Anticipate "An American Carol"; the forthcoming right-wing David Zucker comedy that takes aim at our "new McCarthy era"

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Holy shit, this sounds like a doozy...

[producer Steve] McEveety ("We Were Soldiers," "Passion of the Christ") is one of several big names that will make it hard for the Hollywood establishment to ignore An American Carol. Jon Voight plays George Washington. Dennis Hopper makes an appearance as a judge who defends his courthouse by gunning down ACLU lawyers trying to take down the Ten Commandments. James Woods plays Michael Malone's agent. And Kelsey Grammer plays General George S. Patton, Malone's guide to American history and the mouthpiece of the film's writers.

The whole story, and it's worth it

Savannah Smiles, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:19 (seventeen years ago)

What's wrong with a right wing version of Southland Tales?

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:21 (seventeen years ago)

It'll probably be just as successful.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:23 (seventeen years ago)

Eventually, the conversation turns from policy to punditry. Grammer, who is friends with Ann Coulter, says he quoted her once to some of the young people who work for him.

"'Ann Coulter,'" he says, recalling their horror and assuming their voice. "'She's the antichrist.' And I said: 'What the f-- do you know about the antichrist? You don't even believe in Christ.'"

wonder what zucker thinks about this^^

and what, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:24 (seventeen years ago)

David Alan Grier plays a slave in a scene designed to show Malone what might have happened if the United States had not fought the Civil War. As Patton explains to a dumbfounded Malone that the plantation they are visiting is his own, Grier thanks the documentarian for being such a humane owner. As they leave, another slave, played by Gary Coleman, finishes polishing a car and yells "Hey, Barack!" before tossing the sponge to someone off-camera.

......

and what, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:26 (seventeen years ago)

this is going to do really well in the current political climate

max, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:28 (seventeen years ago)

i can understand why dumb white fundies fall for this "muslims want to destroy everything you care about" shit but why the hell are secular jews so susceptible to it??

and what, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:32 (seventeen years ago)

"israel wiped off the map" and all that but is anybody seriously buying the whole achmedinejad = hitler b.s.

and what, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:33 (seventeen years ago)

As Patton explains to a dumbfounded Malone that the plantation they are visiting is his own, Grier thanks the documentarian for being such a humane owner. As they leave, another slave, played by Gary Coleman, finishes polishing a car and yells "Hey, Barack!" before tossing the sponge to someone off-camera.

whoah

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:33 (seventeen years ago)

"israel wiped off the map" and all that but is anybody seriously buying the whole achmedinejad = hitler b.s.

I take it you do not have any completely insane old right-wing jews in your family

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:33 (seventeen years ago)

hahaha guilty

i dated a jewish girl but her parents were academic liberals who didnt believe in god. i also dated a muslim girl whose dad voted republican because he owned rug stores and didnt like paying taxes.

and what, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:36 (seventeen years ago)

there is a loud and very irritating minority in the Jewish community that has never really recovered from the trauma of the Holocaust and live every single day as if it is still 1941. they stockpile food and are completely paranoid that all germans and arabs are anti-semites and seriously think that Israel can do wrong and that for a Jew to speak ill of zionist zealotry is akin to disowning your family.

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 21:47 (seventeen years ago)

I'll be interested to see how well this does at the box office. Hollywood's liberal leanings go back a long ways, but a successful and super-explicitly conservative film would be bound to generate copycat follow ups.

contenderizer, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:02 (seventeen years ago)

this is gonna bomb who are you kidding

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:03 (seventeen years ago)

They seem to attend hebrew language meetup.com groups in force (xpost)

Hurting 2, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:03 (seventeen years ago)

More than likely, but you never know. What if it's really fucking funny?

xpost

contenderizer, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:04 (seventeen years ago)

if "thank allah for the aclu" is the level of inspiration we're talking about here, i think we can rule that out.

tipsy mothra, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:12 (seventeen years ago)

I'll thank Helen Keller, if that's okay

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:13 (seventeen years ago)

see now helen keller as an airport security person hired under the americans with disabilities act ... ok, it still wouldn't be funny but it would be better.

tipsy mothra, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:15 (seventeen years ago)

helen keller RIP

and what, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:15 (seventeen years ago)

Helen Keller's later life should be taught about more(or at all, really).

kingfish, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:18 (seventeen years ago)

Perhaps this will be just as successful and as funny as "The Half Hour News Hour"

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/original/Half_8.14.jpg

kingfish, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:21 (seventeen years ago)

I'll be interested to see how well this does at the box office.

Uh if this goes anywhere but straight to DVD I'll eat my hat.

Pancakes Hackman, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:24 (seventeen years ago)

I suppose so, but the "what if?" still intrigues me.

contenderizer, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:26 (seventeen years ago)

And if we're lucky, this will be as cutting & insightful as Zucker's Madeline Albright slam from two years ago.

