Free Republic

Vice, a sprawling, star-studded $60 million gamble from Annapurna Pictures that will hit theaters Christmas Day (think 200 location shots and 200 speaking parts, including five-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, newly minted Oscar winner Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld and Tyler Perry as Colin Powell). Written by McKay, Vice chronicles the rise of Cheney from his days in the Nixon administration, where he made an alliance with a hawkish Rumsfeld, to his eight-year reign in the White House during which he ran a shadow government under Bush's nose. In typical McKay...

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute. "There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely," Trump told Reuters in an Oval Office interview ahead of his 100th day in office on Saturday. Nonetheless, Trump said he wanted to peacefully resolve a crisis that has bedeviled multiple U.S. presidents, a path that he and his administration are emphasizing by preparing a variety of new...

Debbie Reynolds -- who rose to stardom in "Singin' in the Rain" and quickly became a staple among Hollywood royalty -- died Wednesday as a result of a stroke, TMZ has learned ... just one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher passed away ... this according to her son Todd. Debbie was rushed to a hospital shortly after 1 PM when someone at the Beverly Hills home of her son, Todd, called 911 to report a possible stroke. We're told Debbie and Todd were making funeral plans for Carrie, who died Tuesday of cardiac arrest. Debbie famously divorced Eddie Fisher...

Actors were once strapping hunks, thick-thighed he-men who had only to arrive at a film premiere to make everyone’s eyes bulge. These Adonises towered above lesser mortals and had their suits made specially for them because they were such muscular specimens. That’s the way things were when the likes of John Wayne (6ft 4in), Gregory Peck (6ft 3in), Charlton Heston (6ft 3in) and Clint Eastwood (6ft 4in) were in their prime. They were big men playing big characters, often on top of enormous horses or engaged in butch boxing bouts. Compare that with the recent Oscars ceremony, when our own...

They may govern the free world's leading nation and regulate the globe's biggest economy, but when it comes to celebrities, Washingtonians are as starstruck as folks from Des Moines. That's why the annual White House Correspondents' dinner has assumed an outsized importance on the capitol social calendar and one of the reasons many locals are feeling let down by this year's dearth of A-list actors and film figures. Apart from Robert De Niro, who is promoting a documentary on his artist father, there will only be a smattering of high-wattage names at Saturday night's edition of the annual event. A...

This video shows nominations for 50 of the most beautiful movie stars ever.

What strikes me again and again about these movies is how hunky and masculine the majority of the male stars were.  Neanderthal: Joan Collins turned down Richard Burton while making Sea Wife Boom Town was on recently, with the extremely macho co-stars Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable. Although Gable was by far the better looking and taller (he kept referring to Tracy as 'Shorty' in the film) Spencer Tracy was his equal in the he-man department. The same goes for most of the male movie stars from the golden era of Hollywood: Anthony Quinn dancing the tango with Rita...

Hollywood studios are now thinking twice about splurging on A-list movie stars and costly productions in reaction to the poor economy, but also because of the surprising success of recent films with unknown actors.

Most of you may be surprised to hear that my columns are also published in the Canyon News, in Los Angeles. That fine paper circulates in Bel Air, Benedict Canyon, Beverly Hills. Brentwood, Laurel Canyon, Los Feliz, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Melrose, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Topanga, Canyon, Westwood & Hollywood Hills. This column is written for people returning to their homes there – if their homes are still standing. Genius consists of not making the same mistake once. By that standard, y’all are not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed concerning fires in Southern California. Such fires...

JUST ASKIN’ XXXVIII – QUERIES IN QUICKSAND © by Norman Liebmann Just askin’: Is the recent vote of whether or not the United States should surrender in Iraq indicative of just how many shades of yellow there are among the Democrats in Congress? Just askin’: Is Hillary’s threat to appoint Bill Clinton Ambassador to the World the most obscene use of destructive personal influence since Yoko Ono broke up the Beatles? And would it surprise anyone if that famous celebrity-humper, Yoko, were to marry that famous Irish hip hop Third World do-gooder and become Yoko Ono Bono? Just askin’: Does...

