters or basic punctuation: &#8220;wake me in november — its just too much — cant Americans see he is high AF — cant pronounce 5th grade words &#8230; #RemoveAndIndictTrumpNOW.&#8221;
Rosie O&#8217;Donnell washed out of two colleges.
We&#8217;re not saying everyone who didn&#8217;t finish college is a dummy. We are saying that these famous entertainers who act like America&#8217;s smartest should keep in mind how the joke can be turned around on them — as it was by Ricky Gervais.
L. Brent Bozell III is the president of the Media Research Center. Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org. To find out more about Brent Bozell III and Tim Graham, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Ricky Gervais.

BOZELL &#038; GRAHAM: Hollywood Gets An Education

The minds behind the Fox series “Party of Five” didn’t want to revive the show for the usual reasons.
Nostalgia sells, of course, and new versions of “Will &amp; Grace,” “Veronica Mars,” and “Roseanne” scored (again) with audiences. Amy Lippman, who created the ’90s hit “Party of Five” with Chris Keyser, told the <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tvs-top-5-2020-preview-inside-freeforms-party-five-update-1264228">TV’s Top 5 Podcast</a> that she needed a better reason to bring the story back to primetime TV.
The nation’s immigration crisis, and a hearty case of Trump Derangement, gave her team all the rocket fuel required.
“Party of Five,” debuting Jan. 8 on Freeform, doesn’t feature five children whose parents die in a car crash as in the original version. This family’s children are separated from their illegal immigrant parents when ICE agents deport them back to Mexico.
Lippman broke down the show’s creative process, vowing that the series wouldn’t be as political as it sounds. Her own words clashed with that description throughout the interview.
She said the genesis of the project began before President Trump’s shocking 2016 election day victory. In the early stages, the story morphed from the car accident leaving the kids without parents to an immigration-based drama.
That gave the reboot a fresh coat of creative paint. Still, she worried the show wouldn’t get on-air quickly enough to mirror reality.
“We kept saying, ‘lets get going on it because the situation may resolve itself in some way that means we’re sort of writing after the fact, we’re behind on it.’ And we wanted to be relevant,” Lippman says.
“I don’t think any of us anticipated we would find ourselves debuting the show right in the middle of this crisis,” she says of the current immigration battle.
Lippman concedes the show has a strong viewpoint on illegal immigration, but reveals the president won’t be part of the conversation, at least not directly.
That, she confirms, was by design.
“We don’t mention the president or the administration throughout the [first] season,” she says, a measure taken as an ideological olive branch. “We’d like to reach everyone with the show because we think it has something to say regardless of where you are on the political spectrum.”
“Obviously we’re on the side of families, and families staying together seems very important to us,” she says. Does that imply Americans who support border enforcement are anti-family?
Lippman also described the diversity of her writer’s room, including one colleague who made a dramatic change following Trump’s victory.
“After the election, one of the writers in our room went out and became a dual citizen of the country that her parents were born in,” Lippman explains.
“I said, ‘why?’ I don’t understand. You’re an American. You have a passport. You’re not even a naturalized citizen. You were born in this country. Why would you do that?”
“She said, ‘I don’t feel safe.&#8217;”
Lippman continues the writer’s thoughts on the dual citizenship decision.
“I feel like even though I’m completely here legitimately, in this climate it feels like it could all go away. Maybe people would begin to investigate how did my parents come over, or my grandparents? And that that could all unravel for me,” Lippman recalls.
“And that feeling of insecurity, and a feeling that prejudice and bias against you, is not my experience,” Lippman says. “I couldn’t have done the show this season without being surrounded by people who had that perspective.”
Early “Party of Five” reviews strain to describe the show as <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/party-of-five-freeform-reboot-review.html">apolitical</a>. That’s the line peddled by the liberal site <a class="vglnk" href="http://vulture.com/" rel="nofollow">Vulture.com</a>.
Until it doesn’t.
<blockquote>Make no mistake: All of this is political. But Party of Five humanizes the political and makes the audience see the deeply personal impact that the decisions made by the administration have on the lives of young people who are trying their best to do the right thing every day.</blockquote>
The Washington Post<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/a-new-party-of-five-capably-tells-the-story-of-a-family-facing-the-immigration-crackdown/2020/01/06/ff08f58a-2e58-11ea-bcb3-ac6482c4a92f_story.html"> quotes lines from the first few episodes</a> as preachy as a <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/michael-moore-lying-attacks-life/">Michael Moore</a> screed. Here’s what an ICE official says to the parents as they round them up for deportation.
“You think the rules don’t apply to you? Things have changed, Mr. Acosta. I need to see your papers,” the man “growls.”
Naturally, this critic frames the story as a welcome plea for open borders.
The show gives “American viewers a solid, up close experience of how easily U.S. immigration policy (and its blunt enforcement) can tear apart a good, law-abiding family.”
They broke the law by entering the country illegally, a point the critic clearly ignores.
The WaPo critic also contends the show isn’t “overly political” … and then quotes the family saying the immigration officials “don’t care who we are.”
Nothing political or incendiary there. Never mind that these officials are just doing their jobs and enforcing the law.
Lippman’s podcast interview eventually gives away the game.
She admits to wanting the show’s audience to care so deeply for the family in question that they reconsider their views on immigration
“If you embrace the family, maybe that’s a path to understanding the political situation from a different perspective,” she says.
A version of this article is also published on <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/party-of-five-reboot-trump-derangement/">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.

