The first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, came out in 1981. Back then, Harrison Ford was 38.
Now Ford&#8217;s 80 years old, not exactly the age of an action hero. And the fifth installment of the movie is not faring well with critics.
&#8220;It’s all pretty goofy and laborious over its 142-minute running time,&#8221; Peter Howell of the Toronto Star <a href="https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/review/2023/05/21/indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny-neither-triumph-nor-disaster.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
The Rolling Stone review was even more harsh. &#8220;[Y]ou either die an intellectual-property hero trapped in amber, or you live long enough to see yourself riding a fake horse against a green-screened subway background when most of your peers have slowed down.&#8221;
&#8220;[Y]ou’re largely left with what you imagine you’d get if you programmed a 21st century A.I. program to write up nostalgia-bait for the children of the late 20th century,&#8221; critic David Fear <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny-review-harrison-ford-phoebe-waller-bridge-cannes-nazis-james-mangold-1234736151/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
&#8220;Ford still has the fortitude to play the part. But just having him show up to crack whips and crack wise in the name of bringing back that old Indy thrills-spills-chills magic isn’t enough of an excuse to have him don the fedora one last time. &#8216;Things move forward,&#8217; one character tells Jones. &#8216;And sometimes, they move backward.&#8217; Someone may have turned the dial a little too much on the latter’s side this time around,&#8221; Fear added.
While the movie is big, the writing is small.
&#8220;[O]ne can feel the four credited screenwriters grasping at inspiration and coming up short. What they did manage to make would be perfectly fine as a standalone adventure film starring some other character, but it’s not worthy of the whip,&#8221; Vanity Fair critic Richard Lawson <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/05/hunting-treasures-punching-nazis-indiana-jones-is-back-in-the-dial-of-destiny" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
With a running time of nearly 2:30, reviewers said the $300 million movie is a bloated mess with endless chase scenes. &#8220;That nonstop pacing might sound ideal, but it’s mostly an exhausting slog,&#8221; David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/indiana-jones-and-the-dial-of-destiny-review-harrison-ford-james-mangold-1235495914/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.
And so much phony CGI. &#8220;Part of what dims the enjoyment of this concluding chapter is just how glaringly fake so much of it looks,&#8221; Rooney wrote.
Maybe the filmmakers should have stopped at four installments. While some reviews said Ford still has his trademark swagger, one reviewer wrote: &#8220;I&#8217;m not sure how many fans want to see Indiana Jones as a broken, helpless old man who cowers in the corner while his patronising goddaughter takes the lead, but that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re given, and it&#8217;s as bleak as it sounds.&#8221;
(Disclosure: The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/introducing-dw-kids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced plans</a> for kids entertainment content.)
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny new clip official - Cannes Film Festival 2023" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jY5Paugfurs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

“Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny” Photocall – The 76th Annual Cannes Film Festival

‘Exhausting Slog,’ ‘Glaringly Fake’: Critics Shred Disney’s ‘Indiana Jones 5’

'Exhausting Slog,' Glaringly Fake': Critics Shred Disney’s ‘Indiana Jones 5’

Harrison Ford

Hollywood

Movies

The Hollywood Reporter

U.S.

Vanity Fair

Groundbreaking artificial intelligence technology used to de-age actors in real-time will be featured in a new Tom Hanks and Robin Wright film directed by Robert Zemeckis, which takes place in a single room over thousands of years.
Metaphysic, the AI-tech-based company, announced Tuesday to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/metaphysic-ai-tom-hanks-robin-wright-deaged-robert-zemeckis-caa-1235313318/">The Hollywood Reporter</a> that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Creative Artist Agency (CAA) to develop generative AI tools and services for talent, which would first be featured in a Richard McGuire graphic novel adaption titled &#8220;Here.&#8221;
&#8220;With the support of CAA and by working on projects like Here, Metaphysic is demonstrating the transformative power of hyperreal AI to shape the future of entertainment and to eventually help people create AI-generated, photorealistic immersive content while they own and control their data,&#8221; Tom Graham, Metaphysic CEO and co-founder, told the entertainment news outlet.
The film takes place in one room and follows many of its inhabitants over thousands of years, from the past to the future.
Graham and Metaphysic co-founder Chris Ume, ​​who will serve as AI supervisor, shocked audiences around the world last year after debuting the high-resolution photorealistic face swaps and de-aging effects technology on America&#8217;s Got Talent, which featured a deepfake of the show&#8217;s host Simon Cowell performing &#8220;You&#8217;re the Inspiration.&#8221;
The company first went viral in 2021 after turning actor Miles Fisher into superstar Tom Cruise using an AI avatar called DeepTomCruise on a TikTok channel.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Simon Cowell Sings on Stage?! Metaphysic Will Leave You Speechless | AGT 2022" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mPU0WNUzsBo?start=327&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Zemeckis told The Hollywood Reporter that using technology to help tell stories has always attracted him.
&#8220;With Here, the film simply wouldn&#8217;t work without our actors seamlessly transforming into younger versions of themselves. Metaphysic&#8217;s AI tools do exactly that, in ways that were previously impossible,&#8221; Zemeckis said. &#8220;Having tested every flavor of face replacement and de-aging technology available today, Metaphysic are clearly the global leaders in feature-quality AI content and the perfect choice for this incredibly challenging, emotional film.&#8221;
Visual effects supervisor for the production Kevin Baillie told the entertainment news outlet AI-technology also serves as a &#8220;youth mirror&#8221; for the actors, which allows the artists to test acting choices for a younger version of themselves in real-time. &#8220;It is incredible to see Metaphysic&#8217;s AI-generated content flawlessly integrated into a shot live on set,&#8221; Baillie said.
Joanna Popper, chief metaverse officer at CAA, told The Hollywood Reporter the agency looks forward to working with Metaphysic, as its tech &#8220;combined with their ethics-first approach and thought leadership&#8221; could &#8220;unlock an incredible opportunity for the entertainment industry and beyond.&#8221;
Making an actor look younger through visual effects has been used in the past but continues to emerge in Hollywood in recent years.
De-aging technology first appeared on the scene in 2006 with X-Men: The Last Stand, where Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan appeared as younger versions of themselves, Yahoo <a href="https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/tom-hanks-robin-wright-reunite-forrest-gump-170243387.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJQi-tsjdSx7R22x2jxh_iqzLtNnkT-s4q55f73Ao7scpOGKsDtjhzxuP6pgcWlVdZNE9w22kEBa84VqvspA4RVw42Govhd28xXZ-jB9YCri0Nv6FlfXv3eaWBtgiWtqiL7m73styBZ3va_QPZmgDaVQUhEQ_RXTZueyvPXPTsvI">reported</a>.
Critically acclaimed director Martin Scorsese used the technology in 2020 for &#8220;The Irishman,&#8221; which de-aged the entire cast of Hollywood legends Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci.
Disney announced last year the company developed artificial intelligence tools that can de-age actors with just one click in post-production.
Creators of the new &#8220;Indiana Jones&#8221; installment will also showcase a young Harrison Ford in a flashback sequence in the upcoming movie &#8220;Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.&#8221;
Metaphysic creators are set to move the new generative AI-driven cameras to de-age actors Hanks and Penn as they team up again with Zemeckis, who all originally worked on the 1994 classic &#8220;Forrest Gump.&#8221;
&#8220;Here&#8221; is set to release in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2024.

