I think Angelina Jolie may be a Neo-Con

[AllentownJake]

She's playing the lead in the film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged and she sought out the role.

[MercutioATC]

1. No, she's just very odd.

Hey, she's done a lot of good. I have no problem with her exploring projects that might seem questionable to me.

[Warpy]

28. She is reportedly a Randorrhoid

which is completely different from being a neocon.

I don't hire her for being wrong about philosophy, economics, politics, or whatever. I hire her because she is a good storyteller.

The same goes for another utterly wrongheaded actor, Robert Duvall, one of the best character actors in the business.

Just don't expect me to vote for either one of them if they go into politics. I won't hire them for that job.

[Generator]

54. What does that word mean and where did it come from?

I googled it and the only links are from DU! Something to do with economics, a made up word?

[Warpy]

58. It means a life form that is mawkishly attached

to the deplorable writings and idiotic philosophy of Ayn Rand, only slightly different from the root hemorrhoid.

[ladjf]

2. If it's true that she is undecided about how she is going to vote

in November then my admiration for her as an empathetic person has been diminished.

[ailsagirl]

3. hear, hear

[blue cat]

4. same here.

[EOTE]

12. You'd think that her father supporting McCain would be enough

reason for her to throw her support solidly behind Obama. However, being empathetic doesn't necessarily mean you're not stupid.

[mvd]

13. My question is, why can't she see that Democrats..

are better on the issues she cares about? If she really thinks we need an invasion force in Iraq to protect, then she's been buying some media spin.

[complain jane]

60. Well

I never found her empathetic to other people's marriages.

[JuniperLea]

82. I love your pic of Boy

Poor tortured soul that he is.

I know... totally off topic... I found your picture more interesting:)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. I think I don't give a shit about Angelina Jolie's politics.

Or understand why anyone else would.

[Tim4319]

6. Her father is one for sure!

[Cleita]

33. Yes, and she doesn't talk to her father because they don't agree.

It should give a hint as to what her politics are, if she even has any. Some people are those who care about the poor and starving, but if you were to ask them their politics, they couldn't tell you because they are mostly apolitical and don't pay attention.

[AllentownJake]

37. No she doesn't talk to her father

because he abandoned her mother and his family.

I think she can forgive political differences.

[Cleita]

45. She seems to have forgiven him for that because she and her brother were seen

accompanying him to an awards show and apparently they had a falling out after that. One of her friends said it was because he criticized her for her way of life or something like that. It seems to me there were some differences there political or not.

[KT2000]

7. Brad Pitt has been working

to get this film made for years.

[AllentownJake]

17. the beautiful enlightened people need to go on strike

to teach us a lesson....yep sounds about right.

[asthmaticeog]

8. Self-delete

No fucking point

[Cleita]

11. Because Ayn Rand had weird politics doesn't detract from her being a good

writer and writing a good story. Michael Crichton is a neo-con yet movies are made from his books too like Jurassic Park. I think Angelina is just an air head and probably really hasn't figured out yet that our political system and the Republican Party has been taken over by fascist globalists and that they are working on the Democratic Party as well.

[Codeine]

14. Ayn Rand was a terrible writer.

Goofy politics aside she produced some of the ugliest writing ever to grace the page. She is a terrible example of an American prose stylist.

[Cleita]

30. I don't disagree there, however, there was a reason she was published in

spite of it, like Dan Brown, of "The DaVinci Code". I thought it was awful writing yet it was a page turner and that's why the movie people snapped it up. But anyone who suggests any writer's work should not be made into movies because of their politics means that they don't understand how the movie industry works or why actors would play roles that are opposite of their politics. I mean Richard Dreyfuss is playing Dick Cheney. That doesn't mean he is like Dick Cheney. I assume that Brad Pitt is pursuing "Atlas Shrugged" because he sees a good role in it for himself or Angelina or maybe he thinks it will make a good movie even if they don't act in it.

