As families gather this holiday season, finding entertainment that is both edifying and enjoyable shouldn’t require a culture-war battle. For years, it has. Here’s the good news: Americans are winning.
As a religious-freedom advocate and mother of a large family, I live that struggle from both angles. In my work defending conscience rights, I see how culture shapes values. At home, I face the daily challenge of ensuring my children know their Christian faith and develop well-formed consciences in a world often working against them.
For families like mine — with kids at home in countless afterschool activities and others in college — Thanksgiving weekend offers rare time together. But finding wholesome entertainment that captivates everyone? That&#8217;s been the real challenge. Movie nights should be simple, not exercises in scrolling through endless streaming menus filled with questionable content.
Fortunately, the tide is turning. A new generation of filmmakers is proving that you can beat Hollywood at its own game by offering quality entertainment with uplifting messages. 
Two summers ago, in July of 2023, Angel Studios released “<a href="https://www.angel.com/press/sound-of-freedom">Sound of Freedom</a>,” earning over $250 million even though the Hollywood establishment tried to bury it. The film exposed international child sex trafficking while becoming a cultural phenomenon that rattled the entertainment elite. Then there are the <a href="https://kendrickbrothers.com/">Kendrick Brothers</a>, longtime producers of Christian films that inspire audiences by addressing marriage, online pornography addiction, and community rebuilding.
New on the scene is the <a href="https://www.thewonderproject.com/">Wonder Project</a>, a revolutionary enterprise producing its own original content for theaters as well as a subscription-based channel on the Prime streaming service offering over a hundred “value-driven” titles with classics like “The Sound of Music” and “Lincoln” alongside original productions like the “House of David” series. The platform also provides edited versions of popular films, making true co-viewing possible without scrambling for the fast-forward button.
I recently watched one of the Wonder Project&#8217;s original productions, “<a href="https://sarahsoilfilminspires.com/">Sarah&#8217;s Oil</a>,” at a nearby movie theater with my four youngest children, all close in age to the film&#8217;s 11-year-old protagonist. We witnessed something rare: a movie that held their complete attention while teaching profound lessons about courage and faith. The true story follows Sarah Rector, an African American girl in early-1900s Oklahoma, who believes oil lies beneath her barren land. She is proven right — becoming one of America’s first female African American millionaires at eleven.
What makes “Sarah&#8217;s Oil” exceptional is what it proves possible. A film tackling racial injustice and economic exploitation while remaining appropriate for children. No lectures about systemic racism. No victim narrative. Just an inspiring American story of perseverance, faith, and determination. It illuminates the good, the true, and the beautiful — something Hollywood has largely forgotten how to do.
In an age where every family member often retreats to their own screen and algorithm-curated bubble, shared cultural experiences have become almost revolutionary. Grandparents, parents, and children gathering around the same story. Laughing together, being moved together, is how values are shared across generations. It&#8217;s how family bonds are strengthened. When a film can captivate both an 80-year-old grandmother and a 9-year-old grandchild, it creates common ground for the kind of conversations that matter. These shared moments are the antidote to the isolation afflicting both young and old. Hollywood once understood this.
Counter-culture media initiatives like the Wonder Project have made smart business decisions by listening to families and giving them what they want: Content that unites, stories that inspire, heroes worth emulating.
Every family that chooses wholesome entertainment over progressive-left propaganda sends a market signal Hollywood can&#8217;t ignore. Every packed theater for a faith-based film is a referendum on the entertainment establishment. Every streaming subscription to values-driven content proves what Americans actually want.
This Thanksgiving weekend, make a statement. Choose entertainment that edifies and entertains. Be part of a movement for change that is winning. American families are taking back the culture, one movie or series at a time. Hollywood thought we wouldn&#8217;t care.
The market is proving them wrong. And we are just getting started.
* * *
Andrea Picciotti-Bayer is director of the<a href="https://conscience-project.org/"> Conscience Project</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
* * *
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Rear view of a family watching TV on sofa at home.

This Thanksgiving, Choose Movies That Will Bring Your Family Together

Amazon Prime

Angel Studios

Entertainment

Family Values

Film

Movies

Thanksgiving

The popular “Rush Hour” film franchise will reportedly be resurrected at the request of President Donald Trump.
Paramount Pictures will distribute the fourth sequel of the action franchise starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, as Deadline <a href="https://deadline.com/2025/11/rush-hour-4-paramount-release-brett-ratner-1236628468/">reported</a>. It’s believed that both lead actors will return to join director Brett Ratner, who was also in charge of previous installments. 
Semafor <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/11/23/2025/how-trump-is-trying-to-remake-american-culture-starting-with-rush-hour">reported</a> that Trump was instrumental in getting the project off the ground because he was a fan of the franchise. He reportedly spoke with Paramount head David Ellison about it. Ellison&#8217;s father, Larry Ellison, the billionaire co-founder of Oracle, has a close relationship with President Trump and operates behind the scenes at Paramount.
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&#8220;Trump appears to want to revive the raucous comedies and action movies of the late 1980s to late 1990s,&#8221; the outlet <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/11/23/2025/how-trump-is-trying-to-remake-american-culture-starting-with-rush-hour">reported</a>. &#8220;He’s passionate, for instance, about the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme sports flick &#8216;Bloodsport.&#8217; A person directly familiar with the conversations told Semafor that the president of the United States has personally pressed the Paramount owner to revive another franchise from Ratner: &#8216;Rush Hour,&#8217; a buddy-cop comedy starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker that blended physical comedy, martial arts and gags about racial stereotypes.&#8221;
The Daily Wire reached out to Paramount and the White House for comment.
The big players in “Rush Hour” all have <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jackie-chan-on-trump-presidency-just-give-him-a-chance-004306732.html">previously</a> made positive <a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/actor-chris-tucker-says-he-prays-for-trump-wants-him-to-be-great-president-227702/">remarks</a> about Trump, especially compared to most of TDS-infected Hollywood. Ratner directed a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/amazon-melania-trump-doc-release-date-1236396807/">documentary</a> about first lady Melania Trump which will be released in January. 
The “Rush Hour” franchise is a classic buddy cop action comedy series chronicling the chaotic adventures of LAPD Detective James Carter (Tucker) and Hong Kong Police Force Chief Inspector Lee (Chan) as they team up to take down international criminals. Their mismatched personalities, fun banter, and high-energy action sequences make them one of the most beloved pairings in the genre.
The first three “Rush Hour” films were huge hits, earning more than $850 million worldwide, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/25/trump-pushed-paramount-revive-rush-hour-4-reports-say.html">per</a> CNBC.
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Rush Hour

Trump Pushes For ‘Rush Hour’ Comeback — And Hollywood Delivers: Report

President Trump Pushes For ‘Rush Hour’ Comeback — And Hollywood Delivers: Report

Donald Trump

Executive

Hollywood

Paramount

U.S.

