Hollywood – Page 7 – Douglas Ernst Blog

Iron Man 3 trailer delivers — Shane Black gets dark

October 24, 2012March 6, 2013by Douglas Ernst7 Comments

Iron Man 2 was a decent super hero flick. It was fine … but when one compares it to the first installment or The Avengers, it’s glaringly obvious that the studio rushed a half-baked product to the market. The only thing that saved Iron Man 2 was Robert Downey Jr’s pitch-perfect understanding of the character. Marvel will be under a great deal of pressure to get the ship righted, but after seeing the first trailer for Iron Man 3, it appears as though they might have succeeded.

The problem with Tony Stark (billionaire, philanthropist, playboy), is that even though he’s that cocky genius-bastard you can’t help but love, after three movies of his wise cracks, at some point the character needs to be grounded. He needs to be humbled. He needs to face something that takes the smirk off his face and makes him reassess who he is and what’s important to him. I’ve said since day one that bringing on Shane Black, who did a wonderful job with Kiss, Kiss, Bang Bang, was a smart move. Black is more than capable of directing strong action sequences, and he’s shown that he could write witty, compelling, complex characters. Marvel did itself a favor by bringing him on board.

With that said, the only thing that could derail Iron Man 3 for me will be politics. (I can tolerate Gweneth Paltrow’s “I’m just here for a paycheck” performances, although I hope she gracefully exits after her contract is up.) Marvel has a bad habit of flirting with liberalism in its products — even subjecting Tony Stark to weird Bush-Cheney warmonger allegories. While it’s been said that the new movie was going to be inspired by Tom Clancy — who is most definitely conservative — I wouldn’t put it past them to sully the series with politically correct gobbledygook.

Case in point: Iron Patriot.

Without spoiling things for fans who don’t read the comics, the Iron Patriot’s mere presence raises questions. Who will be in the suit? Is he a good guy or is he a bad guy? Will the calamities that befall Tony Stark be solely the work of The Mandarin, or will shady actors within the U.S. government somehow be to blame?

Take, for instance, the trailer’s narrator, who says:

Ladies. Children. Sheep. Some people call me a terrorist; I consider myself a teacher. Lesson number one: Heroes — there is no such thing.

If the Iron Patriot is somehow involved with the Mandarin or if the U.S. government is somehow culpable for the espionage that destroys Tony’s life, the movie will instantly lose credibility. If the message ends up being some sort of social commentary on how “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter,” I probably won’t be seeing Iron Man 4 in the theaters.

Regardless, I had my doubts about The Avengers and ended up being pleasantly surprised. I’m cautiously optimistic that the creators of Iron Man 3 are drawing from the same successful formula.
Related: Iron Man is America
Related: Robert Downey Jr.’s politics: A lesson for liberal Hulks
Related: Lone Avenger: Robert Downey Jr. soars above his liberal critics

All balding men should pledge allegiance to Bruce Willis

August 27, 2012August 28, 2012by Douglas Ernst8 Comments

Bruce Willis Expendables 2 — Bruce Willis is a man who knows how to own his hair loss. Be like Bruce Willis, my dihydrotestosterone producing friends.

All good things must come to an end … like my hair. And so, since I am a conservative blogger I have no choice but to accept personal responsibility for my male pattern baldness. As much as I would like to blame my father, my grandfather, “the rich,” and a cruel, uncaring capitalistic system that surreptitiously gives men like me androgenic alopecia, I will do no such thing.

I first noticed my hair thinning up front. Soon, it wasn’t long before my crown began to crack under the pressure that baldness, the bastard, applies. The question became: Do I fight a slow war of attrition with my hair loss (one I was destined to lose), or would I employ a scorched-scalp strategy, whereas I could guarantee victory by embracing the landscape of a shaved head?

As a former soldier, the choice was simple: I would go back to the future, buy some shears, and see to it that my inner Bruce Willis was given his time to shine. The key to baldness is to revel in it and say to those stubborn genes, “You will not shake my confidence.” People can easily tell the difference between a man who sulks over finicky follicles that turned off too early, as if he was Samson done in by Delilah, and a man who likes what he sees and is empowered by it.

