Hollywood | Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion - Part 17
Image 01 Image 03

Hollywood Tag

It's hard to find an apt comparison in U.S. media for the role that Haaretz plays in Israeli media. Haaretz is "far-left" in its opinion content, but also has some excellent straight news reporting, particularly on security issues. And when I say "far-left," I emphasize "far" in that equation. Reading some of Haaretz's opinion columnists makes it hard to distinguish the paper from anti-Israel Islamist polemicists. Haaretz has little readership in Israel precisely because it has tied its fortunes to the marginalized Israeli left. But Haaretz's English language website has outsized influence in the West, particularly among left-wing Jews in the U.S., who must imagine Haaretz represents a sustantial portion of the Israeli electorate.

James Woods is one of only a handful of outspoken conservative actors in a Hollywood filled with Harvey Weinsteins, Ashley Judds, Debra Messings, and Mark Ruffalos.  So when his realtor announced, mistakenly as it turns out, that he was retiring from Hollywood, the news spread like wildfire. In an article entitled, "James Woods says he is retiring from acting and selling one of four Rhode Island homes after claiming no one wants to hire him because of his 'conservative political views'," the Daily Mail reported:

Yesterday, Kemberlee wrote a super post about Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and the myriad allegations of decades of sexual abuse, intimidation, and harassment of actresses, production staff, and apparently any female within arm's reach. From reports of Weinstein demanding naked massages from women to actually masturbating in front of women over whom he wielded immense power, Weinstein's decades of sexual perversion make the Trump Access Hollywood tape that outraged Democrats and the mainstream media look like a feminist manifesto.

Salma Hayek and John Lithgow teamed up for the upcoming Beatriz at Dinner. Billed as a dark comedy, the preview looks more like a parody found on Saturday Night Live than an actual movie meant to be taken somewhat seriously. The plotline of the dramatic comedy has been described thusly:

Trump has been accused of many things -- some deserved, some not. But this has to be a new one. Barbara Streisand recently blamed Trump for her decision to over-indulge in pancakes. Trump acts, Barbara eats. Or at least that's the impression her Twitter feed gives:

Remember when Tea Party participants were mocked for carrying copies of the Constitution? In 2010, The Hill reported:
Demand for copies of the U.S. Constitution is skyrocketing. The increased interest comes amid the rise of the Tea Party movement and as both parties cite the Constitution to advance their agendas.

I suspect the "Golden Age of Hollywood" would not have been so golden if today's technology were available. Back in the classic era of the American entertainment industry, actors and singers would have agents who would control their appearances to avoid embarrassing episodes that would go public and alienate potential fans. Now, armed with an i-phone and selfie sticks, there is no such layer of protection between celebrities and their buffoonery.

Hollywood is on a roll this week. First Meryl Streep's fabulously tone deaf anti-Trump diatribe, now, former co-host of The View Rosie O'Donnell is using social media to spew profanity-laced, ill-informed, opinions about Speaker Paul Ryan. According to The Hill:
The tweet came as a reply to one from “Strangers With Candy” actress Sarah Thyre, who dropped the F-bomb in her own post about Ryan, writing, “Dear @SpeakerRyan: F--- you. Love, me and @pussyrrriot,” along with a video called "Straight Outta Vagina." She sent the tweets as Ryan presided over a joint session of Congress to verify Electoral College votes and a day after the Speaker announced GOP lawmakers would move to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

At the Golden Globe awards Sunday night, Meryl Streep used her stage time to attack Donald Trump. She lamented the fact that such a vulgarian won the election. The funniest thing about her speech is how she frames the importance of being respectful of other people, a quality she clearly doesn't think Trump possesses. Does everyone recall how respectful movies and TV were to George W. Bush? Streep lives in an alternate reality where everyone has always played fairly with each other.

No president in recent memory has been more embraced by America's celebrity class than Obama. Liberal Hollywood has celebrated with Obama at the White House countless times but this weekend they had one last hurrah. The Daily Mail reports:
Inside the Obamas' final star-studded party: White House bash goes on until 4am with Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and SJP on the dance floor and chicken and waffles for breakfast Dozens of celebrities turned out to party until 4am at the White House in a farewell bash that saw the likes of Paul McCartney, Meryl Streep and SJP tear up the dancefloor.

Dumbest movie ever or THE dumbest movie ever? Is That a Gun in Your Pocket is set to hit theaters in September takes aim at Texas and our love of guns. The film's official website provides the following synopsis:
If there's one thing that the men of Rockford Texas love as much as their women, it's their guns. But when a gun incident at a neighborhood school spurs one stay at home mom, Jenna (Andrea Anders), to rethink Rockford's obsessive gun culture, life in this idyllic town is turned upside-down.
eye roll gif

Irving Kristol once famously described a conservative as a liberal who has been mugged by reality. In the case of film star Kelly McGillis, it was a home invasion which changed her mind about concealed carry. Bearing Arms reports:
After Home Invasion, Kelly McGillis Is Going to Conceal Carry Her ‘Top Gun’ Actress Kelly McGillis exploded into the American consciousness in the 1980s with riveting roles as a young Amish widow and mother in Witness (1985), Tom Cruise’s love interest in Top Gun (1986), and as Jodie Foster’s attorney in The Accused (1988).

Legal Insurrection has been covering the lawsuit against the producers of a Star Trek fan film, and the amicus brief filed in the case by the Language Creation Society. There has been a development in this case that has been...fascinating.
In advance of the July release of Star Trek Beyond, it seems Paramount is going to try to get itself beyond a serious problem it’s having with the passionate fanbase of Trekkies, and clear up a PR black eye in the process. Tonight during a Trek fan event held on the Paramount lot, Star Trek Beyond executive producer JJ Abrams announced that the studio will be dropping a contentious lawsuit against a Star Trek fan film production. “This wasn’t an appropriate way to deal with the fans,” Abrams put it bluntly, signaling a major about face and many mended fences.
That is thrilling news indeed for many Trekkies. The Star Trek universe is certainly large enough for both the involvement of major studios and group-funded fan productions. It seems like Abrams and the director of the movie poised to be released this summer, Justin Lin, put a lot of pressure on the studio to back off the legal attack.
“A few months back there was a fan movie — Axanar — that was being made and there was a lawsuit that happened between the studio (Paramount and CBS) and the fans and Justin was sort of outraged as a longtime fan. We started talking about it and we realized that this was not an appropriate way to deal with the fans. The fans should be iceboating this thing, like you’re saying right now.” Abrams said when asked about the Axanar lawsuit.

Ronan Farrow slammed those in Hollywood who still support and worship his father Woody Allen even though his sister Dylan accused the director of molesting her. He wrote in The Hollywood Reporter:
But the old-school media's slow evolution has helped to create a culture of impunity and silence. Amazon paid millions to work with Woody Allen, bankrolling a new series and film. Actors, including some I admire greatly, continue to line up to star in his movies. "It's not personal," one once told me. But it hurts my sister every time one of her heroes like Louis C.K., or a star her age, like Miley Cyrus, works with Woody Allen. Personal is exactly what it is — for my sister, and for women everywhere with allegations of sexual assault that have never been vindicated by a conviction. Tonight, the Cannes Film Festival kicks off with a new Woody Allen film. There will be press conferences and a red-carpet walk by my father and his wife (my sister). He'll have his stars at his side — Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg. They can trust that the press won't ask them the tough questions. It's not the time, it's not the place, it's just not done.