TOTO: Hollywood, Once Scornful Of Blacklists, Now Embraces Them

Daily Caller ^ | December 13, 2018 | Christian Toto

[EdnaMode]

Remember Hollywood’s old obsession with the “blacklisting” of alleged communists?

Movie after movie captured that dark chapter in American history, each film wagging a cinematic finger at industry insiders who punished Communist sympathizers — or just folks suspected of harboring such thoughts.

Think “The Front,” “The Majestic,” “Trumbo,” “Guilty by Suspicion” and “Good Night, and Good Luck.”

That was then.

Today, people who hold what the Hollywood elite consider untenable views — such as those who believe in protecting the U.S. border — are targeted, shamed and made to fear for their careers. It’s happening both inside Tinsel Town and across the culture at large.

Hollywood can’t so much as clear its collective throat about it, let alone speak out against the practice.

The irony? The industry has never been more vocal, more eager to jump into the political fray. Awards shows. Social media. Concert stages. Puff piece interviews.

They talk, and talk, and talk about the issues of the day. On this blacklist-level front, the silence is deafening.

Sound hyperbolic? Consider the following incidents from just this year alone.

Filmmakers working on a feature critical of Planned Parenthood operated under a shroud of secrecy, fearing the film’s subject matter could invite trouble.

Another pro-life film project, “Roe v. Wade,” similarly struggled to complete its shooting schedule. According to The Hollywood Reporter, actors attempted to sabotage the project while universities inexplicably refused to let the production shoot on their grounds.

It, too, operated under a cloud of secrecy. Why? According to The Hollywood Reporter, “The radio silence — until now — has been by design, both for the security of the cast and crew and in order to obtain shooting locations.”

Conservatives in Hollywood rarely speak out in favor of Donald Trump lest they face career backlash. For an industry where the job competition is fierce, that matters. The Hollywood Reporter also reported, “The president’s supporters in the industry fear mixing it up with their liberal colleagues, thus there are secretive efforts to drum up votes for their side, the most visible being street art.”

A few conservative entertainers lost jobs simply for being vocal Trump supporters. Denver-based comic Steve McGrew had a standing gig to play Brad Garrett’s Las Vegas comedy club each December. McGrew said that ended when Garrett, whose Twitter feed teems with Trump hatred, sent him a letter severing their professional ties.

Why? McGrew’s act may be apolitical, but the comic shares his Trump support on social media. That forced Garrett’s hand, the “Everybody Loves Raymond” alum told McGrew.

Musician and “America’s Got Talent” alum Benton Blount got kicked off of ZZ Top musician Billy Gibbons’ tour after posting a picture of himself wearing a red Trump hat and holding Chick-Fil-A food on Facebook.

The indie film “Gosnell” attempted to buy advertising on NPR, but the radio company served up a flimsy reason for rejecting the ad’s verbiage. The left-leaning Daily Beast, of all sites, debunked the NPR explanation.That’s just part of a larger discrimination pattern.

Conservative speakers are routinely harassed on college campuses, both far-right provocateurs like Milo Yiannopoulos and mature intellects such as Christina Hoff Sommers. Others, like culture warrior Ben Shapiro, require thousands of dollars in security just to appear on a campus. At UC Berkeley, the price tag to protect the slight Shapiro? A cool $600,000.

Meanwhile, conservatives both in and out of Hollywood found themselves kicked off or targeted by our social media overlords. Prager U, an educational division led by conservative talker Dennis Prager, is routinely flagged by YouTube for spurious reasons.

A number of prominent conservatives got kicked off Twitter, often with little or no explanation. They include former Republican candidate Jesse Kelly and Bruce Carroll, the latter of whom is also known as Gay Patriot.

Twitter swiftly reinstated Kelly following a sharp outcry from conservatives. The company’s explanation sounded sketchy at best.

The team behind “Gosnell” claimed it tried to use Facebook to spread the news about the film’s release. Facebook wouldn’t allow it, citing a policy against political messaging. The product in question is a movie based on actual events.

A good Hollywood liberal would want every voice to be heard — and they wouldn’t like to see people punished for holding the “wrong” positions. Imagine what it would mean to hear, say, George Clooney come out against any of the above.

“I may not agree with their views, but conservative entertainers should be able to tell their stories just like any other artist,” the Oscar winner said from the stage of the 2019 Academy Awards in an impromptu appeal to bipartisan ship.

Heck, it might just start a cultural shift. Remember how Jerry Seinfeld’s attack on politically-correct groupthink on college campuses rocked the news cycle in 2015?

Instead, we’ve yet to hear one prominent Hollywood liberal deplore any of the aforementioned examples.

Their silence gets louder every day. History hasn’t been kind to the ‘50s blacklist era. The same may some day be said of modern Hollywood, a “woke” industry that wouldn’t stand up for freedom of expression when it counted.

[EdnaMode]

Hollywood requires total conformity, and it's affecting their movies and TV series. No creativity left. No original thoughts.

[NativeSon]

It's not surprising - they were full of commies then, stuffed full with commies now.

It's not duplicity or irony, they are fighting the same fight for the same side.

[namvolunteer]

They were not “alleged communists.”
They were Communists.