Americas Got Talent – Season 17

‘America’s Got Talent’ Finalists Set To Use Groundbreaking De-Aging Metaphysic A.I. Tool In New Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis Movie

'America's Got Talent' Finalists Set To Use Groundbreaking De-Aging AI-Technology In New Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis Movie

Film

Technology

Tom Hanks

“Succession” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">actor</a> Jeremy Strong said in a recent <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/jeremy-strong-armageddon-time-succession-1235228251/">interview</a> with The Hollywood Reporter that he takes his profession so seriously that it’s actually like a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/religion">religion</a>.
Strong became a household name thanks to his leading role in the Emmy-winning HBO drama, which he personally received a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/entertainment">Best Actor award</a> for in 2020. He has also appeared in Stephen Spielberg’s 2012 drama “Lincoln” and in “Zero Dark Thirty.” The 43-year-old star will also star in the upcoming period drama “Armageddon Time.”
When asked by the interviewer point blank if acting was his religion, Strong said in a way it was.
“It might come off sounding a certain way if I were to say that, but yes,” he replied. 
“I think it is a sacramental activity expressing a faith, if that’s what a religion is. I feel wary of saying that because religion is religion and I don’t want to diminish what religion is. But for me, certainly. Theaters have always been a place that feel kind of holy. And the communicative and healing power of film is completely profound and mysterious. So, yeah, I’m a devout devotee of that. Yeah.”
Strong has been criticized for method acting in the past and his overall intensity for acting. 
A December 2021 New Yorker <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/12/13/on-succession-jeremy-strong-doesnt-get-the-joke">profile</a> on the actor went viral once fans realized the extremes he went to for the roles he played. “To me, the stakes are life and death,” he said of playing Kendall Roy in “Succession.” 
“I take him as seriously as I take my own life.”
His co-star, British actor Brian Cox, was outspoken in his criticism of that approach. “I don’t hold a lot of the American sh**, having to have a religious experience every time you play a part. It’s crap,” he <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/tiff-succession-brian-cox-blasts-method-acting-1235220997/">said</a> at the Toronto Film Festival. “I don’t hang onto the characters I play. I let them go through me. The thing is to be ready to accept, as an actor. You stand there, you’re ready to accept whatever is thrown at you.” 
Meanwhile, Strong is hesitant to talk about what happened as the result of that New Yorker interview, while still acknowledging how seriously he takes his work.
“There’s a lot of mythologizing about my process,” Strong told THR of the aftermath. “But it’s very unremarkable and is really just about concentration.” 
&#8220;I’m just an actor trying to work hard and take risks,” he continued. “And the drama of all that I feel is just noise.”

HBO’s “Succession” Season 3 Premiere

‘Succession’ Star Jeremy Strong Calls Acting His ‘Religion’: ‘It Is A Sacramental Activity’

'Succession' Star Jeremy Strong Calls Acting His 'Religion': 'It Is A Sacramental Activity'

