An amazing and 100% true accounting. Thanks Sasha. My daughter is an animator with Hollyweird (2018-2025). She came back home from LA this year. Everything in this article is exactly what she has been complaining about. AI is so much worse for animation artists. Hollywood is a dump as an industry. No art. No imagination. Just sequels, prequels, and rehashings. Lazy, liberal, woke junk
I’m sorry to read this. My teenage son’s dream is to become an animator, but we (including him) are worried about what AI is doing to the industry. I’m honestly torn between encouraging him to devote himself to his dream or to pursue another path. He’s maintained that Hollywood “sucks” for a while now, and there is no imagination left there.
Unsolicited advice is the worst kind, but here goes. "Have him prepare for both and be ready to improvise." I went to college and enjoyed every moment of following my dream, but ended up working in a totally different field for forty years, which became a second dream. Still kept the original one as a side-kick and am back with it full time, since retirement. FWIW.
Having the dream as a sideline is awesome. I know artists, singers, musicians, actors that are quite happy with gigging and still having a main job for bills and such! I was a theatre major and music minor back in the day.
My daughter is a SCAD graduate 2018 with honors in animation.
SCAD STILL pushes animation and all the associated arts that go along with it. Post visualization, pre-visualization, modeling, rigging, lighting, effects. My daughter has $120k tab she needs to pay off at $638 a month. The only amount we could help her with was about $40k. That in itself and the fact that SCAD is still pushing animation even though it's a dying art form in the US. Studios hire per contract once done- yer gone. She worked on Suicide Squad 2, MoonFall, Argylle and gaming Fortnite.
My daughter is now the manager of a bagel shop for income, lives at home with us, and plans to move to Raleigh and live. She is a founder of a small animation studio with several friends. So far their accomplishments are one music video, many cricket cell phone ads, the rollout of Kerbal2 video game and most recently their work is for Target stores and those ads are running in Times Square currently. AI and offshoring projects are the death of movie animation in Hollywood for now. There is no way that animators in India ir Spain can capture the decidedly American flavor of Mermaid, Shrek, Toy Story, or any other film. If your kid is all in on it, go to a lesser school. There are several. Cheaper and smarter.
Good on her for working, even if outside of her field. She is damn lucky to have parents who generously helped her out. Once she gets to Raleigh, if she can find a roommate or two, that may free up some extra cash to help with the debt. Roommates are kind of a pain, but I had one for many years after I moved out. Best of luck to her. She sounds like one of the good ones. :-)
So sorry to read this...I hope your daughter has a Biblical worldview by now. Providence Church has hearts wide open to welcome her. https://www.pray.org/
That is an interesting and prescient reply! She has always had a strong, moral soul and mind. Catholic, CCD, the Sacraments. She wandered away, slightly, while in the clutches of a busy LA life. However she is quite happy here at home in VA with planning for Raleigh, NC. She is settled in the change. She attends St Bridgette of Ireland Catholic Church. Has a Wednesday Bible class. Here is a street shot of her Yeti Target ad showing in Times Square right now:
Thank you for the insight! Cost is definitely a concern and agree it’s more practical to attend a lesser school. It’s all about how driven you are and building your skillset. It sounds like your daughter has a great head on her shoulders and impressive that her company has already secured so many projects!
So lazy the woksters take the favorite old stories of "normal-world" and destroy them with some woke version they pass off as "modern". BS. They just want to tear down civilization for their own deviant reasons
AI can be used to make good content by those who understand how to use it. Making movies ever cheaper to produce. All we need is some imagination in the talent that puts it all together.
On a recent weekend there were 4 Hollywood movies playing on Thai screens out of 9 films overall. ALL 4 Hollywood offerings were superhero franchise installments. Omigod it looked horrible. Bloated loud crap.
I am 75 years old. My life's story can be told by which movies I immersed myself in at any given age. OLD YELLER was just as impactful as TOP GUN MAVERICK. I remember I risked an accident to see LOVE STORY--the roads were icy and treacherous. And when I got there, it was sold out, but they let me sit in the aisle on the floor, So many memories, so many points of reference ...all surrounding THE MOVIES.
When I was in high school, we dressed up to go to THE MOVIES. We didn't "catch a movie" and movies weren't "flicks." Neither were they pretentious "films." They were MOVIES and how I loved to sink into a theater seat and tune out the world. And then after the credits, walking into the parking lot, almost stunned as it were, taking a minute to regroup and rejoin reality. There is nothing like that today. Nothing elicits the same feelings.
I loved it. Sad to say , though, with the exception of MAVERICK, "Hollywood" died a long time ago for me.
