Many years ago, just before Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ hit theaters, I had a conversation with my mom about the film. The priest at her church had talked about it during his sermon that Sunday and, based on what he said, she told me she was boycotting the film. “Mom,” I asked, “when was the last time you actually went to a movie theatre?” “Twenty years ago,” she responded. Somehow her protest lost its edge.
That conversation came to mind today when I read Bill O’Reilly’s interview in The Hollywood Reporter. During a volley of extremely softball questions from reporter Paul Bond, O’Reilly reveals that he boycotts films featuring Sean Penn. “I'm just not going to give a guy who gives aid and comfort to people like (Iran president Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez and Saddam Hussein, when he was alive, my 10 bucks,” O’Reilly told Bond. “That's my right as an American.”
Now Bond doesn’t ask O’Reilly for specifics on why he believes Penn (who O’Reilly also “magnanimously” calls a great actor) has given aid and comfort to this trio. I guess we’re just supposed to accept this opinion as fact. And O’Reilly certainly has a right, American or not, to bypass any films he so chooses. Even if this decision is based on skewed political beliefs.
But I began to wonder. Like my mom’s passion against Passion, was there any edge to O’Reilly’s declaration? Just how big a Penn fan would he be if it weren’t for this pesky political bias?
Bond doesn’t ask when the boycott started or what Penn films O’Reilly may have seen in the past. So it’s hard to gauge how extensive his boycott has been. But, for some reason, I just couldn’t see the Fox commentator rushing out to catch a showing of Milk. Nor do I envision him as an I Am Sam kind of guy. Dead Man Walking? I seriously doubt it. And I don’t believe he’d sit through The Interpreter, Casualties of War or The Thin Red Line based on their political bent, no matter who starred in them. I haven’t seen The Assassination of Richard Nixon, but the title alone sounds like an O’Reilly deal breaker.
So what does that leave? Perhaps Carlito’s Way -- O’Reilly also stated in the interview that he’s a fan of its star Al Pacino. But, I suspect that since this movie came out so long ago, O’Reilly may have already caught it -- pre-boycott. All the Kings Men? Heck, nobody saw that, so it doesn’t count. And that pretty much leaves Mystic River. O’Reilly states he is also a fan of Clint Eastwood. So, if this boycott is sincere, we have to believe that O’Reilly avoided Penn’s first Oscar-winning performance, even though it was helmed by a conservative-leaning director. Which, by my count, adds up to a one film protest. Mom would be proud!
But what about upcoming movies? It does seem suspicious that O’Reilly’s pronouncement comes just days after the news broke that Penn will be playing Larry in the Farrelly brothers’ modern day take on The Three Stooges. Could O’Reilly’s noble stance really stem from a case of professional jealousy? Penn’s acting talents aside, and despite the anticipation that Benicio Del Toro and Jim Carey are being pursued to round out the trio as Moe and Larry respectively, I can’t think of a better trio of comic performers to recreate the Stooges than Fox News’ three stooges... Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck.
Monday, March 30, 2009