[Hildy]

It’s ruining movies. Bohemian Rhapsody? I walked out. I wanted to see the truth.. There is no truth anymore. The straw that broke the camel’s back for me is when Freddy says to his FIANCE, “I’m bi-sexual” and his FIANCE says, No, Freddy you are gay. The next thing she says is “And I know you can’t help it.” WHOAH THERE..., in the late 1970’s - 80’s (and beyond) that wasn’t the line. Just as a woman watching this - Your fiance tells you he is sleeping with men - a lot of men - would your response be “It’s not your fault, sweetie... I understand.” And Hollywood has made it acceptable that if you cheat on your wife with a man, somehow that’s not cheating, it’s because your gay. NO, YOU MADE A VOW TO YOUR WIFE. I don’t care if you’re sleeping with other women, men or sheep. I don’t know how somehow it makes everything ok. YOU CHEATED. CHEATING IS CHEATING. But they romanticize the gay lifestyle. That all being said, I don’t give a rat’s ass who anyone sleeps with loves or lives with, WE are free to make those decisions in America. I’ll say it, some of the best people I know are gay. Even in my small town and I love them. But don’t force me to condone the lifestyle. My gay friends know I’m conservative and respect my opinions. And everyone lives together well. That is not enough for the fascists in Hollywood. I don’t know where this all ends.

[gaijin]

Hollywood has had blacklists for longer than you think. That's John Milius in the center, he was right up there with Speilberg and Lucas, back in the day.

But his politics were on the right.

They put up him for a long time because he was a genius.

Then he wrote, funded and directed Red Dawn, a movie about a military takeover of the USA by Russians and Cubans.

They declared him persona non-grata, he couldn't find work. He couldn't even pay the tuition for his genius son at law school..!

They completely ruined him.

You know that amazing scene for Jaws, where an old scottish fisherman discribes being in the water, devoured by sharks after their ship is torpedoes during WW2..?

That was John Milius' dialogue.

Hollywood always drones on about how tolerant they are, how WRONGED they were by McCarthy, about how THEY were victims of blacklists.

Ya know what?

They really WERE and ARE a pack of commies, and they're total hypocrites, too. They are the biggest Blacklisters around and always have been.

[gibsonguy]

Exactly right. McCarthy was right Hollywood was and is filled with corrosive, subversive people determined to undermine the structure of the country. Now more then ever.
Any and all guard rails have been removed.

[gaijin]

Another shot of John Milius.

[gaijin]

If they could destroy a TITAN like this, what would they do to US..?

2012 Red Dawn (1984 screenplay)
2011 Homefront (Video Game) (written by)
2008 Between the Lines: The True Story of Surfers and the Vietnam War (Documentary) (guest writer)
Rome (TV Series) (created by - 22 episodes, 2005 - 2007) (written by - 1 episode, 2005)
- De Patre Vostro (About Your Father) (2007) ... (creator)
- Deus Impeditio Esuritori Nullus (No God Can Stop a Hungry Man) (2007) ... (creator)
- A Necessary Fiction (2007) ... (creator)
- Death Mask (2007) ... (creator)
- Philippi (2007) ... (creator)
Show all 22 episodes
2006 Apocalypse Oz (Short) (screenplay "Apocalypse Now")
2005 Medal of Honor: European Assault (Video Game) (story:
design team) / (writer: design team) 1997 Rough Riders (TV Mini-Series) (written by - 2 episodes)
- Episode #1.2 (1997) ... (written by)
- Episode #1.1 (1997) ... (written by)
1994 Clear and Present Danger (screenplay)
1993 Geronimo: An American Legend (screenplay) / (story)
1991 Conan (Video Game) (based on the film written by)
1989 Farewell to the King (screenplay)
1987 Extreme Prejudice (story)
1987 Miami Vice (TV Series) (story - 1 episode)
- Viking Bikers from Hell (1987) ... (story - as Walter Kurtz)
1984 Red Dawn (screenplay)
1982 Conan the Barbarian (written by)
1979 1941 (story)
1979 Apocalypse Now (written by)
1978 Big Wednesday (written by)
1975 The Wind and the Lion (written by)
1974 Melvin Purvis G-MAN (TV Movie) (creator) / (story) / (teleplay)
1973 Magnum Force (screenplay) / (story)
1973 Dillinger (written by)
1972 The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (original screenplay)
1972 Jeremiah Johnson (screenplay)
1971 Dirty Harry (screenplay - uncredited)
1971 Evel Knievel (screenplay)
1969 The Devil's 8 (screenplay)
1967 Glut (Short)
1967 The Emperor (Documentary short)

[gaijin]

ping

[Sans-Culotte]

The character John Goodman played in The Big Lebowski was reportedly inspired by Milius.

[Leaning Right]

> Hollywood, Once Scornful Of Blacklists, Now Embraces Them <

That is a very important observation! Maybe it will give liberals something to think about. (But I doubt it.)

[Bommer]

If JFK was alive today, he’d be a Republican!
If Nixon was alive today, he’d be a Democrap!

[Still Thinking]

Scum. Communists SHOULD be blacklisted. What we have now is the result of not doing so.