There are many men who pull off a shaved or bald head. Terry Crews, Dwayne “The Rock”Johnson, and Jason Statham are just a few. But to me, no one knows how to make it work better than Bruce Willis. The dude is the textbook case for cool. As so, as a newly-minted member of the Balding Men Club, I hereby announce my commitment to always strive for The Willis Ideal.

12 Monkeys is required viewing, Willis 101, for anyone who seeks to emulate Bruce’s mastery of baldness.

The Dark Knight Rises: A conservative review

July 24, 2012July 24, 2012by Douglas Ernst27 Comments

Where was Christopher Nolan supposed to go after the success of The Dark Knight? How could he have possibly topped the second installment of his Batman trilogy? There really weren’t many options, except to make a superhero movie that was more than a superhero movie — and for that Nolan apparently turned to Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. The director went for something truly epic — he shot for the moon — and while we can debate whether or not he actually hit his target, it seems pretty obvious that he made it to the stars.

After the second trailer for The Dark Knight Rises came out on May Day, I hoped that years from now political junkies would hear Bane say, “When Gotham burns, you have my permission to die,” and immediately associate him with Keynesian economics and the totalitarian tendencies that spring forth from it. The movie didn’t disappoint, as Bane displays classical training in the rhetoric of leftist dictator-goons throughout history. And if Bane comes across as a Marxist revolutionary, then Selena Kyle is the useless idiot who buys into his snake oil.

Take note of Catwoman, as she displays jealousy, greed, envy and a sense of entitlement all in one minute conversation with Bruce.

Selena Kyle: You don’t get to judge me just because you were born in the master bedroom of Wayne Manor. … I started out doing what I had to. When you’ve done what you’ve had to they’ll never let you do what you want to.

Bruce Wayne: Start fresh.

Selena Kyle: There is no fresh start in today’s world. Any 12 year old with a cell phone can find out what you did. … Everything sticks.

Bruce: Is that how you justify stealing?

Selena Kyle: I take what I need from those who have more than enough. I don’t stand on the shoulders of people with less. … I think I do more to help someone than most of the people in this room — than you.

Bruce Wayne: Do you think maybe you’re assuming a little too much? …

Selena Kyle: You think all of this can last? There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it does you and your friends are going to wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.

Ms. Kyle wants to live in a world where she doesn’t have to suffer the consequences of her actions. She made mistakes, and instead of owning up to them she doubles down on a path of deceit. It is only when Ms. Kyle moves in the ideological direction of Mr. Wayne that her fortunes begin to change. Revolutionaries like Bane only bring misery and terror, while men like Wayne offer order, true hope, redemption and selflessness.

Perhaps no better part sums up the difference between Bruce Wayne and his leftist adversaries than the rising climax. The cynical, class-warfare spewing Catwoman intellectually aligned with Bane throughout most of the movie, a man who sought to destroy an entire city to realize his goals. Bruce, on the other hand, proves that he is willing to sacrifice himself for an entire city.

Selena Kyle: Sorry to keep letting you down. Come with me. Save yourself. You don’t owe these people any more. You’ve given them everything.

Bruce: Not everything. Not yet.

Within minutes, Kyle knows that Bruce is the better man, and she falls for him. By the end of The Dark Knight Rises, the man she accused of “living so large” and leaving “so little for the rest of us” has proven himself her superior mentally, physically and spiritually, and she shows her epiphany in dramatic fashion.

As I said before, The Dark Knight trilogy will be, on many levels, the Bane of liberal moviegoers’ existence. No matter what Christopher Nolan does—no matter what he says from this day forward—he can never take back these films (thank God). It’s a gold mine of conservative values waiting to be explored. And, while Nolan’s personal politics might not be conservative, he at least gave the worldview a fair shake. In Hollywood, that’s all conservatism needs to starts winning hearts and minds. Besides, when The Village Voice hates a movie, I know I have something to work with.

