Hollywood
June 1, 2026 — Scott Johnson
“Make them listen to me before it’s too late!” It could be the theme of Spencer Pratt’s campaign for mayor of Los Angeles, but it was the cry of Dr. Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) in the low-budget 1956 sci-fi thriller Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The extraterrestrial takeover from outer space begins — where else? — in California. A psychiatrist is called to a Los Angeles hospital where Dr. Bennell
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May 10, 2026 — Scott Johnson
I love the TCM cable channel, but it has a glaring blind spot for Communism. Last week it put that glaring blind spot on display in its broadcast of Saul Turrell’s Oscar-winning 1979 documentary Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist. Introducing the film, host Dave Karger referred to difficulties in Robeson’s career as a result of his devotion to “civil rights.” The documentary is posted here. I haven’t double checked
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April 22, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Mark Judge is a journalist and filmmaker whose writings have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Daily Caller. He is the author, most recently, of The Devil’s Triangle: Mark Judge vs the New American Stasi, cited by Mark below. Mark writes to apprise us of his inspired idea for a film festival. With a little help from you, dear readers, he
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March 31, 2026 — Scott Johnson
With its Fall 2025/Winter 2026 double issue, the Claremont Review of Books celebrated its 25th anniversary. It is full of excellent essays and learned reviews. I’ve been working my way through its 154 oversize pages. Some of the reviews are written by friends and acquaintances I esteem, such as Wilfred McClay, Jean Yarbrough, and Paul Rahe. Their contributions make the 25th anniversary issue itself something to be celebrated. Among my
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March 16, 2026 — Scott Johnson
We hate Hollywood. We hate the Oscars. We hate being lectured by moral cretins. However, reading previews of last night’s event, I learned of the film Blue Moon. The film is a portrait of Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers’s first lyricist. I found the movie on cable and watched it while we were snowbound at home yesterday afternoon. The movie was directed by Richard Linklater, written by Robert Koplow, and starred
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February 26, 2026 — Scott Johnson
Michael Lynton was the CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment when it greenlit Seth Rogen’s film The Interview. You’ve most likely never seen it because it displeased the Supreme (Communist) Leader of North Korea and led to North Korea’s hack of the company’s emails, confidential scripts, and his family’s personal information. Sony limited distribution of the film in order to mitigate the damage. The Wall Street Journal published an excerpt of
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February 19, 2026 — Bill Glahn
It’s a Hollywood epic worthy of Cecil B. DeMille, From the New York Post, Legendary director Steven Spielberg is latest billionaire to flee California in another blow to state. The Post reports, The legendary “E.T.” director and California resident has moved to Manhattan amid a billionaire exodus from the Golden State — as voters eye a controversial wealth tax. But the move, first reported by the LA Times, allegedly had
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February 11, 2026 — Scott Johnson
I am warming up for our customary celebration of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln tomorrow. By 1940 Lincoln’s birthday was observed as a holiday in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Now we can read “How Abraham Lincoln lost his birthday holiday.” I’m old-school on the recognition of Lincoln’s greatness. His birthday should be a national holiday. Lincoln not only saved the Union, he also foresaw the difficulty of
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January 15, 2026 — John Hinderaker
I don’t know whether Sydney Sweeney is a conservative–I doubt it–but she is normal rather than crazy, which puts her in Hollywood’s top tier. Her boyfriend is Scooter Braun, a music executive who is a liberal Jew. Despite being a liberal, he is pro-Israel. A principal of Stand With Us, he was instrumental in bringing Screams Before Silence to the public. It isn’t clear exactly when or where this happened,
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December 27, 2025 — Scott Johnson
I’ve been trying to catch up on reading I skipped in my favorite college courses and revisiting favorite films from years past. I thought I would serve up my 2020 list of 10 favorite films. When I ran it by a close friend over dinner at the time, his only comment was: “How old are you?” Good question! I would like to say I’m younger than that now, but time
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December 26, 2025 — Scott Johnson
I saw the film Seconds with my father at the Nile Theater in Minneapols when it was released in 1966. I remember being intrigued by it, but the emotions driving the protagonist were over my head. In retrospect, I see the film was too adult for me. I read the novel in paperback and enjoyed it as well, but it made no impression on me. Now available on disc in
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December 16, 2025 — Scott Johnson
The conservative actor James Woods had a bond with Rob Reiner that transcended politics. Jesse Watters asked him about it and heard him out. His comments weave a number of threads together. He concludes: “I am just absolutely devastated by this terrible event, especially for his family.” We would all be lucky to have a few friends like Woods if we are liberal and like Reiner if we are conservative.
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December 16, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Looking at the heading I chose for “Rob Reiner’s tragic exit,” I was reminded of his father Carl Reiner’s Enter Laughing. It was the elder Reiner’s first film as a director. I drove over to the Suburban World or Uptown Theater in Minneapolis to see it when it was released in 1967 and still remember funny details of the film depicting Reiner’s semi-autobiographical account of his entry into show business.
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December 15, 2025 — Scott Johnson
Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were murdered by their son Nick, according to People Magazine (more here). Reiner was 78. John Nolte has posted a fair-minded tribute to Reiner in this Breitbart column. The film critic Ty Burr also looks back in “Rob Reiner 1947-2025.” As a moviemaker, Reiner excelled in an implausible variety of genres. Consider that he started as a director with This Is Spinal Tap in
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November 15, 2025 — Scott Johnson
When I wrote about Sid Caesar and Your Show of Shows earlier this month in “My favorite comedy,” I hadn’t read anything about Caesar since the publication of his memoir Where Have I Been? in 1982. Caesar was the father of sketch comedy on television and a fabulously successful star who flamed out big time after his career in television ended. In his review of Caesar’s memoir Frank Rich recalled
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November 11, 2025 — Scott Johnson
In honor of Veterans Day today TCM will play The Best Years of Our Lives this afternoon at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern). I want to draw from my previously posted comments on the movie to recall it briefly with a little background provided by Mark Harris. Harris tells the highly improbable story behind the making of the film in Five Came Back, his excellent account of the prominent directors who volunteered
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November 4, 2025 — Scott Johnson
While we’re waiting to find out how bad the elections go down today, I thought I would take a frolic and detour in Hollywood. I’ve been thinking how many films — how many films I like and continue to enjoy — take viewers inside show business. Among movies playing in theaters now, see, for example, Deliver Me From Nowhere, about Bruce Springsteen’s struggle with depression as he recorded the album
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