A new report from The Wall Street Journal explains how the USDA is using movie clips and popular music to keep hungry wolves away from livestock.
One clip of audio is from the 2019 drama “Marriage Story” starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Laura Dern. The film follows a couple going through a divorce while navigating custody issues over their son. The particular scene being used by the USDA, which has been popular among meme creators for years, shows the couple embattled in a heated argument. 
<a href="https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/wolves-drones-livestock-ac-dc-scarlett-johansson-ed12d278">According</a> to WSJ, ranchers are using drones equipped with thermal cameras and spotlights to detect wolves at night, while loudspeakers blast unsettling sounds such as fireworks, gunshots, or even movie clips to keep the deadly predators at bay.
“I need the wolves to respond and know that, hey, humans are bad,” USDA district supervisor Paul Wolf told the outlet.
Playing these clips at high volume is known as “wolf hazing” and acts as a deterrent for wolves looking to turn livestock into a meal. During this hazing, the speakers blast songs such as Five Finger Death Punch’s “Blue on Black” and the AC/DC classic “Thunderstruck” to scare off the would-be predators. 
These drones are being used to protect the gray wolf population in the area, which is still on the endangered species list. But the article noted how the number of gray wolves has expanded since they were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995.
WSJ noted that fewer calves were killed in southern Oregon after the drones were introduced. Over a period of 20 days, ranchers lost 11 cattle, but after 85 days of using the music and movie clip broadcasting drones, only 2 calves fell victim to the hungry wolves.
Whether &#8220;wolf hazing&#8221; can function as a long-term strategy for the USDA remains to be seen. Ranchers Jim and Mary Rickerts are unsure of its effectiveness if the wolves become used to the drones over time. &#8220;Hopefully they’re gonna be successful, but I’m kinda betting on the wolves, truth be known,” Jim Rickerts told The Wall Street Journal.

Gray wolf

USDA Uses Movie Clip Of Marital Spat To Scare Wolves Away

Drones

Entertainment

Movies

Oregon

USDA

wildlife

Fantastic Four: First Steps just might be Marvel’s most pro-family movie yet. The bond between Reed and Susan Richards is rock solid, and the joy they share as they prepare to have their first child is heart-warming. Along with Susan’s younger brother Johnny Storm and Reed’s best friend Ben Grimm, the Four make a tight-knit family unit, going to great lengths to protect Baby Franklin — and their fellow citizens of Earth — from existential threats. The movie’s core message is heard in Susan’s words as she describes why the Four work so well together: “It’s about fighting for something bigger than yourself,” she says. “Whatever life throws at us, we’ll face it together, as a family.”
But just as the credits roll and we’re ready to declare the movie a real winner, along comes a curveball in the bonus scene that may leave us scratching our heads. It’s now four years later, and Sue is reading The Hungry Caterpillar to Franklin in their living room. When he asks for more, Mom calls to H.E.R.B.I.E, the family’s helpful robotic assistant, to fetch another book to read. We see H.E.R.B.I.E hold up an old copy of Charles Darwin’s famous 19th century volume On The Origin of Species. Mom says that’s not the book she’s looking for, but comments that they love reading that one too. Having found the story she had in mind, Sue returns to the living room and, in typical Marvel fashion, the scene concludes with a little foreshadowing to set up the next installment.
Wait a second. Origin of Species for story time?
At first, it may seem like a natural fit. Mr. Fantastic is a polymath, highly skilled in physics, biology and chemistry, as well as mathematics and engineering. He specializes in harnessing science and technology to help the Four solve difficult problems. He’s a confident scientist, but he&#8217;s also curious and humble, and at times, ready to admit to forces beyond his understanding. Reed would certainly have respect for Darwin’s accomplishments as a scientist, and that’s probably good enough reason to keep a copy of Darwin’s book around the house. But if any superhero team would be skeptical of a purely Darwinian view of life, it would be the Fantastic Four. Let’s look at why their experiences don’t match the expectations of Darwinian materialism.
Throughout the movie, the Four demonstrate countless examples of sacrificial love and commitment to a higher purpose. Reed and Susan deny themselves regularly for the greater good. Johnny Storm is often the first to leap into the path of danger, even willing to die for others if necessary, and Ben is about as selfless as they come. But in a world where life is the result of chance processes like unguided natural selection and random mutations, things like love and purpose are merely social constructs, irrelevant to the struggle for life. Life boils down to survival and power, qualities that are actually espoused by the Four’s formidable foe, Galactus. No purpose means no value, and no value means no moral order. But the Fantastic Four act like human lives and relationships have inherent worth, not just a utilitarian function. Their willingness to suffer and even die for one another and for strangers only makes sense in a universe where life and love have meaning beyond survival.
The lives of this remarkable family also revolve around a universe teeming with intelligent design. The Four contend with their fair share of intelligent beings, from the Silver Surfer, a humanoid alien from the planet Zenn-La, to the mighty Galactus, who devours whole planets in his quest to survive. And alternate dimensions, portals, and even multiple universes suggest a cosmos rich in order. Yet a materialistic worldview contends that the universe is self-contained and closed to outside influence. This would require that there is no such thing as a supernatural being, force, or cause that influences the universe.
So what caused all life in the Marvel universe to exist? Our findings on Planet Earth may yield an important clue. Here, Darwin’s selection/mutation mechanism has been carefully tested in the last century and found wanting. It doesn’t have the creative power or the time to produce the information necessary to power the origin and development of life. And along with our discovery that information runs the show in biology, we’ve also found, based on our uniform and repeated experience, that the only known cause of information is intelligence. The conclusion? A designing intelligence played a role in the history of life. Could it be the same elsewhere? Given his commitment to the quest for scientific truth, Mr. Fantastic would certainly be willing to entertain the notion.
After all they’ve witnessed in their many adventures, it seems unlikely that the Fantastic Four would have a strong commitment to scientific materialism. Perhaps they keep Darwin’s book around as a cautionary tale, a way to teach their children that scientific hubris can blind us to the wonder and order of the universe with dangerous and far-reaching consequences. If so, maybe Darwin’s Origin of Species does belong on the shelf next to The Hungry Caterpillar after all.
* * *
Andrew McDiarmid is a Senior Fellow and Director of Podcasting at the Discovery Institute. His writing has appeared in the New York Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Daily Wire, and elsewhere. Follow him on X at @amcdiarmid or visit andrewmcdiarmid.org.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Correction: An earlier version stated the bonus scene in the film takes place &#8220;a year later.&#8221; It is actually four years later.