Doncha see?! She's singin' "Kumbaya" with terrists! There's no way that's not funny!!

kingfish, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:26 (seventeen years ago)

DAVID ZUCKER DAVID ZUCKER DAVID ZUCKER DAVID ZUCKER DAVID ZUCKER DAVID ZUCKER DAVID ZUCKER DAVID ZUCKER DAVID ZUCKER DAVID ZUCKER DAVID ZUCKER DAVID ZUCKER

Come on people! 1/3rd of the greatest comedy team in the history of cinema is making movies again!! This is AWESOME news!!

Mr. Snrub, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:26 (seventeen years ago)

I'm not a fan of the democratic ban thing...but if they're republican bans, you're in schtuck, Mr. Snrub.

Just got offed, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:27 (seventeen years ago)

david zucker has been making movies in the last couple years bro
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/11/Scary_movie_four_ver4.jpg/200px-Scary_movie_four_ver4.jpg

and what, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:29 (seventeen years ago)

yeah he cranks out the crap, one a year at least

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:30 (seventeen years ago)

Then again those two retards that make that string of "____________ MOVIE" movies get theatrical release so any frickin' thing is possible. Still, I can imagine people staying away from this in droves. I mean, how well do Larry the Fucking Cable Guy movies do at the BO, you know?

Pancakes Hackman, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:32 (seventeen years ago)

BO more like BHO amirite

and what, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:33 (seventeen years ago)

I knew about Kelsey Grammer (although I thought he was more of a slightly right-leaning moderate), but not James Woods and Dennis Hopper too! :'(

Merdeyeux, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:36 (seventeen years ago)

are you kidding?? Woods made some totally apeshit public statements after 9/11... bank commercial spokesman Hopper's been an outed rightie for a long-time and has had famously public spats with former trip-buddy Peter Fonda.

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:39 (seventeen years ago)

I'll try to find it but James Woods basically went to the press with a story about how he'd spotted some "suspicious"-looking Arab dudes on a plane flight and how angry he was that the authorities didn't immediately investigate when he tried to contact them

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:40 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/woods.asp

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:41 (seventeen years ago)

Politics

A campaign contributions search for Zucker, once a longtime liberal Democrat, shows his first right-leaning contribution as US$2647 to ClubforGrowth.NET, a website which hosts political videos including his initial anti-Kerry video.[5] Further using campaign donations as a guide, his brother Jerry apparently continues to identify as a Democrat.[6] On October 10, 2006, the Drudge Report published a link to a political ad Zucker produced and later appeared on Youtube.[7] In a quote from a Drudge Report exclusive:
“ In the ad, Zucker....recreates former Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's 2000 visit to North Korea. During the visit, Secretary Albright presented North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il with a basketball autographed by former NBA superstar Michael Jordan.

Actress Adele Stasilli-Fernandez, playing Albright, is shown presenting Kim Jong Il with the Michael Jordan basketball, painting the walls of Osama bin Laden's Afghanistan cave and turning a blind eye to suicide bombers. In one scene, her skirt rips as she changes the tire of a Middle Eastern dictator's limousine.

One GOP strategist said "jaws dropped" when the ad was first viewed. "Nobody could believe Zucker thought any political organization could use this ad. It makes a point, but it's way over the top."

On October 23, 2006, a second Zucker video, “The Taxman”, was posted to YouTube.[8] The spot suggests that Democrats, if elected, would raise taxes.

On December 18, 2006, a third was posted, this time with the Iraq Study Group in his sights.[9] This video compares study group's recommendations with that of the British appeasement of Hitler prior to World War II.

Apparently Zucker had the Dennis Miller-style freakout, where 9/11 caused him to unleash his inner reactionary douchbag

kingfish, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:42 (seventeen years ago)

yeah there was that wave of "oh thank god a war i can cheer for" among a lot of '60s types.

tipsy mothra, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:47 (seventeen years ago)

While digging around for that "FBO" tshirt that some rightwing site was hawking, I stumbled upon this amalgamation of 2008 political tshirts from all over the spectrum, and Good Christ, you guys gotta see these.

Sample:

http://images.cafepress.com/image/28345749.jpg

I'd buy this if it also had "WORLD TOUR '83" on it.

kingfish, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:51 (seventeen years ago)

lololol that is total sub-Iron Maiden shit OTM

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:53 (seventeen years ago)

I was thinking Megadeth, but yeah. Flashbacks to jr high.

"ON TOUR WITH EXODUS AND TESTAMENT"

kingfish, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:54 (seventeen years ago)

Uh if this goes anywhere but straight to DVD I'll eat my hat.

Might have to get your fork and knife out, Werner Herzog - the article says they have a distribution deal with Vivendi Entertainment for a "wide release" on October 3rd (which is a Friday).

Opening night party! (Buying a ticket to something else, of course)

Savannah Smiles, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:54 (seventeen years ago)

Is that Obama shirt pro- or anti-?

