THE LEFT COAST
REPORT
A Political Look at Hollywood
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories): 1. Bill Maher's Dick Cheney Death Wish
2, Tom Cruise and Sumner Redstone Friends Again?
3. Valerie Plame Flick on the Hollywood Docket
4. Hollywood Polar Opposites
5. Hollywood Nation Spotlight
1. Bill Maher's Dick Cheney Death Wish
One Hollywood comedian is apparently unhappy that Vice President Dick Cheney is
still with us.
HBO host Bill Maher asked his guests, including former conservative Joe
Scarborough, why the Huffington Post pulled comments of bloggers who were
expressing disappointment that Vice President Cheney was not killed in the
recent assassination attempt in Afghanistan.
Referring to the bloggers, Rep. Barney Frank wisecracked, "They said the bomb
was wasted," which was met with a combination of laughter and applause from
Maher's uni-lefty audience.
Maher argued that people should be able to express regret about Cheney not
dying. He justified his position with another applause line, saying, "I have
zero doubt that if Dick Cheney was not in power, people wouldn't be dying
needlessly tomorrow."
"I'm just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That's a
fact," Maher blathered.
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The Left Coast Report imagines ABC executives are patting themselves on the back
for their decision to replace Maher with Jimmy Kimmel.
2. Tom Cruise and Sumner Redstone Friends Again?
Evidently, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone wants to be Tom Cruise's bud again.
A while back Redstone publicly severed the business ties between Cruise and
Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures, citing the actor's eccentric behavior and
Scientology-based feud with Brooke Shields.
Cruise has since taken the position of heading well-known Hollywood studio brand United Artists.
The two former pals reportedly haven't spoken since the falling out.
But Redstone recently told People magazine "he [Cruise] was a great friend,"
adding that he looked "forward to being his friend again."
Redstone even attempted to downplay Cruise's embarrassing eviction from the
Paramount lot. "What happened was, I just gave an interview to The Wall Street
Journal. In the course of it, they asked me what was going on. I said, ‘You
know, he would no longer be in the lot,'" Redstone stated.
"They treated that like I was firing him. I didn't fire him! I had nothing to do
with it. But they treated it explosively. And I didn't like it," Redstone said.
3. Valerie Plame Flick on the Hollywood Docket
Warner Bros. has acquired the life rights of ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame and
husband Joseph Wilson.
The studio is reportedly developing a movie that will tell the story of Plame's
supposed outing.
Plame's upcoming book "Fair Game," for which Simon & Schuster reportedly paid
Plame an advance in the neighborhood of $2.5 million, will be the basis for the
feature.
Akiva Goldsman and Jerry and Janet Zucker will co-produce the flick. (The
Zuckers got to know Plame and Wilson because of their common interest in
embryonic stem cell research, aka cloning.)
There's one glitch that may give Plame and her Hollywood friends a headache.
Before her work can be published or made public in a film, the CIA has to
approve.
The Left Coast Report hopes the CIA opts to preserve Valerie and Joe's privacy
and nixes both projects.
4. Hollywood Polar Opposites
Like Ozzie Osbourne and Ward Cleaver, the Oscars and Movieguide's Annual Faith &
Values Awards (MAFVA) couldn't be any more different.
MAFVA recently handed out a Libertas Award to a film that promoted "positive
American values," Grace Awards for the most inspiring performances in television
and film that "best displayed God's grace toward us as human beings" and
Epiphany Prizes to television shows and movies that did the most to increase
man's love and/or understanding of God.
Al Gore didn't win anything.
"The Pursuit of Happyness," my personal fave, took a Libertas Award, and
"Happyness" real life dad, Chris Gardner, was honored for his positive
contribution to the culture.
Grace Awards went to legendary actress Shirley Jones for her role as Aunt Batty
in Hallmark's "Hidden Places" and Oscar Isaac for his role as Joseph in "The
Nativity Story," a film on the birth of Jesus.
"The Nativity" and ABC television feature "The Ten Commandments" each won an
Epiphany Prize and $50,000 from the John Templeton Foundation.
"Charlotte's Web" was honored with a Crystal Teddy Award for Best Family Movie,
and "The Queen" received the Papa Bear Award of Excellence for Best Movie for
Mature Audiences.
5. Hollywood Nation Spotlight
This week's News is Big Entertainment and Entertainment is Big News picks are:
Bill Clinton was hired as a pitchman for the TV Land cable network. The
ex-prez and current Hillary campaign advisor is slated to speak at an event in
March to unveil new programs for the family friendly network.
Rosie O'Donnell took another e-slug at former Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld. Barbara Walters' nonstop nightmare posted the following in her blog:
"donald rumsfeld, is a war criminal, guilty of so much death, spiritual and
physical."
Ann Coulter is under fire for using a gay slur in a jocular attempt to
slam John Edwards. Meanwhile "Grey's Anatomy" star Isaiah Washington, who used
the same word to describe a fellow actor, was honored with a Best Actor prize
at the 38th annual NAACP Image Awards.
John McCain informally announced that he's jumping into the presidential
race. The U.S. senator's choice of venue for his big news flash? Late night
comedy's "Late Show with David Letterman."
A U.K. music magazine called New Musical Express (NME) named President
Bush "Villain of the Year."