MixCollage-05-Aug-2025-08-52-AM-2732

Marvel’s Fantastic Four: Pro-Family Film With A Darwinian Curveball

Charles Darwin

Hollywood

Marvel

Opinion

In 2017, “Saturday Night Live” uncorked a riotous “‘Woke Jeans’ commercial” tied to the growing woke movement.
The clip proved an exception to the mainstream comedy rule. Woke was more or less off limits to “SNL,” Late-Night hosts, and film comedies, despite a dearth of material.
Insane cultural rules. Virtue-signaling politicians. Identity Politics gone wild. The comic possibilities seemed endless.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Levi&#039;s Wokes - SNL" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/adPXDTvADD0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
Nothing to laugh about here. Move along. Only Comedy Central’s “South Park” regularly targeted the cultural scourge via PC Principal, trans athletes in women’s sports, and related gags.
Now, things are changing. It’s suddenly acceptable to mock the progressive overreach.
The new movie “Eddington” takes direct aim at woke, along with COVID-19 restrictions, conspiracy theorists and BLM sloganeering.
Director Ari Aster’s film isn’t one-sided or brimming with lectures. It takes us back to May 2020, a time when the George Floyd riots were raging across America and government rules made citizens mask up to stop the virus’ spread.
<div id="attachment_955565" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-955565" class="wp-image-955565 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-11-14-AM-5738-1024x576.jpg" alt="Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal in “Eddington” (2025) A24. Square Peg Productions. 828 Productions. IMDB." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-11-14-AM-5738-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-11-14-AM-5738-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-11-14-AM-5738-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-11-14-AM-5738-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-11-14-AM-5738-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal in “Eddington” (2025) A24. Square Peg Productions. 828 Productions. IMDB.</div>
The story unfolds in a fictional small town in New Mexico, one about to be rocked by dueling social contagions.
It’s uncomfortable to watch and often hilarious, mocking both Alex Jones types and white teens desperate to be woke. The latter ape the progressive talking points of their big-city peers, desperate to fit in and appear cool.
Heck, one newly woke teen just wants to “get” with a pretty girl, and he’ll virtue all the signals he can to make that happen.
The film’s biggest laugh? A white teen explains his “privilege” to his parents, and his father snaps back at him.
“Are you a f***ing retard? You’re white.”
Aster’s films aren’t blockbusters, but his arthouse musings represent mainstream artistic values. And, yes, he went there. So much so that a New York Times <a href="https://x.com/matthewschmitz/status/1947120245329576009">film critic</a> literally <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/ny-times-eddington-director-mocking-blm/">cursed him out</a> for inserting those gags in his film.
<blockquote>“F*** you, Ari Aster. Really, seriously. It’s so easy to mock these things. People are still dying from COVID. We may no longer be living in a pandemic… I just don’t find it funny, and I find it really important for people to, I think white people should interrogate their f***Ing whiteness, and I think Ari Aster should start.”</blockquote>
Triggered.
<div id="attachment_955653" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-955653" class="size-large wp-image-955653" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2215538204-864x576.jpg" alt="CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 17: (L-R) Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, Ari Aster, Joaquin Phoenix and Austin Butler pose during the &quot;Eddington&quot; photocall at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 17, 2025 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2215538204-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2215538204-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2215538204-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2215538204.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Andreas Rentz/Getty Images</div>
The recent horror-comedy “Ick” from provocateur Joseph Kahn also tees-off on woke overreach. The story follows another small town where calamity strikes. This time, the danger comes from a mysterious plant-like substance that goes from benign to deadly.
The menace allows Kahn to satirize American culture, conspiracy mongers (again) and that woke mind virus. Virtue signaling takes it on the chin, as do students talking like an unproduced Lena Dunham sitcom.
It’s far from flattering.
Those eager for a deeper dive into woke excess can read “The Sandersons Fail Manhattan.&#8221; Author Scott Johnston’s biting satire follows a rich New York family caught up in the city&#8217;s progressive mania. A fancy prep school is desperate to recruit its first trans student, while the story&#8217;s patriarch must learn if his colleague is gay enough to satisfy key DEI requirements.
<div id="attachment_955657" style="width: 394px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sandersons-Fail-Manhattan-Novel/dp/1250384788"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-955657" class="size-large wp-image-955657" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-12-42-PM-5680-384x576.jpg" alt="Cover Credit: St. Martin's Press" width="384" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-12-42-PM-5680-384x576.jpg 384w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-12-42-PM-5680-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-12-42-PM-5680-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-12-42-PM-5680-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-12-42-PM-5680-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-12-42-PM-5680-1360x2040.jpg 1360w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-12-42-PM-5680-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px" /></a>Cover Credit: St. Martin&#8217;s Press</div>
While “Eddington” and “Ick” take shots at woke, “Manhattan” is a full-on assault against Identity Politics and its cultural tendrils. No apologies.
Even comedians can shred woke pieties from major platforms without fear of reprisal and tell jokes that the woke mob deemed off limits.
Last year, the comedy roast format roared back to life with Netflix’s “tribute” to NFL great Tom Brady.
More recently, stand-up comic Shane Gillis proved that anew. Gillis, starring in Netflix’s rowdy comedy “Tires,” is a walking, talking testament to woke’s cultural decline. The comedian got hired, and promptly fired, by “SNL” for crude comments tied to Asian culture. Rather than fade into obscurity, Gillis went back to work, rebuilding his career.
His star rose so high that “SNL” invited him to host the program – twice – without censoring his rebellious streak.
<div id="attachment_955665" style="width: 835px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-955665" class="size-large wp-image-955665" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2225471382-825x576.jpg" alt="HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JULY 16: Shane Gillis speaks onstage during the 2025 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 16, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)" width="825" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2225471382-825x576.jpg 825w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2225471382-300x209.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2225471382-768x536.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-2225471382.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 825px) 100vw, 825px" />Kevin Winter/Getty Images</div>
More recently, he emceed the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shane-gillis-destroys-the-espys-and-wokeness">ESPY Awards</a>, mocking woke sacred cows like former soccer player Megan Rapinoe, a progressive scold synonymous with virtue signaling.
“Megan Rapinoe could not make it tonight … nice.”
A few media outlets grumbled about his “problematic” material. No Cancel Culture-style punishment ensued, nor was he forced to make a “hostage”-style apology.
Now, a rare voice eager to mock the woke mindset returns to do more of the same. “Beavis &amp; Butt-head” creator Mike Judge took an early swing at woke with his failed 2009 ABC sitcom “The Goode Family.” The show proved ahead of its time, teasing a hard-Left clan who strained to be better than, well, everyone.
Now, Judge is using his “King of the Hill” reboot to satirize gender fluidity, cultural appropriation and more on Hulu starting August 4.
Judge isn’t as merciless as Johnston, but his “Hill” gags give the game away. One episode finds wokesters attacking Bobby Hill, now a young man and overseeing a fusion restaurant. The menu in question sparks cries of cultural appropriation, leaving the Hill clan confused and upset.
The show finds a resolution, albeit one that illustrates the wobbly nature of woke criticism.
Has the pop culture dam finally broken on all things woke? The re-election of Donald Trump pushed the pendulum, hard, in that direction. We’re seeing the fruits of that shift now in pop culture.
More may follow.
And, if “SNL,” late-night TV and mainstream comedies continue to avoid these juicy targets, their cultural clout will diminish even further. Just <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyc-were-with-colbert-rally-draws-tens-of-people-even-cops-go-home">ask Stephen Colbert how that works</a>.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

