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Oscar Winning Al Gore James Hirsen
THE LEFT COAST
REPORT
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories): 1. Oscar Winning Al Gore It looked like a Barack Obama fund-raiser. This year's Academy Awards show had glitz, glam, and a whole lot of celebs. It's unknown whether the former vice president of the United States was asked the all-important red-carpet question: "Who you wearing?"
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Prior to the ceremonies, Al Gore was basking in the Hollywood limelight. The film in which he appears, "An Inconvenient Truth," which features his spellbinding PowerPoint lecture, had received a nomination for Best Documentary from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. "I think the Oscar nomination was great because for one thing, it helps bring more attention to the message contained in the movie. That is my principal focus, delivering this message to as many people as quickly as possible," the former veep told his home state newspaper, the Tennessean. The politician-turned-movie star acknowledged the clout that cinema can have in shaping public opinion. "I do think it is interesting that movies reach so many people. And of course I knew that already because I've been a movie fan all my life. But I have to admit that I was skeptical when these moviemakers first suggested that they make my slide show into a movie," Gore said. "I've been pleasantly surprised at how wrong I was that and how skillful they were in translating it into film." Gore's Hollywood bona fides have been reinforced with his highly visible attendance at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party, the Grammys, the Oscars, and Vanity Fair's post-Oscars party. "William Hung was a rock star; I just have a slide show," Gore had said earlier.
Well, not any more. Now he's got an Oscar-winning slide show. 2. Oscar Guilt Assuaged With Eco-Cars A lot of the Hollywood libs arrived at this year's Oscars in eco-style. Although many live in castle-like residences, fly in private planes and otherwise conspicuously consume energy, the arrival modes of choice this year were electric sports cars, hybrid SUVs, and tinted-windowed Priuses. An advocacy group, Global Green USA, had lobbied Hollywood celebs prior to the awards show to use hybrids and electric cars. Some of the attendees who arrived in the eco-correct vehicles included Melissa Etheridge, Leonardo DiCaprio, Forest Whittaker, Penelope Cruz, and, of course, Al and Tipper Gore. The Left Coast Report wonders what kinds of cars the celebs are chauffeured in the other 364 days of the year. 3. Academy Goes Green This year's Oscar show didn't have much in the way of excitement, but it did have plenty of hot air. Looking somewhat out of place, chief globaloney spreader Al Gore walked the red carpet with Tipper at his side. Before he showed up on stage to share in the Best Documentary win, Gore was a surprise presenter with Leo DiCaprio. Host Ellen DeGeneres drew plenty of applause with the line, "Al Gore is here. America did vote for him . . ." Giving Gore a campaign nudge, DiCaprio asked, "Is there something you might want to announce?" to which Gore answered, "I'm just here for the movies, and, on this occasion, I'm just here to thank all the talented people, and to thank you, Leo, for being such a great ally in this." DiCaprio announced that for the first time ever the Oscars had officially "gone green." He added that he was "proud to be standing next to such an inspirational leader . . . a true champion for the cause." I could have sworn I saw some Buddhist nuns applauding. 4. 'Titantic' Producer Tries to Sink Christianity It seems director James Cameron has done his best Dan Brown imitation and produced a documentary that once again slams the Christian faith. Working together with Canadian-based filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, Cameron has made a film about an archeological site in the Holy Land that is supposed to contain the body of Jesus. The film, titled "The Burial Cave of Jesus," also throws in the same Dan Brown assertion that Christ was married (albeit to a woman other than Mary Magdalene). As is typical of Hollywood filmmakers these days, Cameron apparently refused to bother with those pesky little things called facts. Bar-Ilan University Professor Amos Kloner, an archeologist who originally worked at the site, has dismissed the claims as "nonsense." "There is no likelihood that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb," Kloner told the German Press Agency, DPA. "They were a Galilee family with no ties in Jerusalem. The Talpiot tomb belonged to a middle-class family from the first century CE." 5. Judge Larry Seidlin's TV Audition Guess we now know why Judge Larry Seidlin, the eccentric adjudicator of the Anna Nicole Smith case, vogued for the camera, made bizarre comments, referred to Anna Nicole's lifeless body as "my baby," called one of the attorneys in his courtroom "beautiful" and blubbered as he rendered his decision. He was auditioning for a Judge Judy gig. Seidlin's wife recently gave legs to a robed rumor. "People who know him, and people who meet him on the street all say the same thing, 'You should have your own television show,'" Seidlin's wife, Belinda, explained to ABC News.
Would anyone really be surprised if the entertainment industry transported Seidlin's courtroom to a studio lot, threw some pancake makeup on him and brought us yet another judge show? We've already got Judge Judy, Judge Hatchett, and Judge Joe Brown, among others.
With verdicts accompanied by sniffles, it's a pretty safe bet that Judge Larry would give even "Cristina's Court" a ratings challenge. There's something about these judge shows that makes people tune in and get hooked. Actually, court shows date back to the earliest years of television. In the 1950s, titles like CBS's "Verdict Is Yours," ABC's "Day in Court," and the syndicated "Divorce Court" grabbed the attention of viewers. The first generation of "People's Court" ran in the 1950s under the name "People's Court of Small Claims." The latest version features Judge Marilyn Milian, the sixth successor to sit in Judge Wapner's seat. Just as we saw in the real-life Anna Nicole proceedings, these programs feature courtrooms chock full of drama, suspense, and intrigue. And as people experience frustration with the day-to-day, a desire grows to see justice meted out. Courtrooms have an aura about them, and people's perceptions are shaped by what they see, hear and feel during the virtual experience. There is an overall expectation that fair-mindedness and impartiality will reign over inequity and injustice. The cases for the judge TV shows are carefully selected and typically deal with issues involving friends, family members and small business/customer disputes, things that everyday people can relate to. When a TV judge bawls out a defendant, tells off a plaintiff or chews out both, there is a feeling of resolution and a sense of satisfaction. And in the end, there is an assuredness that fairness really does exist somewhere. In a culture that increasingly relieves people of responsibility, the judge shows appear to hold people accountable for their actions and impose appropriate consequences. Most of the TV judges demonstrate objectivity in bringing justice to the small screen. Some instruct as they adjudicate. Some casually comment on the evidence before them. Maybe soon we'll be getting one who is also able to cry on cue. Editor's Notes:
The Left Coast Report is put together by James L. Hirsen and the staff of NewsMax — The Left Coast Report Archives Get your FREE copy of James Hirsen's new book 'Hollywood Nation' — Click Here Now.
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