In high school, I had a 1957 Chevrolet BelAir with a trunk so big, I could fit 4 of my buddies in it. I always felt so sheepish when I'd pull up to the ticket booth and ask for one ticket. 😇
Heck ya. When we were kids, my Dad had a Dodge van and we would stop at an A&W on the way to the drive-in theater and pick up a bag of cheeseburgers and a couple of 1 quart cartons of Root Beer. Usually Disney movie double features.
I am almost 70. My brother and myself used to either go to the drive-in movie or watch it behind the fences to see Vincent Price horror movies more than 50 years ago. These horror movies were gentle with no blood involved. They were theatre of the mind. The scary parts were all designed for mental imagery. Alfred Hitchcock also made movies like this with “The Birds”
That makes me think of going to see Alien with my family, I was13. We were in a crush of people waiting for the next screening, and all we could hear were screams coming from the auditorium! Oh man, that was memorable. Also, going with my dad alone to see every Star Trek film, good times.
I was in my late teens, early 20's and Alien scared the heck out of me......way too much for a 13 year old, I would think. Towards the end of the movie, when the one team member is in the large storage room and some drops of water come down on his face, building with the tension FOR AGES, I could clearly see the director purposely manipulating me by dragging out that scene and I said under my breath "This is ridiculous" and I shut down and for the most part, didn't engage in the movie after that. I went with my Mom's best friend/biz partner and he asked why I said that in the theater and I said "I won't be played with" - I wanted to guard my soul.
True. They have ruined movies and books. Have you seen the trashy books marketed to young people? The writing is usually very bad too. And they are working hard to ruin sports.
Obama and Michael/Michelle have turned Netflix into DEI, Counter Culture, and Non-Family Indoctrination. I will not ever pay a dime to enrich The Obama’s. They also divided our country with their “Drag Queen Story Telling Hour” that Michael placed into Public Libraries & later, into Public Schools across America, to indoctrinate, groom, brainwash our innocent children and destroy Family values [Demoralizing our Society]. Hussain “Barry” Obama always used played his Race-Card Baiting whenever a Black thug, criminal refused to be arrested and was killed during a physical altercation when a police officer had to defend himself or herself; Obama has destroyed Christianity in America by importing hundreds of thousands of Muslims & 70-85,000 radicalized Islamic people from Somalia, Afghanistan & other countries, and strategically placing them in states such as Minnesota to get them elected as city council members, education officials, mayors and Senators. They have all been laughing at us while they steal our taxpayer dollars and take over our public parks and neighborhoods for their Islamic prayers to Allah. We are their Infidels, The Non-Believers who must be eliminated by using their weapons, against Americans.
Thank you, Sasha for your post about Netflix & the destruction of Hollywood.
A LOT more than 70-85,000 Muslims have been imported in the past 30 years (more than that in Minnesota alone). For America, more like 500,000-1 million. It might even be more. I have no problem with Muslims who want to integrate / assimilate into American society and embrace our culture. I have HUGE problems with Islamists who are in America on a mission to take over America, eliminate Jews and Christians (including all the Catholic Latinos) and impose Sharia law. That is the agenda of a good portion of that million+, including Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. I believe that is also the hidden agenda of Zohran Mumdani
Islam and Sharia law are completely incompatible with Western Civilization. And unless it went through a massive, earthshaking reformation--it always will be....
"I have no problem with Muslims who want to integrate / assimilate into American society and embrace our culture."
There are some Muslims who aren't heavily into their "religion" (actually a political project with religious trappings), but why take the chance that we can successfully pick those ones out? (Consider all those "vetted" Afghans!) It's not as if we need more immigrants.
What really gets me is the Feminists are political allies of the Muslims. It just goes to show you how political alliances are all solely based on having common enemies (the Christians).
Started watching "The Abandons" on Netflix last night. It's bad. The acting is fine, but the script is weird, like the writer wanted a script to read like "Deadwood" in a manner of language that was not used at the time, but also the distinctly DEI hero family... adopted white, black, Indian, Mexican, and not sure about Asian or if she/he is NA family members with a strong Irish woman (who escaped from a violent husband by killing him) leading them. Those two features make the series bordering on absurd.
Even disregarding the issue of content, movie theaters lost me when they moved to sound levels higher than a rock concert and more bass than a low rider with a new subwoofer. It’s hard to enjoy a movie when your ears are bleeding. Wtf was all that about?
And I can't stand the 45 minutes of loud commercials prior to the start of the movie. I don't recall what was my last theater visit, one of the Star Wars? Jedi? Rogue?
Actually, I would go to a movie theater with excellent sound to watch a concert. I can't think of a better way to see a good show. I have been to many live concerts. They are great, but also a chore to get up front.....
One of our local theaters is a church and the allow use of one of the halls for concerts and community activities. Very cool. We went and saw the birthday concert/tribute to Willie Nelson. AWESOME show. Best seat in the concert.