If you haven’t seen The Dark Knight Rises yet, check it out while it’s in theaters. Love it or hate it, it’s a movie that’s going to be talked about for a long time.

Schwarzenegger’s ‘Six Rules for Success’: Sage advice for all Americans

July 18, 2012March 4, 2013by Douglas ErnstLeave a comment

Like all of us, Arnold Schwarzenegger has his moral failings. We know what they are since he’s a public figure, but if we’re honest with ourselves we know that we too are “warped timber.” Given that, the question becomes: How did a scrawny kid grow up to become the Austrian Oak, and can the principles that helped bring him success be applied to the rest of us? There’s a video that’s been on YouTube for quite some time that highlights Schwarzenegger’s “Six Rules for Success.” I believe they can be inspiring to anyone, in any field.

As I’ve noted before, it’s been my experience that those who are serious about lifting weights tend to have a conservative streak in them — or at least seem to be more open to the worldview than my other friends and acquaintances. The weights are about tough love, and Arnold does a great job imparting their wisdom here:

Now of course, people ask me all the time, they say to me: “What is the secret to success?” The first rule is: Trust yourself. But what is most important is that you have to dig deep down — dig deep down — and ask yourself, “Who do you want to be?” Not what, but who? I’m talking about not what your parents and teachers want you to be, but you. I’m talking about figuring out for yourselves, what makes you happy no matter how crazy it may sound to the people.

Rule #1 is: Trust yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks.

Rule #2 is: Break the rules.

We have so many rules in life about everything. I say break the rules — not the law — but break the rules. It is impossible to be a maverick or a true original if you’re too well behaved and don’t want to break the rules. You have to think outside the box. That is what I believe. After all, what is the point of being on this earth if all you want to do is be liked by everyone and avoid trouble? The only way I ever got anyplace was by breaking some of the rules.

Which of course brings me to Rule Number 3: Don’t be afraid to fail.

Anything I’ve ever attempted, I was always willing to fail. You can’t always win, but don’t be afraid of making decisions. You can’t be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision. And you know that it is the right thing to do and success will come. So don’t be afraid to fail, which brings me to Rule #4, which is: Don’t listen to the naysayers.

I mean, how many times have you heard that you can’t do this and you can’t do that and it has never been done before? I love it when someone says no one has ever done this before, because when I do it that means that I’m the first person who has done it! So pay no attention to the people who say it can’t be done.

I never listen to “you can’t.” I always listen to myself and say, “Yes, you can.” And that brings me to Rule #5, which is the most important rule of all: Work your butt off. Leave no stone unturned.

Mohammad Ali, one of my great heroes, had a great line in the 70’s when he was asked: “How many situps do you do?” He said, “I don’t count my situps; I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting because that’s when it really counts. That’s what makes you a champion.” And that’s the way it is with everything: No pain, no gain.

While you’re out there partying, horsing around, someone out there at the same time is working hard. Someone is getting smarter and someone is winning. Just remember that. Now if you want to win, there is absolutely no way around hard, hard work. None of my rules for success will work unless you do. I’ve always figured that there were 24 hours in a day. You sleep 6 hours. There are 18 hours left. Now, I know there are some of you out there now who say, “Well wait a minute. I sleep 8 hours or 9 hours.” Well, just sleep faster, I would recommend.

That takes me to Rule #6, which is a very important rule. It’s about giving back. Whatever path that you take in your lives, you must always find time to give something back. Something back to your community. Give something back to your state or your country.

Let me tell you something: Reaching out and helping people will give you more satisfaction than anything you have ever done.

Remember these six rules:

1. Trust yourself
2. Break some rules
3. Don’t be afraid to fail
4. Ignore the naysayers
5. Work like hell
6. Give something back

Well said, Arnold. Well said, indeed.