MixCollage-01-Aug-2025-11-14-AM-5738

Triggered Yet? Pop Culture’s Woke Takedown Has Begun

Triggered Yet? Pop Culture's Woke Takedown Has Begun

Books

COVID

Film

Film Reviews

Saturday Night Live

Woke Culture

Neal McDonough made a career out of playing tough characters. From Lieutenant Lynn &#8220;Buck&#8221; Compton in “Band of Brothers” to the steely villain Michael Beck in “Yellowstone,” McDonough always seems to play someone who sends a chill up your spine.
But offscreen, McDonough’s the polar opposite: warm and kind, committed to faith and family, and on a quest to make movies that touch audiences on a deeper level.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Wire, McDonough opened up about his new film, “Guns N’ Moses,” an independent thriller about a group of orthodox Jews grappling with the aftermath of an attack on their synagogue. He hopes the film will inspire viewers to find connections with those who don’t share their beliefs, and realize that we all have more in common than we may otherwise think.
The actor also discussed why he believes smaller, independent films are filling a gap left by Hollywood.
“Guns N’ Moses” was shot in just 20 days, but boasts impressive production values. McDonough thrives on the challenges of indie filmmaking because, he said, that’s where meaningful stories still get told.
“You couldn’t make a film like this for a big studio because it really goes out on a limb and talks about things,” he explained. “The studios…they’re much more tentpole films now…big, huge, action blockbuster types of films. And they’ve really kind of gotten away from the crafting of ideas for smaller films.”
For McDonough, those smaller films are where the important conversations happen.
“Films like this make you realize that we need to be nicer to each other,” he said. “We can all have our different beliefs, but we all believe in the same all-powerful being that created all of us. So, we should be rooting for each other more.”
A devout Catholic, McDonough said he’s experienced firsthand how speaking openly about faith can bring backlash in the industry. He <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/why-neal-mcdonough-fired-scoundrels-094213107.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">made headlines</a> in 2010 after being let go from the ABC drama “Scoundrels” for refusing to participate in intimate scenes or kiss another woman.
“Whenever you stand up for your faith, especially in a positive way, there will be so many people who are ready to take you down,” he said. “They have to have a fight over it. ‘My faith is better than your faith. My color is better than your color. My bank account is bigger than yours.’ It’s kind of exhausting.”
He referenced John Lennon’s “Imagine” as an idealistic vision, but acknowledged that it’s not necessarily realistic.
“Films like Guns N’ Moses talk about the fact that it’s not a better place at times,” he said. “There is hate and there are problems within faiths. Especially now with what’s going on with Israel and the Middle East…it’s really a hard time to figure out: well, what is the truth?”
For McDonough, the answer remains the same. “The truth is always what God says to me in particular. It’s what is God’s idea? God’s idea is we must love each other and we must honor God. Those are the two big things that we’re supposed to be doing.”
In recent years, McDonough and his wife, Ruvé McDonough, a South African model he met while filming “Band of Brothers,” have been producing their own slate of films. Their latest project, “The Last Rodeo,” recently hit top spots on Amazon and Apple.
“People really want to see films that make you think about faith, make you think about Him,” McDonough said. “Doesn’t matter if you’re a Jew or a Christian or Muslim or agnostic or whatever. It makes you think, how can I be a bit better of a person as a husband or as a father, as a coworker, as whatever?”
“A lot of films nowadays don’t allow you to think. They give you the choices and they’ll play the music to swell up to make you think that way. Well, that’s manufacturing a thought process,” he added.
The Hollywood veteran believes films like “Guns N’ Moses” push back against that formula.
“It’s pimples and all. Here’s the film. It’s going to make you think about what your place is in life and how you can make it a better place for everyone else around you.”
For McDonough, it all circles back to the values he holds dear: faith, family, and finding life’s deeper meaning.
“America is the United States of America, not the divided States of America,” he said. “Our country was built upon faith…a Judeo-Christian faith is what it was built upon. It mentions God four times in the Declaration of Independence. It’s on our money. It’s everywhere we go.”
“But somehow we veer away from it because of the temptations that are in front of us. A bigger car, nicer house…You’ll never find happiness if you’re chasing that,” the actor said.
He admitted he used to chase those things himself until he shifted focus to what truly matters.
“Once you start chasing the right thing, two things are going to happen,” he explained. “You’re going to be much more fulfilled because you’re doing the right thing for your Heavenly Father. But it’s also gonna be a lot of people out there who are gonna want to take you down and say horrible things.”
Yet he remains committed to telling stories that encourage audiences to reflect and grow.
“We’re gonna keep on making films like ‘Guns N’ Moses.’ We’re gonna keep on doing films like ‘The Last Rodeo,’ which is killing it right now on video. People want to see films that they can bring the whole family to look at, and have a real discussion about a movie and how we can be better as a society.”
McDonough also dismissed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hollywood-lost-the-plot-now-rebels-are-making-movies-great-again" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the notion</a> that conservative Christians are at odds Jewish people. “That’s not true,” he said flatly. “America is really a Judeo-Christian society. I lived in Hancock Park for a long time and all our neighbors were orthodox Jews. And boy, we got along quite well.”
He called the faith traditions “almost exactly identical” in their values and said true believers in any faith respect each other.
“It’s the ones who don’t 100% believe in Him first, me second…then it becomes about you and your personal opinions. Well, it shouldn’t really be your personal opinion. It should be your personal acceptance of God, acceptance of other beliefs, acceptance of everyone.”
“No one is exactly the same. So why should one person think that their belief or their color or their money is better than somebody else’s? It’s all about faith and He built us to love each other, not to hate each other.”
That, McDonough said, is the message at the heart of “Guns N’ Moses.”
“We’re all in this together,” he said. “Shouldn’t we just enjoy each other more instead of hating each other more?”
Despite Hollywood’s frequent hostility toward faith-based storytelling, McDonough is hopeful that independent films can help fill the cultural gap.
“I think Hollywood has really veered off from making films that can help change your life in a better way to making films that can change your life through darkness and through all kinds of crazy stuff. And I’m guilty of being part of a lot of those films,” he admitted. “I have to make a living as an actor.”
“But when it has our name on it for the McDonough Company, you know it’s gonna be a film that is about family, it’s about faith, and it’s about doing the right thing. And ‘Guns N’ Moses’ goes right along with that.”
He’s convinced audiences are hungry for it. “There has to be a common ground,” McDonough said. “We can come together and allow each other to have our different beliefs… and maybe we can enjoy some together and break bread together and have a good conversation.” And that’s the type of filmmaking he intends to keep pursuing.
“Guns N’ Moses” hits theaters July 18. “It’s an important movie,” McDonough said. “You guys gotta go out there and see it.”