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:55 (seventeen years ago)

^^^exactly

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:55 (seventeen years ago)

Anyway, seeing as how the 'big names' aren't all that big now...

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:55 (seventeen years ago)

I seriously don't know. I think the bloody typeface is supposed to be anti, but I see this and i think "wow, obama is fucking metal"

kingfish, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:56 (seventeen years ago)

I'd love to see him speak at Ozzfest with that on the podium instead of that main seal of his.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 22:57 (seventeen years ago)

oh here's another great one:

http://www.cafepress.com/buy/hillary%20clinton/-/pv_design_details/pg_1/id_19866550/hlv_1?pid=2321

and!

http://images.cafepress.com/image/24243382.jpg

kingfish, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 23:03 (seventeen years ago)

I thought only gay men hated pussies

Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 23:06 (seventeen years ago)

http://www.cafepress.com/justshirts4u

kingfish, Wednesday, 6 August 2008 23:07 (seventeen years ago)

David Alan Grier plays a slave in a scene designed to show Malone what might have happened if the United States had not fought the Civil War. As Patton explains to a dumbfounded Malone that the plantation they are visiting is his own, Grier thanks the documentarian for being such a humane owner. As they leave, another slave, played by Gary Coleman, finishes polishing a car and yells "Hey, Barack!" before tossing the sponge to someone off-camera.

a true conservative would argue that things would've been GREAT if the united states hadn't fought the civil war.

J.D., Wednesday, 6 August 2008 23:49 (seventeen years ago)

now vietnam, there was a necessary war

J.D., Wednesday, 6 August 2008 23:49 (seventeen years ago)

what was the last movie kelsey grammar was in that was successful at all?

akm, Thursday, 7 August 2008 00:15 (seventeen years ago)

X-Men 3, arguably

Savannah Smiles, Thursday, 7 August 2008 00:24 (seventeen years ago)

David Zucker believes we are in a "new McCarthy era."

and yet this short article describes two scenes where he attacks the ACLU. i guess the problem is we're not oppressing the right people. i've never gotten the conservative hatred of ACLU.

rockapads, Thursday, 7 August 2008 04:15 (seventeen years ago)

WHat do you mean, you don't get it? The ACLU defends known terrorists, coddles criminals by making sure they have representation in courts, and been a key part of the Liberal Gay Communist/Atheist War on Christmas for decades. They prevent good God-Fearing Americans from enacting biblical law, as the Founding Fathers intended when they founded this Christian nation.

It's all quite simple.

kingfish, Thursday, 7 August 2008 04:29 (seventeen years ago)

The weird victim-culture of the modern ulta-conservative never ceases to confound me. What the fuck is wrong with these idiots?

Pashmina, Thursday, 7 August 2008 09:21 (seventeen years ago)

"It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."

Tracer Hand, Thursday, 7 August 2008 09:52 (seventeen years ago)

"Obama is not qualified to be president, and it'll be a disaster," says Zucker, who then pauses as if he's said something he should have kept to himself. "Shouldn't I be allowed to say that?"

I never get tired off hearing people moan about stuff at every opportunity about how they are not able to moan about stuff at every opportunity.

Ned Trifle II, Thursday, 7 August 2008 10:27 (seventeen years ago)

Isn't this just going to be Team America without the puppets?

Ned Trifle II, Thursday, 7 August 2008 10:32 (seventeen years ago)

Or the lols?

Ned Trifle II, Thursday, 7 August 2008 10:32 (seventeen years ago)

The weird victim-culture of the modern ulta-conservative never ceases to confound me. What the fuck is wrong with these idiots?

well, it works for them, doesn't it? hordes of donors, lots of gullible idiots voting republican because they're going to be victimized by gay marriage/hate crime laws/sufficient tire inflation, a media so completely broken to the right by constant bleating about liberal bias that they should just call themselves the ministry if information... baby cries, baby gets fed.

GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Thursday, 7 August 2008 11:56 (seventeen years ago)

That's the thing. It's been like this for decades; check out the Paranoid Style of American Politics, which was written back in 1964. The Nation is a Body Politic always subject to corruption and invasion by dirty immigrants or immigrant ideas from the outside, or seditious thoughts from within.

These guys always perceive themselves as under attack. It's this weird sludge of paranoia, infantilization, projection, and a complete lack of self-awareness or any sense how pop culture actually work.

Bob Altemeyer wrote an entire book and posted it online for free about this kinda thing.

And yeah, as noted above, a lot of why they do this is that it does work. If you have a populace with plenty of people afraid of change(say, about 27 - 28% at any time), it's much easier to go to them begging for funds to go off and fight those nasty libruls who are weakening Civilization.

kingfish, Thursday, 7 August 2008 14:33 (seventeen years ago)

Also, always playing the victim gives you that moral standing. You're a righteous person being unfairly persecuted. One of the commentators at Slacktivist posted this about 3 years ago, and it deserves to be repeated:

The glamorization of "persecution" is a component -- and a vital one--of the culture "wars". It allows a participant to view himself (or herself) as a "soldier" carrying out God's work -- and losing.

