James Hirsen
Tuesday, March 18, 2003

Remember the slew of bad press "A Beautiful Mind" received in 2002 just before the Oscars?

Hollywood seems to covet that little statuette, and people are apparently willing to play pretty rough with the competition to get one.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Academy officials and members are irate because of an advertisement placed by Miramax in the L.A. Times, New York Times and Hollywood trade papers.

The ad featured a column originally published in the Los Angeles Daily News by Robert Wise. The headline stated, “Two-time Academy Award Winner Robert Wise declares [Martin] Scorsese deserves the Oscar for Gangs of New York.”

The problem is that the Academy rules forbid members from revealing who they will choose for the Oscar. Miramax has pulled the ad, and the studio has issued a statement that it was unaware the ad violated the rules.

Meanwhile, Roman Polanski, nominated for "The Pianist," has suffered a bout of bad P.R. of late. Some unpleasant old news has been rehashed online. It was the 1977 grand jury testimony of a 13-year-old girl. The director had pleaded guilty to having unlawful sex with the girl before leaving for an extended vacation in France.

London’s Daily Mail cites an unnamed Hollywood insider who claims that the release of the testimony looks fishy. “It seems amazing after all this time the papers should be publicized just weeks before he is up for an Academy Award. No one dare point the finger as there is no proof, but there is much speculation that this was a deliberate act to sabotage Polanksi’s chance of getting the Oscar.”

The Left Coast Report notes that when it comes to competition, no one cuts throats, stabs backs and smiles while doing it quite like those compassionate, tolerant, inclusive residents of Tinseltown.

Celebrity War Talk Then and Now

John Fund of the Wall Street Journal compared the position of Mike Farrell during Bill Clinton’s war in Kosovo with the activist/actor’s present-day peace-at-all-costs approach.

On the invasion of Kosovo in 1999, Farrell said: “I think it's appropriate for the international community in situations like this to intervene. I am in favor of an intervention.” And after the Slick One saved the world from a Sudanese aspirin factory in 1998 and made regime change in Iraq the official U.S. policy, Farrell and Co. had little if anything to say. This, of course, stands in stark contrast to the vociferous sermonizing of today.

Sheryl Crow also seems to be an ace at staging 180-degree turns. Back when Hillary Clinton went to Bosnia, Crow tagged along to entertain the troops. The singer said, “Here are these people, from 18-year-olds to military veterans, enduring real duress for the cause of peace.” Just like Farrell, Crow’s rhetoric then and now just don’t match up.

The Left Coast Report observes that Hollywood is a place where contradiction and inconsistency are as much a part of the scene as botox injections and forced smiles.

Renee Zellweger Seeing Red

Add “Chicago” star Renee Zellweger to the list of those who’ve fallen for the ravings of a madcap faux working man.

Zellweger told Book magazine that she’s been reading Michael Moore’s "Stupid White Men and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation." She offered her assessment of his work with these three words: “I love it.”

The book has teed off Zellweger. The actress said, “I’m a very angry citizen right now, which is bad because I’m not as informed as I ought to be and so highly opinionated that I’m probably going to go to jail this year.”

The Left Coast Report points out that, unlike others in her profession, at least Zellweger is trying to be honest. But prison time for the uninformed in Hollywood? Who’s she trying to kid? There’s no way we could ever build that many prisons.

Dive-Bombing Dixie Chicks

What do you do when you’re a red-hot bluegrass group in danger of losing airplay? Apologize fast.

During a concert in London, Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines told an audience, “Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”

Before you could say “Goodbye Earl,” country stations across the U.S. started pulling the Chicks off their play lists.

A few hundred protesters in Louisiana expressed their sentiments by crushing Dixie Chicks CDs with a tractor.

And a Kansas City radio station held a “chicken toss” event, where the group's CDs and concert tickets were dumped into trash cans.

Maines attempted to explain her comments made abroad. She said: “We've been overseas for several weeks and have been reading and following the news accounts of our government's position. The anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here is astounding. While we support our troops, there is nothing more frightening than the notion of going to war with Iraq and the prospect of all the innocent lives that will be lost.”

But apparently Maines couldn’t resist adding that “the president is ignoring the opinions of many in the United States and alienating the rest of the world. My comments were made in frustration and one of the privileges of being an American is you are free to voice your own point of view.”

The following day Maines seemed to be singing a different tune. She said, “As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect.”

The Left Coast Report can’t help but notice that the Chicks are following a familiar political pattern – moving from the halfcocked attitude to the scrambled explanation to the hurried apology.

Glenn Close Talks Taters

Glenn Close recently visited Washington, D.C., to promote an AIDS documentary.

The actress couldn’t resist the temptation to wax geopolitically. She said, “The Europeans think we're spinning recklessly. It seems we will kill thousands of people to get one man. It seems primitive to me.”

As for the French, Close is dismayed by the reactions of many Americans. She stated that “all this business about striking the word 'French' from 'french fries' is pathetic, just pathetic. What on earth are they thinking? I find it appalling.”

The Left Coast Report says if Close thinks that striking French from French fries is so appalling she can take it up with Monsieur Potato Head.

The 'Lance Bass' Defense

It looks as if a new criminal defense has been born. And it’s not your average Twinkie defense.

A Texas jury let a guy off on a murder charge. Apparently, he used the “Boy Band” defense.

Richard Brown said that he shot someone. Evidently, the individual had threatened to carve up Brown’s face because he resembled a member of the boy band 'N Sync.

According to Brown, the victim, Eric Acosta, had menaced Brown with a knife because Brown looked too much like Lance Bass.

Brown could have gone to prison for up to 99 years had he been convicted.

The Left Coast Report believes if this sort of thing catches on, the “Michael Jackson put a voodoo curse on me” defense has got to be right around the corner.

Beastie Boys Gone Mad

The Beastie Boys recently released the song “In a World Gone Mad” in a rather unconventional way. It gave away the tune for free.

The song is not available commercially as a single, but listeners can obtain it free of charge by going to the Beastie Boys' Web site.

Despite its enticing price, the piece is a virtual cornucopia of banality. It describes the coming war with Iraq as a “mid-life crisis war.”

The lyrics also include this little message: “I won’t carry guns for an oil war, As-Salamu alaikum, wa alaikum assalam, Peace to the Middle East peace to Islam.”

The Beastie Boys apparently tried to reduce the anti-U.S. impact somewhat by adding: “Now don’t get us wrong ‘cause we love America. But that’s no reason to get hysterica.”

The Left Coast Report thinks that regardless of any “hysterica” that might be generated by the publicity offer, when it comes to the latest Beastie Boys release it looks as if you get exactly what you pay for.

The Left Coast Report is put together by James L. Hirsen and the staff of NewsMax.

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