Robert Downey Jr.’s politics: A lesson for liberal Hulks

May 13, 2012April 22, 2015by Douglas Ernst65 Comments

robert-downey-jr-iron-man — Liberals are good at revising history, as they now attempt to do with news that Robert Downey Jr. attended a Barack Obama fundraiser. A trip down memory lane reveals they weren’t so warm and fuzzy about him when his politics were in question.

With the news that Robert Downey Jr. attended George Clooney’s $40,000 fundraiser earlier in the week, liberals incredulously asked how conservatives could have ever thought he was a Republican or perhaps even (gasp!) a conservative. As we all know, conservatives are racists, bigots and homophobes, right? Regardless, I will spell it out in ways even liberals with a mind like the Hulk can understand.

People put their children’s drawings on their refrigerator. They put cards from loved ones, their daily calendar and things they’re proud of on it. They put images on it that they don’t mind seeing every time they go to the get something to eat or drink. And so, when GQ Magazine, a piece of liberal propaganda disguised as a men’s magazine, is invited into Downey’s home and finds a picture of him with George and Laura Bush, it sends a message.

There are photos of Downey and Susan taped above the refrigerator: with President Bush and Mrs. Bush; with Tom Cruise, Mrs. Cruise, and Suri in a group hug on-set in Hawaii. The week’s schedule, in brightly colored fonts for easy reading, hangs from the bulletin board—yet another magazine interview tonight, rerecording dialogue tomorrow, a shooting day on Wednesday—along with Downey’s son’s soccer-playoff schedule.

In the liberal mind, such an act would already be considered heresy. But as with any case built on circumstantial evidence, there needed to be more. And so, we introduced the infamous New York Times interview, where Robert Downey Jr. told them that his time spent in prison had a profound impact on his politics; Downey’s liberal Hollywood critics responded by trying to convince people that he really just wanted to swim in Olympic-sized pools of gold like Scrooge McDuck.

“His values are pure Republican values … He’s a serious materialist. He loves the great clothes, the beautiful house, the cool cars. He’s a ‘protect the rich’ guy. Why should the rich have to pay for this or that? The people who have it should keep it, and the people who don’t have it shouldn’t complain.”

When Hollywood liberals start attacking the man, it sends up red flags to the world that they have him on notice: Shut up and keep quiet, “re-educate” yourself, or the character assassination will continue. Now that Downey has given up cold, hard cash to Obama, is he still a materialist? Probably not, since once liberals “evolve” their past is forgotten about the next day.

But let us dig even further back, to see what may have set off our liberal friends to begin with. Perhaps it had something to do with the launch of Andrew Breitbart’s websites, created precisely because Hollywood is the kind of place where in order to network with the elite it’s almost mandatory you attend functions like … a George Clooney, $40,000 a plate Democrat fundraiser. As rumors swelled that Downey was a Republican, the press sought answers. He refused to give them:

Breitbart simply refers to it as a continuous politics and culture posting board, and its underlying, unifying aim is just as simple: “Our goal is to create an atmosphere of tolerance, something that does not exist in this town,” he says. It’s kind of funny and ironic to read about how conservatives are being encouraged to come out of the closet.

Most amusing is the reaction from the agent for Robert Downey, Jr., who is believed to be a closet conservative … his publicist will neither confirm nor deny it, saying only, “We unfortunately have no comment, as RDJ does not comment on political matters.” (Opelika-Auburn News, Entering Stage Right, Jan. 6, 2009.)

There is no downside to announcing your political allegiance in Hollywood. None. Conservatives expect artists to be Democrats at this point. Generally, a politically mum A-list Hollywood star in the face of rumors they are conservative is another indicator that they might not fall into line with the “acceptable” positions of the industry’s power players. Refrain from comment, and liberal rags find it “most amusing.”

As I said before, can you blame Robert for not wanting to talk? The guy probably runs the gamut on any number of public policy issues, but was attacked by liberals for either a.) saying his time in prison taught him some lessons that were incompatible with liberalism, and b.) that he’d rather not talk politics and would not do so through his agent, at least as of 2009.