Celebrities

Entertainment

Religion

WWE officials claimed Tuesday that former CEO Vince McMahon allegedly made two additional hush money payments worth $5 million following an investigation alleging he used $14.6 million to silence former female employees who accused him of sexual misconduct since 2006.
According to a revised filing from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, McMahon apparently made such previously undisclosed payments in 2007 and 2009, which brought the total amount paid to $19.6 million.
&#8220;The Company has evaluated the Unrecorded Expenses and has determined that such amounts should have been recorded as expenses in each of the periods in which they became probable and estimable,&#8221; the WWE stated in the filing Tuesday, per <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/wwe-discloses-additional-5m-in-payments-related-to-vince-mcmahon-misconduct-1235196010/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>.
The American professional wrestling network said it &#8220;has also received, and may receive in the future, regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands arising from, related to, or in connection with these matters.&#8221;
Following a report from The Wall Street Journal, McMahon has allegedly paid out $12 million to buy the silence of four women over the last 16 years. One of the women was a wrestler he allegedly coerced into giving him oral sex, then cut from the company after she spurned his subsequent advances.
The news came out after a report that said the WWE board was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wwe-boss-vince-mcmahon-steps-down-amid-messy-sex-scandal-investigation">investigating McMahon</a> for allegedly paying a former employee $3 million to keep quiet about an affair.
McMahon reportedly paid out $7.5 million to a former wrestler whose lawyer negotiated a non-disclosure agreement with McMahon in 2018. The report also said McMahon allegedly sent unsolicited naked pictures of himself to a WWE contractor, leading to a roughly seven-figure settlement in 2008. And in a 2006 agreement, a former WWE manager was reportedly paid $1 million not to discuss a sexual relationship she had with McMahon, the newspaper reported.
&#8220;I have pledged my complete cooperation to the investigation by the special committee, and I will do everything possible to support the investigation,&#8221; McMahon said at the time. &#8220;I have also pledged to accept the findings and outcome of the investigation, whatever they are.&#8221;
McMahon, the husband of former Trump administration Small Business Administration chief Linda McMahon, came under scrutiny in April when a tipster told the board of directors McMahon had had a long-running affair with a paralegal and doubled her salary.
According to the report, the tipster claimed McMahon had handed the woman off &#8220;like a toy&#8221; to John Laurinaitis, WWE&#8217;s head of talent.
The WWE board hired the law firm Simpson Thacher &amp; Bartlett LLP to investigate the claims.
According to McMahon&#8217;s lawyer, Jerry McDevitt, the alleged paramour did not accuse McMahon of harassment.
&#8220;My friend was so scared — so she quit after Vince McMahon and lawyer Jerry paid her millions of dollars to shut up,&#8221; the initial email to the board said.
Weeks after the initial Wall Street Journal report, New York magazine published a story with interviews of former WWE referee Rita Chatterton and former WWE wrestler Leonard Inzitari.
They both claimed McMahon sexually assaulted Chatterton in 1986.
McMahon publicly announced his retirement as CEO on July 22, stepping out of the ring with $3.4 billion, the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11099091/WWE-says-former-boss-Vince-McMahon-TWO-additional-hush-money-payments-worth-5-million.html">Daily Mail</a> reported.
His daughter, Stephanie, replaced the 76-year-old World Wrestling Entertainment boss.
&#8220;I love this company and am committed to working with the Independent Directors to strengthen our culture and our Company,&#8221; Stephanie McMahon said, according to the Daily Mail.
Vince McMahon has yet to respond to any of the allegations against him.
Greg Wilson contributed to this report.

Press Conference To Announce A Major International Event At MetLife Stadium

WWE Says Former CEO Vince McMahon Made Two Additional Hush Money Payments Worth $5 Million

Enterainment

Sexual Misconduct

Sports

Wall Street Journal

Despite an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/famed-producer-scott-rudin-accused-of-bullying-abuse-every-day-was-exhausting-and-horrific">explosive expose</a> in The Hollywood Reporter (THR) alleging decades of physical and mental abuse, a Harvey Weinstein-level reckoning does not appear to be on the horizon for producer Scott Rudin.
As noted Monday by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-theater-scott-rudin-50906cef1770db71278220f8565e0a04">The Associated Press</a>, the vast majority of the Hollywood industry, most especially the A-list talent he courted, has remained silent in the wake of the bombshell report.
&#8220;If Hollywood has taken steps to reform following a #MeToo upheaval that began with sexual abuse allegations against another much-rewarded New York uber-producer, Harvey Weinstein, the initial response to The Hollywood Reporter’s story on Rudin suggests the industry is less eager to curb cultures of verbal abuse and workplace toxicity,&#8221; the AP reported.
&#8220;No studio that has regularly done business with Rudin has commented on the article, nor have any of the A-list names that Rudin has helped propel to more than 150 Oscar nominations and 17 Tonys,&#8221; it continued. &#8220;On Thursday, his latest film — the anticipated Netflix adaptation of &#8216;The Woman in the Window&#8217;— went forward with a virtual trailer release attended by the film’s starry cast, including Amy Adams, Anthony Mackie, Julianne Moore and Wyatt Russell. Rudin, himself, hasn’t responded to the article or the AP’s request for comment.&#8221;
Neither Aaron Sorkin, Wes Anderson, the Coen Brothers, nor Paul Thomas Anderson – all of whom collaborated with Rudin on several projects – have issued a statement denouncing his behavior. On Monday, the Leaders of <a id="auto-tag_sag-aftra_1" href="https://variety.com/t/sag-aftra/" data-tag="sag-aftra">SAG-AFTRA</a>, Actors’ Equity Association and <a id="auto-tag_american-federation-of-musicians_1" href="https://variety.com/t/american-federation-of-musicians/" data-tag="american-federation-of-musicians">American Federation of Musicians</a> Local 802 <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/news/theater-unions-workplace-abuse-scott-rudin-1234949645/">issued a general statement</a> denouncing toxic workplace behavior and office bullying; the statement did not mention Scott Rudin by name.
Thus far, the biggest name in the industry to publicly rebuke Rudin is Annapurna co-founder Megan Ellison. In a tweet last Wednesday, Ellison alleged that Rudin engaged in sexist and racist behavior beyond the allegations of physical and mental abuse detailed in the THR article.
“This piece barely scratches the surface of Scott Rudin’s abusive, racist, and sexist behavior. Similarly to Harvey, too many are afraid to speak out. I support and applaud those who did. There’s good reason to be afraid because he’s vindictive and has no qualms about lying,” she tweeted.
Later, Ellison retweeted a post from the brother of one of Rudin’s former assistants, who allegedly suffered both physical and mental abuse at the hands of Rudin. The assistant later committed suicide, though it is not known whether his death is in any way connected to the accusations.
“The article was a challenging read because Kevin worked for Scott Rudin as his executive assistant in 2008 and 2009, and suffered much of the same abuse described in this article,” the tweet read. “I don’t believe that the abuse Scott Rudin’s [sic] inflicted on my brother alone caused Kevin to kill himself – but I think Rudin’s abuse was undeniably a factor in the mental health issues Kevin suffered in the final years of his life.”
“Kevin developed a severe anxiety disorder in his time working for Rudin, and saw therapists on and off for the remainder of his life,” the tweet thread later added.
In a lengthy expose for THR, several of Rudin’s former staffers alleged that the producer, who already had a reputation for being hot-tempered, would regularly engage in verbally and physically abusive behavior in the office. One particularly nasty incident involved him allegedly smashing an Apple computer over an assistant’s hand, sending him to the emergency room.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-hollywood-producer-megan-ellison-accuses-scott-rudin-of-abusive-racist-sexist-behavior">Top Hollywood Producer Megan Ellison Accuses Scott Rudin Of Abusive, Racist, Sexist Behavior</a>