Los Angeles Premiere Of “The Shift”

Neal McDonough Talks Faith, Family, And Why He Wants His Movies To Get People Talking

Angel Studios

Catholicism

Faith

Neal McDonough

Will Smith has revealed that he passed on starring roles in several of the biggest films in Hollywood — seemingly huge misses that he calls &#8220;beautiful scars.&#8221;
The 56-year-old actor has discussed turning down several major movie roles, including parts in “The Matrix,” “Inception,” and “Django Unchained.” Smith revealed some of the reasons why he passed on those projects, including not understanding the point the movies were trying to make and having a difference of opinion about the narratives.
During a June 2025 <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/will-smith-inception-offer-plot-confusing-1236432602/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Kiss Xtra, Smith revealed that director Christopher Nolan offered him the lead in the hit film “Inception” (2010), but he decided not to take it.
“Chris Nolan brought me ‘Inception’ first, and I didn’t get it. I’ve never said that out loud,” he told the outlet of the sci-fi action heist film.
“Movies that go into those alternate realities…they don’t pitch well,” he continued, explaining that the concept of dreams within dreams did not make sense to him during the pitch process.
“Inception,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role that Smith turned down, earned over $839 million worldwide.
Nolan’s blockbuster isn’t the only time Smith made a big mistake in turning down movie roles. The actor previously confirmed that he turned down the role of Neo in “The Matrix” (1999), a part that later went to Keanu Reeves and helped define the latter’s Hollywood career.
In a 2019 video posted on YouTube, Smith said, “I’m not proud of it, but it’s the truth…I did turn down Neo.” He explained that the pitch didn’t sway him because it left him confused. “That was one of my beautiful scars…But there’s a fine line in a pitch meeting between genius and what I experienced.”
<div id="attachment_947631" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-947631" class="size-large wp-image-947631" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1239558965-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1239558965-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1239558965-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1239558965-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1239558965.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Will Smith slaps Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
The actor explained how the pitch sounded to him at the time, including how the scene involving the iconic slow motion action sequences was described.
“We’re thinking like…imagine you’re in a fight. You, like, jump. Imagine if you could stop jumping in the middle of the jump,” he <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/news/will-smith-matrix-inception-christopher-nolan-b2773588.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, per The Independent.
“But then, people could see around you 360 degrees while you stop jumping. We’re going to invent these cameras and then people can see the whole jump when you stop in the middle of the jump.”
Instead of taking the role in “The Matrix,” Smith chose to star in “Wild Wild West,” which did not achieve the same level of critical or commercial success. “The Matrix” went on to earn approximately $460 million globally and remains a cultural touchstone.
And that’s not all. The Hollywood A-lister also turned down the Quentin Tarantino film “Django Unchained” (2012) after being approached early on for the lead role, which ultimately went to Jamie Foxx.
In a 2015 roundtable <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/will-smith-mark-ruffalo-four-842621/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discussion</a> with The Hollywood Reporter, Smith said he had a difference of opinion with Tarantino about the film’s narrative.
“It was about the creative direction of the story,” he said at the time. “To me, it’s as perfect a story as you could ever want: a guy that learns how to kill to retrieve his wife that has been taken as a slave. That idea is perfect. And it was just that Quentin [Tarantino] and I couldn’t see [eye to eye]. I wanted to make the greatest love story that African-Americans had ever seen.”
“We talked, we met, we sat for hours and hours about it,” Smith explained at the time. “I wanted to make that movie so badly, but I felt the only way was, it had to be a love story, not a vengeance story. I don’t believe in violence as the reaction to violence. So when I’m looking at that, it’s like, ‘No, no, no. It has to be for love.’”
In a later appearance on his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk, Smith mentioned that he turned down the role because of his family.
“I was going to do Django,” he <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/12/will-smith-turned-down-django-unchained-so-it-wouldnt-affect-his-kids?srsltid=AfmBOorXrpLAasO0nYKR6-7it1lop3aUUcZmYBsfWF5H3yJNjPCl7w9N" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We had a family meeting and we all talked about Django. I wasn’t all the way in, but one of the main reasons that I wasn’t was the looks on your faces ’cause you knew what that would mean and those characters seep back into the house.”
Smith has described these decisions as “beautiful scars,” acknowledging them as significant moments in his career. He used the phrase in both interviews and in his 2025 song “Beautiful Scars,” where he referenced “The Matrix” and other surprising career choices.
The song and music video feature Smith reenacting a scene from &#8220;The Matrix&#8221; where Smith is offered the red and blue pills. In the video, Smith is offered the choice to go back and star in &#8220;The Matrix,&#8221; but he ultimately chooses to embrace his past choices and let it go.
Despite passing on these films, Smith has chosen some hits in Hollywood, including “Independence Day,” “Men in Black,” and “The Pursuit of Happyness.” He won an Academy Award for his work in “King Richard” in 2022, which was the same night of the now-infamous slap he gave to Oscars host Chris Rock.