[dflprincess]

40. Anyone who suggests any writer's work should not be made into movies because of their politics

would have loved the McCarthy Era blacklist.

[Cleita]

47. There's that too.

Thanks for adding that.

[JuniperLea]

84. Wish I could rec a post!

Well said!

[LondonReign2]

79. Agree, DaVinci code

..was some of the worst prose I ever waded through. If my wife and I hadn't been reading it together I wouldn't have made it half-way through--which is where I finally DID give up.

[DailyGrind51]

34. William F. Buckley agreed with you!

Here is part of Buckley's review of "Atlas Shrugged":

"Something of this implication is fixed in the book’s dictatorial tone, which is much its most striking feature. Out of a lifetime of reading, I can recall no other book in which a tone of overriding arrogance was so implacably sustained. Its shrillness is without reprieve. Its dogmatism is without appeal. In addition, the mind which finds this tone natural to it shares other characteristics of its type. 1) It consistently mistakes raw force for strength, and the rawer the force, the more reverent the posture of the mind before it. 2) It supposes itself to be the bringer of a final revelation. Therefore, resistance to the Message cannot be tolerated because disagreement can never be merely honest, prudent, or just humanly fallible. Dissent from revelation so final (because, the author would say, so reasonable) can only be willfully wicked. There are ways of dealing with such wickedness, and, in fact, right reason itself enjoins them. From almost any page of Atlas Shrugged, a voice can be heard, from painful necessity, commanding: “To a gas chamber — go!” The same inflexibly self-righteous stance results, too (in the total absence of any saving humor), in odd extravagances of inflection and gesture-that Dollar Sign, for example. At first, we try to tell ourselves that these are just lapses, that this mind has, somehow, mislaid the discriminating knack that most of us pray will warn us in time of the difference between what is effective and firm, and what is wildly grotesque and excessive. Soon we suspect something worse. We suspect that this mind finds, precisely in extravagance, some exalting merit; feels a surging release of power and passion precisely in smashing up the house. A tornado might feel this way, or Carrie Nation...." (for more)

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZTFlYjgxMjgzYzkyYjI0NDI4YzM3YzAzYTcyMWQxNGU=#more

When a right-winger like Buckley thinks a writer is "arrogant" or "self-righteous", whoa!

[Codeine]

38. Wow. That's a fantastic piece of criticism.

Say what you will about his politics, but that man was a master of our language. An absolute master.

[DailyGrind51]

53. Watching the debates between William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal

during the 1968 Conventions, was truly a duel of the verbal titans! Howard K. Smith "refereed" the often heated exchange, which became VERY heated in the third clip!

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXLTDUPJqsU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AzjZrtqCIw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li73RRLEyW8&feature=related

You're welcome!:-)

[bullwinkle428]

85. Check out some of the clips of the Buckley-Noam Chomsky debates...great stuff as well

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=william+buckley+noam+chomsky&search_type=&aq=-1&oq=

[On the Road]

71. Thank You for That Link

Although Buckley was the publisher -- the reviewer was Whittaker Chambers.

Sometimes the best way to skewer something is by pure erudition. Other times is by pure mockery. Chambers does both:

"The news about this book seems to me to be that any ordinarily sensible head could not possibly take it seriously, and that, apparently, a good many do. Somebody has called it: “Excruciatingly awful.” I find it a remarkably silly book. It is certainly a bumptious one. Its story is preposterous".

[DailyGrind51]

75. Chambers was a fascinating charcter from the paranoid 1950s!

Read his biography!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittaker_Chambers

[JohnnyBoots]

35. Atlas Shrugged was truly a battle to get through......n/t

[JVS]

104. It was fine until the 80 page rant near the end

had to skip that

[JuniperLea]

83. Art is subjective

I've always enjoyed her work. I've never agreed with her politics.

