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Hollywood Feud: Clint Eastwood vs Spike Lee

May 25, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

In this corner, Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry himself. And in that corner, the self-appointed guardian of America’s black population, Spike Lee. It’s shaping up to be a battle royale, folks, with Lee rabbit punching the aging action star while Eastwood uses his smarts and experience to deliver a knock out blow.

In round one, Lee came out swinging at Director Clint Eastwood’s WWII films, “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima,” claiming that Eastwood “erased the role of black GIs from history.” Lee tried on his self-righteous air of moral certitude and labeled Eastwood a racist. “Many black veterans who fought in Iwo Jima were hurt that there was no representation of them in both of those films,” Lee said in an interview in Rome last year.

But not to fear for Eastwood losing the bout, as he is about to show us all that Spike Lee doesn’t have what it takes to go toe to toe with a master.

Round two began as the blow fell upon Eastwood in an interview with Focus magazine. Why was Eastwood such a racist, they wondered? Eastwood, momentarily rocked on his heels, came back with a knock out blow showing the world that, aging or not, he was still faster and smarter than the bespeckled, racemongering Lee.

“Does he know anything about American history?” Eastwood told Focus when asked about Lee’s criticism. “The U.S. military was segregated til the Korean War, and the blacks in World War Two were totally segregated. The only black battalion on Iwo Jima was a small munitions supply unit that came to the beach.

“The story was about the men who raised the flag and we can’t make them black if they were not there. So tell him: Why don’t you go back and study your history and stop mouthing off!”

Looks like Lee is on the ropes and being shown for the palooka he really is. The decision goes to Eastwood for showing us all that Spike Lee has no idea what he is talking about. Not that anyone suspected otherwise, mind you.

Dontcha just hate all this actor on actor violence?

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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Entertainment - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ and Got REALLY hot!

April 10, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Remember the iconic 1951 Cold War era film, “The Day the Earth Stood Still”? It was a black and white film starring Michael Rennie as Klaatu, an alien who came to Earth to warn our warring nations that a galactic police force had deemed the world a “danger” to intelligent life everywhere and that we faced annihilation unless we acted nice. It was one of the classic, dystopian films with a utopian message. If only we could all just get along! Well, true to the axiom that there isn’t anything new in Hollywood, it is being remade as a Keanu Reeves vehicle (that’s Hollywood talk for “starring Keanu Reeves”).

Now, the original film was all about love for your fellow man, ending war, planting daisies and a being nice little Earthling… or Klaatu and his trusty robot Gort will blow you up. As the Cold War was looming in the minds of the civilized nations and MAD* had set the table for “doomsday clocks” and backyard bomb shelters, the original “Day” was a timely, if not a bit hamhanded, epic with a message. The title character, Klaatu, when hiding as a human, even took the name “Mr. Carpenter” as an allegory to Christ. Naturally, the bad, bad humans martyred the kindly “Mr. Carpenter” in the end. It was all very much geared for its time.

Well, as mentioned, they are now about to remake “Day” and they have searched the world over for a new timely message to expound upon. Is it that we still have too many people on this planet living in poverty? Is it that we still lamentably have regimes that use force and tyranny against their people? Is it that war is still all too common? Could these things be why the new “Day” film will posit that a powerful alien race wants to just erase humanity like a bad virus?

Nah. As far as the new “Day” movie goes, these powerful aliens are mad at us not because we are mean to each other, not because we might then bring that meanness with us into outer space. No, the important message that the Keanu Klaatu wants to bring us, the message that will warn us of an apocalyptic impending alien police action is….

Global warming.

That’s right folks, apparently the new “Day” movie is positing that the worst thing man has done, the one thing that will make an alien race ponder our destruction, is that we caused global warming.

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00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Entertainment - Media Bias - News - President - Society/Culture - Warner Todd Huston

Direct to DVD Michelle Pfeiffer Flick Features Bush Bashing

February 23, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Christian Toto, Washington Times entertainment reporter, dropped us a note about the upcoming release of a direct to DVD movie called, “I Could Never Be Your Woman.” This flick that wasn’t ranked high enough by the studio to get a theatrical release stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, and Saoirse Ronan. It’s supposed to be a love triangle comedy flick, but close to the end of the thing is included a slam on president Bush that has nothing at all to do with the rest of the movie and is blatant for its gratuitous nature.

As Mr. Toto has it this “nasty bit of Bush bashing” is at about 98 percent through the film and occurs during a scene where young Miss Ronan is playing the part of a teenaged talent show contestant.

Ronan’s character takes the stage for a student talent show and starts strumming a song to the tune of Alanis Morissette’s “Ironic.”

Then Mr. Toto gives us the faux lyrics of this Bush bashing tune…

“While the North Pole is turning to slush, on my TV there’s President Bush,” she sneers. “He’s a pay-ay-ain in the whole world’s ass. How can it be we voted him in? I just don’t see how it figures.”

The crowd laughs and cheers the song, while Pfeiffer’s character beams like a proud mama.

So, out of the blue everyone starts attacking president Bush for no reason. The movie has nothing whatever to do with politics or current events, yet they go after president Bush without provocation or any conformity with the continuity of the plot. It is so typical of Hollyweird to go off on a hate rant like that, isn’t it?

I’d also like to say one thing about the Alanis Morissette song, “Ironic.” She doesn’t get ironic right. The song is a complete failure at showcasing any irony. Morissette only ends up proving that she hasn’t a clue what the definition of irony is. Is it “ironic” that she is trying to talk about irony without even knowing what it is? Well, if it isn’t “ironic,” it is certainly ridiculous. Just like this direct to DVD “comedy.”

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