Category: 1. Jason Apuzzo

By Jason Apuzzo. • It would be very easy these days to devote a post per day to James Cameron. He’s everywhere, commenting on everything, seeing analogies to Avatar everywhere, and apparently not turning down many interviews. Perhaps this is what working out of the public eye for so many years does to you. In any case, Cameron is in the news again today for many different reasons on the eve of the Avatar re-release.  In the LA Times he indicates that he wants Avatar to compete with Star Wars, Star Trek and the Tolkein ‘franchise’ on a macro-pop culture scale (it won’t, for many reasons). He also sees analogies to the despoiling of Pandora in the BP oil spill, and now comes word today – and this certainly is no surprise – that the Iraq war represented a major impetus behind Cameron’s writing of Avatar.

Mr. Cameron strikes me as being something akin to a mad scientist from a 1950s sci-fi film, in that there is undoubtable genius at work in what he does … yet this ‘genius’ (which is of both a technical and narrative variety) is put to ends that are, ultimately, insane in their basic conception. The irony is that Avatar reverses so many things that Cameron’s films seemed to stand for in the past in terms of the basic justness of American military interventions abroad – whether one thinks here of Aliens or True Lies or even Rambo II (which Cameron co-wrote). Cameron has gotten lost in his own technology, his own personal Pandora of anti-Americanism, pseudo-mysticism and eco-extremism – and it’s becoming increasingly unpleasant to watch.

• In related sci-fi/fantasy news, check out this interesting interview featuring Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, circa 1980, in which we learn that George Lucas was, indeed, planning his Star Wars prequels even back then (down to the 20 year timeline interval between trilogies). George is nothing if not methodical. Also today: someone has put together a ‘silent film’ version of The Empire Strikes Back, which is a lot of fun; there are also indications that big news will soon be coming out about Peter Jackson’s Hobbit; and Tron: Legacy has a new international teaser poster out, featuring Beau Garrett. I’m really looking forward to this film, and hoping it’s been worth the wait.

• The Wrap thinks movie ticket prices are too damn high. They’re right. The major culprit? 3D. It’s true; I caught a 10am screening of Piranha 3D last week and the ticket cost $9, which is crazy. For that price, the underwater ballet should’ve been at least 5 minutes longer.

• The Academy will be giving honory Oscars out this year to Francis Ford Coppola (Irving Thalberg Award), Jean-Luc Godard, Eli Wallach and Kevin Brownlow … all richly deserved, in my opinion. Coppola and Godard are among my all-time favorites, Kevin Brownlow is easily one of our best film writers … and who doesn’t love Eli Wallach? The funny part of all this is, though, that nobody can find Godard to tell him! Typical Godard. He’s probably living in Alphaville.

• Did you like Frank Miller’s Gucci ad from the other day? Not to be outdone, Martin Scorsese just shot a slick new ad for Chanel.

• Katy Perry looked and sounded great on Letterman’s show yesterday. We’re eager to promote her stuff, in the midst of this bad economy, because we recently learned from the LA Times that the ‘real’ subject of her music is “consumerism.”

• Christina Hendricks is now doing ads for London Fog, which provides trenchcoats for Mad Men. I didn’t think trenchcoats could fight so tightly on a gal.

• AND IN TODAY’S MOST IMPORTANT NEWS … Piranha 3D’s Riley Steele has a birthday today, which is appropriate considering that she’ll be wearing her birthday suit on screens all across America this weekend.

And that’s what’s happening today in the wonderful world of Hollywood.

Posted on August 26th, 2010 at 6:57pm.

By Jason Apuzzo. Earlier today I read what has got to be one of the most unintentionally funny excrescences from a Hollywood liberal that I’ve ever encountered.  Jeffrey Wells today over at Hollywood Elsewhere, a site renowned for its faux-insider musings on the industry – not to mention Wells’ retro-ducktail haircut – engages in some decidedly breathless speculations over whether Angelina Jolie might be … a closet right-winger!

Who is ‘Salt,’ indeed!

But that’s not all!  In conspiratorial tones redolent of his apparently deep, penetrating insights into female psychology, Wells also speculates on whether Ms. Jolie’s alleged conservatism is somehow responsible for her legendary sexual prowess in bed! Well!

Even if I tried, I couldn’t make this stuff up.