Last night hubs and I watch Casablanca. I had never seen it before, and he'd not seen it all the way through. I cannot believe it actually lived up to the hype! You just can't make movies like that anymore because at large we have all become more simplistic and BORING. You can't have nuance when your worldview is shallow. Hard to set up certain tensions when everything is essentially "allowed" and morally relativistic.
I am actually quite sad about the demise of Hollywood and the theater. When I was in HS, I went to the movies almost every weekend and LOVED it. Classmates and I got together to watch the Oscars every year, and it was close to Superbowl level fun. I was an avid reader of People magazine for celebrity culture and a religious watcher of Late Night TV and SNL well into my married life. Now, none of it is appealing and I actively despise what I used to genuinely love, which is why I find such enjoyment in Maureen Callahan on "The Nerve." It's been extremely cathartic to listen to the call out all the fake and stupid that former celebrities have shown themselves to be and know there are so many others on the same wave length!
Glad you and your honey got to see what many consider the best American film ever made (with apologies to all of the Citizen Kane fans in the chat). Nothing quite like Rick's Cafe American or Dooley Wilson singing 'As Time Goes By.'
I don't think it's a spoiler to warn that there's a pickpocketing event near the start of "The Man Who Would Be King" that's important and that you might miss if you're not watching closely. Its meaning becomes clear later.
("LA Confidential," too, is NOT a popcorn movie. It demands close attention.)
Here's a wonderful short about the making of "The Man Who Would Be King": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y_OnoAgajs Although you might prefer to view that AFTER seeing the movie ...
And here's my Amazon review of the movie:
5.0 out of 5 stars An adventure for the ages, in the old style
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
I'd probably seen The Man Who Would Be King in theaters or via VCR-rental at least a dozen times before I finally bought the CD. I saw it originally when it first came out and thought it was wonderful, hence my many subsequent viewings.
In about 1993, a friend was showing me an article in a quarterly lifestyle-supplement to Forbes magazine, the gist of this article being 'If you go to the video-rental store with some particular movie in mind, but it's unavailable, choose something from our list of ~40 little-known movies -- you won't be disappointed.' So I said to him, I wonder if their list includes what I consider the greatest movie ever made, The Man Who Would Be King. And, yes, it was on the list -- as "the greatest movie ever made"!
It's a terrific swashbuckling adventure, and the key genius was director John Huston. Some years after first seeing the movie, I read, with great anticipation, Rudyard Kipling's short story of the same title, the inspiration for the movie. And I was thoroughly disappointed by it; it seemed like just a sketch of a story, so it was Huston who apparently reconceived it as the romantic masterpiece of a movie that it is.
Saturday morning was a must trip for us pre-teens. A good cowboy movie, the Bowery Boys and capped with one of Warner Bros great cartoons. Technology has moved ahead and is leaving once popular businesses behind. Think Blockbuster.
Angel studios and others are producing movies with public support and funding that people actually want to see. You can take your children to them. Primarily Christian themed but if you don't rile at an occasional mention of faith good plots and an ever growing list of Hollywood blacklist actors.We have actually gone to the theater to see some of them, mostly to support the industry. Often you can buy your tickets on line at a discount.
I stopped going to the theater over a decade ago when I took my son and his friend and it cost nearly$75 to see a so so remake of Schwartzenegger movie with popcorn and Coke. Oh don't forget parking .
They did it to themselves and personally I don't give a rats ass if AI replaced every last one of them.
Last movie I saw in a theater was either the second Hobbit movie or a Mission Impossible many years ago. No wait, I did see some of the second avatar one but left after 45 minutes because it was stupid and the 3 D made me nauseated. Never saw the first
Since 2000 I think I’ve seen 4 1/2 movies at the theater and two of those were The gladiator
I feel bad for the worker bees, the ones who actually do the work. But the actors and directors? Fuck em. Hope they go bankrupt and have to get real jobs and don’t have the time or money to lecture us or trans their three year olds.
Avatar 1 was an early example of woke indoctrination. I enjoyed the special effects, but the story was sappy and preachy about how evil humans are. I did not even bother to see Avatar 2
I get angry every time I see that still of a pregnant woman firing a gun right next to her baby. No real mother would do this! When I was pregnant my baby would startle when the car radio came on - I cannot even imagine the distress firing a gun next to a baby would cause it. I can't get past this scene - none of the intelligent criticisms of the movie can make it past this absolute horror. Sorry, Sasha - winds me up every time I see it.
I think we all understand that Hollywood has been a large part of your life, Sasha, and for your loss...I'm sorry.
