Hollywood Spews More Anti-war, Anti-U.S. Movies

THE LEFT COAST REPORT
A Political Look at Hollywood

Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Mormon Massacre Flick Meant to Hit Mitt?
2. Laura Linney's Bad Adventures in Babysitting
3. Scarlett Johansson Weighs in on Weight
4. Patrick Leahy to Appear in 'Batman' Movie
5. Hollywood Spews More Anti-war, Anti-U.S. Movies

1. Mormon Massacre Flick Meant to Hit Mitt?

The date was Sept. 11.

The year was 1857.

One hundred and twenty men, women, and children tragically lost their lives.

In trying to make their way from Arkansas to California in their covered wagons, the ill-fated folks had to pass through Utah. It was there that they were slaughtered. The blood bath would come to be called the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

"September Dawn" is a film about this massacre.

Now for the political twist — the people who carried out the killings happened to be of the Mormon faith.

One of the current GOP presidential hopefuls also happens to be of the Mormon faith.

Coincidence? Mitt Romney's staffers don't think so.

They're steamed over the content and timing of the Mormon-slamming movie.

Creators of the film claim that it is intended to depict the first instance of religious terrorism in America. It is set to open soon in around 1,000 theaters across the nation and has some name stars to its credit like Jon Voight, Terence Stamp, Lolita Davidovich and Dean Cain.

Promo spots for the flick include a nod to the presidential campaign with the suggestion that we're at a point in history "when issues of Mormonism are in heightened areas of the news.'"

Can anyone say, "Wag the primary?"

2. Laura Linney's Bad Adventures in Babysitting

In the upcoming film, "The Nanny Diaries," Laura Linney hires a nanny in the form of actress Scarlett Johansson to take care of her cinematic offspring.

Apparently, the movie-making experience brought back some unpleasant memories for Linney.

She tells Contact Music that in the past she "was not a very good babysitter." She thinks it was because she "was traumatized early on" and "was just too scared to do it again."

Evidently it all started when a couple in the building where Linney lived asked her to watch over their little one.

Linney describes her four-year-old charge as "a little like a MACK truck, big kid, really big."

The actress recounts, "The parents went off to have dinner and this kid just beat me to a pulp."

Guess the little tyke put on his fiercest WWE moves.

"I mean, I was slapped, I was kicked, I was spit on and then he just started to scream like crazy," Linney says.

In the end, Linney's mom had to come to her rescue before the cantankerous toddler took her out.

3. Scarlett Johansson Weighs in on Weight

Laura Linney's co-star in "The Nanny Diaries," Scarlett Johansson, has made many a superlative list.

She's beautiful, talented, photogenic, and on and on and on.

But the attractive actress says she has days when she actually feels — fat.

When it comes to weight, Tinseltown apparently puts pressure on stars of every size.

"You constantly feel like you're not skinny enough," Scarlett told the U.K. Sunday Express S magazine, adding that "it's hard not to feel pressure in this industry."

While her curves have set her apart, Scarlett admitted, "I have fat days."

Still, she recognizes her body type. "I'm never going to be rail thin," the actress said.

To which the Glamazons roundly applauded.

4. Patrick Leahy to Appear in 'Batman' Movie

Holy Washington D.C., Batman! Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy has snagged a role in the next "Batman" movie.

Leahy recently filmed a scene for the upcoming Batman sequel, "The Dark Knight," which is scheduled for release in Summer 2008.

Leahy's "distinguished gentleman" character appears onscreen with Batman (played by Christian Bale), The Joker (played by Heath Ledger) and Alfred Pennyworth (played by Michael Caine).

The Capitol Hill Dem has done voice-overs on "Batman" cartoons, written the preface for a "Batman" book and had small roles in the last two "Batman" features.

"It's a pretty tense scene," the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee told The Associated Press about his part.

And then the senator answered a question that no one had asked and few could ever dare to imagine.

"I don't wear tights," Leahy confessed.

5. Hollywood Spews More Anti-war, Anti-U.S. Movies

We're in the thick of the presidential primary campaign. And we're a nation at war.

How does Hollywood respond to such consequential issues? With movies that feature sweet terrorist suspects and dirty rotten Republicans.

Mainstream Hollywood is serving up oodles of films with partisan themes.

For example, Tom Cruise's studio, United Artists, is bringing "Lions For Lambs" to the big-screen. It's due out in late fall.

The movie stars Robert Redford, who also directs. Tom Cruise plays an evil senator and Meryl Streep plays an intrepid journalist.

In previews, Cruise's character screams at Streep's, "Do you want to win the war on terror? Yes or no?" He adds, "This is the quintessential yes or no question of our time."

In another film called "Rendition," an Egyptian-born terrorist suspect is married to an American woman played by Reese Witherspoon. The suspect is taken to a secret detention facility outside the U.S., where a CIA analyst played by "Jarhead" Jake Gyllenhaal tortures the guy.

"Rendition" hails from New Line Cinema and once again features Meryl Streep along with Alan Arkin. The nation's domestic anti-terrorist program, the one that's kept us safe in real life, suffers a nasty attack in reel life.

"In The Valley Of Elah," which is due out September '07, is directed by Paul Haggis (who incidentally won an Oscar for "Crash") and stars Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon.

The film is about post-combat stress and is based on an actual incident in which a soldier is murdered while on a drinking spree with his comrades after a stint in Iraq.

December '07 will bring "Redacted" to the movie stage, a film directed by Brian De Palma. In it, U.S. soldiers go about the business of persecuting an Iraqi family.

The anti-war, anti-U.S. flick list goes on and on. It's unprecedented.

During World War II, Hollywood elevated our morale and that of our allies with films like Frank Capra's "Why We Fight."

And during the Vietnam War, similar movies like the "The Green Berets" boosted out spirits.

We haven't seen this kind of Hollywood propaganda since Rosie O'Donnell tried to convince folks her little girl likes dressing up in ammo-adorned clothes.

The Left Coast Report is put together by James L. Hirsen and the staff of NewsMax