Hollywood: Shut Up and Listen! Americans are talking back - and boycotting

If the past few months are any guide, much of the chatter this Academy Awards season might have less to do with Oscar and more to do with political activism.

"I want to figure out a way to hurt these people," Dennis Prager said about the parade of liberal actors that have been speaking against the Bush administration.

Prager threatened a weekly segment on his popular, nationally syndicated radio show whereby he'd update his listeners on the latest musings of the Hollywood Left.

"It's now a weekly event that someone in Hollywood says something foolish -- truly foolish -- about America," he said.

Prager's most recent Hollywood rant was set off by Dustin Hoffman, who said in London recently -- after receiving yet another award -- that President Bush's real reasons for threatening a war with Iraq are, of course, "hegemony, money, power and oil."

The Bush administration "has taken the events of 9/11 and has manipulated the grief of the country, and I think that's reprehensible," Hoffman said.

Prager went on about how such Hollywood anti-Americanism detracts from his ability to enjoy movies.

Prager might not know it, but he's not alone. According to a poll in The Hollywood Reporter, one of the two primary entertainment industry trade papers, 44 percent of Americans say they might not pay to see a movie that stars a politically active celebrity whom they disagree with.

Among the Hollywood Left, Jane Fonda, Alec Baldwin and Barbra Streisand have the most to worry about in regard to offending their audience, according to the poll, which was taken in May.

And, before Hollywood's activist celebrities dismiss talk radio as insignificant, they should understand just how large the medium's audience is: up to 47 million people over the age of 18 tune into talk radio each week, according to industry analysis.

That makes talk radio the No. 1 format among adults. Some of those adults even buy movie tickets.

Beyond Prager, others with national talk-radio shows are also seeking ways to counter Hollywood's endless, leftist babble.

"Any chance we have to ridicule them, we'll take it," Laura Ingraham said about the Hollywood Left, just before the industry's Academy Awards nominations were made public.

Oliver Stone, Madonna and Richard Gere might even make good "human shields" for Saddam Hussein, Ingraham joked on her show.

Stone earned the mention for his "wet kiss" to Fidel Castro via the new documentary film "Comandante"; Madonna for an upcoming music video that reportedly is an anti-war statement containing scenes of wounded Iraqi babies; and Gere for his anti-Bush diatribe in Germany recently.

"Bush's plans for war are a bizarre bad dream. There doesn't appear to be any sort of basis for any of this," Gere said at the 53rd Berlin Film Festival.

Like Prager, Ingraham was verbally searching on her show for a way to make the Hollywood Left "feel the pinch," as she put it.

The talk-radio circuit even has pet names for Hollywood's peaceniks. Oliver North calls them the "Susan Sarandon Left," while Michael Savage delights in the term "Hollywood Idiot."

Like the Hollywood Idiots who assert that oil is the real reason for a likely war with Iraq, Savage maintains that Gere, Hoffman, and others also have ulterior motives for bad-mouthing America in front of receptive European audiences.

They're simply suggesting that, "If you're going to boycott America, please don't boycott my movie," Savage says.

Larry Elder, the former host of TV's "Moral Court" and host of a newly syndicated national talk-radio program, has also been hammering the Hollywood Left on a regular basis.

"My favorite is Sheryl Crow's pronouncement at the American Music Awards that the best way to avoid conflicts is to not have enemies," Elder told me off the air recently. "Yeah, and the best way to avoid crime is to not have criminals!"

And it's not just the hosts. A caller to Michael Medved's radio show on Oscar-nomination day advocated boycotting the Academy Awards broadcast. "I would love to somehow punish Hollywood," the caller said.

If that poll from The Hollywood Reporter is accurate, many Americans are already engaging in a boycott of sorts, choosing to see movies that don't star Gere, Hoffman, Baldwin, Jessica Lange, Sean Penn, Woody Harrelson, Martin Sheen and too many more to mention who have been publicly bashing America since the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Maybe, for the sake of their all-important box office "take," it's time the Hollywood Left stop talking and start listening to talk radio.

I am sick of the Hollyweird Leftists spewing their drek out of this country. IMO, they should be brought up on treason. If they don't love this country, cash in their return tickests and stay over there. We don't need them THAT badly. In the future, when they make a flick, they should not be allowed to use petroleum products in any form. There goes car chases, explosions, etc. They should not use firearms of any kind. There goes war, cop, gang, etc. movies. They should not use leather or fur products. there goes a lot of glamour flicks. And they should not use God's name. In short, the final product would be just long enough for a 30 minute prime-time viewing. They should make only PC-based movies then nobody would go see them. That won't ever happen. They need us suckers to feed their egos and line their pockets. I just can't wait for "The Passion" to come out. Mel Gibson has a winner with that. He's one of the few that's worth the effort to go see his products.

