Woods on Fire-In a let-it-rip interview, actor James Woods defends Bush and calls Clinton a "liar"

frontpagemag.com/Salon.com ^ | August 1, 2003 | Amy Reiter

[fish hawk]

Thanx, you just made my whole weekend. Now I have a new favorite actor.

[wardaddy]

When I lived in Manhattan in the late 80s, my then preggers ex and I were on the upper upper east side down the hill east from the Carnegie Hill area on upper Madison. We used to walk up to a little coffee shop in the area and for a number of months we would run into Woods in the shop. He was quite friendly and gregarious. He was very sharp at remembering names and always inquired as to how my ex was doing with her pregnancy. Pretty genial for a celebrity.

He is obviously quite high on the IQ scale (somewhere north of 140 would be my guess) and of course edgy. No doubt his ability to translate internal dialogue/thoughts into spoken word is on high RPM and he comes across on the screen as high wattage. In person in a relaxed environment, he seemed much calmer.

He is also much more conservative than he admits.

[ex-Texan]

*BUMP* !

Do a favor for James Woods and his friends who made this new film "Northfork." Go see this movie.

It starts today in Portland, Oregon at the Cinema 21 theater. I knew about this film based on reports I saw a couple of weeks ago. I will see the film this afternoon.

[LiteKeeper]

SPOTREP

[The Shrew]

If Mr. Woods were to ever read this thread he needs to know he has a standing invitation for an interview on Radio Free Republic.

We'll talk about film, his roles, Northfork and his craft!

I would love to be his friend for life!

He can contact me via freepmail!

Regards,

TS

[MinuteGal]

Nope, Woods isn't a "cynical SOB". What he did was take control of the interview with this liberal femmette right off the bat. She gamely tried to hang in there, but he remained in control, knocking down her talking points at every turn.

Taking immediate control in political debates like he did is an art that few on our side can muster or master. James did it flawlessly but still remained courteous.

Conservative and Republican spokespeeples and pundits on TV and in other media (most of them too unaggressive and "nice") should study his technique. They would benefit from it, and so would we.

Leni

[bushfamfan]

He's the best at getting the message out there. So many times those Hollyweird libs go unchallenged by their friends in the media and the industry, but Woods is awesome. He's obviously fed up with this one-sided view presented by Hollyweird and the fact that they are incapable of backing up their views and hatred of this President. I'm a big fan of James Woods.

[dixiechick2000]

Thank for the ping! It is a great read!

[b9]

Woods' energy has an effect on me ... I just feel
SMARTER every time I hear of him or from him in
interviews. I'm probably one of those 'knee-jerk' conservatives he talks about ... the polarized kind who can't be persuaded otherwise. But he inspires me to get better informed and understand WHY I'm right!

[aquawrench]

How many of us at FR loved this line?

"I just like to see real people, who don't quack along to the party beat. You'd be surprised how smart Americans are when they're not quacking the party line like little ducks. It's really amazing ..."

[Tamzee]

I've always greatly admired Mr. Woods' acting talents and am absolutely delighted to also find that I really, really LIKE him. He's brilliant, grounded and a truly nice man... wow :-)

[krunkygirl]

bump

[cc2k]

---

James Woods

No matter what position you may take about the Bush presidency, if George Bush parted the Red Sea, found every single terrorist, found every weapon of mass destruction, fed the poor, opened the shores of America, gave every starving kid a college education, do you think Salon.com would write about it? No, you wouldn't.

Let me ask you a question, OK?

Amy Reiter (salon.com)

Sure.

James Woods

In Afghanistan in 1992 through the year 2000, under the Clinton administration, how many women went to school in Afghanistan? You know the answer.

Amy Reiter (salon.com)

None.

James Woods

Zero. How many women are in the equivalent of high school, junior high school and in college in Afghanistan today under George Bush?

Amy Reiter (salon.com)

Um ... a lot.

James Woods

How many?

Amy Reiter (salon.com)

I don't know.

James Woods

You don't? You're a journalist. And you're interested in politics. And you're a woman.

Amy Reiter (salon.com)

I write about entertainment.

James Woods

I'm asking you because I like you and I think I'm going to like you for a while and I'm going to talk to you a lot in the future because I like you, but you seem like an intelligent woman and probably a feminist and good for you. Many aspects of feminism have equaled a lot of wrongs and many of them have been just a disaster, but they've done a fundamentally good thing.

So I would think that you as a political writer for a very important Web site that is read by many, if you really want to be -- and I'm going to make a joke here -- fair and balanced, then you might want to actually report that under George Bush's tutelage of our country and to a certain extent of our entire world there are women in Afghanistan who are now enjoying the fruits of education and there were zero under Bill Clinton. You might want to write an article about that. "This fucking moron" is actually educating women in Afghanistan with your tax dollars. Don't you feel good about that?

---

That part is great!

[formerDem]

bttt

[FlyVet]

IIRC, Woods studied political science at MIT.

I heard him say that on Leno. Majored in p.s. with a minor in military studies. Notice how the two more-educated types such as Woods and Dennis Miller seem to grow in their contempt for liberalism, while the Hollywood high school and college dropouts cling to liberalism like no tomorrow. Maybe it's because they're dimwits?

[lowbridge]

bump

[arasina]

I find the intelligence and wit of James Woods soooooooo seductive. I will take him up on his suggestion and go see Northfork, of course. (Salon gave it a bad review --- said it's as slow as syrup or some such nonsense --- makes me want to see it even more.)

I thought FReepers were predicting months ago that Salon.com was going under any day now.

[potlatch]

Great article, I loved it!

[potlatch]

I'm here! The Texan, who comes to Mississippi pings, LOL!

[lainde]

I'm in love! ping!