Free Republic

With stinging criticisms cloaked in humor, late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, Trevor Noah and the whole cast of “Saturday Night Live” have provided American audiences a way to laugh off their political anxiety. But on May 2, we may have to say goodbye to them for now. That’s because the day before marks the expiration date for the current contract between the Writers Guild of America, the organization representing 12,000 Hollywood film and TV writers, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the writers’ employers. (The Huffington Post is unionized under the WGA-East.) The current...

On Wednesday, People magazine announced its pick for “World’s Most Beautiful Woman” of 2017 and ― drumroll please ― it’s Julia Roberts, who’s now earned the title a record five times. That’s right, Roberts has been named “Most Beautiful” more times than anyone else, surpassing Jennifer Aniston and Michelle Pfeiffer. She first appeared on the issue in 1991 at the age of 23, fresh from her role in “Pretty Woman.” “I am very flattered,” the Oscar-winning actress said of the recent accolade, later adding, “I think I’m currently peaking.” Now, yes, Roberts is beautiful, but if we’re being honest, so...

President Trump on Wednesday morning blasted Democrats for "failing" to win Georgia's House special election the night before, framing the upcoming runoff election as a battle between the state and outside interests. "Dems failed in Kansas and are now failing in Georgia," the president tweeted Wednesday. "Great job Karen Handel! It is now Hollywood vs. Georgia on June 20th." . . . The race drew intense outside attention, with a number of celebrities donating to Ossoff's campaign.

Fox News anchor Jon Scott is being crucified by liberal media for making a blunt observation about Muslims on Easter Sunday. Scott made the remarks on Fox & Friends while discussing “Homeland” star Mandy Patinkin, who admitted that the show made a deliberate effort to portray white men as the bad guys in season 6. Patinkin said “Homeland” executives pushed their pro-Islam agenda after being slammed for their realistic portrayals of Muslim terrorists in previous seasons (it also had Muslim heroes, so the PC police wouldn’t whine). That’s when the usually mild-mannered Jon Scott remarked: “They’re gonna run the Boston...

Homeland star Mandy Patinkin says this season of the acclaimed Showtime television drama shows that it is perhaps “the white men in government and the military establishment that are the bad guys,” rather than the Muslim community. In an interview with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd this week, Patinkin said that society had “chosen the Muslim community” as a threat, despite the community making “contributions to the world of a monumental nature.” Patinkin also said the show, which has been criticized by the left as “Islamophobic” for linking Islam with terrorism, has taken responsibility for this portrayal and has changed its content...

A bit of humor for this hour and I think Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo would approve of the notion that even in trying times, a little laughter goes a long way. From one of the funniest movies ever produced:"We're Going to War!" from Duck Soup "They got guns, We got guns, All God's chillun got guns! I'm gonna walk all over the battlefield, 'Cause all God's chillun got guns!"

After painful November 2016 losses, Washington Democrats still appear committed to devoting resources to strongholds like California, instead of responding to party pleas to put time and money into Middle America to reconnect with disaffected voters. . . . “We have to talk to those people who take a shower after work, not those who just take a shower before work,” Ohio Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan said after the losses and amid his subsequent, failed effort to replace California Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi as House minority leader. He also joined fellow party members in saying Democratic leaders had become too...

After U.S. forces dropped "the mother of all bombs" on an ISIS tunnel complex in Afghanistan, Hollywood director Josh Fox railed against the decision to deploy the military's largest non-nuclear device, which reportedly killed several dozen ISIS militants.

A rogue nation targeted a multinational corporation and won.  North Korea has almost certainly ordered the massive cyber-attack on Sony Pictures, stealing and publicly dumping enough data to make a dent in the company’s stock price. North Korea cannot challenge the United States militarily, despite what movies have portrayed.  Regardless of their saber-rattling, and America’s reduced presence on the Korean peninsula, a real attack of any substance against our ally South Korea (or Japan for that matter) would bring a suicidal level of retribution on the North, and they know it.  But they’ve found a vein where they can draw...

BI Director James Comey said he let cameras into the New York FBI offices to film a new television series in hopes that he might build trust with the American people. “I worry sometimes that people don’t know us,” Comey said in explaining why he green-lighted “Inside the FBI: New York,” a new television documentary by Dick Wolf of “Law & Order” fame and documentarian Marc Levin. “We have to care what people think of us,” Comey said at a showing of the new series at the Newseum in Washington, DC. “The faith and confidence of the American people is...

(full article title: 'Survivor' Castaway Zeke Smith Outed as Transgender by Fellow Contestant Jeff Varner During Tribal Council) Zeke Smith is trying to make the best of the situation. The two-time Survivor player was outed as transgender by fellow tribe member Jeff Varner during tribal council on Wednesday's episode of Game Changers. Varner, who told host Jeff Probst that he felt he was going home earlier in the tribal council, decided to reveal one last piece of information in the hopes of saving himself. "There is deception here. Deceptions on levels, Jeff, that these guys don't even understand," Varner said,...