[EOTE]

23. Perhaps politics don't make the writer.

However, Ayn Rand's writings are nothing but a huge bulletin board for her politics. Michael Crichton had the good sense to separate his politics from his writing. Ayn Rand's writing IS her politics. Her protagonists are nothing but objectivists and are typically infallible to the point of being absurd. It seems to me that Rand was so infatuated with objectivism that she couldn't stand to live in a world where objectivists were seen as the greedy, selfish assholes that they really were. So she created her own fantasy world where not only were they ambitious and successful, but the rest of the world (those lazy, shiftless non-objectivists) relied upon them to turn the gears of progress. Like most conservative ideologues, Rand simply wanted a way to justify her disdain for her fellow man.

[Cleita]

31. I've got to admit I only read some of "The Fountainhead" because a friend

gave it to me but I had to put aside because, oh well, "yawn". However, my point is that movie people sometimes see stuff in even awful writing that they can make into an entertaining and profitable movie. You never know, they might even want to turn it into satire.

[EOTE]

78. Do you know of any?

Can you name an awful book that was made into a good movie? It's been my experience that when a movie is made from a book, it's very often worse than the book. Then there are the "pet" books that celebrities will try to get made into a movie like when John Travolta succeeded in getting Battlefield Earth moved to the big screen and the results, certainly in that particular case, are usually just awful. If they made it a satire, that would be another thing as Rand's works are certainly ripe for satire, but I couldn't imagine that they'd continue to use the same name. I'd imagine Rand's estate would be up in arms.

[Cleita]

92. Maybe that's why it's been hard to get the rights to do it.

Actually, I thought that "The Da Vinci Code" was a better movie than book. I also liked what they did with Evelyn Waugh's "The Loved One". Although it was tinkered with, they managed to preserve the core of the satire. But most movie makers prefer to develop scripts from short stories if they aren't doing something original. It seems novels have to be reworked too much and seldom resemble the novel in the end.

[mitchum]

50. Alice Rosenbaum was a terrible writer...

she wrote clunky sentences, stilted dialogue, and one dimensional characters.

[cali]

98. Ayn Rand was an atrocious writer and her "ideas" were puerile, mawkish

and rather stupid. Even in her heydey, her books were recognized as being horribly written. Hell, Margaret Mitchell was a better writer than Ayn Rand.

[csziggy]

9. Wonder what the treatment will be?

After all, my take on reading the book was pretty negative while some people think of it as a revelation on how to live. If Brad and Angelina show it as a cold hearted treatment of people and play up the negative aspects, that may be a good thing overall.

[mvd]

10. Well, if she doesn't disagree with Clint Eastwood much..

then she's definitely much to the right of me.

[riverdeep]

15. You know, I have three paperclips sitting in a drawer, and about five more

sitting in another one.

Just thought you'd like to know.

[angstlessk]

you are soooo disorganized...why should I listen to you???

get yourself together, and check back in!

[Saturday]

21. ROTFLMAO You made me laugh. nt

[CatWoman]

42. HAHAHAHAHAHA

:rofl:


way to go, RD!!!!!!

:rofl:

[JVS]

16. Maybe she just longs for a role in which she smokes lots of cigarettes, eats hamburger sandwiches,..

and works as the maid of a rich man in the rocky mountains.

[CrazyDude]

18. Brad Pitt is a liberal, but I don't care since he is just an actor who has no credentials in civics

[AlCzervik]

19. Wanted was a really good movie.

[CatWoman]

43. ROFL!!!

Yes.

Yes it is/was.

:rofl:

[TNOE]

20. I don't quite get this either

on the one hand - the R policies certainly benefit her bottom line tax wise - but on the other hand - Brad was and is in New Orleans trying to rebuild lost homes so one would think he should be able to clearly see the R government's complete and total non-reaction and non-caring for these victims.

I do find it a puzzler. But at least they do good things with their fortunes, all in all.

[ronnykmarshall]

22. Um, no.

She's an actress.

[AlCzervik]

24. Ronny are you saying that Gregory Peck didn't like Nazi war criminals either? I mean

he was in The boys from Brazil?