Hollywood movies just had their worst performing summer season since 1981 when adjusting for inflation and excluding the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, the movies released during this time brought in $3.67 billion, the lowest total not counting 2020 and 2021, and adjusting numbers for inflation. 
The summer began on a high note with a strong Memorial Day weekend performance led by “Lilo &amp; Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.” But by summer’s end, the momentum was gone, and Labor Day weekend was a disaster from a financial standpoint.
Entertainment commentators are blaming this on a whole host of problems, with none agreeing on a single cause. But one thing that’s not up for debate is that lately, the movie industry is struggling in a big way.
Underperforming titles released this summer, which The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/business/media/box-office-collapse-hollywood.html">described</a> as playing to “near empty auditoriums,” include “After the Hunt,” starring Julia Roberts, Sydney Sweeney’s boxing biopic “Christy,” and “Die My Love,” led by big-name stars Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson.
These movies aren’t just bombing with fans &#8212; they’re also costing the studios millions. “After the Hunt” cost $70 million to make and brought in a paltry $3.3 million, the outlet noted. “Christy” also flopped hard with an abysmal $1.3 million opening weekend. The sports film had a more modest budget of $15 million, but after <a href="https://ew.com/sydney-sweeney-christy-sets-record-for-worst-drop-in-second-weekend-11853251">dropping to 900 screens</a> in its second week and collecting a $90-per-theater average, it’s safe to say the film won’t be recouping even that.
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A lot of the blame is being put on a shortened theater-to-streaming timeframe, which is currently 17 days compared to the old standard of 90 days. This disincentivizes moviegoers to visit theaters, especially for genres like comedy and romance that don’t require large screens and surround sound to get the full effect.
While audiences complain at the overabundance of remakes, franchise films, and superhero movies, which on the whole aren’t performing as well as they used to, industry insiders point to the numbers as proof of why these are still being made. Original films are some of the worst performing of the bunch. This makes it a risky proposition for studios to even try.
One Variety critic <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/columns/where-have-all-the-indie-hits-gone-bugonia-after-the-hunt-1236570489/">mentioned</a> some other factors, like Netflix “rob[bing]” theaters of films which could have potentially drawn people to theaters and television shows taking the place of indie movies.
In August, an unnamed studio executive <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/global-summer-box-office-overseas-2025-domestic-1236357631/">told</a> The Hollywood Reporter they are “very, very nervous for the future” of the industry based on the results and said they “don’t think there is enough of an audience” for future theater openings.

Spilled popcorn on floor in cinema

Hollywood Just Had Its Worst Summer Box Office In Over 40 Years

Box Office

Movie Theaters

The director of the original “Naked Gun” movie starring Leslie Nielsen said the producer of the 2025 reboot, Seth MacFarlane, “missed the mark.”
David Zucker made the remarks during a recently published <a href="https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/movies/what-naked-gun-creator-david-zucker-really-thinks-about-the-reboot-exclusive">interview</a> with Woman’s World. 
“My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we originated our own style … and we did that so well that it looks easy, evidently,&#8221; he told the outlet. 
&#8220;People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new ‘Naked Gun,’&#8221; Zucker continued. &#8220;He totally missed it.”
Zucker explained how “there’s a certain method to the madness” that’s difficult to replicate. “We had our 15 rules, and I’m teaching them in the hopes that if anybody tries to do a movie like this again, they’ll do it right.”
Zucker is best known for directing “The Naked Gun” (1988), “The Naked Gun 2½” (1991), and for writing “The Naked Gun 33⅓” (1994). He also directed the popular spoof comedy “Airplane!” (1980). 
He took issue with the film’s budget, for one thing.
&#8220;You shouldn’t spend too much money on comedies, and one of our rules is about technical pizzazz. Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the new ‘Naked Gun,’ you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes full of technical pizzazz while trying to copy our style,” he went on.
Zucker <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/naked-gun-david-zucker-reaction-reboot-liam-neeson-1236337047/">told</a> The Hollywood Reporter when MacFarlane&#8217;s version hit theaters in August that he wasn’t planning to see the reboot.
&#8220;I’ve told [director Akiva Schaffer] that I have no intention to see it,” he continued. “He actually invited me to come see an early cut of it, but I told him there’s nothing I could do to help because it really isn’t what I would have done.&#8221;
&#8220;That’s not to say that he didn’t actually end up doing a good movie. But I don’t think I could help with that,&#8221; Zucker said.
The filmmaker also said that he was offered an executive producer credit on MacFarlane’s version, but said he turned it down because he didn’t want to “take credit on anything that I didn’t work on from the beginning.&#8221;
MacFarlane’s new version of “The Naked Gun” grossed $102.1 million worldwide and currently has an 88% critic’s score and 73% audience score on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_naked_gun_2025">Rotten Tomatoes</a>. 
The movie stars Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., the son of the late Nielsen&#8217;s character Frank Drebin. Pamela Anderson also starred in the film, leading to rumors of a real-life romance between her and Neeson.

