Republican actors good, Democrat actors bad.
Andrew Sullivan (whose gestalt I respect) perpetuates the double standard. Republicans get the Gipper, Gopher, and the Governator; Fred Thompson jumps in the presidential race at #3. A liberal actor opens his mouth AND WHY DON’T THEY JUST SHUT UP AND ACT!?!?!?!?!
In my book, great acting requires no shortage of human understanding, and anybody who doesn’t think Hollywood is a part of the business world is being incredibly naive. The importance of Hollywood’s domination of the world movie market to the US economy is very hard to overstate. So I think people with distinguished Hollywood careers do have something to contribute to this nation. Andrew seems to disagree out of the reflexive habit of conservatives to gang up on Hollywood with the people who are outraged about movies with boobies and gay people treated normally. He really should know better.
-jb
UPDATE: This peeves me the more I think about it. Andrew’s being a super-queen today, especially when you look at the content he’s attacking.
Clooney points to a deeply personal example of Hollywood backlash: His father, former television anchorman and game show host Nick Clooney, lost his congressional race in Kentucky in 2004 after his opponent blasted him for having “Hollywood values.”
“It became an issue of Hollywood versus the heartland,” said Clooney, who opted not to publicly campaign for his father. “I believed I could only do him more harm.”
So when Obama, an Illinois Democrat, told Clooney last year that he was thinking about running for president, the actor was excited but cautious. “I told him I would do anything for him, including staying completely away from him,” said Clooney, speaking recently on his cellphone from the South Carolina set of his latest movie, “Leatherheads.”
George Clooney supports Obama but acknowledges that he’s cautious and aware of the effect of being “Hollywood,” i.e. a liberal actor, rather than a conservative one. And Andrew says, “Shut up!” One wonders whether he even read the article.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:24 pm
They worship Uncle Ronnie and Charelston Heston when it suits them and rage about Hollywood values when it suits them.
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Hollywood is about one thing and that is getting those fat asses into those theater seats. It is a business, pure and simple, and any sort of bias perceieved is nothing more than idle conjecture by those who are too lazy to formulate a sensible argument. 99% of what mouth-breathing wingers construe as evidence of liberal bias is completely anecdotal.
April 3rd, 2007 at 7:08 am
You might remember that Fred Thompson isn’t just an actor. In the 1970s, he served as Republican counsel for the Senate Watergate Committee, and he was twice elected to the Senate from Tennessee.
April 3rd, 2007 at 11:08 am
The Watergate bit is interesting, but when Thompson ran to be a Senator he was known primarily as an actor. Anyway, thank you for the extra bit of supplementary detail. My point still stands.
June 28th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Actually Thompson was known for his VOTING record and and all he did for Tennessee during his second run. He was also known for saying that politics should NOT be a career, but a break from one’s career.
October 1st, 2008 at 11:46 pm
For starters there is a huge difference between Democrat and liberal. Hollywood Democrats tend, not always, but tend to be liberal. The difference between the “Republican actors” and the “Democrat actors” is simple…Values. The party you choose to associate with is a representation of your values and morals. Conservatives have the same values as time goes on. Liberal values change with what’s popular. Hollywood is the same..whatever is popular. Unfortunately, popular isn’t usually what’s right, morally.
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:11 am
Isn’t that code word for hating gays?
Thanks for the glass of Kool-aid, Jen, but you’re wrong. When liberal actors speak up, they’re “just actors who don’t know anything who should shut up and be entertaining in movies.” When you guys hear about a conservative actor, you want to elect him.
Anyway, there was so much crap stuffed into that paragraph it could fertilize my dad’s acreage. And that’s a farm, lady, not a damned Hollywood mansion.
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:03 am
When conservative actors speak up its “what I will do”.Perhaps thats why some have gravitated to public service. (Dont forget your own Fred Grandy) When liberal actors speak up its “what you should do” but what you should do is not what neccesarily what I will do cause I am a star and live in a Hollywood mansion.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:54 am
Because liberal actors never perform public service! And you guys would just love it if George Clooney ran for Congress, eh?
What I’ve learned is that rightwingers can talk all day about Hollywood without knowing anything at all about it. Stereotypes will do just fine!
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Here’s data that isn’t anecdotal…Barbara Streisand $498K to democrats $0.0 to GOP Michael Douglas $492K to demo $0.00 to GOP Jeff Katzenberg $1.2 Million to dems $0.00 to GOP Danny Devito $132K to dems $0.00 to GOP Ed Norton $72K to dems $0.00 to GOP Alec baldwin and Paul Newman $150K to dems…$0.00 to GOP.Sydney Pollack $242K to dems $0.00 to GOP it goes on and on…your lying to yourselves if you think that Hollywodd is just a “For Profit” industry…Ron Silver dies two weeks ago without a peep from the Hollywood or New York…the only thing anyone said on major news outlets was that he gave a speech at the ‘04 GOP convention. He was blacklisted in NY and Hollywood after that. It’s not a lame stereotype…I live here.I see the attack on traditional values everyday.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Ron Silver did his best TV work after 2004, including a big turn on “liberal” The West Wing, three appearances as character Bernie Adler on Law and Order, and Crossing Jordan.
His career was shit for five years before that, his last notable appearances being on Veronica’s Closet, and Chicago Hope. His only notable movie in the 90s was Jean Claude Van Damme’s Timecop. His late 80’s star work consisted of three films, Blue Steel, Enemies A Love Story,, and the big one, Reversal of Fortune.
So he was basically an 80s actor who had a (modest) career resurgence and did some of his most famous work after 2004. He did better than most in Hollywood.
After his death, he was written about kindly by Alec Baldwin, Ben Stiller, Lawrence O’Donnell, Paul Begala et al on the liberal Huffington Post. You probably didn’t read that, Brian.
Because you’re a damned fool.
BTW, teach yourself what the hell “anecdotal” means.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Brian, I believe when you get served so completely, the gentlemanly thing to do is say “oops, my bad.”
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:45 pm
*yawn* So liberals are hypocrites, eh Brian? That’s a very original perspective. Perhaps you should start your own blog with this theme as your centerpiece.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
j> It sounded air-tight when he heard it on Limbaugh.
October 13th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Like you have ever listened to Rush Limbaugh!
October 13th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Yeah, like, REALLY listened to him…not just the show, but all the racist dog whistling? Its frequencies are higher than libruls can hear;)