Selected Entertainment Industry Contributions
to George W. Bush, 1999-00*

2000 Presidential Race

Joe Bonsall Oak Ridge Boys $1,000

Pat Boone Musician $1,000

Edgar Bronfman Joseph E Seagram & Sons $1,000

James Burrows TV Director $1,000

Gary Chapman Musician $2,000

Lionel Chetwynd Screenwriter/Director $1,000

Gloria Carlin Chetwynd Actress $1,000

Van Cliburn Musician $1,000

Mike Curb Curb Records $1,000

Shera Danese Actress $2,000

Michael Eisner Walt Disney Co $1,000

Bob Gale Screenwriter $500

Larry Gatlin Musician $1,000

Morris Goldman Actor $1,000

Eric Gustavson Actor $1,000

Tom Joyner Radio Host $500

Edward Kerr Actor $1,000

Loretta Lynn Musician $2,000

Joe McSpadden Producer $1,000

Jim Nantz Sportscaster/CBS Sports $1,000

Chuck Norris Actor $2,000

Charles Perez Actor $1,000

Russell "Red" Steagall Musician/Producer $1,000

Craig Titley Screenwriter $1,000

Alessandro Uzielli Producer $2,000

Jack Valenti Motion Picture Assn of America $1,000

Kenneth Waissman Producer $250

Joanna Heimbold Welliver Actress $1,000

Donald Wrye Director $1,000

Warren Zide Producer $1,000

2000 Presidential Race

Selected Entertainment Industry Contributions
to Al Gore, 1999-00*

Jane Alexander Actress $1,000

Steve Allen Actor/Comedian $500

Julie Araskog Actress $1,150

Jon Avnet Film Director/Producer $1,000

Billy Baldwin Actor $1,000

Paris Barclay TV Producer $2,000

Warren Beatty Actor $2,000

Ed Begley, Jr Actor $1,000

Peter Berg Actor/Director $1,500

Candice Bergen Actress $1,000

Alan Bergman Writer/Composer $1,000

Gregory Bernstein Screenwriter $250

Stephen Bing Writer/Producer $1,000

Edgar Bronfman Joseph E Seagram & Sons $2,000

Roscoe Lee Brown Actor $250

Nicolas Cage Actor $2,000

Frank Capra III Producer $1,000

Kate Capshaw-Speilberg Actress $1,000

David Caruso Actor $1,000

Chevy Chase Actor $2,000

Tina Chen Actress $1,000

Bruce Cohen Producer $2,000

Michael S. Connolly Actor $750

Kevin Costner Actor $2,000

Sheryl Crow Musician $1,000

Lavinia Currier Director $2,000

Beverly D'Angelo Actress $1,000

Ted Danson Actor $1,000

Ossie Davis Actor $250

Robert De Niro Actor $1,000

Evans Donnell Actor $1,000

Neal Doughty REO Speedwagon $250

Michael Douglas Actor $1,000

Richard Dreyfuss Actor $1,000

Michael Eisner Walt Disney Co $1,000

Tovah Feldshuh Actress $1,000

Giselle Fernandez TV Host $1,000

Harrison Ford Actor $1,000

Glenn Frey Musician $1,000

Lilian Garcia Actress/Singer $1,000

James Garner Actor $1,000

David Geffen DreamWorks SKG $1,000

Jami Gertz Actress $2,000

Robert Getchell Screenwriter $1,000

Peri Gilpin Actress $1,000

Jonathan Glickman Producer $1,000

Berry Gordy Producer $1,000

Matt Groening Producer $1,000

Steve Guttenberg Actor $1,000

Ronald Guttman Actor $2,000

Larry Hagman Actor $250

John Hallum Actor $1,000

Herbie Hancock Musician $1,000

Rita Wilson Hanks Actress $2,000

Tom Hanks Actor $2,000

Mariel Hemingway Actress $500

Don Henley Musician $2,000

Dan Jinks Producer $1,000

Robert L. Johnson Black Entertainment Television ($2,000)

Quincy Jones Musician $2,000

Tommy Lee Jones Actor $2,000

Jeffrey Katzenberg DreamWorks SKG $1,000

Sherry Lansing Paramount Pictures $2,000

Norman Lear Director/Producer $2,000

Lisa Loeb Musician $1,000

Rue McClanahan Actress $1,000

Terrance McNally Playwright $1,000

Dennis Miller Actor/Comedian $1,000

Donna Mills Actress $250

Thelonious Monk Jr Musician $2,000

Rob Morrow Actor $1,000

Jack Nicholson Actor $250

Gwyneth Paltrow Actress $1,000

Jesse Peretz Director $2,000

Chynna Phillips Musician $1,000

Lou Diamond Phillips Actor $1,000

Dean Pitchford Writer/Composer $1,000

Brett Ratner Director $1,000

Sumner Redstone Viacom International $2,000

Michele Singer Reiner Actress $2,000

Rob Reiner Director $2,000

Daniella Rich Actress $1,000

Denise Rich Songwriter $2,000

David W. Rintels Screenwriter $1,000

Hilary Rosen Recording Industry Assn of America $1,000

Gary Ross Writer/Director $1,000

Carol Bayer Sager Songwriter $1,000

R. Max Samson Puppeteer $1,000

Cathy Sandrich Casting Director $250

Jay Sandrich Director $2,000

Jerry Seinfeld Actor/Comedian $1,000

Cynthia Sikes Actress $2,000

Nancy Sinatra Actress/Musician $3,000

Jimmy Smits Actor $750

Suzanne Somers Actress $1,000

Steven Spielberg DreamWorks SKG $1,000

Aaron Spelling TV Producer $3,000

Mary Steenburgen Actress $2,000

Nancy Stephens Actress $1,500

Bunny Stivers Circus of the Stars $250

Oliver Stone Director $1,000

Sharon Stone Actress $1,000

Barbra Streisand Actress/Musician $1,000

Lily Tomlin Actress $250

Jeane Trippelhorn Actress $1,000

Jack Valenti Motion Picture Assn of America $2,000

Bruce Vilanch Writer/"Hollywood Squares" regular $1,000

Ruth Warrick Actress $1,000

Lew Wasserman Universal Studios $2,000

Eric Briant Wells Actor $1,000

Tanya Wexler Director $1,000

Billy Dee Williams Actor $1,000

Norm Woodel Actor $250

Ahmet Zappa Actor/TV Host $1,250

Diva Zappa Actress $1,000

Dweezil Zappa Actor/Musician $1,000

Gail Zappa Producer $2,000

Amy Zimmerman Actress $1,000

Edward Zwick Producer/Director $1,000

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