The Naked Gun

Original ‘Naked Gun’ Director Slams Seth MacFarlane-Led Reboot

Comedy

Seth MacFarlane

Before director James Cameron became <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/james-cameron-reflects-king-of-the-world-titanic-oscars-speech-2023-3">&#8220;king of the world&#8221;</a> he sat on the hottest of hot seats.
Cameron’s 1997 film “Titanic” arrived with enough bad buzz to sink a battleship. Time magazine ran a cover story on the bloated, $200 million affair with the words, <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/titanic-trailer-james-cameron-bad-buzz-blockbuster-1236552019/">“Glub, Glub, Glub” as the tag line.</a>
All signs suggested the headstrong director behind “Terminator” and “True Lies” had bitten off far more than he could chew, and Hollywood was ready to rub his nose in an epic failure.
What happened next? “Titanic” became the biggest blockbuster of all time, at least up until he dethroned himself (twice) with 2009’s “Avatar” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” (2022).
One man is responsible for three of the most popular American films in U.S. history. This Cameron fella knows what he’s doing and, more importantly, what moviegoers crave. He better, since Hollywood is banking on his latest film to give theaters one last jolt before 2025 wraps.
And, up until now, it hasn’t been a blockbuster year for movies. Can Cameron save Hollywood with “Avatar: Fire and Ash?”
The December 19 release is the third film in the enviro-friendly franchise. Once again, Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang bring the world of Pandora to life, along with endless zeroes and ones. The CGI-heavy franchise slathers recognizable stars with endless digital effects.
<div id="attachment_1000779" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1000779" class="size-large wp-image-1000779" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-9-1024x425.jpg" alt="“Avatar: Fire and Ash.” 2025. Sam Worthington. Photo by 20th Century Studios/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS - Copyright 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. IMDB." width="1024" height="425" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-9-1024x425.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-9-300x125.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-9-768x319.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-9-1536x638.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Untitled-design-9.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />“Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Photo by 20th Century Studios/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS &#8211; Copyright 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. IMDB.</div>
The latest “Avatar” installment finds the Sully clan dealing with a new threat along with a familiar foe. A violent Na’vi faction dubbed the Ash People has aligned with the evil Colonel Quaritch (Lang), setting up more action-packed sequences in the bustling saga.
That’s roughly all we know about the film. Team Cameron knows less is more when it comes to movie marketing.
Plenty is riding on the film, including the saga’s future. Cameron has said if “Fire and Ash” underperforms, <a href="https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2025/10/3/james-cameron-says-avatar-3-has-to-make-a-lot-of-money-for-the-franchise-to-continue">parts 4 and 5 could be in jeopardy</a>. He’s betting “Fire and Ash” will come close to replicate his past successes, partially based on early box office predictions. The film is expected to rake in <a href="https://boxofficetheory.com/6-week-box-office-tracking-wicked-for-good-and-zootopia-2-check-ins-plus-other-updates/">at least $110 million</a> in its opening frame.
He’s not alone in wishing for the best.
The box office isn’t the same as it once was, not even when “The Way of Water” helped theaters bounce back from the pandemic shutdowns three years ago. For every “A Minecraft Movie” or “Sinners,” there are many 2025 films that either flopped or dramatically underperformed in 2025.
“Christy.” “The Alto Knights.” “Good Fortune.” “Snow White.” “Elio.” “Tron: Ares.” Even some hits have been misses. “One Battle After Another” is approaching $70 million at the U.S. box office, but the film’s price tag (a reported $130 million) means it’ll lose plenty for Warner Bros.
One report suggests <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/box-office/one-battle-after-another-lose-100-million-dollars-theaters-1236552914/">that figure could be $100 million.</a>
Variety reports that this year is <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/box-office/october-box-office-record-low-ticket-sales-smashing-machine-tron-ares-flop-1236567987/">currently 2.9 percent ahead</a> of 2024, hardly a boastful account. Stateside revenues are still more than 22 percent behind 2019. That’s the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered movie houses and sent patrons scrambling to streaming services.
That, plus the continued rise of social media, video games, and streaming platforms, leaves cinema uniquely vulnerable as 2026 approaches.
<div id="attachment_1000763" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1000763" class="size-large wp-image-1000763" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb-1024x424.jpg" alt="“Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Photo by 20th Century Studios/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS - Copyright 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. IMDB." width="1024" height="424" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb-1024x424.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb-300x124.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb-768x318.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb-1536x636.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar-imdb.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />“Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Photo by 20th Century Studios/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS &#8211; Copyright 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. IMDB.</div>
There’s something else about Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise that isn’t discussed enough. Do people actually care about the saga and its heroic figures? How many Halloween costumes have been inspired by the series? Does “Avatar” merchandise sales spike when a new film hits theaters?
Comic-Con Nation genuflects to “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” the MCU, and other geek-friendly IPs. Does “Avatar” hold sway over that demographic in a similar fashion? Are names like Neytiri, Jake Sully, and Miles Quaritch as recognizable as Han, Luke, and Leia? What about Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy?
Hardly.
Cameron has spent much of his career defying the odds, and his “Avatar” films do so in another remarkable way. The phrase, “get woke go broke” finally pierced the Hollywood bubble in recent years. The industry has dialed back on its progressive messaging, realizing audiences would rather be entertained than lectured.
Yet the “Avatar” saga is unabashedly pro-environment and, on more than a few occasions, anti-human. We’re meant to root for the Na’vi, not Colonel Quaritch and his human foot soldiers.
<div id="attachment_1000753" style="width: 792px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1000753" class="size-large wp-image-1000753" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co-782x576.jpg" alt="“Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, James Cameron. Photo by 20th Century Studios/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS - Copyright 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. IMDB." width="782" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co-782x576.jpg 782w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co-300x221.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co-768x566.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co-1536x1131.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Avatar.-Cameron-co.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px" />Photo by 20th Century Studios/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS &#8211; Copyright 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. IMDB.</div>
The director’s green activism infects every frame of his “Avatar” films, and he makes no apologies about it. That hasn’t impacted the franchise’s box office receipts, though. Not yet, at least.
Cameron’s undeniable skills can take eco-lectures and dress them up in clear-eyed action sequences and relatable themes. The pro-family sentiment of “The Way of Water,” for example, was impossible to miss.
Look past the director’s progressive streak and you’ll find a populist lurking in plain sight.
And while most filmmakers have wisely left 3D technology behind, Cameron clings to the format while pushing cinema technology forward. Each new “Avatar” film represents a leap in what’s possible on the big screen.
Who knows what “Fire and Ash” will deliver come December.
Boy, could the industry use another Cameron miracle to christen the New Year’s box office dreams and, in theory, prove the “rising tide lifts all boats” axiom anew. It wouldn’t be the first time Cameron defied the odds, but they haven’t been stacked so tall in ages.
* * *
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.

“L’Art De James Cameron – The Art Of James Cameron” Exhibition At La Cinematheque

Can James Cameron Save Hollywood Again?

actors

James Cameron

Actor James Van Der Beek announced that he’s selling off memorabilia from some of his best-known entertainment projects to help pay for his medical bills.
The 48-year-old father of six was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer last year. Van Der Beek said in a <a href="https://people.com/james-van-der-beek-auctions-dawsons-creek-varsity-blues-memorabilia-exclusive-11847179">statement</a> to People that he’s teaming up with Propstore to offer pieces from his collection during the company’s Winter Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction running December 5-7.
Items up for grabs include props from the popular teen drama “Dawson’s Creek,” such as the necklace Dawson (Van Der Beek) gave Joey (Katie Holmes) for prom, which the outlet noted is estimated to go for as much as $52,800. The outfit Van Der Beek wore in the pilot episode is expected to nab close to $4,000.
There will also be items from the popular teen sports drama “Varsity Blues” (1999), such as the cleats and West Canaan Coyotes hat that Van Der Beek wore while portraying Jonathan “Mox” Moxon.
“I’ve been storing these treasures for years, waiting for the right time to do something with them, and with all of the recent unexpected twists and turns life has presented recently, it’s clear that the time is now,” Van Der Beek told People.
He added, “While I have some nostalgia tugging at me as I part with these items, it feels good to be able to offer them through Propstore’s auction to share with those who have supported my work over the years.”
The outlet noted that 100% of the proceeds would go toward helping fund the actor’s cancer treatments.
In September, Van Der Beek was forced to drop out of a “Dawson’s Creek” reunion event at the last minute due to a stomach illness. 
“I have been looking forward to this night for months and months ever since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together,” the “Dawson’s Creek” alum said in the recorded message at the time, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/james-van-der-beek-sends-video-message-to-dawsons-creek-reunion-after-illness-knocks-him-out">reported</a>. “I can’t believe I’m not there. I can’t believe I don’t get to see my castmates, my beautiful cast, in person.”
“And just I want to stand on that stage and thank every single person in the theater for being here tonight,” Van Der Beek continued. “From the cast to the crew to everybody who’s doing anything and has been so generous, and especially every single last one of you – you are the best fans in the world.”