Now that Downey has attended a Barack Obama fundraiser, liberals would have us believe that delusional conservatives created the idea of a Hollywood star that was one of them out of pure desperation. Not true. As much as they want to deny it, liberal attacks on the man were often the catalyst for the conservatives who defended him.

Dark Knight Rises trailer drops for May Day. Occupy Gotham?

May 1, 2012May 1, 2012by Douglas Ernst4 Comments

Bane Dark Knight Rises — Christopher Nolan has given us a better look at Bane just as May Day hits. Just when leftist movements everywhere plan to hit the streets, The Dark Knight Rises trailer is released. Coincidence, or is Christopher Nolan a genius? Who cares. Just buy your tickets for opening night.

The new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises is out. The response in certain quarters to the first trailer and initial reactions to this one seems to be a squeamishness about how good the movie might be. For some reason people are a bit put off by the dour mood, and I’m not sure if it’s because The Avengers has everyone on an escapist high or if it’s because the talk of conservatism in Nolan’s films has affected his liberal fans.

As I wrote before, it would be a huge victory for conservatives if years from now political junkies who hear Bane say, “When Gotham burns, you have my permission to die,” immediately link it with a Nolan dig at Keynesian economics and the totalitarian tendencies that spring forth from it.

Regardless, the new trailer offers more pure evil, but not quite the kind of terror we had in the second installment. If the Joker was a metaphor for Islamic terrorism, then Bane seems to be a throwback to a Communist-revolutionary standard bearer. Perhaps Che or Marx on steroids?

It’s also interesting that the new trailer would drop right as “International Workers’ Day (May Day) hits. Why would Christopher Nolan want us getting a fresh taste of Bane right when socialist nuts and “Occupy” types plan to hit the streets? Coincidence, or is the man just a genius?

Besides getting to see more evidence that Bane is what happens when terrorist-revolutionaries get hold of the kind of military hardware and explosives they desire, perhaps the most interesting takeaway is this:

Catwoman: You don’t owe these people any more. You’ve given them everything.

Batman: Not everything. Not yet.

You have only given everything after you have given your life. If Christopher Nolan wanted to really turn heads he would have Bruce go full-on Bushido, sacrificing himself in a blaze of glory to save the city he loves.

I think part of the reason an odd number of people are expressing doubt about The Dark Knight Rises is because Nolan’s realism hits too close to home. Terrorist bombs going off in football stadiums. Bridges blowing up as children look on. Methodical, calculating enemies saying things that make you think about your life outside the movie theater. Summer blockbusters are “supposed” to be pure popcorn to a lot of people, but Nolan aims for something more. His fare targets the ticket-buyer who just wants to see things go boom on the screen, but he also targets the person who has a few extra synapses firing in their brain. And that’s why his movies make big bucks.

If you have a chance to buy tickets early for The Dark Knight Rises, I highly suggest doing so. It’s going to be good.

Update: Check out Hotair’s coverage of The Dark Knight Rises trailer.

Lone Avenger: Robert Downey Jr. soars above his liberal critics

April 23, 2012April 22, 2015by Douglas Ernst52 Comments

In 2009 Robert Downey Jr. was interviewed by the New York Times. When I read it I smiled, because the old phrase, “A conservative is a liberal who’s been mugged by reality,” seemed to ring true for the good actor:

“I have a really interesting political point of view, and it’s not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can’t go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You can’t. I wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics ever since.”

It turns out that one paragraph in a single interview years ago made quite a few waves in the Hollywood community, so much so that Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere tried his hand at character assassination in 2011. I wonder if he’ll do a companion piece, since Joss Whedon wants to insert Democratic talking points into Captain America’s mouth; Mark Ruffalo (i.e., The Hulk) wants to stop oil companies from providing gas and heat to our homes; Samuel L. Jackson (i.e., Nick Fury) admits that the only reason he voted for Barack Obama was because he’s black; and Scarlett Johansson (i.e., Black Widow) hawks Barack Obama clothing and accessories for his re-election campaign. I won’t hold my breath.

