This week brings the nationwide release of The Iron Lady, starring Meryl Streep as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Streep referred to the challenge of portraying Lady Thatcher as “daunting and exciting,” and as requiring “as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses.” Her performance has already been widely praised by critics, but for those who respect Lady Thatcher, not all the omens are positive. In an interview with The New York Times, Streep compared Lady Thatcher to King Lear and commented that what interested …
It was no coincidence that “Atlas Shrugged Part 1” made its box-office debut on tax day, April 15, earlier this year. So it was only appropriate that the DVD release would fall on Election Day. Harmon Kaslow, the movie’s producer, visited Heritage’s Bloggers Briefing today to talk about the film and preview “Atlas Shrugged Part 2,” which is slatted for a fall 2012 release. He also visited our Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio to share his thoughts on Hollywood, how the Internet has transformed movie marketing and the relevance of …
Gary Sinise is best known for his role as Lt. Dan Taylor in the 1994 blockbuster movie “Forrest Gump.” It earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor and a starring role on “CSI: NY.” Now the actor is using his fame to celebrate America’s heroes on the battlefield. This week marked the debut of a documentary about Sinise’s role with the Lt. Dan Band. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Sinise formed the band — name after his character from “Forrest Gump” — to perform for servicemen and …
It’s difficult to find a television program that holds conservative ideals, let alone refrains from mocking them. Hollywood, it seems, is monolithically liberal. This is because conservatives underestimate the value of narrative and emotion, author Ben Shapiro contended in his talk “Primetime Propaganda: The True Hollywood Story of How the Left Took Over Your TV,” held last week at The Heritage Foundation. “Narrative matters,” Shapiro said. “Unfortunately, conservatives have abandoned narrative as an emotional tool…you hear it on talk radio all the time. We have all the logical arguments; we …
Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have more in common than you might assume: They both significantly influence society. The nation’s capital is home to the country’s lawmakers and Hollywood is home to the storytellers of our nation. Conservatives spend a lot of time focusing on the first but less on the latter. Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) is trying to change that. Speaking at Heritage earlier this week, Santorum noted that conservatives are often criticized for being out of touch with popular culture. “The problem in the past is that …
Earlier this week Politico‘s Ben Smith reported on how tough economic times are leading politicians from both parties to start attacking government unions. Smith writes: They’re the whipping boys for a new generation of governors who, thanks to a tanking economy and an assist from editorial boards, feel freer than ever to make political targets out of what was once a protected liberal class of teachers, cops, and other public servants. But politicians are not the only ones questioning their old labor allies. Hollywood, who has long been ally of …
In the wake of a devastating report on his presidency by the Organization of American States’ (OAS) Inter-American Commission, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s loudest defense has come from actor Sean Penn, known most recently for his roles in Milk and Mystic River. In the OAS report, Chavez is accused of not only centralizing his own power but eliminating his country’s private sector, repression of opposition media outlets and criminalization of human rights groups. Appearing on the HBO show “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Penn denied Chavez’s tyranny, saying, “Every day, …
Yesterday, Whoopi Goldberg decided America needs two definitions of rape. First there is the rape of women that is tolerated by the left because it is committed by someone creative. And then there is everything else. When asked about Roman Polanski’s arrest and potential extradition to the United States following his 31 years spent as a fugitive in Europe, Whoopi said on her program The View: “I know it wasn’t rape-rape,” and went on to say, “We’re a different kind of society. We see things differently. The world sees 13 year …
Speaking to a celebrity studded fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in Beverly Hills last night, President Barack Obama humbly proclaimed he “would put these first four months up against any prior administration since FDR.” Actually, let’s do that. Since taking office, President Obama has: Continued to fast-track government control of health care with a $33 billion expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) which isn’t even limited to children and only worsened our nation’s health spending problem. Pushed through a $787 billion stimulus bill that essentially federalized …
National Review Online editor Kathryn Lopez, better known as K-Lo on The Corner, told a group of nearly 200 young conservatives that the greatest impact they can have on national politics is back home — spreading the message of freedom to their friends and neighbors both online and off. Lopez addressed an under-40 crowd of conservatives today as part of Heritage’s biannual President’s Club meeting at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington. The gathering brought together more than 1,100 Heritage members, including a record showing among young people. The event …