James Van Der Beek

Actor James Van Der Beek To Auction Show Memorabilia To Fund Cancer Treatments

James Van Der Beek Auctioning 'Dawson's Creek,' 'Varsity Blues' Items To Pay For Cancer Treatments

Cancer

Celebrities

Television

Actress Ruby Rose, who was allegedly passed over for the lead role in the boxing biopic “Christy,” came out swinging with a derogatory social media post against Sydney Sweeney.
The sports drama about competitive boxer Christy Martin was a massive flop at the box office, earning just $1.3 million from 2,011 theaters.
“The original Christy Martin script was incredible. Life changing. I was attached to play Cherry,” Rose <a href="https://www.threads.com/@rubyrose/post/DQ5-UJnDSE7">posted</a> on Threads. 
“Everyone had experience with the core material. Most of us were actually gay. It’s part of why I stayed in acting. Losing roles happens all the time,” the “Orange is the New Black” star went on. 
“For her PR to talk about it flopping and saying SS did it for the ‘people’. None of ‘the people’ want to see someone who hates them, parading around pretending to be us. You’re a cretin and you ruined the film. Period. Christy deserved better.”
Rose was referencing comments Sweeney made following the film’s lackluster opening weekend. The actress defended the film being a flop, saying she was still “proud” of her work and insisting that art films didn’t need to make a lot of money.
“[T]hank you to everyone who saw, felt, and believed and will believe in this story for years to come. if Christy gave even one woman the courage to take her first step toward safety, then we will have succeeded,” Sweeney <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sydney_sweeney/p/DQ4OYqPEeN1/">wrote</a> on Instagram Monday. 
“So yes I’m proud. why? because we don’t always just make art for numbers, we make it for impact. and christy has been the most impactful project of my life. thank you Christy. i love you,” she concluded.
Sweeney recently made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sydney-sweeney-praised-for-keeping-her-cool-as-gq-reporter-tries-to-shame-her?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Sydney+Sweeney+Praised+For+Keeping+Her+Cool+As+GQ+Reporter+Tries+To+Shame+Her">headlines</a> for refusing to take the bait when a liberal journalist tried to force her into apologizing for how her viral American Eagles ad campaign was perceived.
“I think that when I have an issue that I want to speak about, people will hear,” the actress said, shutting down the conversation. 
It was also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-delighted-to-learn-sydney-sweeney-is-a-republican-now-i-love-her-ad">reported</a> this summer that Sweeney is a registered Republican.

Ruby Rose and Sydney Sweeney

Gay Actress Who Lost Role In Boxing Biopic Lashes Out At Sydney Sweeney, Calls Her A ‘Cretin’

Actress Who Lost Role In Boxing Biopic Lashes Out At Sydney Sweeney, Calling Her A 'Cretin'

Sydney Sweeney

Depending on who you ask, there are anywhere from seven to 20 different basic plots into which every story ever told fits. Kelsey Grammer thinks there may only be two or three — and one that matters more than the others.
“The reason we love the stories that we have about a central figure who is lost and then is found, that is basically a retelling of the Jesus story over and over again,” the actor told The Daily Wire in a recent interview.
“It’s always about sacrifice, about someone giving of themselves to save somebody else,” Grammer said. “These are the things we aspire to and are also drawn to, because they remind us that we have a purpose,” he said, “and it’s to have a relationship with God, and with one another.”
&#8220;Frasier&#8221; — the hit show in which Grammer played the titular character for 11 seasons, 13 if you count a recent reboot — is one of these stories, he says. The &#8220;Cheers&#8221; spinoff ultimately focused on a group of “people who loved each other who worked through our differences to get to the place where we realigned.”
So too is Grammer’s latest project. “Karen Kingsbury’s The Christmas Ring,” in theaters nationwide, tells the story of a military widow on a quest to find her family’s long-lost ring, an heirloom whose tale begins on D-Day. Along the way, she meets and falls in love with an antiques dealer. Grammer plays the dealer’s father, Howard, a lovable widower who, it turns out, may hold the key to the mystery of the ring.
The movie, Grammer says, “is not a reinvention of the wheel.” It’s “not a movie that’s going to change the world,” but a movie to remind us that “the world is actually okay.”
“It’s a romantic comedy, basically, about loss and love and finding new love and redemption and forgiveness and generosity, sacrifice, the things that come along for the ride when you celebrate the Christmas season.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u3PmNwiu_EE?si=4MtrYxcTapVM0pX3" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> 
But formulaic doesn’t mean bad, as Grammer is quick to point out. After all, we tell the same story each year on Christmas — the greatest story ever told.
“Into a world of Roman rule and infanticide and crucifixion, basically, God sent a baby to be cared for by humans, that we would discover our humanity,” Grammer says. “And that’s a pretty remarkable thing, and that story gets repeated every Christmas.”
“The Jesus story is, you know, always about finding love.”
Grammer is clearly happy to play roles in faith-forward movies. But he isn’t seeking them out exclusively — he reprises his role as the X-Man Beast in the forthcoming “Avengers” movie, he points out — nor is he trying to make some grand public pronouncement of his beliefs.
“I’m not a big proselytizer,” he says. “I’m not going to deny that I have faith and I’m a follower of Jesus, but I don’t walk around saying I’m gonna pray for you today.”
“But I say the Lord’s Prayer every night before I go to bed,” he adds. “My kids say it with me, and we try to walk towards God, towards a sense of faith, towards a higher purpose and a higher power, all these things that define your life by virtue of something outside of you.”
Grammer says he “was a Bible nerd” growing up, and while he “wasn’t a part of a church,” he “always thought” he “had a relationship with Jesus, in some way.”
The pull he’s felt throughout his life he now thinks others are feeling across the country.
“There is a movement back towards the idea that we live by faith and we are destined to do so,” he says. Even Hollywood “is catching on to the fact that there are maybe people like that who are willing to pay for a ticket, too.”
And while Grammer acknowledges that “not everybody” shares his beliefs, he’s quick to note that “even the ones who are on the other side reviling this sort of spiritual awakening” are still “our brothers and sisters.”
He hopes, though, that those on the other side of the road find their way to where he’s standing.
“It’s a real thing,” he says of America’s spiritual awakening. “And you can hate it or you can have the grace to go along with it.”
Faith, hope, and love. As a Bible nerd, Kelsey Grammer must realize these are the three things he’s mentioned most in our interview. St. Paul tells us that the greatest of these is love. And, while Grammer surely has no interest in rejiggering that order, it’s faith that he keeps coming back to — or at least what he speaks most eloquently about.
“We graduate into our humanity by the faith we carry,” he says, “And our belief in that is what unites us. Not human behavior — human behavior’s always going to let you down. But it’s God that teaches us to forgive that.”