Given all this, the universe demands that I write something pro-Robert Downey Jr.

Let us first establish one thing: Liberal Hollywood actors get to be activists. They get to loudly and proudly state their opinions. They get handed megaphones in front of large audiences or microphones off to the side of a fashion show runway. Robert gives a passing reference to rejecting liberalism and he’s attacked. Here’s what an anonymous source told Wells:

“His values are pure Republican values … He’s a serious materialist. He loves the great clothes, the beautiful house, the cool cars. He’s a ‘protect the rich’ guy. Why should the rich have to pay for this or that? The people who have it should keep it, and the people who don’t have it shouldn’t complain.”

Really? So Robert Downey Jr. tells the New York Times that his time spent in prison had a profound impact on his politics, but somehow we’re supposed to believe it’s really about wanting to swim in Olympic-sized pools of gold like Scrooge McDuck? Consider me skeptical.

What’s more likely: that Robert Downey Jr. found out that there are some really bad, really evil people behind bars…or that he just loves designer clothes? What’s more likely: that Robert Downey Jr. learned that allowing someone to suffer the consequences of their actions is often times better than perpetually shielding them from blow back…or that he wants to have a really nice house he can lord over the rest of us?

Robert admitted to the New York Times that he didn’t talk politics too loudly at dinner tables in Hollywood. Can anyone blame him? Even somewhat obscure allusions to a conservative streak gets the guy lambasted by his peers. It would be incredibly dangerous for Hollywood’s “Iron Man,” … someone as “cool” as Downey, to be openly conservative. The kiddies might take to such a message if it was articulated by an actor with a respected resume that runs the gamut. Downey can give a serious performance in an art house flick, he can do dark comedy, or he can do the summer blockbuster. And so, Hollywood must make the message loud and clear: “Great career you have there. It would be a shame if something happened to it.”

I’m sure that liberals in Hollywood aren’t happy that Iron Man 3 is getting The Tom Clancy treatment, particularly if that includes a script infused with Clancy’s conservatism. And so, I will leave them with one more comment to ponder. During his time directed by Joss Whedon for The Avengers, Downey said this:

“I will never mess with your intent. I will question every day how you plan to get there. But I will never mess with what you’re trying to accomplish.”

That sounds like many conservatives I know. Conservatives are much more inclined to say, “I know that you want to create a better place. However, your policies are naive, they don’t work in the real world and they actually have the opposite effect of your intended goals.” Remember when liberals used to pride themselves on questioning authority? Now it’s up to conservatives and libertarians; the Progressive college students soak up everything they’re told and liberal Hollywood stars blindly follow Barack Obama off a financial cliff.

Anyway, God bless you Robert Downey Jr. You’re one hell of an actor. See you opening night.

Update: Since Robert Downey Jr. has attended a Barack Obama fundraiser, I have addressed the matter in depth.

Pelosi seeks ‘windfall profits’ tax on Avengers ticket sales

April 16, 2012April 16, 2012by Douglas Ernst5 Comments

THOR (Chris Hemsworth) (L) and CAPTAIN AMERICA (Chris Evans) (R) — If House Democrats have their way, your favorite Marvel superheroes will be hit with a "windfall profits" tax once an arbitrarily defined level of success has been met. Republicans argue that this will result in fewer superhero movies making it to the market.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is trying to find an 11th hour solution to Marvel Studios’ The Avengers, which is primed to be one of this summer’s biggest blockbusters. Sources close to producers Avi Arad and Jon Favreau have confirmed that the California Democrat has been in touch with Marvel Studios, and that a “windfall profits” tax will be in place before Friday, May 4 if Democrats can cobble together enough votes.