Opening Night on Broadway of Lucas Hnath’s “A Doll’s House, Part 2” Starring Laurie Metcalf And Chris Cooper

Hollywood Overwhelmingly Silent On Scott Rudin Abuse Allegations

MeToo

This year&#8217;s brutally honest Oscar voter better hope that <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/brutally-honest-oscar-ballot-irishman-was-boring-tarantino-amazing-1275576/item/2020-brutally-honest-ballot-best-picture-1276072?fbclid=IwAR006Lpnrx3TNMPxHeKO4CZF4j7sDU_jdNLJW4BrFXx6-zKJZMxQRR73OhA">The Hollywood Reporter</a> (THR) does not leak her identity, because she has some rather un-woke opinions about American directors and foreign films being nominated for Best Picture.
When asked about who she voted for Best Director, the brutally honest Oscar voter hailed Quentin Tarantino, not only for his wonderful work on &#8220;Once Upon A Time In Hollywood,&#8221; but also because he&#8217;s an American.
<blockquote>I can&#8217;t vote for Marty [Scorsese, of The Irishman] — nobody wants to say it, but it&#8217;s just not that good. Todd Phillips did an incredible job on Joker, as did Bong Joon Ho on Parasite, but not the best. I liked 1917 and Sam Mendes&#8217; direction, but I thought Quentin did a great job, and I want an American director to win. The Oscars is an American thing; English things win BAFTAs and the French vote for the French, and Quentin Tarantino should be honored for a great American movie.</blockquote>
When it came to the movie &#8220;Parasite&#8221; being nominated for Best Picture — a foreign film from South Korea — the voter brutally said, &#8220;&#8216;Parasite&#8217; is beautifully done, but it didn&#8217;t hold up the second time, and I don&#8217;t think foreign films should be nominated with the regular films.&#8221;
Some on Twitter noted that the brutally honest Oscar voter only highlighted what they have been saying all along: The Academy is filled with too many white people, though it should be noted that the woman&#8217;s race was not revealed by The Hollywood Reporter.
&#8220;The Hollywood Reporter shared &#8216;Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot&#8217; in which an old white woman from the Academy anonymously gives her thoughts on the Oscar&#8216;s ballot this year and proves that the issues that Academy members were accused of are very real,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=Brutally%20honest%20oscar&amp;src=typed_query">said one</a> Twitter user. 
&#8220;Whoever this actor is should not be a voting member of the Academy. She gets so many facts wrong and clearly favours American actors and filmmakers for ridiculous reasons. I’m afraid the majority of voters think the same exact way she does, though,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/tonybaltierra/status/1225111566367936512?s=20">said another</a> user.
&#8220;This incredibly racist woman is in the Academy &#8230; why did this one get published?&#8221; said another.
The Academy Awards took another beating on social media this year for nominating only male directors and only one actor of color – Cynthia Erivo for &#8220;Harriet.&#8221; Author Stephen King, himself a member of the Academy, recently argued that the whole voting system is rigged in &#8220;favor of the white folks.&#8221;
“Has there been progress in the film community? Yes, some,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stephen-king-goes-ultra-woke-after-sjws-scold-him-for-anti-diversity-comments-oscars-rigged-in-favor-of-the-white-folks">said King</a>. “I’m old enough to remember when there were only a handful of African-American directors and about the only female director in Hollywood was Ida Lupino, who made hard-edged noir B-pictures in the 1950s and later worked in television. Her directing work was never nominated for an Oscar or an Emmy.”
“My overall attitude that, as with justice, judgments of creative excellence should be blind,” he continued. “But that would be the case in a perfect world, one where the game isn’t rigged in favor of the white folks. Creative excellence comes from every walk, color, creed, gender and sexual orientation, and it’s made richer and bolder and more exciting by diversity, but it’s defined by being excellent. Judging anyone’s work by any other standard is insulting and — worse — it undermines those hard-won moments when excellence from a diverse source is rewarded (against, it seems, all the odds) by leaving such recognition vulnerable to being dismissed as politically correct.”