Beauty and the Beast is joining the billion-dollar club at the worldwide box office. Director Bill Condon‘s update of Disney‘s classic 1991 animated film likely will achieve the milestone by Thursday. (The entry of The Fate of the Furious in a handful of foreign markets on Wednesday is clouding the forecast.) On Tuesday, Beauty, starring Emma Watson as Belle, grossed $9.7 million for a worldwide total of $993.2 million. The tentpole has earned $435.9 million domestically and $557.3 million overseas, led by China ($85.2 million) and the U.K. ($75.3 million). Disney has plenty of reason to celebrate. Beauty and the...

Actor Peter Hansen, known for his role as lawyer and addiction counselor Lee Baldwin on General Hospital, has died at the age of 95. Hansen died Sunday in Santa Clarita, California, the General Hospital twitter account confirmed Tuesday. Though he made over 100 film and television appearances, Hansen was best known for his role as the stalwart Lee Baldwin on General Hospital and its spin-off Port Charles. He appeared on the weekday soap opera from 1965 through 2004, making his last appearance at Lila’s (Anna Lee) funeral in 2004 and retiring from the screen thereafter. His character began as Port...

“Girls” comes to an end on April 16 after six seasons, and it’s time to bid bye-bye to the best show about the worst of my generation. The HBO dramedy, created by then-24-year-old writer/actress Lena Dunham, brilliantly tackled difficult issues from abortion to sexual assault . . . while also making an entire pack of millennials look like loathsome narcissists. The cast of characters on “Girls” were remarkably, unbelievably awful. If you met a single character from the show in real life, you would be talking about how self-destructive they were . . . forever. That’s true whether it’s Jessa, who deals with her...

Hollywood director Josh Whedon has gone off the deep end in his opposition to President Trump. He's apparently something of a celebrity for helming cult projects like "Firefly" and "Serenity." All the more reason to ignore him? Perhaps, but what fun would that be? Whedon created a pro-Hillary ad during the campaign that obviously, had little influence on the outcome. So he's been keeping up a regular tweetstorm since the election warning us about Donald Trump. Recently, he sort of lost it. He retweeted a link to a story about gays being murdered by Muslims in Chechnya by hinting it...

NEW YORK (AP) — He was only kidding. Really. Don Rickles loved everybody: black or white, gay or straight, fat or thin. But don't get him started on his wife, or the time she dove into their swimming pool while wearing all her jewelry. And drowned. For more than half a century, the hollering, bald-headed "Mr. Warmth" let everyone have it. Insults rained on the meek and the mighty, from unsuspecting fans to such fellow celebrities as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Johnny Carson.

An intriguing faith-based detective story in which an investigative reporter becomes a true believer. Although it sporadically errs on the side of sentimentality and simplification, “The Case for Christ” sustains interest, and even generates mild suspense, while offering a faith-based spin on the template of an investigative-journalism drama. Director Jon Gunn and screenwriter Brian Bird have shrewdly reconstituted Lee Strobel’s best-selling book about his road-to-Damascus transition from outspoken atheist to devout Christian as a kind of theological detective story. Of course, there’s never any real doubt as to how the story will be resolved.

LOS ANGELES, Apr 6: Shia LaBeouf’s “Man Down” has flopped in the UK during its limited theatrical debut after it reportedly only sold one ticket, raking in 7 pounds when it opened at a cinema in Burnley over the weekend. The movie revolves around a soldier searching for his estranged son and battling PTSD after his return from Afghanistan. Directed by Dito Montile, it’s also supported by the likes of Gary Oldman, Jai Courtney and Kate Mara, reported Ace Showbiz. The film premiered at 2016 Venice Film Festival before playing at the Toronto International Film Festival and heading to US...

Harry Frigg's working-class roots are evident in his speech and manner. When he is introduced to the imprisoned generals as their superior, they can scarcely disguise their discomfort at the prospect of being commanded by an obvious...commoner. An incident at dinner exemplifies the class divide. Each general in turn names a favorite restaurant: "London Charles." "Which one?" "Detroit." "Savoy Grill, of course." "Locke-Ober in Boston." Now it's Harry's turn. He stammers, then comes up with "a little place just outside of Paterson with great veal cutlets." "Which sauce do you prefer?" "A little ketchup usually does it."

It was one of America's best-loved sitcoms at the height of the Cold War, but a new documentary claims "Gilligan's Island" was in fact a hymn to "communist" values. In the last interview before he died in 2011, Sherwood Schwartz -- the television producer who also created "The Brady Bunch" -- said that the fictional utopia he invented for a group of castaways on a tropical island was meant as a light-hearted critique of capitalism. Award-winning filmmaker Cevin Soling told AFP that Schwartz, a biologist who began his career writing jokes for Bob Hope, "affirmed to me what I had...