Premiere Of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Focus” – Arrivals

No To Neo: Why Did Will Smith Turn Down So Many Big Roles?

Christopher Nolan

Will Smith

Rachel Zegler taught them nothing. 
The star of the live-action “Snow White” reboot trashed the source material in comments that quickly went viral in 2023. Zegler followed that up by attacking MAGA nation months before the expensive film hit theaters, wishing Trump voters “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disneys-snow-white-actress-attacks-trump-voters-tells-people-to-leave-x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">never know peace</a>.”
More viral infamy. What happened next? “Snow White” flopped, hard, in its March theatrical debut. 
It was the clearest example of a star sabotaging their own film, a warning for other actors not do the same. They didn’t listen.
Celebrities don’t open up to Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and other Legacy Media outlets because they’re bored. It’s all part of the marketing machine meant to fill movie theater seats.
It’s why stars sing Karaoke in moving cars, gulp down hotter than hot wings and otherwise make themselves available to podcast interviewers weeks before their new film or TV show bows.
It’s Marketing 101. Yet stars use these moments to push their political agendas, lash out at conservatives and cause potential customers to avoid the nearest movie house.
You’d think one of Hollywood’s savviest storytellers might know the drill. Yet writer/director James Gunn ignored ZeglerGate in the days leading up to “Superman’s” release.
Gunn’s Man of Steel reboot is the key to DC Comics relaunching its superhero universe on the big screen. Gunn, who previously delivered three “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, was entrusted by Warner Bros. to revive Superman and kickstart who knows how many new superhero films.
<div id="attachment_946199" style="width: 742px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-946199" class="size-large wp-image-946199" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2224028853-732x576.jpg" alt="HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JULY 07: Peter Safran, Nicholas Hoult, Rachel Brosnahan, David Corenswet and James Gunn, Co-Chairman &amp; CEO, DC Studios arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Warner Bros. &quot;Superman&quot; at TCL Chinese Theatre on July 07, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)" width="732" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2224028853-732x576.jpg 732w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2224028853-300x236.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2224028853-768x605.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2224028853.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 732px) 100vw, 732px" />Steve Granitz/FilmMagic</div>
The movie’s marketing campaign stayed upbeat and positive for month after month. No one on Team Superman brought up political or culture war issues. It was all about the iconic character – an overgrown Boy Scout who came to Earth to protect it.
And then, mere days before the film’s July 11 debut, <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/james-gunn-interview-superman-film-2025-david-corenswet-dhb3bw3rp">Gunn got political</a> during a Times of London interview. And nasty.
<blockquote>I mean, Superman is the story of America … An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.” I ask if he has considered how differently the film might play in say, blue state New York — aka Metropolis — and Kansas, where Kent grew up? “Yes, it plays differently,” Gunn admits. “But it’s about human kindness and obviously there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness. But screw them.</blockquote>
The ”Them” in that sentence may have been eager to see Gunn’s take on Superman. Not anymore.
Brother Sean Gunn, who has a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in the film, <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/james-gunn-superman-immigrant-backlash-response-1236449068/">doubled down</a> on his older brother’s rhetoric on the red carpet.
<blockquote>My reaction to [the backlash] is that it is exactly what the movie is about …  we support our people, you know? We love our immigrants. Yes, Superman is an immigrant, and yes, the people that we support in this country are immigrants and if you don’t like that, you’re not American. People who say no to immigrants are against the American way.</blockquote>
It’s worth noting Gunn’s “Superman” is neither political nor woke. So this was a case of Gunn pushing his personal politics into the public arena, knowing how social and new media outlets would process it.
And, evidently, not caring what impact it might have.
“Superman” may end up being too big to fail. It’s a beloved character who unites generations of movie goers, and the double barrel Gunn comments might not be enough to hurt its box office standing.
Or it could be enough of a wedge to stop the film from making all the money to spark a fresh wave of superhero films.
Why risk it?
It isn’t just Gunn ignoring the lesson Zegler learned the hard way. Omnipresent actor Pedro Pascal stars in the second-biggest film of the summer. He’s Reed Richards in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” the reboot of a reboot of the Marvel Comics super family.
<div id="attachment_946201" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-946201" class="size-large wp-image-946201" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2224148805-864x576.jpg" alt="BERLIN, GERMANY - JULY 08: Pedro Pascal attends the &quot;The Fantastic Four: First Steps&quot; blue carpet fan event at Das Center on July 08, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Gerald Matzka/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2224148805-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2224148805-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2224148805-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2224148805.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Gerald Matzka/Getty Images</div>
He’s spent the last few weeks attacking J.K. Rowling for defending women from trans female athletes. Bullies, Pascal said, make him sick. And he considers the “Harry Potter” author to be just that.
He also used a red carpet appearance <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2025/07/09/pedro-pascal-uses-fantastic-four-premiere-to-lecture-about-protecting-trans-people-in-a-world-they-never-asked-to-be-brought-into/">to push for trans rights</a>. He has a trans sibling and routinely speaks out on the issue.
<blockquote>It’s important to protect people, especially those simply asking for the right to exist in bodies that belong to them and in the world that they never asked to be brought into … It’s a very, very small, vulnerable, inspiring, courageous and brave community that fills me with a lot of inspiration. Therefore, it’s very important to protect that. They would do that for us.</blockquote>
Oh, and “The Fantastic Four” opens July 25.
This isn’t a new phenomenon. Actor Christian Bale <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O6Kqy3JGnY">called Moses a “terrorist”</a> during the runup to the release of “Exodus: Gods and Kings.” That 2014 film bombed.
The list of stars getting aggressively political while promoting their movies, in general, is too long to include here. It’s standard procedure in Hollywood, but the Zegler fallout suggested stars might understand their corrosive takes will hurt their bottom lines at some point. Plus, the industry is buckling under seismic tech advancements, from A.I. threats to streaming platforms struggling to make ends meet.
They don’t seem to care.
Artists can say whatever they want, whenever they want. That’s the beauty of the First Amendment. They shouldn’t be punished for holding a specific point of view.
That said, an actor’s job is to promote their work to ensure they get even more work down the short road. Insulting potential audience members and stoking Culture War fires for no reason is incredibly short-sighted.
There are countless ways consumers can spend their leisure time today, from video games to doom-scrolling on social media. We need an excuse, preferably a big one, to shlep to a theater and pay the exorbitant fees for tickets and popcorn.
Artists like Gunn, Zegler and Pascal often make it easy for us. Nah … I’ll Netflix and chill instead.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