Oscars Week: Documentaries

‘Brutally Honest’ Oscar Voter: ‘I Want An American Director To Win,’ Foreign Films Should Not Be Nominated For Best Picture

Oscars

Actress Linda Hamilton, forever enshrined in the pop culture canon as Sarah Connor, says she&#8217;s &#8220;quite happy to never return&#8221; to the role that made her an action movie legend, following the disastrous box office performance of &#8220;Terminator: Dark Fate.&#8221;
Speaking with <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/linda-hamilton-would-be-happy-never-return-terminator-1274687">The Hollywood Reporter</a> (THR), Hamilton said that she likely will not return to the franchise after &#8220;Dark Fate&#8221; flamed out with a tepid gross revenue of just $261 million worldwide. If she were to return, she&#8217;d appreciate a &#8220;smaller version&#8221; of the film that dials everything back just a little bit.
&#8220;I would really appreciate maybe a smaller version where so many millions are not at stake,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Today’s audience is just so unpredictable. I can’t tell you how many laymen just go, &#8216;Well, people don’t go to the movies anymore.&#8217; That’s not Hollywood analysis; that just comes out of almost everybody’s mouth. It should definitely not be such a high-risk financial venture, but I would be quite happy to never return. So, no, I am not hopeful because I would really love to be done. But, if there were something new that really spoke to me, I am a logical person, and I will always consider viable changes.&#8221;
As noted by THR (SPOILER ALERT!), fans of the &#8220;Terminator&#8221; franchise were quite incensed over the movie killing off John Connor, the savior of humanity, in the opening scene. Hamilton, however, said that a plot shift was necessary for her character to remain viable.
“I don’t think Sarah and John would be there at all if they were still fine and strong. I thought it was a great leaping-off point for my character,” Hamilton said. “To create a new fuel and fire for Sarah Connor, I thought it was a very good story point. I’m not one that clings to past ideas. &#8216;Judgment Day&#8217; is about John, but John wouldn’t exist without Sarah. Then, something else will happen, and Sarah will have to die. That is kind of the nature of life, and I would like that to be the nature of franchises where it’s not just the same story retold each time. I just think it’s much more interesting to launch from a new place.&#8221;
However, fans were not so much upset with John Connor&#8217;s fate as they were with how the film handled his fate. As noted by <a href="https://society-reviews.com/2019/10/27/terminator-dark-fate-review-an-unoriginal-hostile-takeover-of-the-franchise/">Society Reviews</a>, the movie flipped everything people loved about Sarah Connor’s story on its head — but perhaps less in the name of telling a compelling story, and perhaps more in the name of third-wave feminism. In a sense, the events of the series&#8217; first two films were rendered meaningless.
&#8220;Let’s not beat around the bush, &#8216;Terminator: Dark Fate&#8217; is an unoriginal disgrace on just about every level,&#8221; the review noted. &#8220;The very fiber of this film comes off as someone who is ashamed that the foundation of this franchise does not fit their current day intersectional feminist worldview, so they decided to change it by repealing and replacing everything they felt was problematic with more progressive friendly elements.&#8221;

‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ Press Conference In Tokyo

Linda Hamilton Is ‘Quite Happy To Never Return’ To The ‘Terminator’ Franchise After ‘Dark Fate’ Flop

Feminism

In the age of social media, the pressure to be the first outlet to break the story is greater than ever, which sometimes leads to situations where tragic incidences are immediately reported upon without any countervailing considerations. Case in point: TMZ reporting on Kobe Bryant&#8217;s death before his family could be properly notified.
&#8220;Law enforcement officials in Los Angeles have criticized the celebrity news outlet TMZ for being the first to report of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter on Sunday, before police were able to notify his family of the tragedy,&#8221; reports <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/media/480066-tmz-scolded-by-police-for-breaking-news-of-kobe-bryants-death-before-his">The Hill</a>.
Speaking at a press conference, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that it was &#8220;disrespectful&#8221; for Bryant&#8217;s family to have to learn of his tragic death via TMZ.
&#8220;It would be extremely disrespectful to understand that your loved one &#8230; perished and you learn about it from TMZ,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That is just wholly inappropriate.&#8221;
Los Angeles County Undersheriff Tim Murakami ‏said in a tweet on Sunday that while he understands the need for outlets to get the big scoop, he also felt a certain humanity gets lost in the shuffle.
&#8220;I am saddened that I was gathering facts as a media outlet reported the Kobe had passed,&#8221; tweeted Murakami. &#8220;I understand getting the scoop but please allow us time to make personal notifications to their loved ones. It’s very cold to hear of the loss via media. Breaks my heart.&#8221;
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I am saddened that I was gathering facts as a media outlet reported the Kobe had passed. I understand getting the scoop but please allow us time to make personal notifications to their loved ones. It’s very cold to hear of the loss via media Breaks my heart
&mdash; Undersheriff Tim Murakami (@LASDMurakami) <a href="https://twitter.com/LASDMurakami/status/1221578597032329216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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TMZ has a history of breaking stories about celebrity deaths before any other outlets, including such iconic stars as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Prince. Speaking with <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/26/media/tmz-death-report-kobe-bryant/index.html">CNN</a>, The Hollywood Reporter editorial director Matthew Belloni said that TMZ&#8217;s first-to-the-punch reporting on such deaths stems from connections in the right places and is usually quite accurate. &#8220;If TMZ reports that a celebrity has died in Los Angeles County, it is almost always correct. For whatever reason, and you can read into this, their accuracy rate in Los Angeles is very, very good,” he said.
As reported by The Daily Wire&#8217;s James Barrett on Monday, details have quickly begun to emerge as to what may have led to the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the life of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven other people. Audio prior to the crash reveal the pilot was given special clearance to fly in poor conditions:
<blockquote>New details have emerged about the circumstances surrounding the tragic helicopter crash that took the lives of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, and seven others, including that the pilot was given “clearance to fly in worse than normal weather conditions, without relying on instruments to guide him,” as reported by The Washington Post. The information came to light via recordings of the pilot’s communications with air traffic controllers shortly before the deadly crash Sunday morning.
After departing from Orange County’s John Wayne Airport at 9:06 a.m. PT, the helicopter carrying Bryant flew north to Los Angeles, then northwest from the city. It went down in Calabasas shortly after 9:40 a.m. The first 911 call reporting the crash was received at 9:47 a.m.</blockquote>