On the other hand, I read your column and immediately thought, "Who cares!" Hollywood committed seppuku, right in front of millions upon millions of people who desperately wanted them to live, to entertain, to become great again. But they chose instead to disparage, denigrate, belittle those who loved them...they told us we were the unwashed, the ignorant, the tasteless...they told us we couldn't tell the difference between good stuff and crap. They told us what was good for us, how to think, who to vote for...and they told us what they would not tolerate us doing. George Clooney, Rob Reiner, the ultra-foul mouthed De Niro and many, many of the lesser luminaries made watching movies impossible without hearing them preach to us...scold us...laugh at us.
It was too much...many of us have moved on and will never go back. If they want to know who killed Hollywood, all they need to do is look in their mirrors to see the murderers.
How'd that green energy thing work out, Leonardo DiCaprio? These people have ruined whatever mystique they had going when they opened their mouths to spew ignorance…Robert DiNero. And “Meathead” is still a meathead.
Struck by how much pleasure Sasha's writing brings while being totally bummed out by her conclusions. Paraphrasing Solzhenitsyn, "the truth is always illusive and once found, its also painful."
Rich, I was reading Elizabeth Nickson's lengthy depressing article on stolen elections and decided to take a brake and read Sasha's; maybe for a more upbeat escape. From the frying pan into the fire syndrome.
A movie I would watch: Gates, Soros, Bezos, Zuckerburg's billions embezzled leaving them penniless. I'd even buy popcorn.
"Here's looking at you, [Hollywood]" and what you are putting out -- with precious few exceptions -- is now worth less than a pitcher of warm spit (with credit to John Nance Garner).
For thirty years I’ve shaken my head while privileged, wealthy, elite actors play roles in movies with plots showing how miserable rich people really are. It’s the simple poor who wind up finding happiness in their screenplays. Then they lecture the hoi polloi on societal excess.
When I first heard the news, I thought Blockbuster. Theaters going the way of Block Buster? TVs got bigger too. Just a matter of time when I dont have to get out of lounge chair and and pay money to go sit in a rudely occupied
noisy theatre to watch Hollywood over priced, woke propaganda.
I predict that the self satisfied, arrogant, woke actors proclaiming wisdom over their stupid fans will go next. Good riddance. It wont be long before we start seeing non-political/non-lecturing avatars. Already, AI is invading youtube and FB. Good riddance.
I think that COVID pretty well killed the movie theater. People became accustomed to not going to the movie theater and relying on HD streaming at home. Many people will still avoid close quarters like that. It's a lot cheaper and easier, especially for young families, to gather round the digital screen in the living room or basement than bundle everyone up, stand in a ticket line, keep the kids corralled, stand in a line for popcorn and a pop, keep the kids coralled, and shuffle everyone into a cramped movie theater. Plus, with streaming, you can pause, backtrack, turn on sub-titles for the British shows, and so on.
Last time we went to the theater, it was $12.50 apiece and the price of popcorn and a soda was ridiculous. That was pre-COVID. What is it now?
An amazing and 100% true accounting. Thanks Sasha. My daughter is an animator with Hollyweird (2018-2025). She came back home from LA this year. Everything in this article is exactly what she has been complaining about. AI is so much worse for animation artists. Hollywood is a dump as an industry. No art. No imagination. Just sequels, prequels, and rehashings. Lazy, liberal, woke junk
I’m sorry to read this. My teenage son’s dream is to become an animator, but we (including him) are worried about what AI is doing to the industry. I’m honestly torn between encouraging him to devote himself to his dream or to pursue another path. He’s maintained that Hollywood “sucks” for a while now, and there is no imagination left there.
Unsolicited advice is the worst kind, but here goes. "Have him prepare for both and be ready to improvise." I went to college and enjoyed every moment of following my dream, but ended up working in a totally different field for forty years, which became a second dream. Still kept the original one as a side-kick and am back with it full time, since retirement. FWIW.
Having the dream as a sideline is awesome. I know artists, singers, musicians, actors that are quite happy with gigging and still having a main job for bills and such! I was a theatre major and music minor back in the day.
Good deal and good for you. I was a history major, so I catch your drift. Cheers!
My daughter is a SCAD graduate 2018 with honors in animation.
SCAD STILL pushes animation and all the associated arts that go along with it. Post visualization, pre-visualization, modeling, rigging, lighting, effects. My daughter has $120k tab she needs to pay off at $638 a month. The only amount we could help her with was about $40k. That in itself and the fact that SCAD is still pushing animation even though it's a dying art form in the US. Studios hire per contract once done- yer gone. She worked on Suicide Squad 2, MoonFall, Argylle and gaming Fortnite.