This is the important part.

If you're losing your struggle, you get to break the rules, cheat, lie, do anything to win. Winners have to play fair, but if you can somehow twist things so you become oppressed, you are granted moral license to do, well, anything.

It's the glow of martyrship without the ickiness of actually being martyred.

And that feeling, that shock of indignation, that swell of righteous anger: it's addictive. It's a sure-fire hit on the crackpipe of certainty. It's why all fanatics sound the same -- their leaders all use the same tools.

kingfish, Thursday, 7 August 2008 14:37 (seventeen years ago)

Will go see this if Zucker changes the title to The Crackpipe of Certainty.

If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Thursday, 7 August 2008 14:58 (seventeen years ago)

Maybe all those anti-woman, anti-gay jokes in Airplane were really anti-woman and anti-gay ...

Eric H., Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:01 (seventeen years ago)

you will never see Hollywood libs releasing a film with the equivalent dose of lefty vitriol (at least not since Bulworth).

Dr Morbius, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:05 (seventeen years ago)

jesus christ, who's the victim now?

Kerm, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:09 (seventeen years ago)

Also, a fun catchphrase: "demanding special rights"

kingfish, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:12 (seventeen years ago)

I don't remember Bulworth being traditionally lefty. I definitely don't remember it being any good.

Eric H., Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:19 (seventeen years ago)

rong rong

It was good, it wasn't perfect.

Dr Morbius, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:21 (seventeen years ago)

I remember the Suck.com write-up of Bulworth, where they have fun pointing out a scene in the movie where some violent thugs are reverted to smiling children by ice cream.

kingfish, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:23 (seventeen years ago)

I remember the Suck.com write-up

I suddenly feel old.

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:25 (seventeen years ago)

Bulworth is ... interesting. Beatty rapping is not for the faint of heart.

Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:26 (seventeen years ago)

bulworth is amazing.

s1ocki, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:27 (seventeen years ago)

I think the only positive thing I learned about Kelsey Grammar from this article is that he knows who Sayid Qutb is. (Unfortunately, as a whiny anti-war liberal, so do I, because I learned about him while doing some reading in my spare time at evil leftie hippie institution the University of California Santa Cruz)

Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:28 (seventeen years ago)

...back in 1992 when Kelsey was probably to busy snortin the white gurl to know anything about Egyptian Jihad

Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:29 (seventeen years ago)

i sort of forgot bulworth was ever a movie!

max, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:31 (seventeen years ago)

you were more into the play?

s1ocki, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:32 (seventeen years ago)

i can understand why dumb white fundies fall for this "muslims want to destroy everything you care about" shit but why the hell are secular jews so susceptible to it??

one of the smartest people I ever knew, and the guy who taught me poetic meter (i.e., a dude to whom I owe a whole fucking lot), plans to vote McCain, according to his daughter. U.S./Israel stuff is like heroin, once people get caught up in the rhetoric they lose their fucking minds on either side of the Q.

J0hn D., Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:33 (seventeen years ago)

(I should say: plans to vote McCain because of a single issue i.e. Israel/Palestine)

J0hn D., Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:33 (seventeen years ago)

Kelsey Grammer used to get into righty-lefty shoutfests w/ the Cheers cast during the first Gulf War, apparently.

Dr Morbius, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:34 (seventeen years ago)

So the Simpsons episode with Sideshow Bob and the Rush caricature was actually a documentary.

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:35 (seventeen years ago)

because this never gets old: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkLg6vv34Fs

stevie, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:36 (seventeen years ago)

FOUND IT: http://web.archive.org/web/20020202092206/http://www.suck.com/daily/1998/06/01/

Chris Bray wrote this, before heading off to be an infantryman.

kingfish, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:40 (seventeen years ago)

Sounds like the film will have all the subtlety of a Jack Chick tract. I've no doubt it'll be commercially successful though, just like the documentary, "Expelled".

Doctor Jekkle, Thursday, 7 August 2008 15:50 (seventeen years ago)

Expelled still made like $7M, turning a profit, didn't it?

kingfish, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:01 (seventeen years ago)

it also conclusively turned the evolution/creationism debate to the side of creationism

max, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:03 (seventeen years ago)

Even so, did it make enough dough to continue to fund those idiots on their merry way?

kingfish, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:04 (seventeen years ago)

Kelsey Grammer used to get into righty-lefty shoutfests w/ the Cheers cast during the first Gulf War, apparently.

-- Dr Morbius, Thursday, August 7, 2008 3:34 PM (41 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

i would love to see video of that. esp if they were all on set and in costume

s1ocki, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:16 (seventeen years ago)

there's a great Chhers episode late in the series where Frasier helps Woody win a seat on Boston City Council, as a jape to prove that any hollow vessel could succeed in politics if he spewed the correct empty rhetoric.

stevie, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:23 (seventeen years ago)

a jape to prove that any hollow vessel could succeed in politics if he spewed the correct empty rhetoric.

you are Kelsey Grammar and I claim my $5

Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:29 (seventeen years ago)

The weird victim-culture of the modern ulta-conservative never ceases to confound me. What the fuck is wrong with these idiots?

