Thread: You can't be a conservative in Hollywood

GLENN BECK

Conservatives in Hollywood

Aired September 12, 2008 - 19:00:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLENN BECK, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, less than two months to the election and Sarah Palin has the country talking. Unfortunately, she has the Hollywood liberals all fired up, as well.

MATT DAMON, ACTOR: Like, she`s facing down Vladimir Putin and, you know, using the -- you know, the folksy stuff she learned at the hockey, you know, ring.

BECK: Oh, brother. But what if you`re a conservative in Hollywood? I`ll talk to some of the brave few, like black-belt patriot Chuck Norris.

CHUCK NORRIS, ACTOR: We need a voter`s resolution here.

BECK: And movie satire master David Zucker about his new spoof on the far left.

KEVIN FARLEY, ACTOR: I love America. That`s why it needs to be destroyed.

BECK: All this and more tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Well, hello, America. Tonight is finally the night when you`re going to see ABC`s special "20/20" devoted to the first full interview with Governor Sarah Palin since John McCain tapped her as his running mate.

This -- this election is becoming more and more amazing, and it is about to come front and center with the media and Hollywood coming out of the woodwork. Hollywood is going to get into this game, as well.

In fact, let me show you the first shot from their new Hollywood hit squad, Matt Damon. This is Matt Damon`s thoughts on Governor Palin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: It`s like a really bad Disney movie. You know, the hockey mom, you know, I`m just a hockey mom from Alaska. And she`s the president and it`s like she`s facing down Vladimir Putin and, you know, using the -- you know, the folksy stuff she learned at the hockey, you know, ring. It`s absurd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Yes. You think a guy who made, you know, "All the Pretty Horses" might be a little more forgiving. Who am I to say?

I -- I have been out here in Hollywood for the last week. I have to tell you, it`s Crazy Town, USA. It`s not really easy being a conservative here in Hollywood. This is the place where Michael Moore films are actually seen as non-fiction. So here`s "The Point" tonight.

Hollywood, like it or not, conservatives do exist here, and tonight you`re going to meet some of them. I`ve spoken to actor Jon Voight about his role in Hollywood in the past. He couldn`t get out of his taping of "24."

And we`ve got some other people lined up that you`re going to want to hear from. "Airplane" director David Zucker, he`s got this great new film. It`s called "An American Carol," where he kind of takes on Michael Moore. And we`ll also talk to the legendary Chuck Norris about his black belt in patriotism.

But first I want to kick -- kick this segment off with two men who have been familiar with Hollywood`s players and politics for quite some time. First one is Andrew Klavan. He is the author of "Empire of Lies." He`s also recently outed himself as a conservative. And film critic and syndicated talk radio host for Salem Radio Network, Michael Medved.

Michael, first of all, how did you ever become respected in Hollywood as a film critic, being a conservative?

MICHAEL MEDVED, FILM CRITIC: Well, when I started I wasn`t public about my conservatism. I changed my registration to Republican in 1980 and was sort of a secret Reaganite. And for 12 years I worked on PBS for sneak previews, with Jeffrey Lyons reviewing the new movies. And increasingly that experience, I started coming out of the closet.

And I remember we used to tape commentary about movies. And if I would attack a movie because I thought it was left-wing propaganda they would often yell, "Cut, cut, this is supposed to be non-political." Now, what that means in Hollywood terms, what that means in movie industry terms, non-political, it`s assumed you`re going to be on the left, because then you`re a humanitarian. You`re compassionate.

Roger Ebert just launched a scathing attack on Sarah Palin, attacking even her glasses, and that`s considered non-partisan. But if you say anything conservative, well, then you become a hack.

BECK: You know, it`s amazing, Andrew, and you just -- you just recently outed yourself. I mean, really, it`s like -- I mean, it`s worse than alcoholism. I`m conservative.

MEDVED: Alcohol is good, Glenn.

BECK: I know it is. Drug use. I mean, you can have needles in your arms here in Hollywood and they`re like, "Oh, you should get an award." But if you`re...

MEDVED: They make all the best deals at AA meetings. You know that. That`s a great place to go to.

BECK: Right. Here`s the thing that maybe, Andrew, you can address. Even this Matt Damon comment here about Sarah Palin, they just look down their noses at people who are -- and then she uses all of her experience of being a mom. You know, they really look down with their noses, while at the same time trying to tell us that they`re exactly like us.

ANDREW KLAVAN, AUTHOR, "EMPIRE OF LIES": That`s exactly right. They have nothing but disdain for the rest of the country.