Tampa Bay Lightning v Dallas Stars

Police Scold TMZ For Reporting On Kobe Bryant Crash Before Family Notified

Kobe Bryant

Los Angeles

Police

The Democratic Party is doing a heck of a job making it look like the entire party establishment is out to sabotage Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) from clinching the party&#8217;s 2020 presidential nomination. Between <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-even-far-left-samantha-bee-torches-cnn-for-bias-against-bernie-sanders-at-the-debate">CNN&#8217;s bias</a> against him in the debate and now Hillary Clinton publicly scolding him as an unlikable stooge, the game is increasingly beginning to look rather rigged.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hillary Clinton said that she stood by a statement she made severely criticizing Bernie Sanders in the four-part Hulu docuseries &#8220;Hillary.&#8221;
&#8220;He was in Congress for years. He had one senator support him,&#8221; she said in the series. &#8220;Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him, he got nothing done. He was a career politician. It’s all just baloney and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it.&#8221;
According to Holly Otterbein of Politico, Bernie Sanders has since responded to Hillary&#8217;s statement with a call to unity.
“My focus today is on a monumental moment in American history: The impeachment trial of Donald Trump,&#8221; said Bernie in a statement. &#8220;Together, we are going to go forward and defeat the most dangerous president in American history.”
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Bernie Sanders releases a statement on Hillary Clinton’s comments: “My focus today is on a monumental moment in American history: the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Together, we are going to go forward and defeat the most dangerous president in American history.”
&mdash; Holly Otterbein (@hollyotterbein) <a href="https://twitter.com/hollyotterbein/status/1219659489785405440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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In response to Hillary Clinton&#8217;s bashing, the socialist senator&#8217;s supporters and other prominent media figures took to Twitter to blast the failed presidential candidate as an establishment shill who is still bitter about the 2016 election.
&#8220;Hillary Clinton lost to the dumbest and least qualified candidate of all time. Yet she has the audacity to refer to this election&#8217;s frontrunner as &#8216;unlikable.&#8217; Many PEOPLE — not D.C. politicos — love Bernie because of what he represents: U.S.,&#8221; tweeted Ana Kasparian of <a href="https://twitter.com/AnaKasparian/status/1219631675019350025?s=20">The Young Turks</a>. 
&#8220;Bernie Sanders gave Hillary Clinton a complete pass on the emails when he didn’t need to. When he lost the primary, he endorsed and campaigned for her, too. But how quickly we forget,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/LevineJonathan/status/1219631712256319490?s=20">tweeted</a> Jon Levine of the New York Post. 
&#8220;If you don&#8217;t condemn Hillary Clinton&#8216;s comments today, I don&#8217;t want to ever hear you talk about unity again,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/johniadarola/status/1219666598992023552?s=20">tweeted</a> John Laderolla of The Young Turks. &#8220;Willing to bet Hillary Clinton doesn&#8217;t receive 1% the condemnation for refusing to say she&#8217;d support Bernie Sanders than Bernie got for working his ass off to try to get her elected.&#8221;
&#8220;This is a damn shame. [Bernie] did 41 events for Clinton in 2016 and pressed his supporters to get behind her campaign. (I know because I was there.) Being divisive at this point is wrong and only plays into the hands of those we need to defeat in November,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/jjz1600/status/1219630564376043520?s=20">tweeted</a> James J. Zogby. 
The Democratic Party establishment&#8217;s bias against Bernie Sanders became readily apparent last week during the presidential debate when CNN moderator Abby Phillip asked him to address a recent report alleging that he told Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) back in 2018 that a woman could not win the presidency against Donald Trump.
“So, Senator Sanders, I do want to be clear here, you’re saying that you never told Senator Warren that a woman could not win the election?” Phillip asked the Vermont senator.
“That is correct,” Sanders replied.
Phillip then proceeded to ask Warren how she felt during her conversation with Bernie as if the story were clearly true.
“Senator Warren, what did you think when Senator Sanders told you a woman could not win the election?” asked Phillip, tacitly painting Sanders as a liar.