Untitled design (66)

Kelsey Grammer Talks Faith, Hollywood, And His New Christmas Movie

Christmas

Christmas movies

Frasier

interview

Jesus

Kelsey Grammer

The movie business has just suffered the worst Halloween box office in over 30 years, causing many people who think seriously about Hollywood to laugh uproariously while baring their buttocks in the direction of Los Angeles and singing made-up song lyrics that rhyme with “Pharma is a glitch, you sleazy brother duckers!”
The box office tally showed that after releasing around 11 Halloween-themed movies for the October holiday at an overall production cost of about $300 million, industry leaders drew in enough money to buy a jumbo popcorn at the candy counter if the nice old man standing in line behind them gave them an extra nickel out of the goodness of his heart.
But while Hollywood zillionaires have been openly dripping scorn on the values, lifestyles, religion, and patriotism of the American public for the last 30 years, that doesn’t mean Americans are celebrating the industry’s hilariously humiliating fall down a bottomless well of hilarious humiliation. Sure, there have been one-or two-or five-hundred nationwide fortnight-long parties at which burning effigies of Bob Iger are hung from trees while adults and children alike dance in circles beneath them singing made-up lyrics that rhyme with, “Burn, you supercilious niece of split!” But that’s only because they wanted to melt chocolate and marshmallows for their s&#8217;mores, and a burning effigy of Bob Iger strung from a tree happened to be near at hand, as always.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, studio executives are trying to solve the mysteriously puzzling conundrum-like enigma of why their latest films are not causing what used to be the movie-going public to leave their homes, where they’re busy playing darts with the headshots of loudmouth actors.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974735 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-768x128.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1536x256.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now.jpg 1800w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
One studio executive, Chazer Shmendrik of Crapola Pictures, took time out to talk to a reporter while coming home to his third wife from his 14-year-old mistress’s house before stopping off at his dealer on his way to a fundraiser for the Shout Your Abortion Foundation. Shmendrik said, “I just can’t figure out why the folks aren’t showing up for our movies. We’ve given them homosexual propaganda for children, turned all their favorite franchises into socialist rants, denigrated masculinity, banned femininity, barred the depiction of white men as heroes, and cast the president of the United States as everything from a black lesbian to a saintly Islamist. We even made a movie about a 58-year-old girl-boss who laps milk out of a saucer in order to debase herself in front of a 25-year-old man. I mean, we’ve tried everything. What the hell else does this audience want anyway?”
Other executives said the poor Halloween box office was either due to competition from the World Series or the government shutdown, or the fact that Halloween fell on a Friday this year, or maybe just that Americans are sick of giving money to tawdry jerkwads who hate them. 
But even as Hollywood tried to determine where they might have gone wrong, the industry was rocked by another scandal when bombshell actress Lefty Vavoom showed up at an elite gala wearing a shocking full-sleeved blouse and ankle-length skirt that revealed every inch of her modesty and restrained sexual behavior. As paparazzi snaps of the starlet’s outfit appeared on front pages under red-ink shock headlines, feminist critics reacted in rage.
At the New York Times, a former newspaper, feminist columnist Banshee McScreamyface wrote, “At a time when women in the workplace are facing disrespect for simply exercising their right to descend to the lowest levels of self-hating sexual degradation, how can we proclaim our feminist principles if our Hollywood role models strut around in non-see-through blouses that don’t even expose their nipples? I don’t want to seem old-fashioned but we need a return to the good old days when Kanye West’s girlfriends came to parties wearing nothing but a dog collar, proudly proclaiming the legacy of feminism, namely obsessive self-abuse and soulless immiseration.”
Trembling before the feminist blast no one else read, Hollywood moguls immediately signed a pledge to cast more black actors in roles that make no earthly sense, and release another movie in which Nicole Kidman humiliates herself in the nude in time for her sixtieth birthday.
If that doesn’t win back the audience, nothing will. And let’s hope nothing will.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fifth installment, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-That-Cameron-Winter-Mysteries/dp/1613166869/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EGZUC370LG46&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y_NI0mDOKeowShheDQTVx5NH-fAeimJoCD56_T0Acpl8C0mup7uJf-nGGSRLEItaaekoDnvS2vWLMa4Zd2UBXQ8Y-g-P502jOWz-Y8IX3ZQsdlO7WMLrg1xIhNoKmjCorSWUR4C2l_RbiZ7apJ1MfPzGOrrEf7AdAXX6xwnJRVP_XqUfWuMuVthTWscaU3P4vgmS86-96n-721enHfX12CFQWTajqFbVnrsDkexfUf4.6_gTH6h1Bb9Pn375QdF_VAVZSayDvjQBBKGXE-MTiFo&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=klavan&amp;qid=1754049918&amp;sprefix=%2Caps%2C80&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After That, The Dark,</a> is NOW AVAILABLE. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>
The views expressed in this satirical piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Friends watching scary movie at movie theater