The Associated Press received the following from Pelosi’s office late Monday:

“Investments.” “Risk.” “Reward.” Such is the language of the Republican Party. Extremists. The GOP would have you believe that it was a “risk” to set up an Avengers movie with a series of films based on many of the individual characters: Thor, Hulk, Iron Man and Captain America. They would have you believe that an Avengers movie was no sure bet, and that the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on these movies and their marketing campaigns by no means guaranteed success. Rubbish! It’s high time Hollywood paid its fair share. If Democrats have their way, Marvel Studios will be the first to pay a windfall profits tax on its flagship characters, in addition to their corporate taxes (which also need higher rates). Warner Bros. will then follow suit in August, when The Dark Knight Rises takes number one at the box office. Behind every Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark movie are greedy Hollywood producers; that will change starting today.

The Hollywood Reporter seems to back up the Minority Leaders predictions, at least in this isolated case, although the philosophical debate is something that will have to be settled inside the Beltway on on cable news airwaves:

Avengers also is tracking better than Lionsgate’s blockbuster The Hunger Games, which posted a record March bow of $152.5 million to score the third-best opening of all time behind Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Dark Knight, respectively.

According to first tracking, unaided awareness in Avengers is 13 percent, compared with 10 percent for Dark Knight and 11 percent for Hunger Games; first choice is 23 percent, tying with Hunger Games and higher than the 19 percent for Dark Knight.

Total awareness is 85 percent, compared with 76 percent for Dark Knight and 74 percent for Hunger Games; definite interest is 61 percent, versus 62 percent for Dark Knight and 54 percent for Hunger Games.

Asked to comment, House Majority Leader John Boehner set up a stark (pardon the pun) contrast between Republicans and Democrats:

“The windfall profits tax proposed by Democrats will go nowhere because Americans want more Marvel movies, not less—and taxing Marvel Studios will result in less movies. Let me tell you what House Republicans will do to this bill in a way that Marvel fans—and fans of The Hulk—can all understand. BOEHNER SMASH!“

Note to Ashley Judd: Men don’t care about your face. Women do.

April 11, 2012April 14, 2012by Douglas Ernst13 Comments

Ashley Judd is angry. She’s really angry. So angry, in fact, that she wrote about it in The Daily Beast. Over what, you ask? Apparently the endless chatter that occurs in Hollywood circles, entertainment magazines and on talk shows about whether or not she’s had plastic surgery reached some sort of crescendo that demanded her attention. She writes:

“I choose to address [this now] because the conversation was pointedly nasty, gendered, and misogynistic and embodies what all girls and women in our culture, to a greater or lesser degree, endure every day, in ways both outrageous and subtle. The assault on our body image, the hypersexualization of girls and women and subsequent degradation of our sexuality as we walk through the decades, and the general incessant objectification is what this conversation allegedly about my face is really about. …

That women are joining in the ongoing disassembling of my appearance is salient. Patriarchy is not men. Patriarchy is a system in which both women and men participate. It privileges, inter alia, the interests of boys and men over the bodily integrity, autonomy, and dignity of girls and women. It is subtle, insidious, and never more dangerous than when women passionately deny that they themselves are engaging in it. This abnormal obsession with women’s faces and bodies has become so normal that we (I include myself at times—I absolutely fall for it still) have internalized patriarchy almost seamlessly. We are unable at times to identify ourselves as our own denigrating abusers, or as abusing other girls and women.

A case in point is that this conversation was initially promulgated largely by women; a sad and disturbing fact. (That they are professional friends of mine, and know my character and values, is an additional betrayal.)

If you make a deal with the Devil, you’re going to get burned. How many magazine covers has Ashley Judd been on? How many of them have been Photoshopped to hell? How many of them have been marketed almost exclusively to women? She enters into an industry filled with the most shallow, narcissistic and vain clowns among us and then wants to blame a patriarchal system designed to brainwash her female friends into betraying her? Not quite.

Sixteen to twenty-five year old men see women as objects because they’re raging balls of hormones. Literally. The rest of the male world will always appreciate a good-looking woman, but they have more important things on their mind. That’s what happens when you become a man. Although, sometimes, they have less important things on their mind (e.g., the football game). Either way, they don’t give a rip what Ashley Judd looks like…except when she willfully dons a football jersey and poses seductively for the camera.