Democratic Nominee for President of the United States former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Bernie Sanders Responds To Hillary Clinton’s Attack While His Supporters Trash Her

2016 Election

2020 Election

Bernie Sanders

Democratic Party

Hillary Clinton

Media Bias

As media leftists continue to bash Ricky Gervais for having the temerity to troll Hollywood hypocrisy while hosting the Golden Globes, fellow comedians have come out in his defense.
In several Twitter posts on Sunday night, comedienne Whitney Cummings (star of the show &#8220;2 Broke Girls&#8221;) blasted people for wasting time on criticizing Gervais rather than doing something more productive.
&#8220;For every second you spend complaining about Ricky Gervais jokes you should have have [sic] to donate 100 dollars to Australia,&#8221; Cummings tweeted, as reported by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/whitney-cummings-ricky-gervais-golden-globes">Fox News</a>.
&#8220;I am not watching the Golden Globes live but based on how pissed off everyone is my guess is that Ricky Gervais wrote and performed actual jokes,&#8221; she said in another post, later adding, &#8220;For anyone who wants to call [Ricky Gervais] mean: he&#8217;s done more for animal welfare than most celebrities combined.&#8221;
Finally, echoing Gervais&#8217; own joke about Hollywood&#8217;s perceived &#8220;wokeness&#8221; while being some of the most privileged people on the planet, Cummings said, &#8220;The idea that anyone in a 4K dollar gown covered in diamonds waiting to win a golden plated prize would be upset about a good joke is wild.&#8221;
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For every second you spend complaining about Ricky Gervais jokes you should have have to donate 100 dollars to Australia
&mdash; Whitney Cummings (@WhitneyCummings) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhitneyCummings/status/1214007683524657152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
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I am not watching the Golden Globes live but based on how pissed off everyone is my guess is that Ricky Gervais wrote and performed actual jokes
&mdash; Whitney Cummings (@WhitneyCummings) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhitneyCummings/status/1214011841757597696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
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For anyone who wants to call <a href="https://twitter.com/rickygervais?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rickygervais</a> mean: he&#39;s done more for animal welfare than most celebrities combined 😉
&mdash; Whitney Cummings (@WhitneyCummings) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhitneyCummings/status/1214020099713036289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The idea that anyone in a 4K dollar gown covered in diamonds waiting to win a golden plated prize would be upset about a good joke is wild <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoldenGlobes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoldenGlobes</a>
&mdash; Whitney Cummings (@WhitneyCummings) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhitneyCummings/status/1214042978110431232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Comedian/Actor Tim Allen, who himself became the butt of a Ricky Gervais joke in 2011, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/tim-allen-buttgolden-globes-joke-ricky-gervais-regrets">said he laughed</a> at much of the &#8220;Office&#8221; creator&#8217;s material throughout the night.
“I thought he was pretty sharp. A couple of things made me laugh out loud.” Allen told The Hollywood Reporter.
Of course, not everyone was laughing at Gervais&#8217; brand of humor on Sunday night, which poked fun at every sacred cow that celebrities hold dear. He perhaps hit peak comedy heaven when he trolled corporations like Disney and Apple for virtue-signaling about their woke purity while doing business in authoritarian countries like China.
“Apple roared into the TV game with ‘The Morning Show,’ a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing — made by a company that runs sweatshops in China,” Gervais said. “Well, you say you’re woke but the companies you work for in China — unbelievable. Apple, Amazon, Disney. If ISIS started a streaming service, you’d call your agent, wouldn’t you?”
Gervais concluded his opening monologue by advising the night&#8217;s potential winners to avoid political grandstanding of any kind.
“If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a political platform to make a political speech,” Gervais told the crowd. “You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything, you know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So, if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your god — and f*** off. OK?”
Naturally, the media trashed Ricky Gervais for joking about what is apparently taboo.
“The [Golden Globes] mood was already sober thanks to an impeachment, threat of war with Iran and Australian bush fires. The last thing anyone needed was Ricky Gervais there, telling them they sucked,” <a href="https://twitter.com/LorraineAli/status/1214069393174323201?s=20">tweeted</a> Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times.
Britain&#8217;s The Independent <a href="https://twitter.com/Independent/status/1214323853855510528?s=20">simultaneously argued</a> that &#8220;Ricky Gervais cheapened the Golden Globes and overshadowed vital political statements.&#8221;

HBO’s 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards Official After Party – Inside

Comedians Defend Ricky Gervais After Leftists Trash His Golden Globes Performance