Hollywood’s Halloween Horror: Woke Films So Bad They’re Scaring Audiences Away

Andrew Klavan

Horror Movies

Humor

Satire

The Left owns Hollywood lock, stock, and barrel. Or, to be more accurate, used to own.
New media rebels are finally giving the progressive monopoly some small but fiery competition. Think “The Joe Rogan Experience,” a contrarian podcast where alternative perspectives get millions of views across media platforms. Or a certain conservative outlet that produced the <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/amiracist/?gad_campaignid=21933436219&amp;gad_source=1&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQiAq7HIBhDoARIsAOATDxBm2hPQ6CcuV09hj6BwyoTy0cbj2esalZiZVU_F95kQ04U2iaLygZIaAsO6EALw_wcB&amp;utm_campaign=air&amp;utm_content=na_subscriptions&amp;utm_medium=paid&amp;utm_source=googlesearch">most popular documentary of the last decade.</a>
Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter-turned-X struck another blow against the Left’s pop culture cartel. Still, the Left’s near stranglehold on the arts remains in place, leaving a David vs. Goliath battle in progress.
Enter David Ellison, a corporate titan with a small but mighty slingshot.
<div id="attachment_997647" style="width: 876px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-997647" class="size-large wp-image-997647" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2239551629-866x576.jpg" alt="David Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount Skydance Corp., during the Bloomberg Screentime event in Los Angeles, California, US, on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. Screentime gathers the moguls, celebrities, and entrepreneurs defining the next phase of pop culture to discuss and debate the future of Hollywood studios, the boom in sports and live music and the impact of AI on the creative industries. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="866" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2239551629-866x576.jpg 866w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2239551629-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2239551629-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2239551629.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px" />Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
The CEO of Skydance Media is now a major player in the entertainment space following his company’s acquisition of Paramount. And he could loom even larger should Skydance <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/david-ellisons-paramount-seen-front-runner-warner-bros-discovery-deal-2025-10-23/">add Warner Bros. Discovery</a> to its portfolio.
Ellison isn’t a number-crunching executive handing the creative side off to colleagues. His company’s biography says he “oversees the entire Skydance film slate.”
The son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison (one of the world’s richest men) is personally invested in entertainment, above and beyond his background with USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and memberships in the Producers Guild of America and the Television Academy.
<div id="attachment_997643" style="width: 876px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-997643" class="size-large wp-image-997643" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-450392142-866x576.jpg" alt="Larry Ellison, chief executive officer at Oracle Corp., speaks during an event at the company's headquarters in Redwood City, California, U.S., on Tuesday, June 10, 2014. Ellison announced today that Oracle Corp will be releasing a new in memory database system called 12c in July 2014. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="866" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-450392142-866x576.jpg 866w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-450392142-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-450392142-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-450392142.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px" />David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
An <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/features/david-ellison-hollywood-takeover-paramount-warner-bros-1236569136/">expansive Variety profile</a> suggests he’s willing to shake up the status quo in order to stay profitable in an uncertain time for film and TV studios. The old ways no longer work, he believes, and there’s plenty of evidence to back him up, given Hollywood’s uncertain present.
The bigger issue, one that could turn the cultural tide? He’s MAGA=adjacent. President Donald Trump has referred to the Ellisons as “<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/media/ellison-wbd-trump-warner-bros-discovery-bid">friends” and “big supporters.”</a> 
Exaggerations? Possibly. The younger Ellison has been coy about his ties to Trump, telling a press gaggle earlier this year that he <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/david-ellison-paramount-plans-politics?srsltid=AfmBOopmFhN2gwtpuslNfLqAi5xkwi8GFifA8TAs49IslmXixJozLRyB">wanted to avoid political conversations</a>.
“Half my family is Democrat, half my family is Republican … I don’t intend to put my finger on the scale.”
That’s both an improvement on the status quo and something that speaks to both the cultural moment and the sense that Hollywood, Inc. has spent years alienating a huge swath of the country at its peril.
Ellison could make a sizable play for said swath by playing it down the middle. And, on occasion, reaching out to the Right when it makes sense. 
He recently partnered with the Trump administration to bring a UFC extravaganza to the White House lawn next year. That’s part of the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/paramount-wins-exclusive-us-rights-ufc-77-billion-deal-2025-08-11/">company’s $7.7 billion (with a B) UFC deal</a>. That sport skews decidedly young and male, a far cry from the “toxic masculinity” cries circulating in some Hollywood projects.
<div id="attachment_997651" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-997651" class="size-large wp-image-997651" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2242789414-864x576.jpg" alt="ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 23: UFC President and CEO Dana White is seen on stage during the UFC 321 press conference at Etihad Arena on October 23, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2242789414-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2242789414-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2242789414-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2242789414.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC</div>
Team UFC isn’t in lockstep with the Democrats like most sports, either. You won’t find an “End Racism” logo on any octagon. Some <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/29/mma-trump-election-433529">MMA stars are pro-Trump</a>, while key figures like Rogan and UFC CEO Dana White both endorsed the leader’s 2024 campaign.
Ellison recently acquired the center-driven Free Press news outlet and hired founder Bari Weiss to restore CBS News as a trustworthy platform.
Weiss, a center-Left lesbian with a passion for old-school journalism, is the kind of person few people of Ellison’s status would embrace. He chose her anyway, hoping she would restore the CBS brand to its former glory. She quickly axed departments tied to race and climate.
That Variety profile mentions upcoming Ellison projects, such as a “Top Gun” sequel, the Heartland hit that Hollywood has yet to Xerox in any meaningful fashion. The only recent film to capture “Top Gun: Maverick’s” spirit? “F1,” the Brad Pitt racing film from earlier this year. Both hit films were shot by the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-all-american-director-you-dont-know-by-name">same director</a>, Joseph Kosinski.
<div id="attachment_997633" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-997633" class="size-large wp-image-997633" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1395478401-864x576.jpg" alt="SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 04: (L-R) Brian Robbins, President &amp; CEO, Paramount Pictures, Bob Bakish, President and CEO, Paramount Global, David Ellison, Joseph Kosinski, Tom Cruise, Shari Redstone, Non-Executive Chairwoman, Paramount Global, Jerry Bruckheimer and Christopher McQuarrie attends the Global Premiere of &quot;Top Gun: Maverick&quot; on May 04, 2022 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1395478401-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1395478401-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1395478401-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-1395478401.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures</div>
Other Ellison films include a “Call of Duty” video game adaptation from Trump-friendly director Peter Berg and a cowboy feature the liberal outlet dubbed a “Western version of ‘Taken.’”
For years, Hollywood seemed willing to lose money in order to push a progressive message. The best example? It kept late-night TV reflexively liberal, ignoring viewers who craved a second opinion. Fox News shamed the industry by giving right-leaning Greg Gutfeld a late-night showcase, and his ratings numbers now speak for themselves.
That’s called leaving money on the table. Would Team Ellison do that?
CBS famously put an end to Stephen Colbert’s reign on “The Late Show,” giving him until May of 2026 to peddle his nonstop Trump barbs. That move came a month before Skydance acquired Paramount, Colbert’s then-employer.
As Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/skydance-colbert-late-show-anti-bribery-laws-paramount-senators-letter-1236476164/">reported</a>, “&#8230;Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon, Skydance’s general counsel and co-president of business operations, said in part … “Skydance was “not involved” in CBS’s decision to cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert&#8230;”
None of this means Ellison plans to turn Skydance into a Fox News-like media empire. No channels dedicated to Dinesh D’Souza documentaries or Chuck Norris films. It’s far more significant than that, potentially.
Ellison’s mission could give half the nation a veritable safe space, a company that won’t insult them and, on occasion, deliver content that speaks to their values. Hollywood needs fresh thinking and a way to reach audiences who have been chased away by A-list talent for far too long.
A key reason why the Oscars, a once-beloved TV institution, is no longer a ratings juggernaut is that too many stars rage against the show’s audience. Viewers hate them back by turning the channel.
Megastars no longer move the political needle every four years, in part, due to that animosity.
An Ellison-ized Hollywood could tell stories that would never otherwise be told. Imagine features on how Venezuela’s socialism crashed a once-prosperous nation. Or heroic tales that speak to the best American values, not just Oscar-bait dramas reeking of greedy capitalists or cruel men of faith.
It’s the kind of industry shake-up Hollywood needs, and it may take a billionaire of Ellison’s status to make it happen. Or, as screenwriter William Goldman said about Hollywood, “nobody knows anything.”
But if Ellison bucks conventional wisdom, he actually could make Hollywood great again.
* * *
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.