And you know, what made the movie industry great, the reason it became great in the first place, is because they were playing to the heart of the country. They were making stories that had the values that the people in the rest of the country had. They made stories about religion. They made stories about courage. They made stories about America. They don`t do that any more, because they`re really just making stories for themselves.

And what you could hear in Matt Damon`s comments about Governor Palin was this absolute dripping disdain for anyone who didn`t -- wasn`t one of us, you know, wasn`t one of the elite, the cultural elite. And it`s a terrible thing for the industry because they`re dissing the audience.

BECK: Yes. Now, Zucker is coming out with "An American -- American Carol." And I was talking to him a few minutes ago in the green room. He`s not really concerned that if -- you know, if it bombs that, you know, he`s going to have a problem with anything.

I got to believe it takes amazing courage and bravery and willingness to flush your career down the toilet, to be a Mel Gibson and come out with, you know, a movie on Jesus or to come out with a movie that is making fun of Michael Moore.

MEDVED: Well, it does take courage. I`ll tell you, the real problem isn`t with people like David Zucker, who`s very well established, very successful and gifted director, or people like Mel Gibson who obviously is a huge star, or Jon Voight, people who are established.

The problem, Glen, is for the young guys coming up. And there, there is a sense that part of it is this networking, and a lot of the networking that is done for younger players is with left-wing organizations.

Jane Fonda used to have this saying where she would take young -- this was when she was still married to Tom Hayden, a couple of marriages ago. When she was married to Tom Hayden, she would take young people in Hollywood. They actually took them on tours to Nicaragua and basically indoctrinated them into the values of the Hollywood left.

I actually think it would be helpful if some of the emerging conservatives in the industry would take some of the younger people who were struggling with this and don`t want to be excluded and don`t want to be shunned. And by the way, don`t want to be cut off from dating the most beautiful women, because that`s a real factor in this. Is you`re going to do better with the Hollywood babes if you take on airhead politics.

BECK: Right. OK. So...

KLAVAN: It`s not just -- it`s not just drips like that, Michael. It`s not just drips like that. Because it`s not just things that happen, extracurricular activities. It`s also the things that happen in the room, in the office.

You walk into an office in Hollywood with your story to sell and you`re listening to a lot of people take off on President Bush, take off on American foreign policy. And that`s -- that`s before the meeting begins where you`re trying to sell your project. If you can`t shift in and be part of that conversation, you`re on the outs.

BECK: You know, I have to tell you. I have walked into meetings with executives from -- at very high levels of entertainment. And when I walk in, their body language, I`m not kidding you, is like this. I walked into one room, and the woman who was sitting there, she had her legs crossed. She had her arms like this, and she tucked herself back into the corner.

And she later told somebody who was with me, she said, "I walked into that meeting just expecting and wanting to hate him. By the end of the meeting I didn`t."

I thought how do you pitch anything creative if you walk into the room and everybody hates you just because of your politics.

KLAVAN: Heaven forbid that the content should actually reflect some of your politics or some of your values.

BECK: Yes.

KLAVAN: I mean, how are you going to sell something to people who think America is always in the wrong? How are you going to sell something to people who think everyone who believes in God is a small-minded bigot? How can you tell stories, even tell stories about America, without accepting some of the values that Americans have? I don`t understand it.

BECK: This is a very real problem. It`s a very real problem. Sometimes people say, well, don`t they want to make money? And the truth is most people in the entertainment industry who have already established themselves, who are making decisions, who can greenlight a project, they don`t have to worry that much about money.

What people are looking for is a different kind of gold. They`re looking for those gold statuettes at Oscar time. And generally, they are handed out not just for money but for sending messages. And if you take a look at the preference for R-rated material over the much more profitable PG-rated material. If you take a look at what is praised critically, it will often be movies that take a very dark view of human life and, particularly, a negative view of life in the United States of America. Movies like "American Beauty," which I thought was almost unwatchable, as picture of the year.

KLAVAN: I agree with that completely, Glenn. Michael, that`s exactly -- sorry.

BECK: I`m sorry. I just want to -- I just want to ask you this. Have you -- because you just recently outed yourself. Do you believe in a blacklist? I mean what they did to Jon Voight is amazing to me.

KLAVAN: It`s amazing. I believe in a gray list. I don`t believe there`s a list of names that goes around and people, you know, will shut you out and completely not hire you.

But, look, it works in any number of ways. If there are no projects going forward that are friendly toward America, no projects going forward in which religious faith is looked on sympathetically, that means there are fewer things that you can get hired to participate in. That`s the first way it`s a gray list.