‘Party Of Five’ Relaunch Fueled By Trump Derangement Syndrome

On Friday evening, Ricky Gervais responded to critics upset over the comedian &#8220;accepting&#8221; Christian and conservative followers since his blistering Golden Globes monologue against Hollywood.
&#8220;I’ve noticed a couple of tweets criticising me for &#8216;accepting&#8217; new followers who are the &#8216;opposite&#8217; of me,&#8221; Gervais posted via Twitter. &#8220;Christian, conservative, pro life, pro gun, reactionaries. Of course I accept them.&#8221;
&#8220;To err is human, to forgive divine. It’s what Jesus would do. Dog Bless all my followers,&#8221; the open atheist added.
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I’ve noticed a couple of tweets criticising me for “accepting” new followers who are the “opposite” of me. Christian, conservative, pro life, pro gun, reactionaries. Of course I accept them. To err is human, to forgive divine. It’s what Jesus would do. Dog Bless all my followers. <a href="https://t.co/25iufHbQjs">pic.twitter.com/25iufHbQjs</a>
&mdash; Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1215766961424076800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;If you don’t believe in free speech for people who you disagree with, and even hate for what they stand for, then you don’t believe in free speech,&#8221; he added in a subsequent tweet.
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If you don’t believe in free speech for people who you disagree with, and even hate for what they stand for, then you don’t believe in free speech.
&mdash; Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1215781682491600908?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
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On Sunday night, Gervais told liberal elites in Hollywood to can their sanctimonious sermons and “f*** off&#8221; during his opening monologue at the Globes.
“So if you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech. You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything,” the “After Life” actor and creator told the audience. “You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg.”
“So if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent, and your God, and f*** off,” he continued, “Okay? It’s already three hours long. Right, let’s do the first award.”
In another portion of Gervais’ fiery monologue, the actor took a shot at Apple:
<blockquote>Apple roared into the TV game with “The Morning Show,” a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing, made by a company that runs sweatshops in China. Well, you say you’re woke, but the companies you work for – I mean, unbelievable. Apple, Amazon, Disney. If ISIS started a streaming service, you’d call your agent, wouldn’t you?</blockquote>
The hit on Hollywood was cheered by conservatives, who&#8217;ve routinely highlighted celebrity hypocrisy and moral preening.
Gervais explained why he took on Hollywood liberals on Wednesday, underscoring their need to wear their liberalism &#8220;like a medal.&#8221;
“I didn’t roast Hollywood for being a bunch of liberals,” he explained via social media. “I myself am a liberal. Nothing wrong with that.”
“I roasted them for wearing their liberalism like a medal,” the actor continued. “I’m such a snowflake, liberal, I can’t even really hate them for it. But my job is to take the piss. I did that.”
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I didn&#39;t roast Hollywood for being a bunch of liberals. I myself am a liberal. Nothing wrong with that. I roasted them for wearing their liberalism like a medal. I&#39;m such a snowflake, liberal, I can&#39;t even really hate them for it. But my job is to take the piss. I did that. 😇 <a href="https://t.co/bYwqxiyeKu">pic.twitter.com/bYwqxiyeKu</a>
&mdash; Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1215043466738176000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Gervais, an open and proud liberal, has frequently been criticized by the Left for failing to abide by their politically correct rules. In December, for example, the comedian mocked transgender activist Jessica Yaniv, a male-to-female transgender, for trying to force women to wax his genitals and gynecologists to check his genitals.
“It’s disgusting that a qualified gynaecologist can refuse to check a lady’s c*** for ovarian cancer,” Gervais tweeted. “What if her bollocks are pregnant? She could lose the baby. I’m outraged.”
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It&#39;s disgusting that a qualified gynaecologist can refuse to check a lady&#39;s cock for ovarian cancer. What if her bollocks are pregnant? She could lose the baby. I&#39;m outraged. <a href="https://t.co/iNNcUS8Uak">https://t.co/iNNcUS8Uak</a>
&mdash; Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1201952293014376450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Addressing the offended earlier this week, Gervais offered a list of reminders about humor:
<ol>
<li>Simply pointing out whether someone is left or right wing isn’t winning the argument.</li>
<li>If a joke is good enough, it can be enjoyed by anyone.</li>
<li>It’s not all about you.</li>
<li>Just because you’re offended, doesn’t mean you’re right.</li>
</ol>
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1. Simply pointing out whether someone is left or right wing isn&#39;t winning the argument. 2. If a joke is good enough, it can be enjoyed by anyone. 3. It&#39;s not all about you. 4. Just because you&#39;re offended, doesn&#39;t mean you&#39;re right.
&mdash; Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1214846542210904065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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