Some context here: we’ve been talking-up Jolie’s Salt for months here at Libertas (see here and here) because of that film’s blistering critique of the communist cause – a cause which lingers on today, as we all know, in other guises … both domestic and abroad.  And as regular Libertas readers know, it remains astonishing to me that the right wing media in America continue to ignore Salt while promoting Stallone’s anti-CIA hit job The Expendables, which still isn’t even doing as well at the box office as Jolie’s savvier, more pleasurable film.

So here comes Jeffrey Wells stumbling into the mix, with his conspiratorial musings on whether Jolie is some kind of puppet for her “saliva-drooling Tea Party nutter” father (Jon Voight), along with some Rat Pack-level psychology on the female of the species.  [By the way, all of this comes fast on the heels of the LA Times’ Tom O’Neil political ‘profiling’ of Ernest Borgnine, based solely and exclusively on Borgnine’s refusal to see Brokeback Mountain.]

Here’s Jeffrey Wells, sans irony:

Angelina Jolie isn’t just the once-estranged daughter of Hollywood’s worst saliva-drooling Tea Party nutter, Jon Voight. She may also be a closet ally of Voight’s, at least in terms of despising Barack Obama. (Call this a flimsy maybe.) She also seems to be a supporter of America’s military adventures in Iraq and perhaps also Afghanistan and…well, basically anywhere that the poor are suffering due to the deprivations of war. …

I only know what Jon Voight has said and stands for, and that I saw him standing near his daughter and Brad Pitt inside a roped-off area at the Salt premiere after-party. And the old cliche about the acorn not falling too far from the tree flew into my mind, especially considering her rep as a closet rightie (including her alleged support for McCain during the ’08 campaign) and that “stay the course in Iraq” Washington Post article she posted in ’08. And being…okay, maybe she’s more of an Ayn Rand libertarian, given her interest in making a film version of Atlas Shrugged.

It’s fair to say that if Rush Limbaugh is singing your praises, something stinks in the kingdom of Denmark.

The basic conservative impulse is to bow down and show total allegiance to authority. This obviously links up with the old cliche about right-wing women (like Rand) being especially passionate about worshipping strong males, which is incidentally why they’re said to be so great in bed. This could be one possible explanation for those reportedly overheard sounds that suggested “an animal being killed.”

I’m not one to take unsourced Us magazine quotes as anything to rely upon, but combine the Washington Post op-ed piece with this 11.09 non-attributable quote that Jolie considers Obama to be a “closet socialist,” and I’m at least thinking “hmmm.”

The term “closet socialist”….well, what’s so bad with that? FDR was one, and he had it right in my book. Anyone who uses such a term is clearly a closet rightie. I mean, that’s a symmetrical way of looking at it.

“‘She hates [Obama],” a source close to Jolie told an Us reporter, according to the article. “She’s into education and rehabilitation and thinks Obama is all about welfare and handouts. She thinks Obama is really a socialist in disguise.”

So let me summarize some of what we’ve learned from Mr. Wells here, because it’s really quite fascinating.

• One of the reasons Jolie might be a right winger is that Mr. Wells spotted her standing next to her father at the premiere of Salt.  My, that does seem incriminating!

• Another reason she must be a conservative is that she was interested in playing the Dagny Taggart role in Atlas Shrugged … which, apparently unbeknownst to Wells, famous Hollywood liberals like Charlize Theron and Julia Roberts have also been attached to because it’s a great female role.  Does that make them ‘closet righties’ too, Jeffrey?

• “The basic conservative impulse is to bow down and show total allegiance to authority,” asserts Mr. Wells. And blissfully unaware of the ironies involved, just a few lines later Wells goes on to praise the presidency of FDR.  I’ll leave that fun little contradiction alone because I don’t believe in shooting turkeys while they’re squawking in a barrel.

• This is my favorite Wells-ism, though: that right-wing women worship strong males, and for this reason are “great in bed.” Well! Among other things, we’re learning here about what Mr. Wells himself apparently thinks makes a woman “great in bed”: namely, the worship of “strong males” … like him? Fascinating!  It’s amazing how retro some of these ‘liberal’ guys can be!

• I also like Wells’ efforts to tie Jolie’s right-wing politics to celebrity gossip about some apparently loud lovemaking (the “animal getting killed” stuff) between Jolie and Brad Pitt at an African resort, from five years ago.  Apparently in Wells’ mind that’s a strong journalistic lead in the hunt to uncover Jolie’s secret, reactionary worldview!