And the second way is what we were talking about before, is that you`re just not an accepted person. You`re not the person that people are comfortable in a room with, and they`re going to hire somebody else.

BECK: Yes.

KLAVAN: Everybody knows it. It just cuts down your possibilities.

BECK: Michael, I was just looking. We were just rolling some B-roll here of Jon Voight at the GOP convention. You were at the GOP convention. Have you ever seen Hollywood celebrities be as out as he is?

MEDVED: Well, again, there were a bunch of them at the convention. I`ve been to eight different conventions. I have never seen at a Republican convention so many stars.

Ron Silver, who spoke in 2004 and was one of the founders of the Creative Coalition, somebody who was an accepted mainstream Hollywood liberal, he became, appropriately for today, a September 12 conservative. Somebody who turned around and said, "Look what they did to my country." He was so eloquent and passionate, and he`s been battling some pretty -- some pretty tough health issues in his life.

And he`s a real hero, I think, for taking his passion and his love for America and really being, being willing to see his career -- and this is a guy who has won Emmy Awards and been nominated for Tony Awards and been in many, many successful films. And a great guy. Robert Zogby was there. Jon Voight was there. There were -- Kevin Farley, a young guy from -- who`s been on "Saturday Night Live."

BECK: Right.

MEDVED: He`s putting himself on the line to be part of "An American Carol." A very fine movie, by the way.

BECK: Do either of you guys believe that this is the -- this is the opening of the door? You`re not going to be able to put this genie back in a bottle? That because of these people it`s going to change?

KLAVAN: I believe that completely. I think we`re on the right track. I think the -- the wall is beginning to crack decidedly. And look -- look, the whole thing is that the war, the war was the deciding factor. All those movies that were made against the war while our soldiers were in action, while our soldiers were in danger that were making propaganda for the enemy. And that, I think, is going to be a turning point. That will not happen.

BECK: OK. Gentlemen, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

Coming up, martial arts legend, celebrity and conservative Chuck Norris, tells you how to earn a black belt in patriotism.

Plus, the man who brought us comedy classics like "Airplane" and "Naked Gun." He`s made a new one. It`s called "An American Carol," a funny, funny new film lampooning the left and Michael Moore. Director David Zucker will join me in a few minutes. Don`t miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, there are guys who write books, like me, and then there are guys who write books and can also totally kick your ass. Chuck Norris is the second kind of guy, not to be confused with me, the first guy. He`s the martial arts master. He`s a political activist.

He`s an actor. He`s now returning to his role as best-selling author with a brand new "Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America."

Does it involve punching people in the face, Chuck?

NORRIS: No, it doesn`t. Actually, you`re the one that motivated me to write this book, Glenn. Because I watch your show every night, and I get so frustrated like you do.

BECK: Yes.

NORRIS: And one night I`m watching your show, and after your show I`m walking back and forth, and I`m mumbling to myself. And my wife says, "What`s going on."

I said, "I am so frustrated with the direction our country is going, and I don`t know what to do about it." So she said...

BECK: Punch people in the face!

NORRIS: No, well, I`d like to, Glenn, but it wouldn`t help. So, anyway, that`s why I wrote "Black Belt Patriotism"...

BECK: OK.

NORRIS: ... because I`m dealing with our national debt, our economy, illegal immigration problems and what I call common-sense solutions to these problems.

BECK: Give me some of them.

NORRIS: Well, like, for instance, our national debt. OK. We`re in debt $9 trillion. I saw one institute for truth and accounting says it`s closer to $56 trillion.

BECK: Yes.

NORRIS: And the thing is, is we got -- the whole thing is we`ve got to figure out how to get this under control. And our government -- you know, that`s what I liked about McCain when he talked about the other night. He said we`ve got to bring the power back to the people. And this is what this book is all about, is bringing the power back to the people and taking it away from -- from the government.

BECK: You know what? I mean, here`s the thing. First of all, what do you think of Sarah Palin?

NORRIS: I like her. I like her a lot.

BECK: When I -- when I watched her give her speech and she said, you know, "Fellow citizens," it was first time I`ve ever seen anybody give a political speech where I thought, "Oh, wow she is like me. She`s not part of that mess."

And I think she is -- at least she gives me the hope that there`s somebody out there that connects with the American people and sees how stupid the people in Washington are being right now.