On another thread the subject of neoptism of hollywoodies came up, and it seemed that it might be interesting to pool knowledge about who in Hollywood broke into the tight movie union because of their connections. Who's Whose Kid in Hollywood Nicholas Cage is Francis Ford Coppola's nephew. Anyone who saw him in Peggy Sue Got Married KNOWS he only got hired because of his uncle. He got to learn by being an apprentice in the trenches--that's a gift. Kate Hudson is Goldie Hawn's daughter.Gwennie Paltrow is the daughter of Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Poor Jim Carrey. His movies have raked in nearly $2 billion at box offices, but now a leading entertainment magazine says the comedian's asking price of $25 million a film has become "a bit of a gamble." ADVERTISEMENT In its issue out this week, Entertainment Weekly rates top stars on whether they are worth the money. Among those whose asking prices have become too high are Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell and Eddie Murphy, the magazine said. It added that after years of ever-rising star salaries, the prices for top talent are now coming down because...

LONDON (AFP) - A senior British military officer, who worked in Baghdad in 2004, believes US generals try to act like gung-ho movie stars such as John Wayne, a newspaper reported. Brigadier Alan Sharp made the comments in an academic report on Britain's influence on US foreign relations, The Daily Telegraph said. The 46-year-old, who worked alongside the US military in Baghdad, said there was a "strong streak of Hollywood" among American officers. He said an important part to being a success in the US army was the ability to combine the "real and acted heroics" of Audie Murphy, a...

I am so tried of these movie stars showing up only at slect death row hearings tokie williams etc. that is fine that they oppose the death penalty but they only show up to further their carreer and at big names in the news small cases they are no where to be found.Sounds like a bunch of phonies to me and what are we to base their opionons on ours for?

With "JAG," "Navy CIS," "MASH," and other military television shows being quite popular, one might consider with how military service has enhanced the fame of veteran actors in Hollywood or vice versa. During our distinguished history, some Hollywood actors have taken a break from their careers while they defended our country oftentimes to battle in war. These hereos include Charles Bronson, Gary Cooper, Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, Clarke Gable, Lee Marvin, Elvis Presley, and Jimmy Stewart. More recent editions of entertainment veterans include "Limp Bizkit" lead singer Fred Durst who did service with the United States Navy. Up until...

Norwegian oil company Hydro announced on Monday a promising oil discovery under the oil and natural gas fields already producing at the enormous Troll field in the North Sea. The Oslo-based petroleum and light metals group said prospects for developing the find in the deeper rock structures were promising because the oil is so close to an existing offshore field. Hydro said further tests and drilling will be needed to determine the amount of additional oil that could be produced. Troll is Europe's largest natural gas field currently in operation, and also produces 260,000 barrels of oil per day from...

...Richard Gere of "The Jackal" fame elaborated: "If you can see [the terrorists] as a relative who's dangerously sick and we have to give them medicine, and the medicine is love and compassion. There's nothing better." Cher often sings of losers and so drew on her artistic insight to share a complex portrait of the president: "I don't like Bush. I don't trust him. I don't like his record. He's stupid. He's lazy." What's so disturbing about our leftist celebrities lecturing us on what has gone wrong after September 11? Nothing, as long as we realize why they do it....

WASHINGTON – Clark Gable enlisted at the age of 41 and took his cameraman into the Army with him as a fellow private. Pfc. Steve McQueen served 30 days in the brig after going AWOL from the Marines. Pfc. Elvis Presley served a full hitch in the Army despite a fan's plea to first lady Mamie Eisenhower to have the king of rock 'n' roll released early. Lt. Henry Fonda earned a Bronze Star as a Navy combat pilot over the Pacific in World War II. On Saturday, the National Archives for the first time opened the military records of...

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WW II MOVIE STARS - Eye opening This a far different country today. In contrast to the ideals, opinions and feelings of today's "Hollywonk" the real actors of yester-year loved the United States. They had both class and integrity. With the advent of World War II many of our actors went to fight rather than stand and rant against this country we all love. They gave up their wealth, position and fame to become service men & women, many as simple "enlisted men". This page lists but a few, but from this group of only 18...

Hollywood power couple Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have reportedly split after a 21-year romance. Friends have revealed the couple's relationship has "lost its zip" in recent years and Hawn has moved on to realize her dream of traveling the world. In recent years, the 59-year-old Buddhist actress has been spending more and more time in India, where she often meets up with Pakistani cricket legend Imran Khan - a friendship that has reportedly upset Russell. According to sources on the set of Russell's new movie Sky High, the actor isn't taking the split well. One tells America's Globe tabloid...