My daughter is now the manager of a bagel shop for income, lives at home with us, and plans to move to Raleigh and live. She is a founder of a small animation studio with several friends. So far their accomplishments are one music video, many cricket cell phone ads, the rollout of Kerbal2 video game and most recently their work is for Target stores and those ads are running in Times Square currently. AI and offshoring projects are the death of movie animation in Hollywood for now. There is no way that animators in India ir Spain can capture the decidedly American flavor of Mermaid, Shrek, Toy Story, or any other film. If your kid is all in on it, go to a lesser school. There are several. Cheaper and smarter.
Good on her for working, even if outside of her field. She is damn lucky to have parents who generously helped her out. Once she gets to Raleigh, if she can find a roommate or two, that may free up some extra cash to help with the debt. Roommates are kind of a pain, but I had one for many years after I moved out. Best of luck to her. She sounds like one of the good ones. :-)
So sorry to read this...I hope your daughter has a Biblical worldview by now. Providence Church has hearts wide open to welcome her. https://www.pray.org/
That is an interesting and prescient reply! She has always had a strong, moral soul and mind. Catholic, CCD, the Sacraments. She wandered away, slightly, while in the clutches of a busy LA life. However she is quite happy here at home in VA with planning for Raleigh, NC. She is settled in the change. She attends St Bridgette of Ireland Catholic Church. Has a Wednesday Bible class. Here is a street shot of her Yeti Target ad showing in Times Square right now:
Thank you for the insight! Cost is definitely a concern and agree it’s more practical to attend a lesser school. It’s all about how driven you are and building your skillset. It sounds like your daughter has a great head on her shoulders and impressive that her company has already secured so many projects!
My niece just sent videos from Times Square with Cait’s Yeti for Target
He should pursue his dream, but have a back-up plan.
Agreed. Going to an elite school can be soul crushing when reality hits and that fat bill comes due. Plenty of “lesser” schools.
Expand his dream to creating the content and the script, and the story. OR find a team to do that together. The wild west is coming to movie making.
Yes!
The John Ford version or the Sam Peckinpah variety? :-)
Just don’t take on a lot of student debt.
Yes! Critically important not to start out your adult life with crushing debt. There are so many ways to avoid having to resort to that route.
!!!!!!!💯
I just subscribed to Angel Studios. Wanted to support their efforts.
As i understand it, theyy are doing just fine, putting out good stories all the time (Recommend The Shift, The Testament)
Love Angel Studios!!!
So lazy the woksters take the favorite old stories of "normal-world" and destroy them with some woke version they pass off as "modern". BS. They just want to tear down civilization for their own deviant reasons
I think they’re to woked to even realize it!
AI can be used to make good content by those who understand how to use it. Making movies ever cheaper to produce. All we need is some imagination in the talent that puts it all together.
On a recent weekend there were 4 Hollywood movies playing on Thai screens out of 9 films overall. ALL 4 Hollywood offerings were superhero franchise installments. Omigod it looked horrible. Bloated loud crap.
Don't forget the remakes. How many remakes have they done? Hundreds?
You mean Hollyweird’s “reimaginings?” Gotta get the lingo update! Reimaginings suck by and large.
Some great remakes:
The Front Page 1931, 1974 & His Girl Friday 1940
The Departed
Magnificent Seven
The Fly
Oceans Eleven
Some Like it Hot
A Star is Born
The Birdcage
Three Men and a Baby
True Lies
Etc
I am 75 years old. My life's story can be told by which movies I immersed myself in at any given age. OLD YELLER was just as impactful as TOP GUN MAVERICK. I remember I risked an accident to see LOVE STORY--the roads were icy and treacherous. And when I got there, it was sold out, but they let me sit in the aisle on the floor, So many memories, so many points of reference ...all surrounding THE MOVIES.
When I was in high school, we dressed up to go to THE MOVIES. We didn't "catch a movie" and movies weren't "flicks." Neither were they pretentious "films." They were MOVIES and how I loved to sink into a theater seat and tune out the world. And then after the credits, walking into the parking lot, almost stunned as it were, taking a minute to regroup and rejoin reality. There is nothing like that today. Nothing elicits the same feelings.
I loved it. Sad to say , though, with the exception of MAVERICK, "Hollywood" died a long time ago for me.
Great description! Had those same exact feelings.
Another angle, faded to empty lots and fond memories: the drive-in theater. Hated to see that go.
My first childhood home was across from a drive-in in Missoula, MT.
In high school, I had a 1957 Chevrolet BelAir with a trunk so big, I could fit 4 of my buddies in it. I always felt so sheepish when I'd pull up to the ticket booth and ask for one ticket. 😇
Remember "Buck a Car Night?"
Heck ya. When we were kids, my Dad had a Dodge van and we would stop at an A&W on the way to the drive-in theater and pick up a bag of cheeseburgers and a couple of 1 quart cartons of Root Beer. Usually Disney movie double features.