:hi:

[CatWoman]

44. Gregory was a real asshole in that movie

one of my favorites!! :hi:

[AlCzervik]

48. yeah, he was pretty great, love Gregory Peck, and oh my circa To kill a mockingbird

******swoon*******

[MJW]

25. she is

Just another attention seeking , self absorbed celebrity . I pay VERY little attention to her

and by the way--Ayn Rand is (was) a poor writer and a bad person

[wuushew]

26. People here are getting worked up for no reason

Any film adaptation has a pretty good chance of joining the pantheon of financially unsuccessful films that Hollywood frequently turns out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._box_office_bombs">List of box office bombs

[kskiska]

27. And Vanessa Redgrave, who played a Nazi concentration camp survivor

in "Playing for Time," is a supporter for the Palestinian cause.

She's an actress.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

41. A great actress. And, a great humanitarian.

[JuniperLea]

89. I loved her work in that movie...

I was moved to tears many times. Brilliant acting!

[hlthe2b]

29. Josh Brolin is playing GWB* and his father James Brolin played

Reagan.... I surely don't think the Brolins (or Streisand for that matter) have turned neo-con, despite their choice of roles...

However, Jolie's father, Jon Voight is clearly a neo-con. Pitt is clearly democrat.... Maybe she's just looking for 1. a good role and 2. leverage for her UN childen's work.

[GoesTo11]

32. Who doesn't love Ayn Rand

When they first read her in high school or freshman year of college and think to themselves "Yes, I am one of these great people. I deserve it all." But then we grow out of it pretty quickly. Angelina has sought and gotten so much adulation that she's probably drunk the Ayn Rand kool-aid.

[Codeine]

39. That's funny, actually.

I wonder if my distaste for her stuff stems from the fact that I was in my late 20s when I tried to read it. I read a lot of Heinlein as a teen and was entranced only to discover later how egregious the politics are in his work. Had I read Rand at that age I might have been seduced as well.

[Marr]

66. Heinlein's politics never bothered me in his writing.

He was just a damn good writer, and when politics poked through, he did at least make a coherent argument. The only writer whose politics make his work unreadable for me is Tom Clancy. He's terrible.

[LondonReign2]

81. Loved Heinlein's writing

His prose seemed to incredibly effortless, though from reading about his workstyle (hours on end polishing and repolishing) he only made it *seem* effortless.

I rather liked his Libertarian politics at the time (in my teens and 20's) but definitely see now that there are some flaws.

[mitchum]

55. That's why I never give teenagers hell for being besotted with her scribblings

Rosenbaum wrote (badly) from a place of stilted adolescence.
However, if an alleged adult ever tries to tell me of her brilliance...I am merciless.

[DailyGrind51]

67. And, those who don't grow out of it, become "Republicans"!

[EOTE]

86. Ain't that the truth.

People too damn immature to realize how incredibly inane her arguments are.

[girl gone mad]

91. Or worse...

They become Republican Fed Chairmen.

[Overseas]

36. Power corrupts? /eom

[Inspired]

46. Um, isn't she an ACTRESS? Good Lord.

[mitchum]

49. Maybe she just likes being in bad movies

[Codeine]

51. Recent evidence

supports your hypothesis. ;)

[ghostsofgiants]

57. Has she ever been in a good movie?

[CatWoman]

59. she's been in several good movies

[ghostsofgiants]

62. Which ones?

I can't think of any.

[CatWoman]

65. why should I bother naming them then?

[ghostsofgiants]

68. Because they might be movies I haven't seen or might not be aware of...

And I might want to check them out.

Jeez, grumpy much?

[CatWoman]

77. Heh

I'm always accusing ZombyWoof of being grumpy, and now I've been hoisted on my own petard!!! :rofl:

Did you see "Wanted"? Cool, wicked, kick ass action :thumbsup:

[Trailrider1951]

95. You might rent "Girl Interrupted"

Her portrayal of Lisa was absolutely chilling.