“Superman” World Tour – Manila

The Rachel Zegler Effect: How Hollywood Continues To Lose Audiences With Just A Few Comments

James Gunn

Leftists

Superman

Actor Dean Cain, who played the role of Superman in the 1990s TV series “Lois &amp; Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” is weighing in on how woke the new movie, set to hit theaters on Friday, might be.
“How woke is Hollywood going to make this character? How much is Disney going to change their Snow White? Why are they going to change these characters [to] exist for the times?” the 58-year-old actor wondered while speaking with <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/07/09/superman-dean-cain-immigrant-controversy/">TMZ</a>.
“We know Superman is an immigrant – he’s a freaking alien … The ‘American Way’ is immigrant-friendly, tremendously immigrant-friendly. But there are rules,” Cain continued. 
“You can’t come in saying: ‘I want to get rid of all the rules in America, because I want it to be more like Somalia.’ Well, that doesn’t work, because you had to leave Somalia to come here &#8230; There have to be limits, because we can’t have everybody in the United States. We can’t have everybody, society will fail. So there have to be limits.”
Cain further noted the difference between legal and illegal immigration. “It’s being portrayed as a real negative thing that we want people to follow our immigration laws,” the actor observed. “Which is insane to me … Here’s an agency, ICE … they’re supposed to enforce those laws. Why are they being villainized for enforcing the laws that our lawmakers, our elected representatives created?”
“I think it’s gonna hurt the numbers on the movie,” the former Superman actor added, saying he had been excited to see the film before director James Gunn acknowledged that the film was meant to be “political.”
“I mean, ‘Superman’ is the story of America,” Gunn said in an interview with The Times of London published on Friday. “An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”
“… it’s about human kindness and obviously there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness. But screw them,” Gunn continued.
“Yes, it’s about politics,” he added. “But on another level it’s about morality. Do you never kill no matter what — which is what Superman believes — or do you have some balance, as Lois [Lane] believes? It’s really about their relationship and the way different opinions on basic moral beliefs can tear two people apart.”
Gunn further responded to the backlash at the movie’s premiere on Monday, issuing a blanket statement on how the film was simply about “kindness.”
“I think this movie’s for everybody. I don’t have anything to say to anybody. Like, I’m not here to judge people,” he said on the red carpet. “I think this is a movie about kindness and I think that’s something everyone can relate to.” 
Gunn’s brother, Sean, who plays billionaire Maxwell Lord in the film, also chimed in. 
“It is exactly what the movie is about. We support our people, you know? We love our immigrants. Yes, Superman is an immigrant, and yes, the people that we support in this country are immigrants and if you don’t like that, you’re not American. People who say no to immigrants are against the American Way.”

Dean Cain

Dean Cain Warns Leftist Themes In New Superman Movie Could Tank Box Office

Immigration

Wokeness

Director James Gunn has confirmed that the new “Superman” movie is intended to be a political film.
“I mean, ‘Superman’ is the story of America,” Gunn <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/james-gunn-interview-superman-film-2025-david-corenswet-dhb3bw3rp">said</a> in an interview with The Times of London published on Friday. “An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country, but for me it is mostly a story that says basic human kindness is a value and is something we have lost.”
The DC Studios co-chair acknowledged that both sides of the political spectrum will interpret the themes differently, depending on their individual beliefs.
“Yes, it plays differently, but it’s about human kindness and obviously there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness. But screw them,” Gunn continued.
“Yes, it’s about politics,” Gunn said. “But on another level it’s about morality. Do you never kill no matter what — which is what Superman believes — or do you have some balance, as Lois [Lane] believes? It’s really about their relationship and the way different opinions on basic moral beliefs can tear two people apart.”
“This Superman does seem to come at a particular time when people are feeling a loss of hope in other people’s goodness,” he went on. “I’m telling a story about a guy who is uniquely good, and that feels needed now because there is a meanness that has emerged due to cultural figures being mean online.”
The entertainment exec added, “And I include myself in this. It is ad infinitum, millions of people having tantrums online. How are we supposed to get anywhere as a culture? We don’t know what’s real, and that is a really difficult place for the human brain to be. If I could press a button to make the internet disappear I’d consider it. And, no, I don’t make films to change the world, but if a few people could be just a bit nicer after, this it would make me happy.”
The DC Studios head has been a critic of President Trump in the past. In 2017, he called Trump “an incompetent President forging a full-blown attack on facts and journalism in the style of Hitler and Putin.”
He also caught heat for making an inappropriate joke about Trump on X, saying an interview for any potential employee would include the questions, “‘Do you know anything about the position?’ and ‘Are you on my d***?’ The person that answers ‘no’ and ‘yes,’ respectively, gets hired.”
Gunn was previously fired from Disney’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise when inappropriate tweets he made about 9/11, rape, and pedophilia surfaced. The director was reinstated a year later after making a public apology and attending multiple meetings regarding the incident.
“My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative,” Gunn said at the time. “I have regretted them for many years since – not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.”
The highly anticipated “Superman” movie premieres on July 11, starring David Corenswet in the titular role.

‘Superman’ Director Admits New Film Is Political, Says ‘Screw’ Anyone Who Takes Offense

Superheroes

U.S.

