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Showing posts with the label Hollywood

No Main Topic, 9/15/26: Questions Edition

 Why did the Global CFO of JBS sell 100% of his shares in late August ? Is it connected to the Trump Administration's deal with Brazil and Argentina ? Why does a sports betting company need Sydney Sweeney to do a provocative ad for them ?  Was the power outage in Gary, Indiana part of some kind of test? What happened to make Mr. T denounce the Netflix documentary about him ? Is Hollywood prepared to use AI actors if real actors choose not to be in certain projects, like this story about Paul Schrader and black actors ? 

R.I.P., Hayden Panettiere.

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 The actress/singer was 36. Here's Panettiere's interview about her book, her life, her struggles and some other revelations:

Glenn Greenwald On the Biggest Secret In Hollywood

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It's Getting Harder For Celebrities to Sell Zionism

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Due Dissidence On The "Outrage" Over Casting For a Movie Based On a Fictional Story

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Akilah Hughes Tells a Tale of Hollywood...

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One Mic History: The Story of Black Cowboys

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Watch & Learn: Why Are So Many Hollywood Movies "Unprofitable?"

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 Would you believe it because the studios charge for things that aren't needed, and/or mark up the things that are?

Pop Culture Has Been Used To Influence American's Geopolitical Views

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Reminder: The Pentagon Controls Hollywood

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On Black Male Comedians & "The Dress"

 I'm only writing about this angle of the Katt Williams interview because I haven't really seen/read it elsewhere recently, and I had to look for older articles for references. I don't believe the "wear the dress" phenomenon is strictly about "acting gay." There have been plenty of men in Hollywood (gay, straight, bi, trans, or otherwise) willing to wear a dress in front of the camera for reasons other than pressure from the writers/directors/producers. There are heterosexual actors willing to play gay or trans characters, just like there have been gay actors who have played heterosexual characters. I also don't see it as (pardon the pun) black-and-white race issue. As many have noted, there are plenty of white make actors playing women in movies or on television. I will add that while not in every case, most often it's plot relevant, like Adam Sandler playing twins (a boy and a girl) or Robin Williams trying to watch over/gain custody of his chi...

Hollywood Didn't Waste Any Time

 While the end of the 2023 Writer's Strike is a breath of fresh air to late night talk show hosts (not to mention Drew Carey's wallet ), one of the point of contention the writers had with the owners was the use of Artificial Intelligence. Specifically the realization that Hollywood wouldn't hesitate to replace writers with a bot that could spit out scripts for way less money. Well, this should be something for both writers and actors to be concerned about, because apparently Tom Hanks and Robin Williams are being used with their (family's) consent. This question has been asked before, and it will be asked again: wouldn't it be easier to replace the CEO's with AI?

Maybe Public Enemy Had the Right Idea All Along

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 This music video is especially resonant considering the current climate:

WikiLeaks Is Still Dropping Facts

 In particular, how certain nations use Hollywood to whitewash what would be considered war crimes . 

Channing Tatum Apparently Doesn't Mind Being In Action Star Anymore

 Channing Tatum has made no secret that "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" was not something he found of acting in . Among his complaints was the script, no being able to play Snake Eyes (he wanted the only guaranteed non-speaking role ?) and not wanting to be pigeon-holed into being an action star. No sir ; we certainly don't want Tatum to get stuck with that label. Not at all .  I also remember a video where Tatum said he was hesitant because he was worried that G.I. joe may be to propagandistic (for the record, this is that director's resume ).  Anyway, now that America is in a post-"Why-Did-We-Leave-Afghanistan" mood, Hollywood has greenlit a propaganda war/dram/action movie that Tatum and "Venom" star Tom Hardy are attached to. Well, at least he won't have to wear a cheesy battle suit, right? 

People May Give You Money If They Like You; They Most Certainly Won't If They Don't

So Mo'Nique wants people to boycott Netflix because they wouldn't pay her what she thinks she is worth. She further theorizes that Netflix isn't paying her what she's worth because she is a woman of color . So on the basis of her argument, we need to exclude two groups from Netflix's growing list of comedians/comediennes: white women and men of color (excluding white men should be a given here). So here's an short list of Women of Color With a Netflix Stand-Up Comedy Special:   Anjelah Johnson Ali Wong Aditi Mittal Cristela Alonzo There's a few more (even of Mo'Nique herself) but they are all specials that were not contracted by Netflix.  And here's imbd.com's list of roles Mo'Nique has had. If I was Netflix, I would see Mo'Nique as a fairly popular comedienne who despite winning an Academy Award, has also publicly blasted some notable Hollywood power-players (like Oprah and Tyler Perry) and has not recently worked o...

Super-Surprise Me

Morgan Spurlock relates a personal story that is one part confession, one part redemption and one part acknowledgment that we have a long way to go in dealing with man/relationship dynamics (let alone the rape and harassment culture).  Very few men are willing to admit what he has, and let's hope that this inspires others to do the same. Also, let's hope that his accuser (as well as others) get the justice and/or peace of mind they are seeking.

Hollywood May Have a Problem With Having More Than One Non-White Star At a Time

At least that's what this writer suggests as a reason for Will Smith's "After Earth" getting less-than stellar reviews.  I think this particular case -like most really- has a few layers: Will Smith is obviously trying to transfer some of his star-power to his son Jaden . Why not? Every good parent wants their child to succeed. However, Jaden isn't Will, and Jaden's "cute kid phase" is pretty much done, leaving him at "awkward teen phase" (see Frankie Muniz). The harsh truth is: unless a cute kid turns into a cute teenager right away, their movie appeal will wane. Will Smith hasn't been making movies on a regular like he used too . Back in the day, I used to wonder why then up-and-coming rap artist DMX was making a new album like every 14 months. But then a strange thing happened: he took about two years off and when he came back, the niche he had created and profited on was filled by others. Then I got it: in the entertainment biz,...

I Got Your "Statistics" Right Here.

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Dave has a very interesting post where he ends with, "It's no wonder the nation is in decline (and don't let anyone tell you it's not); it's not just our citizens that are bankrupt." But my friends, it's not just Hollywood that's suffering, oh no; it's also our government : We've gone from being able to articulately argue key differences in ideology while still maintaining the long-term goal of getting something -hell, anything- accomplished to the verbal equivalent of pounding our chests and flinging poo.   And people wonder why education is being mocked and attacked now.

Director Fondles His Sister's (via Adoption) Trangendered Son In a Public Gym

Hollywood, Everybody !