James Hirsen
Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2006

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THE LEFT COAST REPORT
A Political Look at Hollywood

Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Michael Moore Attacks President Bush – Again
2. Brad Pitt's Alibi for the Single Guy
3. Political Snuff Films on Display at the Toronto Film Festival
4. Ethical Questions Raised About NBC's ‘To Catch a Predator'
5. FCC's Indecency Rules Violate First Amendment?
 

1. Michael Moore Attacks President Bush – Again

Film flame-thrower Michael Moore recently added his patented political attacks to the Toronto International Film Festival, where in addition to screening his new films he launched a tirade against the Bush administration.

Dressed in his workingman costume, Moore previewed his health-care exposé, "Sicko." He also showed part of "The Great '04 Slacker Uprising," a documentary of his multi-city tour during the 2004 presidential election campaign, where he tried to convince young voters to cast ballots for Democrats.

"Here we are three-and-a-half years [into the war] and we are not able to secure the road from the airport to downtown Baghdad. It's absolutely f***ing ridiculous," Moore ranted.

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Moore added, "We don't want to secure that road, because we don't want that war to end yet because we want to bring a sense of fear to Americans."

2. Brad Pitt's Alibi for the Single Guy

Being a dad to his new daughter Shiloh and his two adopted children, Maddox, 5, and Zahara, 1, has Brad Pitt gushing.

When it comes to marrying the mother of his kids, though, it's a whole different story.

Regarding his own potential nuptials with Angelina Jolie, Pitt told Esquire magazine that he won't get hitched until "everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able."

Now single guys who feel as if they're being tugged toward the altar by their main squeezes have an easy out, thanks to the actor-humanitarian.

The Left Coast Report hears that polygamists are celebrating Pitt's pronouncement too.

3. Political Snuff Films on Display at the Toronto Film Festival

This year at the Toronto Film Festival left-wing murder fantasies are all the rage.

"Death of a President," a British docudrama that depicts a realistic assassination of President Bush, and the curbs on civil liberties that follow, is one of the hottest tickets.

But apparently one cinematic death isn't enough for opponents of the war on terror.

Another British documentary, "The Prisoner or How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair," focuses on the arrest of an Iraqi man accused of wanting to kill the British prime minister.

The Dixie Chicks are the subject of yet another documentary titled "Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing."

The Left Coast Report hears it's about a country music threesome who, despite their tumbling ticket sales, still won't shut up.

4. Ethical Questions Raised About NBC's 'To Catch a Predator'

In NBC's "To Catch a Predator," adults pose as sexually interested teens in order to entice potential predators to a home that is outfitted with hidden cameras.

"Dateline" reporter Chris Hansen confronts the potential predators before turning them over to the waiting police, and it's all caught on camera.

Apparently, Xavier Von Erck and his Perverted Justice organization received "in excess of $100,000 per episode for his services" and a cut of future DVD revenue from NBC, according to Radar magazine.

The deal with Perverted Justice was negotiated by NBC's entertainment division rather than its news division.

A staffer at NBC News pointed out the problem with the coordination between NBC, Perverted Justice, and local police in arranging the ambushes.

"Somewhere down the line, some district attorney is going to ask us for outtakes or footage from a story, and we're going to say, 'We don't do that because we don't want to be an agent of the police.' And he's going to say, 'You did with 'Predator.'"

5. FCC's Indecency Rules Violate First Amendment?

The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has temporarily blocked the Federal Communications Commission's indecency crackdown.

The court action stems from a March 2006 FCC ruling, which determined that uttering expletives like the F-word and S-word was indecent even in some isolated instances.

In April, all four networks sued the agency charging that the March ruling was unconstitutional.

"Hollywood argues that they should be able to say the F-word on television whenever they want," FCC spokeswoman Tamara Lipper told the Associated Press.

"The commission continues to believe they are wrong, and there should be some limits on what can be shown on television," Lipper indicated.

The Left Coast Report sees broadcast TV as experiencing increasing pressure to air the F-word from the likes of HBO, where a mandatory F-word is broadcast about every 15 seconds.

Editor's Notes:

• What Could Stop Hillary's White House Plans? Go Here.
• Bill O'Reilly's Brash Take on the Culture Wars — Go Here!
• NewsMax Reveals Hollywood's Most Obnoxious — Go Here.
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• Security Alert: You Must Have This Emergency Radio. Go Here.
• Protect Yourself From the Sun — Get the Hat Worn by Our Troops. Go Here.
• Find America's Top Doctors — Free Offer! Go Here.