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Robert De Niro to Probe CIA Dark Side James Hirsen
THE LEFT COAST
REPORT
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. George Soros' Potential DreamWorks Score As I reported last month, Paramount recently beat NBC Universal to the punch and bought DreamWorks, the film studio founded by Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. In order to pay for its purchase, Paramount Pictures will probably sell its 59-title film library, which contains some name pics like "Gladiator" and "American Beauty."
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Selling the library allows Paramount to reduce debt at the critical moment when its parent, Viacom, is splitting into two separate entities. According to the Wall Street Journal, the potential buyer is a private-equity fund headed by a figure who's familiar to Hollywood libs. It's that master of soft-money contributions to liberal 527 slush funds, the ubiquitous billionaire George Soros. The Left Coast Report says don't be surprised if the next time you rent "Gladiator" Russell Crowe is battling Emperor George W. Bush.
2. George Clooney's Moral Confusion Sensible folks who have seen George Clooney's recent Oscar quest of a movie, "Syriana," can't help but notice that something is terribly wrong with the story. As the New York Post pointed out, the terrorists in the film are "sympathetically depicted as pious heroes" while the Americans are shown as "greedy or homicidal cynics." Clooney admits in an interview that aired on the Fox News Channel, "They [the terrorists] are, in a way, the most sympathetic." Clooney claims that it's "important" to depict the suicide bombers in this way "because if you are going to fight a war on terror, which is not a state that you can go and bomb, then you need to understand what it is that creates the people who would do such horrible things, rather than just saying - labeling them as evildoers." The Left Coast Report wonders if with this line of reasoning we'll be seeing stalkers outside Clooney's mansion being invited in for tea so the actor can understand what it is that makes them leer.
3. Governor Ted Nugent? Ted Nugent is no Bruce Springsteen, politically speaking. The Motor City Madman is a conservative and four-time National Rifle Association director. Not content with merely playing his music and starring in the OLN network's reality show "Wanted: Ted or Alive," Nugent tells the New York Daily News that the Michigan governor's mansion is in his sights. His public statements are, shall we say, unconventional for a candidate. About the job performance of current Democrat Governor Jennifer Granholm, Nugent says she "is not doing an ugly job, but as the perfect woman, she is scrotumless." Regarding the welfare system, Nugent doesn't have affection for "the pimps and whores and welfare brats who think they've got the right to my [money] because Jesse Jackson represents [them]." On U.S. poverty, Nugent says that "the average person who qualifies under the poverty level in America has [bleep]ing cell phones and Tommy Hilfiger clothes! And bling-bling! I've seen them ... gold and jewelry and crack and meth! This is poverty?" As to New York undercover cops, Nugent shares that "they wave and show me their guns. I consider us blood brothers." The Left Coast Report relays that concerning the right to defend oneself and the Second Amendment, Nugent reveals, "I go for walks late at night in high-crime districts, and just hope."
4. Robert De Niro to Probe CIA Dark Side Following the lead of George Clooney's latest foray into political moviemaking, a new film entitled "The Good Shepherd" has just begun production in the Dominican Republic. Its director is Robert De Niro. The cast of the flick is loaded with stellar A-listers including Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Alec Baldwin, William Hurt, Joe Pesci and De Niro himself. Word has it that the story will treat the CIA the way Hollywood typically does, and we all know what that means. In the cinematic glimpse of the early history of the Central Intelligence Agency, an agent gradually loses his soul and succumbs to permitting the death of his own son to cover up some CIA dirt. The main character, played by Damon, is one of the covert founders of the CIA and married to the character played by Jolie. The Left Coast Report hears that early reports from CIA agents say they believe the film is a bunch of "Raging Bull."
5. Academy Award Hints The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced its choice of host for the 78th Annual Academy Awards. It's one of today's foremost wisecrackers, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart. Stewart apparently landed the Oscar gig after Billy Crystal turned it down citing scheduling conflicts. In a press release announcing the Academy's selection, Stewart lampooned the fact that he was second fiddle, describing it as "another sad attempt to smoke out Billy Crystal." The comic already has some award show experience under his belt, having served as host for the Grammy Awards in 2001 and 2002. Evidently, he intends to take a week off from his "Daily Show" duties to work with his writers who will most likely assist him in preparing the requisite number of Bush-bashing jokes. Meanwhile, the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have announced some nominations of their own. This is significant in that their selections tend to serve as predictors of Best Picture Academy Awards. In fact, no movie has ever won an Oscar for Best Picture without first having been nominated by at least one of these two groups. If the PGA/WGA forecasting pattern holds true, "Munich," "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Match Point" are already out of the running. When the PGA and the WGA ignore films, arrows point toward losses, while conversely, films that are nominated by both groups can take on front-runner status. In this awards cycle, movies nominated by both groups include "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Crash."
"Capote" also squeaked out a win for Best Picture from the National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) after six ballot rounds. Based on the almost universal raves given by critics to "Brokeback Mountain," one might have expected the film to win the NSFC Best Picture award in a landslide. But the critics group snubbed the movie with the exception of giving a Best Actor nod to Heath Ledger. Regarding the actors and directors unions, the controversial film was the nomination leader. It earned four Screen Actors Guild (SAG) nominations and a Directors Guild of America (DGA) nomination for Ang Lee for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, a precursor for a Best Director Oscar. Other DGA nominees include George Clooney for "Good Night, and Good Luck," Paul Haggis for "Crash," Bennett Miller for "Capote" and Steven Spielberg for "Munich." As an interesting side note, the online gambling sites have "Brokeback" as the clear betting favorite. The Left Coast Report notes that we'll find out who wins the bets and the statuettes on March 5. Editor's Notes:
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