Comedy

Golden Globes

Leftism

Ricky Gervais

Tim Allen

Actor Kevin Costner, once thought to be an independent, has now endorsed South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg for president despite the mayor&#8217;s increasingly clear lack of support among the progressive base.
According to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kevin-costner-endorses-pete-buttigieg-at-iowa-rally-1264728">The Hollywood Reporter</a> (THR), the &#8220;Field of Dreams&#8221; actor fittingly endorsed Buttigieg in Iowa over the weekend at a Sunday rally, during which he praised the mayor for being a &#8220;man of his moment.&#8221;
&#8220;Whether your road leads you to Pete, like mine has, that’s for you to judge,&#8221; Costner told the crowd at a high school gymnasium south of Des Moines. &#8220;When Pete speaks of unity, it’s the kind of unity I’ve been waiting and hoping to hear about.&#8221;
Costner went on to describe Buttigieg as a man who can transcend history in ways that other candidates cannot — although he avoided saying anything specific about Buttigieg&#8217;s character or political record beyond high-minded platitudes.
&#8220;The strength he describes isn&#8217;t the kind that limits compassion in the name of America,&#8221; said Costner. &#8220;It&#8217;s a man who not only understands how the world looks at us, but how history will and how we ought to look at ourselves. And maybe most importantly, I see Pete as a man of his moment and maybe of his time.&#8221;
Costner praised the state of Iowa for offering the first salvo in the Democratic Party presidential primary process.
&#8220;That power, that awesome responsibility, originates here on the ground in Iowa,&#8221; said Costner. &#8220;What you do with your vote is put those first seeds in the ground and see what grows next year.&#8221;
As noted by THR, Costner previously endorsed Barack Obama for president in 2008, although his politics have been more staid than most of his Hollywood colleagues throughout his long career. In the 1980s, he considered himself <a href="https://ohfact.com/interesting-facts-about-kevin-costner/">a friend of Ronald Reagan</a> before switching parties in the early 1990s. He is also an avid supporter of America’s veterans and <a href="http://archive.vcstar.com/news/kevin-costner-performs-at-reagan-library-event-to-support-veterans-ep-512396138-351527211.html/">even performed for them</a> at a Reagan Library event in 2013.
“We understand the sacrifice and probably will never completely understand, but we are with our soldiers,” Costner said at the time.
Earlier this year, without mentioning President Trump by name, Costner expressed dismay over the state of American politics, arguing that our selfishness has transformed the country away from its former greatness.
“The political landscape is unrecognizable to me, and shame on us for being in that spot,” the actor told <a href="https://variety.com/2019/film/podcasts/kevin-costner-politics-the-highwaymen-1203204842/">Variety</a>. “That could change overnight, not because of a vote, but because people say, ‘I want to try to be more than about myself.’ That’s the definition of public service.”
Costner went on to say that the American experiment will always be great, while conceding that it will wane if politics continue down this path.
“This is the greatest experiment in humankind: America,” he said. “This great idea about America still exists, it’s still here. People still want to come here, but we’re not first in hardly anything that matters and we have an inflated idea about how we are. We exaggerate about what we are. We are everything that’s great and we are everything that’s human. And our humanness and our level of selfishness is overtaking our chance to be great.”

Premiere Party For Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone” Season 2 – Arrivals

Kevin Costner Endorses Pete Buttigieg: He ‘Speaks Of Unity’

Kevin Costner

Pete Buttigieg

It seems the Hallmark Channel has come under fire from multiple directions in recent days: From the Left for not being diverse enough and from the Right for including LGBTQ content.
According to <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/474357-thousands-petition-hallmark-channel-to-reject-lgbt-content">The Hill</a>, thousands of moms have petitioned the channel to halt its hosting of LGBTQ-related material on its platform.
&#8220;One Million Moms, a branch of the American Family Association, has posted <a href="https://onemillionmoms.com/current-campaigns/hallmark-is-now-airing-lgbt-commercials-open-to-lgbt-movies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a petition</a> of complaint after Hallmark aired a Zola commercial that featured a lesbian couple getting married and sharing a kiss. Its petition has almost 22,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon,&#8221; reports the outlet.
The petition accused Hallmark of departing from its &#8220;family-friendly&#8221; roots by harboring the Zola commercial, citing numerous complaints from offended viewers.
&#8220;Until recently, Hallmark had a good record for keeping their movies and commercials family-friendly,” the petition says. “Now, parents can no longer trust Hallmark because Hallmark is no longer allowing parents to be the primary educators when it comes to sex and sexual morality. Parents need to know they could now come face-to-face with the LGBT agenda when they sit down to watch the Hallmark Channel.&#8221;
One Million Moms quoted several viewers who expressed discontent over the Zola commercial and claimed they were caught off-guard in front of their children.
&#8220;Our family was watching a wonderful Hallmark movie based on a true story. It was late, but our daughter was up late with us,&#8221; one viewer began. &#8220;During the commercial break, there was a commercial from Zola with two women lip locking! Please, Hallmark … You are one of the few channels we thought we would not have to deal with this issue! &#8230; We love you but won’t keep watching with this type of ads.&#8221;
The commercial aired shortly after Michelle Vicary, vice president of programming at Hallmark channel, told <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/hallmark-lifetime-holiday-movies-no-lgbtq-storylines-lead-characters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Wrap</a> that the channel will be developing LGBTQ-related content in the near future. Though some conservatives have expressed dismay over this development, the channel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hallmark-channel-blasted-for-lack-of-inclusion-diversity">took some serious flak</a> recently when The Hollywood Reporter (THR) chastised the outlet for a lack of racial and religious diversity during the Christmas season.
“Of the network’s record 24 original holiday movies this season, four of them have black leads,” reported THR. “And that’s down from last year, when five of its 21 original holiday movies had black leads.”
“Missing from Hallmark’s festive roster? Any other religion in the title,” the report later noted. “That’s especially interesting given that Hallmark last year announced that it would be producing two Hanukkah movies in 2019 — ‘Holiday Date’ (Dec. 14) and a ‘Double Holiday’ (Dec. 22). ‘Double Holiday‘ is a romance between a woman who is Jewish, while ‘Holiday Date’ features a Jewish guy pretending to be ‘Mr. Christmas.&#8217;”
Speaking on THR’s TV podcast, Bill Abbott, CEO of Crown Media Family Networks (Hallmark’s parent company), said that the allegation that Hallmark has no diversity is unfair.
“I think that generalization isn’t fair either, that we just have Christmas with white leads,” Abbott said. “In terms of broadening out the demographic, it’s something we’re always thinking about, always considering and we’ll continue to make the movies where the best scripts are delivered to us and what we think have the most potential.”

Hallmark Channel’s Countdown To Christmas Celebration And VIP Screening Of “Christmas At Holly Lodge”

Moms Petition Hallmark Channel To Quit LGBTQ Content

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