I am almost 70. My brother and myself used to either go to the drive-in movie or watch it behind the fences to see Vincent Price horror movies more than 50 years ago. These horror movies were gentle with no blood involved. They were theatre of the mind. The scary parts were all designed for mental imagery. Alfred Hitchcock also made movies like this with “The Birds”
We loved the drive in during my teenage years but the movie...ahem..was only the secondary attraction.
😇
That makes me think of going to see Alien with my family, I was13. We were in a crush of people waiting for the next screening, and all we could hear were screams coming from the auditorium! Oh man, that was memorable. Also, going with my dad alone to see every Star Trek film, good times.
I was in my late teens, early 20's and Alien scared the heck out of me......way too much for a 13 year old, I would think. Towards the end of the movie, when the one team member is in the large storage room and some drops of water come down on his face, building with the tension FOR AGES, I could clearly see the director purposely manipulating me by dragging out that scene and I said under my breath "This is ridiculous" and I shut down and for the most part, didn't engage in the movie after that. I went with my Mom's best friend/biz partner and he asked why I said that in the theater and I said "I won't be played with" - I wanted to guard my soul.
Old Yeller is a great book (had to read it for school, a lifetime ago) and it's a great movie too.
I still have that book from my childhood. One of my favorites and encourage my grandkids to read it.
The Woke destroyed another American industry.
But wait a few days — Jane Fonda and Gavin Newsom will find a way to blame Trump.
LOL. So true.
True. They have ruined movies and books. Have you seen the trashy books marketed to young people? The writing is usually very bad too. And they are working hard to ruin sports.
Killed the Movie Theaters?
GOOD!
Hollywood didn't care about any "boycotts" of their bs content anyway.
Good RIDDANCE❕️
Hanoi Jane already did—https://theankler.com/p/jane-fonda-op-ed-the-wbd-deal-puts
Obama and Michael/Michelle have turned Netflix into DEI, Counter Culture, and Non-Family Indoctrination. I will not ever pay a dime to enrich The Obama’s. They also divided our country with their “Drag Queen Story Telling Hour” that Michael placed into Public Libraries & later, into Public Schools across America, to indoctrinate, groom, brainwash our innocent children and destroy Family values [Demoralizing our Society]. Hussain “Barry” Obama always used played his Race-Card Baiting whenever a Black thug, criminal refused to be arrested and was killed during a physical altercation when a police officer had to defend himself or herself; Obama has destroyed Christianity in America by importing hundreds of thousands of Muslims & 70-85,000 radicalized Islamic people from Somalia, Afghanistan & other countries, and strategically placing them in states such as Minnesota to get them elected as city council members, education officials, mayors and Senators. They have all been laughing at us while they steal our taxpayer dollars and take over our public parks and neighborhoods for their Islamic prayers to Allah. We are their Infidels, The Non-Believers who must be eliminated by using their weapons, against Americans.
Thank you, Sasha for your post about Netflix & the destruction of Hollywood.
A LOT more than 70-85,000 Muslims have been imported in the past 30 years (more than that in Minnesota alone). For America, more like 500,000-1 million. It might even be more. I have no problem with Muslims who want to integrate / assimilate into American society and embrace our culture. I have HUGE problems with Islamists who are in America on a mission to take over America, eliminate Jews and Christians (including all the Catholic Latinos) and impose Sharia law. That is the agenda of a good portion of that million+, including Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar. I believe that is also the hidden agenda of Zohran Mumdani
Islam and Sharia law are completely incompatible with Western Civilization. And unless it went through a massive, earthshaking reformation--it always will be....
"I have no problem with Muslims who want to integrate / assimilate into American society and embrace our culture."
There are some Muslims who aren't heavily into their "religion" (actually a political project with religious trappings), but why take the chance that we can successfully pick those ones out? (Consider all those "vetted" Afghans!) It's not as if we need more immigrants.
On subject: https://vdare.com/posts/book-recommendation-religion-of-peace-by-gregory-davis You may have to click past a fund-raising page ...
What really gets me is the Feminists are political allies of the Muslims. It just goes to show you how political alliances are all solely based on having common enemies (the Christians).
Exactly. The zebra cannot afford to ignore the lion just because maybe not every lion is bad.
You fucking idiot
I think Zohran Mumdani's agenda is to get into higher office before he wears out his welcome in NYC.
Started watching "The Abandons" on Netflix last night. It's bad. The acting is fine, but the script is weird, like the writer wanted a script to read like "Deadwood" in a manner of language that was not used at the time, but also the distinctly DEI hero family... adopted white, black, Indian, Mexican, and not sure about Asian or if she/he is NA family members with a strong Irish woman (who escaped from a violent husband by killing him) leading them. Those two features make the series bordering on absurd.
Good analysis but my giveadamn is broken.
