Here's a link to Nikki Finke's DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD DAILY site, specifically concerning the (mostly political conservative) response to Robert Redford's LIONS FOR LAMBS--being whipped by both left and right for (as one poster to Finke's comments section suggested) "preaching"--i.e. telling people again what they already know about the War on Terror and the debate over how well or badly it has been handled.
And it can be said that Robert Redford's film of Matthew Michael Carnahan's (THE KINGDOM) script is sometimes clunky and heavy-handed in a way that might remind some older viewers of, say, either Stanley Kramer or Tom (BILLY JACK) Laughlin message movies.
It can also be said that Redford is out of touch for expecting both liberals and conservatives (as well as centrists and libertarians) to sit in a theater for 90 minutes and--regardless of political affiliation--be moved by the film's patriotic belief that Americans should do something for their country besides claiming powerlessness and opting instead for the comfort of giant-screen HDTVs and luxury cars and houses.
But we live in a nation where those who don't believe the way we do aren't just wrong, they're ABSOLUTELY wrong.
And the left can be as guilty about indulging in this behavior as the right. I can remember all the invective hurled at John Wayne in the 60s for his loudly-vocalized Republican politics. When Charlton Heston finally dies from the ravages of Alzheimer's Disease, there will be a loud "progressive" chorus of cruel laughter and denunciation of his later-life political beliefs and affiliation with the National Rifle Association.
We may have to wait until 2015 at the earliest before there's even a millimeter of change in the way people perceive their political/relgious/social beliefs as something demanding an apocalyptic response when those beliefs are challenged.
Meanwhile, it's easier for many people to hate Redford, Heston, George Clooney, Bruce Willis, Michael Moore, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon for assuming that celebrity comes with responsibility to share opinions about how good or bad things are in the United States.
And when we don't like what we hear from left or right-wing celebrities, we'll just keep yelling until we shut them up once and for all.
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