I could go on here, but I think you get the point.  I’m less interested here in whether Jolie is actually a right-winger (I doubt that, frankly) than in a typical Hollywood liberal’s image of what a conservative must be like.

I’m also intrigued by what Mr. Wells’ heated musings suggest about what the average Hollywood liberal really thinks of the female of the species, by the way.  Who’s really the caveman here?  It sounds like it’s you, Jeffrey.  Or maybe you’re just not getting your ducktail stroked enough.

Posted on August 26th, 2010 at 2:02pm.

By Jason Apuzzo. • It was such a pleasure seeing Mao’s Last Dancer this past weekend.  It’s an emotional, stirring film that is carried by two very strong performances by Chi Cao and Bruce Greenwood.  The story of how this young Chinese dancer rose to prominence during the nightmare-period of Mao’s reign, came to America – and then fought tenaciously for his freedom – is a story that everyone should see, especially when it’s told as elegantly as director Bruce Beresford tells it here.

What I was stunned by, however, were all of the flattering references in the film to (then) Vice President George H.W. Bush, and also to President Reagan.  It’s made quite plain that the elder Bush was instrumental in securing this young dancer’s freedom, and this is probably going to be the most flattering take on the Bush family and/or legacy you’re going to see on film any time in the near future.  We’ve got a brief except from the film below in this context, by the way.

I cannot recommend this film highly enough, as it expands into wider distribution next weekend. Mao’s Last Dancer is not only a compelling indictment of the communist system, but a rousing testimony to the opportunities available to high achievers in free societies like our own. Make sure to see it.

On the box office front, Mao did over a $192,000 in business on 31 screens in 10 markets.  It opens to 15 new markets this upcoming weekend.  Make sure to check out the clip below.

• From the sublime to the ridiculous … the other film I saw this past weekend that involved a ballet sequence (ahem), Piranha 3D, finished #6 at the box office this weekend with over $10 million … which is actually only about $6 million less than the #1 film, The Expendables.  Despite the strikingly positive reviews this film received (Rotten Tomatoes currently has it at an 81 rating), the rather obvious problem this film faced is that its intended audience – namely, teenagers – for the most part couldn’t see it due to its R rating.  [Personally I think the film easily could’ve received an NC-17.]  Still, I think Alex Aja has created a genuine cult masterpiece here that will live long and prosper once it reaches its natural milieu of unrated home video. 🙂  And, indeed, word is now breaking late today that Aja and Dimension films are already planning a sequel to the film, possibly to take place in Thailand.

• Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks may be teaming on an adaptation of the post-9/11 Jonathan Safran Foer novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. This project looks interesting, and we’ll keep an eye on it.  I haven’t read the novel, but Entertainment Weekly has a brief summary of it here.

• Angelina Jolie has announced that her next project will be a low-budget love story set at the height of the Bosnian war, for which she wrote the screenplay … and which she’ll be directing (she will not be acting in the film). “The film is a love story, not a political statement,” Jolie asserts in a recent statement about the project.

Good for her.  How odd that at this point I feel more confident in how she’ll handle this material than, say, how Stallone might.  Salt, by the way, has thus far grossed $216 million worldwide.

• The annual article about ‘Hollywood Reaching Out to Christians’ has come out … this time from The New York Times.  It’s a little tiresome reading these articles each year.  Basically the only reason films get made that appeal to Christians these days is because Christians themselves – usually working outside the confines of the Hollywood system – pony up their own money and get them made.

By the way, in this context there are some new clips out today of the next Narnia film.

• The LA Times’ Tom O’Neil questions whether SAG should be honoring the great Ernest Borgnine simply because O’Neil doesn’t like Borgnine’s personal politics … which O’Neil is apparently able to divine simply because Borgnine didn’t feel like seeing Brokeback Mountain.  Mr. O’Neil, this is what’s called blacklisting.  It’s an ugly, retrograde practice and you should stop this immediately.

• AND IN TODAY’S MOST IMPORTANT NEWS … Mad Men va-va-voom star Christina Hendricks made a striking appearance at this weekend’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards.  Did you really think we were going to miss this?  The striking Ms. Hendricks will be competing for a Best Supporting Actress Emmy when the big-time Emmy Awards roll around this upcoming Sunday.

And that’s what’s happening today in the wonderful world of Hollywood.

Posted on August 23rd, 2010 at 6:02pm.