Spielberg. Tarantino. The Coen brothers. Nolan. Cameron. Coppola.
Kosinski?
While Joseph Kosinski may lacks the name recognition, let alone the resume of those cinematic giants, he’s still responsible for two of the most all-American films of the past decade. Three if you count a little-seen gem about our brave firefighters.
One film literally <a href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/steven-spielberg-tells-tom-cruise-saved-hollywood-top-gun-maverick-1235522763/">saved movies</a>, according to none other than Steven Spielberg.
Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick” did more than extend the popular ‘80s smash. It brought movie goers back to theaters following the pandemic. And you’d be hard pressed to find a more patriotic, “<a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/5K6kkL6powWwpoHy6WFiN2">America [bleep} Yeah</a>” movie over the past decade.
He has a feel for old school Hollywood that could save the industry from itself. Here&#8217;s what makes his film so refreshing.
“Top Gun: Maverick” soared higher than even the 1986 original. Tom Cruise returns to play Maverick, the hotshot aviator staring down a different kind of challenge.
Irrelevancy.
<div id="attachment_943031" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-943031" class="size-large wp-image-943031" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1395808441-864x576.jpg" alt="MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - MAY 06: Tom Cruise and Joe Kosinski attend the Mexico Press Day of &quot;Top Gun: Maverick&quot; at The Ritz Carlton Hotel on May 06, 2022 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1395808441-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1395808441-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1395808441-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1395808441.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Hector Vivas/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures</div>
We all know what happened next. Maverick dug back for something extra, defied authority, fell for an old flame and gave young pilots the courage to complete a death-defying mission.
Kosinski didn’t inject woke into a single frame of his film. Nor did he shy away from American excellence, let alone the “need for speed.” His film hearkened back to old-school Hollywood movies with handsome heroes, lovely ladies and a determination that cannot be denied.
Why wouldn’t it earn a whopping $718 million in U.S. theaters alone? It’s the movie audiences were waiting for all along.
And Kosinski just did it again.
“F1” stars Brad Pitt as an aging race car driver hoping for one last shot at glory. He’ll have to make nice with a talented rookie (Damson Idris) and defeat old demons to get back in the winner’s circle.
Sound familiar?
The parallels don’t end there. Both films offer slick, you-are-there visuals, generational tension and a commitment to the American Dream. If you work hard enough, anything is possible.
“F1” raced to $57 million in its opening weekend stateside, the most for any original film this year.
<div id="attachment_943033" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-943033" class="size-large wp-image-943033" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1528168594-864x576.jpg" alt="NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 09: Brad Pitt, star of the upcoming Formula One based movie, Apex, and Joseph Kosinski, director of the upcoming Formula One based movie, Apex, talk on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 09, 2023 in Northampton, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1528168594-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1528168594-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1528168594-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1528168594.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Dan Mullan/Getty Images</div>
Both films feature heroes willing to try new things, to push past conventional boundaries to achieve their dreams. That plays into the entrepreneurial pluck in America’s DNA.
It helps that Kosinski snagged two older movie stars who defy Father Time. Each is given a full-bodied romantic story arc at a time when Hollywood often forgets how much audiences crave that part of the hero’s journey.
Scarlett Johansson co-stars with three handsome co-leads in “Jurassic World Rebirth.” There’s not a hint of romance in the film. And that’s more common than ever.
Cruise and Pitt lean into their movie-star looks, as does Kosinski. He made their characters vulnerable but undeniably masculine. That’s refreshing.
The films deliver crowd-pleasing thrills without guilt or compromise. They also scored a 99 and 97% “fresh” rating, respectively, from general audiences at RottenTomatoes.com.
The irony? Kosinski’s previous film, 2017’s “Only the Brave,” also served up heroism from a decidedly heartland perspective. The fact-based story recalls the men of the Granite Mountain Hotshots who risked it all to defeat an ominous Arizona wildfire.
Josh Brolin, Miles Teller and Jennifer Connelly starred in a film that got ignored by audiences at the time. Seen today, Kosinski’s knack for slick visuals and on-screen bravery paved the way for “Maverick.”
<div id="attachment_943035" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-943035" class="size-large wp-image-943035" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-862568666-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 17: (L-R) James Badge Dale, Josh Brolin, Joseph Kosinski, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Pat McCarty and Taylor Kitsch attend &quot;Only The Brave&quot; New York screening at iPic Theater on October 17, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mireya Acierto/FilmMagic)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-862568666-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-862568666-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-862568666-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-862568666.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Mireya Acierto/FilmMagic</div>
The film’s core themes aren’t an accident. The 51-year-old director told a reporter he has a <a href="https://cultmtl.com/2025/06/winning-at-underdog-stories-joseph-kosinski-and-jerry-bruckheimer-on-f1-the-movie-interview/">weakness for underdog stories</a>, another trait of the American Dream.
“What’s it like to be at the back, trying to score a win, rather than winning all the time? Who wins all the time in life? Very few people.”
The director isn’t shy about his love for the U.S. Military, an affection that bloomed while preparing for “Maverick.” He spent some time with <a href="https://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/top-gun-maverick-director-calls-the-movies-production-a-dream-come-true.html">real-life soldiers and came away impressed</a>.
“The fact that [servicemen and women] do that for six months or nine months without seeing their families, I was just really blown away by their sacrifice and what they give up to do that job for us…So, I think all of us on the crew walked away with even more respect for all the men and women out there. And that’s another reason we wanted this film to represent them in the best way possible. Because they worked so hard to help us capture all that.”
<div id="attachment_943051" style="width: 830px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-943051" class="size-large wp-image-943051" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1395478961-820x576.jpg" alt="SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 04: (L-R) Kristin Kosinski and Joseph Kosinski attend the Global Premiere of &quot;Top Gun: Maverick&quot; on May 04, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)" width="820" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1395478961-820x576.jpg 820w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1395478961-300x211.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1395478961-768x539.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1395478961.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" />SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA &#8211; MAY 04: (L-R) Kristin Kosinski and Joseph Kosinski attend the Global Premiere of &#8220;Top Gun: Maverick&#8221; on May 04, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)</div>
It’s ironic that the first film to mirror the kind of all-American storytelling “Maverick” offered came from that film’s director. Hollywood traditionally loves to clone successful projects. When “The Blair Witch Project” introduced found-footage storytelling to the masses, we soon saw dozens of lesser copycats.
The “John Wick” franchise paved the way for more hitmen movies.
Yet we haven’t seen a film like “Top Gun: Maverick” for the past three years. Until that film’s director got back to work, that is.
Kosinski may never reach the heights of a Spielberg or Tarantino, and his planned “Maverick” sequel has some mighty big shoes to fill. The director’s knack for knowing what audiences crave and his willingness to deliver sans compromise means we’ll be hearing a lot more from him soon.
He may not stay anonymous for long.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The European Premiere of F1 ® The Movie