-- Pashmina

This has already been discussed at some length, but I think it's possible to account for the victim-culture without attributing fanaticism, paranoia or "infantile" qualities to conservatives and/or their leaders. I think it owes primarily to the fact that conservatives, in the wake of the 1960s, have tended to view themselves as underdogs, as the standard-bearers of a losing coalition in the culture wars. As GP2H points out: this approach works. It allows conservative leaders to speak to a wide coalition of people who feel threatened or marginalized by "the way things are going" (people who might have little else in common with one another and no incentive to embrace conservative economic philosophies), and to tap into the force of their anger as a motivating tool.

contenderizer, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:32 (seventeen years ago)

actually i am niles. no $5 for you.

stevie, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:34 (seventeen years ago)

as a liberal I demand my handout

Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:39 (seventeen years ago)

Also, and I say this while not entirely being convinced by it, Christian Fundamentalists aren't entirely wrong to be paranoid. If they view their struggle as stretching back to the founding of this country, it does seem (with the abolition of slavery, the Civil Rights movement, the Feminist movement, the ending of the Salem Witch Trials, etc) that their beliefs are on the wrong side of history. And even if they can maintain a hegemony now, if history is a guide, more and more of their crazy asshat beliefs will fall by the wayside. Within that context, Gay Marriage today could seem to lead to No Churches tomorrow. And if we're going to be very honest, many of us would like to abolish Christian fundamentalism, and we believe that history will ultimately wear away at many of their beliefs.

Mordy, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:41 (seventeen years ago)

Kelsey Grammer used to get into righty-lefty shoutfests w/ the Cheers cast during the first Gulf War, apparently.

And with Johh Mahoney too apparently.

Ned Trifle II, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:51 (seventeen years ago)

He's just a troublemaker all round.

Ned Trifle II, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:51 (seventeen years ago)

history wears everything away Mordy, not just crackpot fundamentalism.

Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:53 (seventeen years ago)

I'm not saying it's justified. I'm saying it's somewhat understandable.

Mordy, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:53 (seventeen years ago)

how did Grammer uphold traditional values on the "Frasier" set with two decadent sodomites like Hyde-Pierce and Mahoney around?

Dr Morbius, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:56 (seventeen years ago)

maybe he's a log cabin republican

Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:57 (seventeen years ago)

hey mahoney's just a lifelong bachelor

and what, Thursday, 7 August 2008 16:57 (seventeen years ago)

So anyway this film is coming out on the same day as Bill Maher's "Religulous." Double bill!

Ned Raggett, Thursday, 7 August 2008 17:36 (seventeen years ago)

If Bill Maher advocating for atheism doesn't fill the churches, what will?

Dr Morbius, Thursday, 7 August 2008 17:39 (seventeen years ago)

The redemption of Kevin Costner's drunken bum character in Swing Vote, btw, begins when he sees Bill Maher calling him a "dumbass" on TV.

Dr Morbius, Thursday, 7 August 2008 17:41 (seventeen years ago)

haha you watched Swing Vote

Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 7 August 2008 17:41 (seventeen years ago)

for free, on assignment.

Dr Morbius, Thursday, 7 August 2008 17:42 (seventeen years ago)

Curiously I really want to see this movie. If my brother weren't getting married this weekend...

RabiesAngentleman, Thursday, 7 August 2008 17:52 (seventeen years ago)

bulworth was godawful

goole, Thursday, 7 August 2008 17:52 (seventeen years ago)

i don't think there are any good movies about politics, or at least, none of my favorite movies are 'politics' movies. politics isn't dramatic OR funny

i still wonder what happened to chris bray! dude was great

goole, Thursday, 7 August 2008 17:55 (seventeen years ago)

Contributors > Chris Bray - Reason Magazine

and what, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:05 (seventeen years ago)

regular private eye over here

goole, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:06 (seventeen years ago)

what about dr. strangelove

uh oh I'm having a fantasy, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:09 (seventeen years ago)

i don't think there are any good movies about politics,

The Manchurian Candidate, Advise & Consent, The Best Man...

(all JFK-era films. Hmmm....)

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:10 (seventeen years ago)

"Bob Roberts," not "Bulworth," is the correct lefty analogue here, and thus this thread is an appropriate place to observe that "Bob Roberts" is a terrible movie.

Guayaquil (eephus!), Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:12 (seventeen years ago)

Gore Vidal's great, though.

Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:13 (seventeen years ago)

never liked kubrick much

anyway, the point i'm reaching for is that drama ends, jokes have a punchline, etc, but politics just goes on forever.

xps

goole, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:13 (seventeen years ago)

you can say that about anything though

uh oh I'm having a fantasy, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:14 (seventeen years ago)

I agree btw

uh oh I'm having a fantasy, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:15 (seventeen years ago)

If you think Bulworth is godawful, besides my condolences you should get a load of the John Cusack lib circlejerk vehicle War Inc.

Dr Morbius, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:46 (seventeen years ago)

I will bet you guys that "do you denounce films like 'Religulous'? will be asked in the debates"

J0hn D., Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:54 (seventeen years ago)

and I will wonder what happened there with the quotemarks for about another five minutes

J0hn D., Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:55 (seventeen years ago)

1. wtf is "religulous"?
2. assuming that is some kind of pro-atheist movie, that should be a pretty easy question to answer, if it is asked, which it won't be

n/a, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:55 (seventeen years ago)

oh it's some bill maher bullshit

n/a, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:56 (seventeen years ago)

MR. OBAMA DO YOU SUPPORT FILMS SUCH AS "KIT KITTRIDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL"?

MR. MCCAIN DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT DENOUNCE "THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2"?

n/a, Thursday, 7 August 2008 18:57 (seventeen years ago)

not trying to be a dick, that just seems like a silly thing to say

n/a, Thursday, 7 August 2008 19:00 (seventeen years ago)

if i think bulworth was godawful why would i want to watch some other godawful movie?

have there been any good movies about the iraq war?

goole, Thursday, 7 August 2008 19:08 (seventeen years ago)

well you must like some godawful movies judging by your immunity to Kub.

Dr Morbius, Thursday, 7 August 2008 19:12 (seventeen years ago)

paths of glory is tremendous

god every movie thread ends up this way doesn't it

goole, Thursday, 7 August 2008 19:28 (seventeen years ago)

i don't think there are any good movies about politics, or at least, none of my favorite movies are 'politics' movies. politics isn't dramatic OR funny

-- goole, Thursday, August 7, 2008 5:55 PM

Surely should be a thread?

Ned Trifle II, Thursday, 7 August 2008 20:12 (seventeen years ago)

There are no good movies about politics?

Ned Trifle II, Thursday, 7 August 2008 20:15 (seventeen years ago)

I kinda liked Wag The Dog!

I was about 14 when I saw it, mind.

Just got offed, Thursday, 7 August 2008 20:20 (seventeen years ago)

"infantile" qualities

I use the term "infantalized" or somesuch not so much b/c it's whiny-ass titty-baby behavior(which it still is), but more to the point where these folks don't have anything close to a developed self or a decent level of emotional intelligence or maturity, having be prevented from doing so.

kingfish, Friday, 8 August 2008 02:55 (seventeen years ago)

Major lolz via Reason.com:

I'm holding a palm card that was just given out at the Heritage Foundation to promote the new David Zucker film An American Carol. If I fill out the card, I can take one of four pledges, such as "Yes, I will send the trailer to my contacts" and "Yes, I want to be AN AMERICAN CAROLER or THEATER CAPTAIN." It's an induction to a movement, as the slogan on the card makes clear: "Finally, a movie for us."

By "us," of course, the filmmakers and promoters mean conservatives. Executive producer Myrna Sokoloff has put together a "pro-soldier, support our troops, pro-America" comedy, which Stephen Hayes previews in the new Weekly Standard. In it, filmmaker Michael Malone (Kevin "brother of Chris" Farley) and his organization MoveAlong.org are trying to repeal the Fourth of July when three angels—the Angel of Death, George S. Patton, and George Washington—come to him and convince him to change his ways.

The crowd at Heritage got to see a trailer and a few minutes of clips 24 hours before either of them will be generally released. I'm a huge fan of the Zucker-Leslie Nielsen canon, and not much of a fan of Zucker's ads for Republicans. The footage we saw floated somewhere in the middle of those two projects, quality-wise. Fat-assed Malone travels to Cuba, pledges to destroy America, and takes advantage of the invisibility granted by ghost status by grabbing a protestor's boobs. Bill O'Reilly appears out of nowhere to slap him. "I just like doing that," he says. Terrorists led by everybody's favorite pockmarked tough guy Robert Davi bitch that they're low on suicide bombers ("All the good ones are gone!") and all answer to the name Mohammed. In a scene that Sokoloff described, but didn't bring, Patton and his soldiers storm a courthouse that's about to remove the Ten Commandments and start opening fire on the people trying to stop them. "You can't shoot these people!" Malone says. "They're not people!" says Patton. "They're the ACLU!" At this point we see that the ACLU members are unkillable George Romero zombies.

Details about the movie were kept secret, on purpose, until this month. In February, it was reported that Kelsey Grammar would be Scrooge in the new movie. He's actually playing the ghost of George Patton, and Jon Voight is playing George Washington. In a clip we saw, Washington takes Malone to St. Paul's Cathedral to lecture him on freedom of religion and "freedom of speech, which you abuse." Malone is grossed out by dust in the priest's box, so the doors open onto the smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center. "This is the dust of 3000 innocent human beings!" bellows Washington. Malone whimpers that he's just making movies. Washington won't have it. "Is that what you plan to say on Judgment Day?"