Key Speakers At The Bloomberg Screentime Conference

Paramount’s New Boss Has One Mission: Make Hollywood Watchable Again

Bari Weiss

Billionaire

Dana White

Silicon Valley

Tom Cruise

Video Games

White House

The stars are aligning against artificial intelligence.
It’s hard to blame them. One look at Tilly Norwood, the A.I. actress, as pretty as she is, forever young, and it’s clear why actors would be threatened by her digital existence.
That explains why so many are raging against A.I. in interview after interview. Except there’s a flaw in their arguments, one few stars are willing to admit. Nor will major studios, for that matter.
Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson excoriated the rise of A.I. during an appearance on the soon-to-be-extinct “Late Show” on CBS. 
She shared her “<a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/emma-thompson-ai-annoying-irritation-1236563757/">intense irritation</a>” with the technological movement.
<blockquote>“… when I’ve written something, I will put it into a Word document. And recently, the Word document is constantly saying, ‘Would you like me to rewrite that for you?’ And so I end up just saying, ’I don’t need you to rewrite what I’ve just written, will you f*** off?! Just f*** off!”</blockquote>
<div id="attachment_994579" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-994579" class="size-large wp-image-994579" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Colbert-ET-1024x517.jpg" alt="Screenshot: Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube.com" width="1024" height="517" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Colbert-ET-1024x517.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Colbert-ET-300x151.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Colbert-ET-768x388.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Colbert-ET.jpg 1157w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Screenshot: Late Show with Stephen Colbert/YouTube.com</div>
“Parks &amp; Recreation” alum Nick Offerman sang from a <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/the-view-nick-offerman-slams-ai/">similar hymnal</a> during a recent “View” appearance.
<blockquote>“In this day and age where companies are taking over the curation of our lives, like, they want AI to think for us…I love my clumsy, stupid farmer voice, I would never want a robot to write my song for me, because my song is stupid in a wonderful, delicious way that’s all about my voice! I don’t want to give over my agency.”</blockquote>
One of Offerman’s compositions <a href="https://www.billboard.com/culture/politics/nick-offerman-slams-donald-trump-pro-kamala-song-parody-1235762250/">mocked President Donald Trump</a> during the 2024 campaign.
<blockquote>“I’m proud to be a Kamala man, who’s quit the GOP/ I just can’t stick with the man convicted of 34 felonies.”</blockquote>
It’s hard to imagine A.I. could belt out a tune quite that insightful.
Some artists are doing more than talking about artificial intelligence. Author George R.R. Martin is <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/george-rr-martin-openai-court-legal-1236413461/">suing OpenAI</a> for copyright infringement. And he may have plenty of company, especially since said suit, albeit slowly, is moving forward.
The collective fear is palpable, and not without reason. If a savvy 21-year-old can use A.I. to create a visually stunning film at the same price point as a studio’s catering budget, Hollywood could be on borrowed time.
There’s another reason for the industry to give A.I. a long, hard look. The computer revolution excels at absorbing content and spitting out new material based on that data. How different is it from Hollywood in 2025?
Yes, too many film and TV scripts feel like A.I. helped write them from start to finish. Hackneyed plots. Predictable story arcs. Canned dialogue lacking in wit and imagination. Here’s betting A.I. could create an annoying GirlBoss character as well as any woke scribe.
Or almost as well.
That’s part of the problem. What about the content itself? Hollywood recycling has reached a fever pitch, and it shows no signs of stopping.
Recent examples include a deal to turn the ‘80s cop show “Miami Vice” into a feature film, one potentially starring Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler. The original saga captured the Reagan era to a “T,” from its pastel-flavored suits to its synth-heavy soundtrack.
Except we’ve already seen a “Miami Vice” movie directed by a key player behind the original series, auteur Michael Mann. That 2006 film featuring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell made only a modest dent at the box office. Now, it’s time to try again? Why not feed the show’s original episodes into Grok and see what it churns out?
<div id="attachment_994551" style="width: 943px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-994551" class="size-large wp-image-994551" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2242151643-933x576.jpg" alt="ELIZABETH, NJ - OCTOBER 21: Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone is seen filming on the set of &quot;I Play Rocky&quot; on October 21, 2025 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)" width="933" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2242151643-933x576.jpg 933w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2242151643-300x185.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2242151643-768x474.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2242151643.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 933px) 100vw, 933px" />Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images</div>
Another upcoming project essentially reboots Sylvester Stallone’s early years. “I Play Rocky” recalls the actor’s battle to play the main character in his original, in-demand screenplay. Studio executives had little appetite for Stallone, then an unknown actor. They craved an established star to play the blue-collar boxer who dreams of greatness.
The film cast young actors who resemble both Stallone and “Rocky” favorite Carl Weathers, respectively, although A.I. could have de-aged both for a fraction of the price.
The problem isn’t relegated to the big screen. A new “Karate Kid” musical retells that now tired tale, one that inspired three sequels, a Jackie Chan-led reboot, a spinoff TV series (“Cobra Kai”), and last summer’s tepid “Karate Kid: Legends.”
Here’s betting A.I. could write a few wisecracks about Hollywood’s recycling obsession. Actually, here’s one from Grok:
<blockquote>Hollywood is so obsessed with sequels, prequels, and remakes that the next big blockbuster will be Spider-Man: The Origin of the Origin Story.</blockquote>
Hardly a howler, but it’s not as awful as your average Stephen Colbert monologue.
Now, imagine if today’s Hollywood threw off the shackles of its IP obsession and reclaimed the spirit of, say, ‘70s-era filmmaking. That decade delivered rich, complicated stories that brought out the best in Hollywood at all levels. Think “Three Days of the Condor,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Network,” “Taxi Driver,” and “Chinatown.” Those are just a few of the iconic films that defined the ‘70s.
<div id="attachment_994583" style="width: 741px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-994583" class="size-large wp-image-994583" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-133286967-731x576.jpg" alt="Penny Allen (3rd from left) and others are held up by Al Pacino in a scene from the film 'Dog Day Afternoon', 1975. (Photo by Warner Brothers/Getty Images)" width="731" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-133286967-731x576.jpg 731w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-133286967-300x236.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-133286967-768x605.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-133286967.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 731px) 100vw, 731px" />Photo by Warner Bros./Getty Images</div>
No A.I. bot could replicate those stories. Tilly Norwood would look foolish among the likes of Diane Keaton, Al Pacino, and Robert De Niro.
Maybe Hollywood should view A.I. not as an existential threat but the ultimate challenge.
Hollywood delivered some of the best stories of the modern era thanks to the intense competition fostered by the rise of cable and streaming outlets in the 21st century. “The Sopranos.” “Breaking Bad.” “Game of Thrones.” “Mad Men.”
The industry should view the threat of A.I. as a chance to show those dumb robots what great storytelling is all about.
* * *
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.
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The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Stars Rage Against AI, But Hollywood’s Been Acting Like A Machine For Years