Even disregarding the issue of content, movie theaters lost me when they moved to sound levels higher than a rock concert and more bass than a low rider with a new subwoofer. It’s hard to enjoy a movie when your ears are bleeding. Wtf was all that about?
And I can't stand the 45 minutes of loud commercials prior to the start of the movie. I don't recall what was my last theater visit, one of the Star Wars? Jedi? Rogue?
Whatever.
yep, on the few occasions when we've visited an indoor theater for the last 15 years, we've worn earplugs.
Same with restaurants, and nhl hockey games. Deafening.
That’s one thing Europe has right, quiet restaurants, at least no blasting music
Actually, I would go to a movie theater with excellent sound to watch a concert. I can't think of a better way to see a good show. I have been to many live concerts. They are great, but also a chore to get up front.....
Lots of old theaters have been repurposed as music venues a long time ago. The State Theater is one.
One of our local theaters is a church and the allow use of one of the halls for concerts and community activities. Very cool. We went and saw the birthday concert/tribute to Willie Nelson. AWESOME show. Best seat in the concert.
Last night hubs and I watch Casablanca. I had never seen it before, and he'd not seen it all the way through. I cannot believe it actually lived up to the hype! You just can't make movies like that anymore because at large we have all become more simplistic and BORING. You can't have nuance when your worldview is shallow. Hard to set up certain tensions when everything is essentially "allowed" and morally relativistic.
I am actually quite sad about the demise of Hollywood and the theater. When I was in HS, I went to the movies almost every weekend and LOVED it. Classmates and I got together to watch the Oscars every year, and it was close to Superbowl level fun. I was an avid reader of People magazine for celebrity culture and a religious watcher of Late Night TV and SNL well into my married life. Now, none of it is appealing and I actively despise what I used to genuinely love, which is why I find such enjoyment in Maureen Callahan on "The Nerve." It's been extremely cathartic to listen to the call out all the fake and stupid that former celebrities have shown themselves to be and know there are so many others on the same wave length!
Glad you and your honey got to see what many consider the best American film ever made (with apologies to all of the Citizen Kane fans in the chat). Nothing quite like Rick's Cafe American or Dooley Wilson singing 'As Time Goes By.'
How about "The Man Who Would Be King" and "LA Confidential"?
I've been meaning to watch both......now I'll finally do it.
I don't think it's a spoiler to warn that there's a pickpocketing event near the start of "The Man Who Would Be King" that's important and that you might miss if you're not watching closely. Its meaning becomes clear later.
("LA Confidential," too, is NOT a popcorn movie. It demands close attention.)
Here's a wonderful short about the making of "The Man Who Would Be King": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y_OnoAgajs Although you might prefer to view that AFTER seeing the movie ...
And here's my Amazon review of the movie:
5.0 out of 5 stars An adventure for the ages, in the old style
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
I'd probably seen The Man Who Would Be King in theaters or via VCR-rental at least a dozen times before I finally bought the CD. I saw it originally when it first came out and thought it was wonderful, hence my many subsequent viewings.
In about 1993, a friend was showing me an article in a quarterly lifestyle-supplement to Forbes magazine, the gist of this article being 'If you go to the video-rental store with some particular movie in mind, but it's unavailable, choose something from our list of ~40 little-known movies -- you won't be disappointed.' So I said to him, I wonder if their list includes what I consider the greatest movie ever made, The Man Who Would Be King. And, yes, it was on the list -- as "the greatest movie ever made"!
It's a terrific swashbuckling adventure, and the key genius was director John Huston. Some years after first seeing the movie, I read, with great anticipation, Rudyard Kipling's short story of the same title, the inspiration for the movie. And I was thoroughly disappointed by it; it seemed like just a sketch of a story, so it was Huston who apparently reconceived it as the romantic masterpiece of a movie that it is.
Absolutely, on both counts. Well stated!
“I’ll shoot you in the heart”
“ that is my least vulnerable point”
Great flick
LOL. You have to love Rick Blaine!
Such a great and funny movie
I also recommend a newer movie compared to that, Clint Eastwood’s The Outlaw Josey Wales.
Such a funny movie
Saturday morning was a must trip for us pre-teens. A good cowboy movie, the Bowery Boys and capped with one of Warner Bros great cartoons. Technology has moved ahead and is leaving once popular businesses behind. Think Blockbuster.
Angel studios and others are producing movies with public support and funding that people actually want to see. You can take your children to them. Primarily Christian themed but if you don't rile at an occasional mention of faith good plots and an ever growing list of Hollywood blacklist actors.We have actually gone to the theater to see some of them, mostly to support the industry. Often you can buy your tickets on line at a discount.
I stopped going to the theater over a decade ago when I took my son and his friend and it cost nearly$75 to see a so so remake of Schwartzenegger movie with popcorn and Coke. Oh don't forget parking .