"That scene," said Sokoloff, "is hard to put in a comedy. But we had to do it."

The whole meeting had the tone of a FARC strategy session more than a fun publicity junket. This movie isn't just going to sell tickets (it'll open in 2000 theaters), it's going to liberate Hollywood's Republican untouchables and open the floodgates to more conservative films. "Last year you saw a bunch of anti-military movies like Redacted and In the Valley of Elah," Sokoloff said. "All of them had big stars, and, thank God, they bombed. America didn’t want to see that stuff on screen. We have to show up to a movie that has our values. If this succeeds, if could change everything."

Sokoloff did worry about the last political comedy to hit theaters, Swing Vote. "People just didn't want to see something about the election," she mused. Is it a bad sign that both of the fictional politicians in that film, Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammar, are back in this? Probably not, actually. Swing Vote tried to tell a sappy Capra story divorced from real-world politics. This movie grabs the culture war by both horns and starts riding and hollering.

Pancakes Hackman, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 18:58 (seventeen years ago)

lolz. the free market is biased towards Hollywood liberals.

Mordy, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 19:03 (seventeen years ago)

Swing Vote tried to tell a sappy Capra story divorced from real-world politics. This movie grabs the culture war by both horns and starts riding and hollering.

They prefer their poliporn hardcore, then.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 13 August 2008 19:12 (seventeen years ago)

HOLY SHIT

There is now a trailer; buckle the fuck up

I'm speechless.

Savannah Smiles, Friday, 15 August 2008 22:10 (seventeen years ago)

LOLOLOLOL = as pointed out in the comments thread at that link:

http://img34.picoodle.com/img/img34/3/8/15/f_Picture1m_4e71ce3.png

Savannah Smiles, Friday, 15 August 2008 22:13 (seventeen years ago)

Also worth noting: The description of Zucker as the "master of movie satire" comes immediately after a joke cribbed from fucking ISHTAR (the guy says "Hey Muhammed!," and every Arab guy within earshot turns around).

Savannah Smiles, Friday, 15 August 2008 22:15 (seventeen years ago)

That was easily the funniest part of the trailer in that it was the only thing in it that was funny.

HI DERE, Friday, 15 August 2008 22:16 (seventeen years ago)

Trailers are where you cram all your best jokes. If we can assume that's the case here, then.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

burt_stanton, Friday, 15 August 2008 22:20 (seventeen years ago)

Rosie O'Connell?

Eric H., Friday, 15 August 2008 22:30 (seventeen years ago)

Loui5 Jagger (23:29:36): you know that "an american carol" thread
Loui5 Jagger (23:29:43): i am gonna watch that trailer
Loui5 Jagger (23:29:52): and then i am gonna post "lol america" to the thread
lefrenchdip (23:34:18) has left the room.
monolithmonsters (23:34:23) has left the room.
roxymuzak (23:34:59) has left the room.

Just got offed, Friday, 15 August 2008 22:37 (seventeen years ago)

I'm not a fan of his, necessarily, but I kind of wonder what David Alan Grier is doing in this monstrosity.

Savannah Smiles, Saturday, 16 August 2008 12:29 (seventeen years ago)

one month passes...

"Chocolate News". That's all you gotta know about David Alan Grier these days.

Loui5 Jagger (23:29:36): you know that "an american carol" thread
Loui5 Jagger (23:29:43): i am gonna watch that trailer
Loui5 Jagger (23:29:52): and then i am gonna post "lol america" to the thread
lefrenchdip (23:34:18) has left the room.
monolithmonsters (23:34:23) has left the room.
roxymuzak (23:34:59) has left the room.

Haw.

☑ (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 2 October 2008 19:42 (seventeen years ago)

This movie grabs the culture war by both horns and starts riding and hollering.

Even though the culture-war bull is out of batteries.

If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Thursday, 2 October 2008 19:47 (seventeen years ago)

Zucker's next movie: a Sarah Palin satire . . . but she's a Democrat!

If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Thursday, 2 October 2008 19:48 (seventeen years ago)

The whole "throwin' a rag to Barack" thing just pisses me off more since A.) his white mother was from a free state, B.)his black father would not have come from Kenya to a slave-owning nation, and C.) Even if you wanted to go there and say Barack Sr gets captured, the U.S. didn't export their slaves from Kenya.

☑ (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 2 October 2008 20:18 (seventeen years ago)

And is that plantation supposed to be in Flint, Michigan?