Artificial Intelligence

“Roofman” doesn’t look or sound like a faith-based movie.
The film follows a prison escapee named Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) who hides out in a toy store while wooing a naïve divorcee (Kirsten Dunst). Paramount Pictures isn’t known for producing religious fare, and director Derek Cianfrance made his name with gritty tales like “Blue Valentine” and “The Place Beyond the Pines.”
Plus, it’s based on a true story. Look closer.
The October release focuses on the divorcee’s tight-knit Christian community. The church welcomes Jeffrey, provides him with support, and is portrayed in a uniformly positive light.
As a result, the real-life figures in the Manchester saga, including the woman played by Dunst, have forgiven Manchester for his transgressions. It helps that the character and the real-life criminal aren’t cruel by nature.
He was a kinder, gentler crook, and the film leans into that dichotomy along with some powerful, redemptive arcs. Tatum’s character spends much of his time clowning around inside a Toys &#8220;R&#8221; Us store, chomping candy, and entertaining himself long after the last customer had left the store.
<div id="attachment_985765" style="width: 816px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-985765" class="wp-image-985765 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Roofman.-Tatum.-Parmount-806x576.jpg" alt="Photo Credit: Davi Russo/Davi Russo. Copyright 2025 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED." width="806" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Roofman.-Tatum.-Parmount-806x576.jpg 806w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Roofman.-Tatum.-Parmount-300x214.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Roofman.-Tatum.-Parmount-768x549.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Roofman.-Tatum.-Parmount-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Roofman.-Tatum.-Parmount.jpg 2000w" sizes=" (max-width: 806px) 100vw, 806px" />Photo Credit: Davi Russo/Davi Russo. Copyright 2025 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.</div>
That tone and approach to the spiritual themes was by design, according to Cianfrance.
The director tells The Daily Wire he spent roughly 400 hours talking to the real Jeffrey Manchester, a former California U.S. military sergeant, from prison over a span of four years. 
“I wouldn’t have made the movie if I hadn’t been able to talk to him,” Cianfrance said. The Hollywood veteran learned about not just Manchester but the community that took him in during a curious time in his life.
“The pastor had created this ideologized little society. It was diverse. Old people. Young people. Rich people. Poor people. All different races,” said Cianfrance, who grew up Catholic. “They welcomed everyone.”
The director made sure that spirit infused the film, and he acknowledges that Hollywood doesn’t always capture faith in a positive way. That’s being generous.
<div id="attachment_985797" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-985797" class="size-large wp-image-985797" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2238204363-864x576.jpg" alt="LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 29: (L-R) Peter Dinklage, Melonie Diaz, Uzo Aduba, Alissa Marie Pearson, Channing Tatum, Esmé McSherry, Kirsten Dunst, Derek Cianfrance and Kirt Gunn attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Paramount Pictures' &quot;Roofman&quot; at Paramount Theatre on September 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2238204363-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2238204363-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2238204363-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2238204363.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Monica Schipper/Getty Images</div>
“In Hollywood movies, they present Christianity or the church, any kind of church, in a very negative light. It’s almost like a punchline, something to satirize … I don’t have that perspective in my heart,” he said.
Manchester’s stint outside of jail allowed him to find a welcoming community, a positive sign in a rather twisted story. “We’re so divided as a society … this movie was a chance for me to shine a light on them.”
He still wasn’t entirely sold on the project at first. On paper, the saga of Jeffrey Manchester seemed too surreal even for a feature film.
The real Manchester robbed his fair share of fast-food joints, but he also extended kindness to the startled employees along the way. An early scene in “Roofman” finds Tatum’s character giving his jacket to a worker who he steered into the restaurant’s cooler so he would stay warm until the authorities arrived to free him.
<div id="attachment_985775" style="width: 816px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-985775" class="wp-image-985775 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Tatum.-Roofman.-Paramount-II-806x576.jpg" alt="Photo Credit: Davi Russo/Davi Russo. Copyright 2025 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED." width="806" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Tatum.-Roofman.-Paramount-II-806x576.jpg 806w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Tatum.-Roofman.-Paramount-II-300x214.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Tatum.-Roofman.-Paramount-II-768x549.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Tatum.-Roofman.-Paramount-II-1536x1097.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Tatum.-Roofman.-Paramount-II.jpg 2000w" sizes=" (max-width: 806px) 100vw, 806px" />Photo Credit: Davi Russo/Davi Russo. Copyright 2025 PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.</div>
He also had a path to freedom at one point in his journey, according to Cianfrance, but he chose to reunite with someone he met during his prison break instead.
“His humanity made him a less effective criminal,” the director said, and that triggered his creative Spidey Senses. “I asked myself, ‘Is this for real?” That led him to chat with Manchester for hour upon hour, but he still wasn’t convinced.
He had to speak to the people in his life, the members of Crossroads Church whom he bamboozled.
“They validated all of his stories, even the crazier ones,” said the director, implying he left some material out of his script to keep the film credible. He expected the church’s pastor, Ron Smith, and Leigh Wainscott to be furious with Manchester’s deceptions. Their memories of him proved much more complicated and empathetic.
“They were the ones who redeemed him,” Cianfrance said.
Manchester has accepted his fate as an inmate at Central Prison in Raleigh, N.C. He knows he repeatedly broke the law and only disagrees with the length of his sentence, according to Cianfrance. His <a href="https://www.today.com/popculture/movies/roofman-true-story-jeffrey-manchester-rcna236165">release date</a> is December 2036.
Manchester eventually gave “Roofman” and Cianfrance his blessing via their string of phone calls.
“Derek, this is my story, but it’s your movie &#8230; I want you to make your movie,” he recalled.
<div id="attachment_985789" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-985789" class="size-large wp-image-985789" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2239586469-864x576.jpg" alt="NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 06: Channing Tatum and Derek Cianfrance visit the SiriusXM Studios on October 06, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2239586469-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2239586469-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2239586469-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/GettyImages-2239586469.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Cindy Ord/Getty Images</div>
The director’s film came in with a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/box-office-jared-leto-tron-ares-1236397724/">$19 million budget</a>, a small sum for an industry struggling to share original stories untethered to established IPs. That made its modest $8 million opening frame acceptable by industry standards.
What Cianfrance finds unacceptable is the sudden, shocking threat AI poses to his industry.
“Writing is hard &#8230; staring at a screen and not knowing [what to write]. It’s the struggle where you find the journey, the process of writing that I love,” he said. “It’s not about getting it right or finding the solution.”
“I embrace the mistakes not the perfection,” he continued. “I think what makes us all unique is not how perfect we are, it’s our flaws. The human flaws can’t be replicated by AI.”
* * *
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.

Variety Cover Party Presented By RBC At RBC House, Toronto International Film Festival 2025

Director Derek Cianfrance On ‘Roofman’: A True Story Of Faith Hollywood Rarely Tells

Director Derek Cianfrance On 'Roofman': A True Story Of Faith Hollywood Rarely Tells

Channing Tatum

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