Do you want to know who does care what Ashley Judd looks like? Women. Specifically, the kind of women who host The View. Angry, catty types who like to say mean things behind the back of others. The kind of women who take great glee in seeing beauty fade in someone they once saw as a rival, or were jealous of simply because she was beautiful. On some level Ashley Judd is even worse, because she’s a good-looking woman who goes around throwing out terms like ‘inter alia’ (unnecessarily) just to rub it in that she’s more beautiful and more intelligent than you. If our pretentious friend wanted to put an end to all the “nasty, gendered, and misogynistic” conversations she could start by having a heart to heart with the person in the mirror.

Below is a picture of Adele. A friend of mine had this to say about her Vogue cover shoot:

“Taking a women who IS in shape, photographing her in a bathing suit and putting her in a men’s magazine is one thing. But that is light years away from taking a woman who is somewhat overweight—who is known specifically for her TALENT—airbrushing her to the point that she looks like she’s had surgery, painting her with makeup and putting her in, easily, the most revealing top she’s ever posed in. Then they point a fan at her and hide her chin with heavy shadows—and FOR WHAT? A magazine aimed exclusively at women? That’s who this is for? That is something [women] all should be ashamed of. Including her.”

422520_10150683652146348_708161347_11664852_2043126169_n — Nice Photoshop, Adele. Way to sell your dignity for a few extra bucks.

Remember how women fought for all sorts of basic rights, and then generations later their daughters and great granddaughters used those rights to turn themselves into Photoshopped mannequins? I do. Note to Ashley: next time you write a piece on the “insidious” women who don’t realize they’re part of the problem, all you have to do is to stick it in an envelope, put a stamp on it, and then send it to your home address. The mailman might think you’re a little strange, but your message will be better targeted.

Barack Obama: The Hollywood Squares President

February 15, 2012by Douglas ErnstLeave a comment

President Barack Obama has mistaken his job as Commander in Chief with that of a game show host for Hollywood Squares, where contestants use celebrities as tic-tac-toe pieces to win prizes. While his list of ties to the entertainment industry is long and well documented, last month demonstrated more so than usual just how misplaced this administration’s priorities are. President (and former Hollywood actor) Ronald Reagan had the Kremlin on line one. In 2012, indicators suggest Mr. Obama reserves that spot for whoever is on the latest cover of Entertainment Weekly Magazine.

Only days into the new year, details finally emerged of a 2009 Alice in Wonderland party in the State Dining Room. Director Tim Burton played pricy interior decorator, and Johnny Depp in full Mad Hatter regalia breathed life into the affair. Perhaps no one told the president that if you have to try and keep a lid on the opulence of a party it’s probably too expensive to hold to begin with.

In January, Mr. Obama also took time out of his schedule to write TV star, singer and Hollywood darling Zooey Deschanel a personal birthday card. Voters didn’t need to wonder why for long, because it turns out that the Obama campaign has an extensive “wish list” of Hollywood supporters he’s eying to help carry him over the finish line. George Clooney, Michael Moore, Ben Affleck, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jay-Z are just a few of the pieces Mr. Obama would like to have back on his Campaign 2012 tic-tac-toe board.

Presidential game show hosts also need money, and the month ended with news that Will Ferrell would be throwing a fundraiser for the president in Los Angeles. The cost for admission? Roughly $36,000, the kind of chump change “the 99%” might find in their couch cushions during Spring cleaning—if by 99% you mean Bruce Springsteen.

Many commentators have asked if the president really believed his own State of the Union rhetoric when he said, “The state of our union is getting stronger.” The answer is yes, because that’s what happens when you spend too much time with people who live in the land of make-believe. The world’s dictators and despots are playing global chess while the leader of the free world is playing Hollywood Squares with Will Ferrell. If the Obama administration had a genre it wouldn’t be comedy. In fact, it’s a tragedy.