☑ (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 2 October 2008 20:19 (seventeen years ago)

the whole right wing militarist defense of war-in-general by citing that the civil war "ended slavery" doesn't make sense to me at all - it's not like the north exerted force to invade their own slave-owning states to force them to end the practice

and what, Thursday, 2 October 2008 20:22 (seventeen years ago)

"sometimes wars are necessary! the civil war ended slavery!"

and what, Thursday, 2 October 2008 20:22 (seventeen years ago)

Based on where I'm from, I try to tread real slow into "The Civil War wasn't just about slavery..." arguments, but man. I shouldn't let a David Zucker trailer get me all riled up.

☑ (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 2 October 2008 20:40 (seventeen years ago)

i'm not saying the civil war wasn't just about slavery, i'm saying that the premise that the civil war "ending slavery" justifies intervening with iraq or vietnam is retardo

and what, Thursday, 2 October 2008 20:42 (seventeen years ago)

No, I agree. How in the hell did the Michael Moore come about opposing the Civil War anyway?

And where does the Ben Hamper character fit into all of this.

☑ (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 2 October 2008 20:44 (seventeen years ago)

(Slipping into my BttF fan fic here.)

☑ (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 2 October 2008 20:45 (seventeen years ago)

dennis hopper noooooooo

BIG HAT like hoos (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Thursday, 2 October 2008 21:22 (seventeen years ago)

Daddy wants to fuck up the discourse.

If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Thursday, 2 October 2008 22:24 (seventeen years ago)

This sounds awful.

Eazy, Saturday, 4 October 2008 06:11 (seventeen years ago)

why have there been so many mentions of Flint lately?

I'm from there, and the place is an economic mess, among others things

Office Cat is Eating the Monitor Again (kingfish), Saturday, 4 October 2008 06:57 (seventeen years ago)

isn't "economic mess" kind of polite? this the internet, mang

El Tomboto, Saturday, 4 October 2008 06:59 (seventeen years ago)

it's my hometown and the place is a dead city; what more needs to be said?

fun fact: the current asshole mayor had a major hand in a campaign to get my buddy voted off the city council

Office Cat is Eating the Monitor Again (kingfish), Saturday, 4 October 2008 07:11 (seventeen years ago)

16 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Tuesday, 7 October 2008 04:37 (seventeen years ago)

Well duh. Of course the liberal film critic media panned it.

Mordy, Tuesday, 7 October 2008 04:38 (seventeen years ago)

^^New York Post and Washington Times both panned it loooool

♪☺♫☻ (gr8080), Tuesday, 7 October 2008 04:43 (seventeen years ago)

lolz. That's because they are secretly liberals pretending to be Conservatives to trick voterz. Rupert <3's Hillary Clinton!

Also: the National Review said was AMAZING.

Mordy, Tuesday, 7 October 2008 04:52 (seventeen years ago)

to-date this film has lost $14 million

Shakey Mo Collier, Monday, 13 October 2008 20:04 (seventeen years ago)

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j5EWRC22Nx_phjXpenOArhNeOUew

fuck you dennis hopper

BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 13 October 2008 20:05 (seventeen years ago)

two months pass...

http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/commentary_tracks_of_the_damne_0

Kelsey Grammer (who played Patton) is a conservative, but still balked at having to say the line "Enjoy your privacy rights in hell!" until the writers softened it by having him note that privacy rights are great, except when they're "interfering with survival rights."

abanana, Saturday, 10 January 2009 20:06 (sixteen years ago)

lol the comments, wow

^likes black girls (HI DERE), Saturday, 10 January 2009 21:20 (sixteen years ago)

Morbs, you should see this movie. You might like it more than Slumdog Millionaire.

Eric H., Saturday, 10 January 2009 21:36 (sixteen years ago)

John Rogers wrote a great bit about this movie and David Zucker, talking about what happens when you get Hollywood-types wanting to expend their personal capital to do particular projects.

The Secret & Shocking Underground World of Streetwalking Gummi Bears (kingfish), Saturday, 10 January 2009 22:04 (sixteen years ago)

best part:

when the movie was test-screened in Texas, audiences were perplexed. They found the scene where General Patton shoots zombie ACLU lawyers too mean—"Didn't they get that the lawyers were zombies?" Zucker wonders

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Saturday, 10 January 2009 22:21 (sixteen years ago)

lol, didn't Zucker realize most movies the audiences root for the zombies?

Eric H., Saturday, 10 January 2009 22:22 (sixteen years ago)

Oh man I remember some people I know dreaded this film thinking it was going to be a vote-swayer...

Viceroy, Saturday, 10 January 2009 23:32 (sixteen years ago)

can you imagine

s1ocki, Saturday, 10 January 2009 23:36 (sixteen years ago)

Describing Zucker's mindset throughout the shoot, Friedman says, "You kind of yelled a lot." Zucker: "Well, directing's tough." Friedman: "It is tough. And if you have to direct and you're a dick, it can be so much tougher."

i may have to purchase this for the commentary....

is this a cunning (Baldrick style) plan to obtain the reward money? (stevie), Sunday, 11 January 2009 12:14 (sixteen years ago)


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