The All-American Director You Don’t Know By Name

Brad Pitt

Tom Cruise

Top Gun

Actor Michael Madsen, best known for appearing in popular Quentin Tarantino films such as “Reservoir Dogs,” “Kill Bill,” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” has died at the age of 67.
His reps made a joint <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/michael-madsen-dead-reservoir-dogs-1236446983/">statement</a> noting that the Hollywood star had been found unresponsive in his Malibu home Thursday morning.
“In the last two years Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work with independent film including upcoming feature films ‘Resurrection Road’, ‘Concessions’ and ‘Cookbook for Southern Housewives,’ and was really looking forward to this next chapter in his life,” his managers and publicist said in a joint statement, per Variety. 
“Michael was also preparing to release a new book called ‘Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems’ currently being edited,” it went on. “Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors, who will be missed by many.”
Madsen was born in Chicago in 1957 and got his start in the theater. He appeared in hundreds of projects over the course of his career, including  “Donnie Brasco,” “Thelma &amp; Louise,” “Sin City,” “The Doors,” “Species,” “Mulholland Falls,” and “Once Upon a Time in Mexico.”
Besides acting, Madsen also wrote poetry and had several books published. He was married a total of three times. Madsen was arrested for domestic battery in 2024, the outlet noted, following an altercation with his estranged wife. He has one son who died by suicide and six other children, People <a href="https://people.com/all-about-michael-madsen-family-kids-ex-wives-11766388">reported</a>. 
Madsen’s sister is Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen. She released a <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/virginia-madsen-mourns-michael-madsen-death-1236447027/">statement</a> on the occasion of his death, saying, “My brother Michael has left the stage. He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother — etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark.”
“We’re not mourning a public figure,” the statement continued. “We’re not mourning a myth — but flesh and blood and ferocious heart. Who stormed through life loud, brilliant, and half on fire. Who leaves us echoes — gruff, brilliant, unrepeatable — half legend, half lullaby.”
“I’ll miss our inside jokes, the sudden laughter, the sound of him,” Virginia’s statement concluded. “I’ll miss the boy he was before the legend; I miss my big brother. Thank you to everyone reaching out with love and memory. In time, we’ll share how we plan to celebrate his life — but for now, we stay close, and let the silence say what words can’t.”

Michael Madsen

‘Reservoir Dogs’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies At 67

'Reservoir Dogs' Actor Michael Madsen Dies At 67

Celebrities

Death

On July 4th, the movie “Sinners” will become the first show to be interpreted into “Black American Sign Language (BASL),” per a <a href="https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/max/sinners-black-american-sign-language-basl-debuts-july-4-us-max">press release</a> from Warner Bros.
The entertainment company described it as “a major step forward in accessibility, representation, and visibility in streaming.”
“BASL is a distinct dialect of American Sign Language (ASL) with its own dynamic history and unique grammar, signing space, rhythm, facial expressions, and cultural nuances,” the release stated. “For the first time, the Black Deaf community will have streaming access to a more immersive experience in their language. Max subscribers, who sign in ASL but are unfamiliar with this dialect, will also be able to follow along with this interpretation.”
The press release noted that the interpretation will be done by Nakia Smith, “an influential voice in the Black Deaf community, who delivers a powerful interpretation with cultural depth and linguistic richness that aligns with the film’s themes and historical timeline.” 
“Accessibility within streaming is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Our goal at Max is to make these great stories accessible to all audiences in a way that is authentic to the content and the communities we serve,” Naomi Waibel, Senior VP of Global Product Management at Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement. “Sinners with Black American Sign Language is an example of how culturally nuanced access can enrich the viewing experience for our audiences.”
According to the movie’s summary, “Sinners” is about twin brothers who “return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.” It was released in theaters in April 2025.

Sinners

‘Sinners’ To Debut On Max As First Show With ‘Black American Sign Language’ Translation

'Sinners' To Debut On Max As First Show With 'Black American Sign Language' Translation

Blacks

Disney-Pixar&#8217;s latest box office bomb &#8220;Elio&#8221; was supposed to be even worse, according to a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/elio-pixar-america-ferrera-director-queer-2-1236301860/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> published Monday by The Hollywood Reporter — but a number of elements were cut after a screening of the film went nowhere with the audience.
The movie&#8217;s titular character was originally written as &#8220;queer-coded&#8221; — a nod to the film&#8217;s original openly-gay director Adrian Molina — with photos in Elio&#8217;s bedroom that suggested he was crushing on a boy, and a scene where he shows off the clothing he created from trash he found on the beach.
Vestiges of the latter scene remained in the finished product, as THR reported: &#8220;Hints at the trash fashion remain in the released film, with the boy wearing a cape decorated with discarded cutlery and soda can tabs, although without any explanation for the unusual attire.&#8221;
Some of the elements were whittled away throughout the production process, as leadership reportedly pressed for Elio to be more masculine.
But still, the writing was on the wall after a screening that took place in Arizona back in 2023. Not one person in the audience, despite several saying they enjoyed the film, said that they would pony up the cash to see it in a theater.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Pixar massively changed ‘ELIO’ after the original cut was test screened &amp; not a single person raised their hand when asked if they’d pay to see the film in a movie theater
Elio was also initially a queer-coded character until leadership told them to make him more masculine… <a href="https://t.co/3VReaNSSQW">pic.twitter.com/3VReaNSSQW</a>
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) <a href="https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/status/1939809054638932454?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Things did not go better for Molina when a cut of the film was viewed by Pixar boss Pete Docter, and he left the project. New directors Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi took over, and although a number of those associated with the project said good things about Sharafian and Shi, they complained about the fate of the film.
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=freedom&amp;utm_content=freedomeditorial" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-2388">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
&#8220;I was deeply saddened and aggrieved by the changes that were made,” former Pixar assistant editor Sarah Ligatich, a member of the company’s internal LGBTQ group PixPRIDE, said. &#8220;The exodus of talent after that cut was really indicative of how unhappy a lot of people were that they had changed and destroyed this beautiful work.&#8221;
Another Pixar artist who asked to remain anonymous told THR, &#8220;It was pretty clear through the production of the first version of the film that [studio leaders] were constantly sanding down these moments in the film that alluded to Elio’s sexuality of being queer &#8230; Suddenly, you remove this big, key piece, which is all about identity, and &#8216;Elio&#8217; just becomes about totally nothing. The &#8216;Elio&#8217; that is in theaters right now is far worse than Adrian’s best version of the original.&#8221;

Elio

Pixar Bomb ‘Elio’ Was Supposed To Be Super Gay, Only Changed After Dismal Screening

Menu