The Left Coast Report: A Political Look at Hollywood
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Jim Caviezel Reveals Post-'Passion' Rejection
2. Superman Renounces U.S. Citizenship
3. Oprah Ticket a Golden Excuse From Blago Jury Duty
4. Church of Scientology Buys Historic Film Studio
5. Trump Confronts Media Flip-Flop
1. Jim Caviezel Reveals Post-'Passion' Rejection
Jim Caviezel reveals that taking the lead role in "The Passion of the Christ" has curtailed his ability to obtain work in Hollywood.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Caviezel's voice was "cracking with emotion" as he shared his post-"Passion" experience of being "rejected in my own industry."
While promoting "Words of Promise Audio Book of The Bible," featuring the voices of Caviezel, Michael York, and Oscar winners Richard Dreyfuss, Marcia Gay Harden, Jon Voight and Louis Gossett Jr., the gifted actor addressed an audience at the First Baptist Church of Orlando.
Caviezel noted that when he acted in "The Passion" he was 33 years old, the same age that Jesus Christ was when he was crucified. His initials, too, are the same as the Savior's, a coincidence that "freaked out" director Mel Gibson during casting.
Caviezel said that after Gibson offered him the lead role, the director called him back and tried to dissuade him from taking the part, predicting, "You'll never work in this town again."
"We all have to embrace our crosses," Caviezel responded.
The film star said that he has paid a price in Hollywood. "Jesus is as controversial now as he has ever been," Caviezel said. "Not much has changed in 2,000 years."
Despite a dearth of film offers, Caviezel accepts his personal cross. "We have to give up our names, our reputations, our lives to speak the truth."
A heavier cross than that of career is a family tragedy: One of the special-needs children that Caviezel and his wife adopted from China has developed terminal cancer. Caviezel's faith remains unshaken despite the heart-breaking diagnosis.
Reflecting the believer's hope, Caviezel said, "Maybe God, through my son's death, is going to teach me something."
2. Superman Renounces U.S. Citizenship
It looks as if even our comic book heroes aren't immune from the globalist agenda that is hacking away at the idea of American exceptionalism.
Superman, an icon of American comic book literature, has always been a pillar of patriotism, standing for "Truth, Justice and the American Way."
Now, though, the Man of Steel is not only giving up his motto, he's also casting off his American citizenship. And he's set to do it while speaking at, of all places, the United Nations.
Superman's renunciation will take place in Action Comics #900, which revolves around him lending support to protesters in Iran. When the Iranian government claims that Superman's actions are tantamount to an act of war on the part of the United States, the Man of Steel declares that he will renounce his citizenship so that he can become a global superhero.
In an unfortunate cinematic turn of events, Hollywood had already dispensed with the time-honored motto in the last film installment of Superman. Guess now we have to prepare ourselves to see a new politically correct Man of Steel sully the big screen.
3. Oprah Ticket a Golden Excuse From Blago Jury Duty
The jury system is one of the great components of Western jurisprudence, enabling a defendant to have his or her fate decided by ordinary citizens, as opposed to bureaucrats or worse.
However, in the case of former Illinois governor and reality star Rod Blagojevich's retrial, an unexpected force has substantially affected the jury process, and it goes by the name of Oprah.
A prospective juror informed the court and the lawyers that she could not serve on the jury because she had a ticket to a taping of "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
The attorneys for the prosecution and the defense agreed that she could be excused, due in part to the fact that it was one of Oprah's final shows.
When asked whether he would call the Oprah tickets golden — a reference to his infamous use of the adjective in a secret recording — the former governor responded by supplying a key missing modifier.
"No, I would say they're effing golden," Blago said.
4. Church of Scientology Buys Historic Film Studio
Whether it is to ensure future projects for actors and coreligionists Tom Cruise and John Travolta or to produce more movies based on the writings of L. Ron Hubbard, after buying a five-acre movie studio site, the Church of Scientology now has the facilities to create feature films.
The movie lot is located on Sunset Boulevard and was once owned by Monogram Pictures and Allied Artists. Classics such as "El Cid," which starred Charlton Heston, and "The Hurricane," directed by John Ford, were shot there.
According to the Telegraph, the group bought the studio from a struggling public television station.
One concern raised by the purchase is the possibility that the place might be used for a remake of the multi-Razzie Award-winning "Battlefield Earth."
5. Trump Confronts Media Flip-Flop
The mainstream media news coverage has undergone a bizarre transformation in relation to Donald Trump.
It is as if someone flipped a switch, causing The Donald to go from media buddy to media target in a New York minute. Unfortunately, Trump is now able to relate to Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann in a way few others can.
Trump has been attacked by mainstream anchors and Hollywood celebrities alike. Bob Schieffer and David Letterman called him a racist. Lawrence O'Donnell called him a monster. Cher used the word "pompous" along with an expletive to describe him.
Now Trump has suffered an assault from the president himself.
One thing is clear, and that is the real estate mogul and "Celebrity Apprentice" TV host isn't going to just stand there and be slapped around. Showing exactly why he has soared in recent polls, Trump is hitting back hard.
He jabbed Obama for the speech that the president gave at a recent White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD) in which Trump was made the "focus of the evening." He also hit back at a "Saturday Night Live" cast member who was part of the president's comedic tag team.
What is significant is that the WHCD has traditionally been an occasion to poke fun at members of the media and at the White House, not at an outside third party. Press members displayed their overt lack of objectivity (and class) by emitting a chorus of boos as Trump and his wife, Melania, arrived at the Washington Hilton.
"Well, I really understood what I was getting into," Trump said. "I didn't know that I'd be virtually the sole focus."
He added, "I guess when you're leading in the polls that sort of thing tends to happen. But I was certainly in a certain way having a good time listening. I don't think the American people are having a good time with $5 gas ... I was thinking to myself as they were doing this, you know, the American people are really suffering and we're all having fun at a gala."
Trump made it a point to provide his candid reactions for the hosts of "Fox & Friends." He was responding to an evening in which the president essentially did a warm-up act for "SNL" head writer and Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers, with both making Trump the punching bag for unimaginative one-liners.
"Donald Trump is here tonight," Obama smirked. "Now, I know that he's taken some flack lately, but no one is prouder to put this birth certificate to rest than The Donald. Now he can get to focusing on the issues that matter. Like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened at Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?"
The bit included a visual mock-up of a Trump White House and a clip from the movie "The Lion King" showing the lion cub being born, followed by the president saying, "I want to make clear to the Fox News table that was a joke. Call Disney if you don't believe me. They have the original long-form version."
As Obama conducted his Trump roast, Hollywood luminaries who snickered on cue included Sean Penn, Scarlett Johansson, Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison, Mira Sorvino, Paula Abdul, Elizabeth Banks, Amy Poehler, Jeremy Piven, Anna Paquin, David and Patricia Arquette, Mila Kunis, Jon Hamm, Alyssa Milano, Joan Rivers, Morgan Fairchild, Brooke Burke, Rosario Dawson, and America Ferrera.
In what appears to be yet another vengeful swipe from the president, Obama went after actor Matt Damon, who recently dared to criticize his leadership ability.
"Matt Damon said the other day that he was disappointed in my performance," Obama said. "Well, Matt, I just saw 'The Adjustment Bureau'..."
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