James Hirsen
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004

Ethan Hawke and wife Uma Thurman recently split up.

The allegations in the press have been that the actor was messing around with a model while on location in Canada.

A look at some snippets from an interview in Details magazine indicates that the connubial hubbub might have affected Hawke’s political perspective.

Hawke said, “Martin Luther King Jr. suffered from infidelity, so did John F. Kennedy. [Actually, didn't their wives suffer from it?] Clinton is a self-made man. And you’re much more likely to find great leadership coming from a man who likes to have sex with a lot of women than one who’s monogamous.”

In apparent deference to married women, Hawke explained, “I’m not saying that men shouldn’t be monogamous, but what I mean is, there’s no [expletive] correlation in the world to that having anything to do with ethics as a leader, as a world leader.”

Hawke also did something during the interview that the political Hollywood pundits can’t seem to refrain from doing these days. He cast a barb at President Bush.

He said Bush was “probably the least prepared person to be president of the United States that’s been elected in a long time, if not ever.”

The Left Coast Report remarks that the same people who want move the character line into left field now want to drop-kick the sphere of ethics.

Harry Belafonte’s Unusual Jacko Defense

It looks as though calypso commie Harry Belafonte has come up with something new for Michael Jackson’s P.R. campaign that even Mark Geragos might not have thought of. It’s the “war in Iraq defense.”

While in Nairobi, Belafonte pointed out to Agence France-Presse that “Michael Jackson is innocent until proven guilty by the court of law.”

The singer said the U.S. media had an “insatiable appetite” for the case.

Hitting it right on both points, Belafonte then let loose with a unique defense strategy. He said, “It is inappropriate for the media to start asking what ifs and what abouts. What about the children who suffered in Iraq?”

The Left Coast Report thinks that Belafonte’s “change the subject and then hit Bush” tune makes him eligible for a DNC grammy.

Charlize Theron Wants ‘Monster’ to Live

In response to her portrayal of a woman who was executed for a committing a series of vicious murders, Charlize Theron has earned an Academy Award nomination.

Appearing in front of reporters at the Berlin Film Festival for the overseas premiere of her film, the actress took the opportunity to scorn the death penalty.

“I don't think condemning people who murder and then killing them necessarily sends out the right message,” Theron told the press, calling those executed for capital crimes “political pawns.”

She added, “I'm not for the death penalty, and working on this film didn’t really change anything for me. If anything it made me more aware of how ineffective it is.”

The Left Coast Report sees the fact that an executed killer can’t be paroled to kill anyone else as pretty darn effective.

Michael Douglas Wins Celluloid Election

The readers of USA Today have been polled as to their choice for president, and guess what? They passed over Kerry, Bush and Nader for – Michael Douglas?

Although Douglas said he was “very flattered,” he speculated that his selection might have something to do with Catherine Zeta-Jones becoming first lady.

Actually, Douglas won the vote for best presidential portrayal in cinema.

Douglas, who has pushed nuclear disarmament and been a spokesman for the United Nations as a “messenger of peace,” beat out the competition with 39 percent of the 10,568 votes cast.

The actor won for his representation of the idealized liberal president that Aaron Sorkin of “West Wing” fame and Rob Reiner inflicted on the national psyche in 1995 in “The American President.”

The Left Coast Report suspects that the Kerry campaign will try to enlist Sorkin as its next speechwriter.

Amish TV

Rep. Joe Pitts is leading 51 members of Congress who want Les Moonves to call off a UPN “reality” series.

The series that’s creating the stir features Amish teen-agers being transplanted to tempting locales in Los Angeles.

Moonves was at the center of the struggle over the infamous Reagan miniseries and Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction.” Now he’s in another television tussle with Pitts, who represents the southern Pennsylvania countryside in which the Amish reside.

As the chairman of CBS, Moonves also watches over UPN. He reportedly said a few weeks ago that a show where “people who don't have television walk down Rodeo Drive” and are “freaked out by what they see” would make interesting TV.

Moonves insisted, “It will not be denigrating to the Amish.”

Pitts told the Associated Press that “the mentality reminds me of the old sideshows in the circus, and it is wrong to do this to a minority group like the Amish.”

The Amish are known for avoiding the use of technology and dressing in plain homemade clothing. But when Amish teens turn 16, they are given a period in which to experiment outside their austere lifestyle. The young people are permitted to sample the outside world so they can be certain that they want to be baptized as adults.

UPN released the following statement in response to the 51 legislators: “UPN and the show’s producers have every intention of treating the Amish, their beliefs and their heritage with the utmost respect and decency. Any young Amish adults who do choose to participate ... will do so only of their own free will and with absolutely full knowledge of the content, nature and intent of the program.”

The Left Coast Report is concerned that the show won’t exactly be in line with Weird Al’s “Amish Paradise.”

Katie Couric Displays Partiality on First Ladies

Katie Couric recently interviewed a few of America’s first ladies for NBC’s “Today” show.

The interviews of Hillary Clinton and Nancy Reagan turned out to be a study in correspondent contrast.

Couric introduced Hillary in this way: “Hillary Rodham Clinton. She perhaps faced more challenges professional and personal than any other first lady in history. Now three years after she left the White House, Hillary Rodham Clinton may wield more political power than her husband.”

There was no mention of Hillary’s cattle futures windfall, Billy Dale’s Travel Office nightmare or the mystery of the disappearing and reappearing Rose Law firm billing records.

By the way, Katie and her pal Hillary appeared together last weekend at a forum in south Florida.

But when Couric interviewed Mrs. Reagan, after mentioning some perfunctory accomplishments that she brought to the position, Couric chirped: “Unfortunately some critics were saying no to Nancy Reagan. She was taken to task for wearing designer gowns and redecorating the White House during a recession. But her regular consultations with an astrologer raised the most eyebrows.”

The Left Coast Report says we haven’t seen such skill at interviewing since Larry King sat down with Connie Chung.

Passionate Signs of Ticket Sales

After over a year of unprecedented attacks, Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ” is showing all of the signs of a blockbuster.

Even though the normal studio distribution doors were closed to Gibson, the film will appear in close to 3,000 U.S. theaters, putting the foreign-language movie in the same category as a major Hollywood release.

Independent distributor Newmarket Films has increased the number of prints of the film to more than 4,000, as advance ticket sales sell at a phenomenal pace.

Online ticket service Fandango has indicated that “The Passion of the Christ” has become its second-biggest film in advance sales, just behind “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.”

The Left Coast Report hears that a sign on a theater marquee somewhere in one of the “red” states reads “There’s a new Lord in town.”

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

For archives of The Left Coast Report, click here.

Get your FREE copy of James Hirsen’s New York Times best-selling book, “Tales from the Left Coast.”