[ghostsofgiants]

101. My girlfriend has that, actually.

I should check it out. :)

[Codeine]

69. A few

depending on your taste, of course.

Alexander wasn't bad at all.

I enjoyed Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Pushing Tin. The Bone Collector. Hackers.

[ghostsofgiants]

70. Hackers was decent.

Forgot about that.

[mitchum]

80. Not until one of "those" videos surfaces

[ghostsofgiants]

100. Ohhhhh!

Snap!

[DangerDave921]

52. I liked "Anthem" a lot

[Cleita]

56. If she sticks to acting and doing humanitarian work, I'm fine with it. When

she runs for governor of my state, then I will be pissed.

[ellie]

61. Who cares what that

crazy homewrecker thinks?

[Marr]

63. I think the Rock may be an Egyptian king!

I hear he went out of his way to play an Egyptian king!

[tammywammy]

64. She's an actress

And honestly, I don't care what her politics are. :shrug:

[noel711]

72. Not necessarily...

that's the role of a lifetime,
a 'scenery chewing' role of great range...

any actress would love it,
and despite political persuasion, most actor/acresses
choose their roles according to how they'd love
to sink their teeth into it..
sometimes to go in the opposite direction is great fun.

[AllieB]

73. Why do I feel like I'm watching 'Entertainment Tonight' or 'TMZ' here lately?

:shrug:

[TexasObserver]

74. Never trust the judgment of anyone who likes Ayn Rand.

Atlas Shrugged because of that pile of shit she calls a book.

Ayn Rand is THE most overrated writer ever.

She exists because there's a group of delusional wannabe libertarians who think she speaks to them.

[JuniperLea]

88. LOL!!!

You know, people can enjoy books without subscribing to any political view!

Honestly... I'm LOLing right now!

[mitchum]

96. Celine is an example of a gifted writer with an atrocious political viewpont....

but Alice Rosenbaum was an inept writer with an atrocious political viewpoint

[JuniperLea]

97. I just think it's hilarious to label writers

Writing is an art form, and it is very subjective. Much like music, I can't dislike a musician because of their political views. One of my all-time favorite guitarists is a rabid RWer... and I will always, always love his playing. I'm a huge fan of Knut Hamsum... he was accused of being a Nazi sympathizer, and many people have a hard time reading his works. I love everything he ever wrote.

I was more into The Rolling Stones than The Beatles... something many of my cousins will never forgive. Oh, well.

[leftofthedial]

76. wack job.

her dad is the fascist

I imagine she has "libertarian" instincts. She's certainly narcissistic enough.

[guitar man]

87. eh, I don't know

maybe it's like Alan Alda playing the rethug in West Wing? :shrug:

[Bucky]

90. OMG! Now I refuse to see her movies! OMG! I'll never look at her nude photos again! OMG!

I knew she was a gun nut from the way she acted in "Mr and Mrs Smith." Also, from "The Good Shepherd" I know she hates sex.

[Codeine]

93. You should send them to me.

I'll keep them out of your hands. ;)

[apocalypsehow]

94. I think Russell Crowe may be an Imperialist Warmonger.

After all, he played a high-ranking officer of the Roman Empire in "Gladiator," and he auditioned for the role. That's just a perfect piece of logical connect-the-dots thinking, huh? ( :eyes: )

[Faygo Kid]

99. I know Angelina's father is a neocon dickhead.

Jon Voight is Bush-loving trash.

[proud patriot]

102. Highly doubtful , she's an abassador of goodwill for the U.N.

A neocon wouldn't , couldn't do that IMO

[tritsofme]

103. I'm not like those stupid RWers, I couldn't give a shit less what some actress thinks of politics

I pay her my $10 at the theater so she can look pretty and entertain me, nothing else.

But I won't be going to see Atlas Shrugged. I suffered through all 1000+ pages back in college, and I'm not looking for an encore.