The Left Coast Report: A Political Look at Hollywood
Headlines (Scroll down for complete stories):
1. Johnny Depp’s Star Power Stops Potential Perp
2. NY Police Foil Movie Robbery
3. Danny Glover Booed Before Commencement Speech
4. Comedy Central’s Cartoon Hypocrisy
5. Ben Stiller, David Duchovny Victims of Identity Theft
1. Johnny Depp’s Star Power Stops Potential Perp
Apparently, even some would-be criminals are celebrity obsessed.
Johnny Depp was recently coming out of a Los Angeles recording studio with a friend, British singer-guitarist Stephen Jones. Unfortunately, Jones was confronted by someone who appeared to be ready to commit a violent crime.
A man wielding a broken bottle approached Jones, the bottle’s jagged edge pointed in a threatening manner. Evidently the stranger was contemplating a robbery.
Thanks to Depp no crime took place.
The actor told the would-be mugger to “back off,” a source told the U.K. Sun.
The individual squinted, seemed to recognize Depp and said, “I ain't stealing from Captain Jack [Depp’s character in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise].”
The stranger proceeded to put the bottle down, and the actor gave him a few bucks and told him to straighten up his life.
Way to go, Capt. Jack Sparrow.
2. NY Police Foil Movie Robbery
A New York cop was responding to a 911 call about a robbery in progress when the officer came upon what looked exactly as described.
What the cop saw was a guy in a convenience store, the Cool Stop, holding a gun that was aimed at the store owner.
“Police, drop the gun!” the officer yelled, bursting into the Long Island shop, so says the New York Daily News.
The startled man holding the weapon threw his hands in the air and cried, “It's a movie! It's a movie!”
The firearm turned out to be a prop.
Independent filmmaker Fred Carpenter and a skeleton crew were filming a movie scene from the rear of the store using a small high-definition camera.
When police arrived, there were no production trucks, movie lights, or any obvious signs of a flick being filmed.
Maybe, for the sake of the cops, filmmakers should go back to using director chairs, clapboards, and megaphones.
3. Danny Glover Booed Before Commencement Speech
Danny Glover has made a ton of money from the films he’s done, probably a lot more green than President Obama thinks is appropriate.
Folks still can’t seem to get enough of the “Lethal Weapon” flicks that Glover starred in.
The actor was recently scheduled to give the commencement address to graduates of a large state university.
It wasn’t U.C. Berkley, which would have been the ideal venue for the dictator admirer.
No, Danny was actually booked for a graduation ceremony at Utah State.
That turned out to be the wrong place for the celeb and his politics.
Glover noticeably refused to place his hand over his heart during a color guard presentation of the American flag, which occurred prior to his speech.
Someone in the crowd yelled out, “Put your hand above your heart, Glover!"
Boos were heard from attendees.
Following the ceremony, Glover told the Salt Lake Tribune that he doesn't typically cover his heart during flag festivities.
“I was listening to the national anthem and paying attention,” he said. “I probably wasn't the only one in there who didn't put a hand over their heart.”
After he had finished giving his commencement address, Glover was given a standing ovation by the majority of the college crowd.
He said he’d been booed before.
“People have problems sometimes with what I believe and who I talk to,” he said. “I try to respect people, honor them.”
It would have been classy if Glover had respected and honored the people of Arizona.
Instead he called Senate Bill 1070 “misguided” after jetting to the Grand Canyon State to support Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon in opposing a law that the majority of folks in Arizona simply believe is right.
4. Comedy Central’s Cartoon Hypocrisy
In releasing info on its slate of new programs, Comedy Central announced that it has an animated show “in development” with the title “JC.”
The show features a cartoon version of the Son of God attempting to escape an overbearing father. The son makes his home in New York City and engages in video games nonstop.
The series will be produced by the same group that works on “The Office.”
You may recall that Comedy Central is the network that recently edited “South Park” images and references to Muhammad.
Guess the network disses the religions it can get away with dissing. It didn’t see fit to edit the show's depictions of Jesus Christ in the past. Since not enough Christians were heard from, it will now apparently offend on a grander scale with a series that demeans the central faith figure of the vast majority of people in the country.
In response to the question of the offensive nature of such a show, programming executive Kent Alterman said that “comedy in its purest form always makes some people uncomfortable.”
Evidently Comedy Central execs don’t mind making “some people uncomfortable” as long as the “some people” are folks who love Jesus.
5. Ben Stiller, David Duchovny Victims of Identity Theft
You wouldn’t think that identity theft of Hollywood celebs would be a successful criminal enterprise. But a Nigerian man in Chicago apparently decided it just might be.
He allegedly swiped the personal information of Ben Stiller, David Duchovny, Paul Haggis, and other Hollywood celebrities. According to the Chicago Tribune, he then used the info to report lost credit cards and request new ones to be sent to his address in the Windy City.
According to police, the alleged ID pilferer used Stiller's credit card on iTunes and for an online dating service.
Citibank officials started to catch on to things when writer-directors Noah Baumbach and Paul Schrader both “lost” their cards and requested that new credit cards be sent to the same Chicago apartment. The suspect was subsequently arrested and booked.
“Obviously, the bank has some issues they've got to straighten out,” a source told the newspaper. “The guy calls up with a foreign accent and says: 'Hey, I'm Ben Stiller, I lost my card. Can you send me a new one?' Oh. Sure, why not?”