They did it to themselves and personally I don't give a rats ass if AI replaced every last one of them.
Last movie I saw in a theater was either the second Hobbit movie or a Mission Impossible many years ago. No wait, I did see some of the second avatar one but left after 45 minutes because it was stupid and the 3 D made me nauseated. Never saw the first
Since 2000 I think I’ve seen 4 1/2 movies at the theater and two of those were The gladiator
I feel bad for the worker bees, the ones who actually do the work. But the actors and directors? Fuck em. Hope they go bankrupt and have to get real jobs and don’t have the time or money to lecture us or trans their three year olds.
Avatar 1 was an early example of woke indoctrination. I enjoyed the special effects, but the story was sappy and preachy about how evil humans are. I did not even bother to see Avatar 2
Avatar was just a retelling of the great white savior meme, with great effects.
Great take. For me Avatar was simply Cameron’s greatest hits rolled into one final cinematic presentation.
Just saw Rental Family; very good movie for adults, and a nice break from action/killing/super hero magic
I get angry every time I see that still of a pregnant woman firing a gun right next to her baby. No real mother would do this! When I was pregnant my baby would startle when the car radio came on - I cannot even imagine the distress firing a gun next to a baby would cause it. I can't get past this scene - none of the intelligent criticisms of the movie can make it past this absolute horror. Sorry, Sasha - winds me up every time I see it.
I think we all understand that Hollywood has been a large part of your life, Sasha, and for your loss...I'm sorry.
On the other hand, I read your column and immediately thought, "Who cares!" Hollywood committed seppuku, right in front of millions upon millions of people who desperately wanted them to live, to entertain, to become great again. But they chose instead to disparage, denigrate, belittle those who loved them...they told us we were the unwashed, the ignorant, the tasteless...they told us we couldn't tell the difference between good stuff and crap. They told us what was good for us, how to think, who to vote for...and they told us what they would not tolerate us doing. George Clooney, Rob Reiner, the ultra-foul mouthed De Niro and many, many of the lesser luminaries made watching movies impossible without hearing them preach to us...scold us...laugh at us.
It was too much...many of us have moved on and will never go back. If they want to know who killed Hollywood, all they need to do is look in their mirrors to see the murderers.
How'd that green energy thing work out, Leonardo DiCaprio? These people have ruined whatever mystique they had going when they opened their mouths to spew ignorance…Robert DiNero. And “Meathead” is still a meathead.
Remember his “ documentary”? https://grist.org/article/eleventhhour/
Struck by how much pleasure Sasha's writing brings while being totally bummed out by her conclusions. Paraphrasing Solzhenitsyn, "the truth is always illusive and once found, its also painful."
Rich, I was reading Elizabeth Nickson's lengthy depressing article on stolen elections and decided to take a brake and read Sasha's; maybe for a more upbeat escape. From the frying pan into the fire syndrome.
A movie I would watch: Gates, Soros, Bezos, Zuckerburg's billions embezzled leaving them penniless. I'd even buy popcorn.
Trading Places II
Don't forget Bloomberg. Worse than any of those except Soros.
"Here's looking at you, [Hollywood]" and what you are putting out -- with precious few exceptions -- is now worth less than a pitcher of warm spit (with credit to John Nance Garner).
That's not actually what he said but we have to maintain some level of proprietary.
Correct. That is why the Hollywood substitution (for kid) was in brackets. [].
For thirty years I’ve shaken my head while privileged, wealthy, elite actors play roles in movies with plots showing how miserable rich people really are. It’s the simple poor who wind up finding happiness in their screenplays. Then they lecture the hoi polloi on societal excess.
When I first heard the news, I thought Blockbuster. Theaters going the way of Block Buster? TVs got bigger too. Just a matter of time when I dont have to get out of lounge chair and and pay money to go sit in a rudely occupied
noisy theatre to watch Hollywood over priced, woke propaganda.
I predict that the self satisfied, arrogant, woke actors proclaiming wisdom over their stupid fans will go next. Good riddance. It wont be long before we start seeing non-political/non-lecturing avatars. Already, AI is invading youtube and FB. Good riddance.
I think that COVID pretty well killed the movie theater. People became accustomed to not going to the movie theater and relying on HD streaming at home. Many people will still avoid close quarters like that. It's a lot cheaper and easier, especially for young families, to gather round the digital screen in the living room or basement than bundle everyone up, stand in a ticket line, keep the kids corralled, stand in a line for popcorn and a pop, keep the kids coralled, and shuffle everyone into a cramped movie theater. Plus, with streaming, you can pause, backtrack, turn on sub-titles for the British shows, and so on.
Last time we went to the theater, it was $12.50 apiece and the price of popcorn and a soda was ridiculous. That was pre-COVID. What is it now?