Free Republic

We are just over a month into the new Disney/Fox status quo. The Mouse House has become the industry’s first mega-studio by absorbing one of its biggest competitors in a deal that has had massive repercussions, already, with thousands losing jobs and films suddenly finding themselves without a studio. But there is a lot more at play in the merger than what many were probably considering, such as Disney’s morals. Everyone knows that Disney doesn’t make films the same way that everyone else does. The films under the Disney banner have a certain limit on how far they can go....

“One Thousand Killed in 5 days of Fierce Street Fighting!” read a New York Times headline on Jan 4, 1959. The fake news headline dealt with the (utterly bogus) “battle” of Santa Clara in central Cuba where Ernesto “Che” Guevara earned much of his enduring (and totally bogus) martial fame. “Commander Che Guevara appealed to Batista troops for a truce to clear the streets of casualties,” continues the breathless The New York Times article. “Guevara turned the tide in this bloody battle and whipped a Batista force of 3,000 men!”A year later, Che’s own diaries revealed that his forces (which actually numbered...

Some media observers say overseas reporters cover U.S. politics better than stateside scribes. It’s a case-by-case situation, of course. It’s not far from the truth, though. We saw a great example of it recently courtesy of the BBC. The Post, out in select theaters now and going wide January 12, stars Meryl Streep as Katherine Graham, The Washington Post publisher circa 1971. Graham approved the publication of The Pentagon Papers under great duress, a watershed moment in journalism. Tom Hanks co-stars as editor Ben Bradlee, and Oscar winner Steven Spielberg is behind the camera. Talk about heavy hitters. The story...

In a July 18 article, columnist John Leo describes how David Koepp, screenplay writer for Stephen Spielberg’s recently released “War of the Worlds,” revealed his intent to draw a parallel between the U.S. military in Iraq, and the movie’s villains, an army of hideous space aliens. Based on a late nineteenth-century science fiction novel by British author H.G. Wells, the original story involved an attack from inhabitants of the planet Mars, whose aim it was to conquer and inhabit the Earth. Transposing the storyline from 1898 London to modern day New York, while still retaining a faithful portrayal of the...

Saddam has fallen. But Fidel Castro has never been more popular -- at least among Hollywood elites. So says cyber-journalist Andrew Breitbart -- co-author of the forthcoming book Hollywood Interrupted. As Castro's latest crackdown on dissidents reaches fever pitch, HBO has announced the May broadcast of "Comandante" -- a documentary about Castro co-directed by Oliver Stone and the Cuban dictator himself. Given the country's patriotic mood, it hardly seems likely that HBO expects "Comandante" to make money. This one is definitely for love. At least, Hollywood insiders will enjoy it. Breitbart notes in an OpinionJournal.com op-ed, that "media moguls, celebrity...