NORRIS: Well, I hope when they get into Washington that they will be able to get the control back to the people. You know, the whole thing is, Glenn, in 2005 over 6,000 taxpayers who make over $250,000 a year pay no taxes. And I think I heard it from you, you know how many pages there are in the IRS tax code?

BECK: Yes.

NORRIS: Sixty-six-thousand and four-hundred ninety-eight pages.

BECK: Yes.

NORRIS: Now who knows what`s in that tax code? The IRS doesn`t but I`ll bet you these high-faluting tax accountants do. And they are the ones that are finding all these loopholes in this tax code.

BECK: Well, let me -- let me flip this on its head. Before, about 48 percent of this country really doesn`t -- they get more back from the country, from the IRS than they pay in.

A lot of Americans under Obama, about 50 percent will not pay any income tax.

NORRIS: Yes.

BECK: I mean, Chuck, I challenge you to spend the day and just one day and look at all the people that you encounter and realize that half of the people that you`ve encountered today, including the people who haven`t given you the right sandwich when you`re driving out of the drive through, and you`re like ugh!

NORRIS: Yes.

BECK: You are paying their tax bill. There`s a lot -- there`s two Americans. There`s the Americans that are willing to work hard and believe that "Some day I`m going to be able to change things and I`m going to be able to have a slice of the American pie." And there`s the other Americans that just don`t give a flying crap. And I`m tired of carrying around the people who screw up my menu -- my order at the drive through every single time.

NORRIS: That`s one of our biggest complaints, Gena and I, my wife, is them screwing up our menu.

BECK: Right.

NORRIS: But you know, the thing is, too, is that that`s why I`m such in favor of the fair tax, Glenn. The thing is we`ve got $13 trillion in offshore accounts that people are hiding their money.

You know, the thing is, if we can bring that back into our economy, the three million manufacturing jobs that are outsourced overseas, we can bring all that back. And that`s why I supported Huckabee so strongly, because he`s a strong supporter of the fair tax.

BECK: Yes. Yes, the tax system in our country is all upside down.

NORRIS: It`s ridiculous. Totally upside down.

BECK: Yes.

NORRIS: And we`ve got to do something to correct that. And that`s why -- that`s why I said we need a voter`s resolution.

BECK: We do. We do. Hopefully, you know -- and we`re going to get one, one of these days. Hopefully, it will happen at the ballot box. And if it continues to go the way it has, unfortunately, I think it`s going to go in a different direction.

Chuck, we`re going to take a break. We`ll be back in just a second.

NORRIS: OK.

(NEWSBREAK)

BECK: Back with Chuck Norris talking about his new book, "Black Belt Patriotism."

Chuck, I mean, I`m in Los Angeles. You`re in New York. It`s supposed to be other way around. What happened?

NORRIS: I don`t know. I was watching you last night, and I thought, "He`s in L.A., so I`ll be talking to him by satellite."

BECK: Do you live out here, Chuck?

NORRIS: I live in Texas. I have a ranch near Houston, Texas. And so that`s where we`re heading back tomorrow night as soon as I finish my tour here in New York.

But you know, another thing, Glenn, which a lot of people I don`t think realize. Is that, you know, our congressmen and our senators, after one full term, they get full salary for the rest of their lives and -- plus full benefits. Who in the world in America works for a few years and gets full benefits for the rest of their lives?

BECK: Yes, works four years and gets full benefits. I mean...

NORRIS: And who voted it in, Glenn? Who voted it in? Congress.

BECK: Yes, I know. I know. I have to tell you. But who keeps voting these people in again? It`s us.

There`s a bill now in the Supreme Court for the next session of the Supreme Court. What they`re going to decide is whether or not you can redistrict, whether you can, you know, change any of these lines. Politicians have been playing redistricting games over and over and over again.

Here`s the new game that they`re playing. Now they`re saying, minority doesn`t mean 50 percent, a minority section. It can mean 32 percent is a minority showing. It will keep people in power. It is enslaving people...

NORRIS: Absolutely.

BECK: ... to the same corrupt politicians over and over and over again.

NORRIS: Well, you know, the whole thing, researching this book, Glenn, made my hair stand on end. You know, seeing the things that are going on. Seeing China with us -- China buying our debt for $1.5 trillion. What did we use for collateral to China for that $1.5 trillion?

You know, the thing is they`re drilling offshore in Florida. Is that part of the deal, you know, to pay off our $1.5 trillion debt to them? There`s some real shady things going on, and we really need to become cognizant of this here and bring it out.

BECK: Do you -- when you`re out in Hollywood -- we`re doing, you know, obviously a show with some celebrities today. And when you`re a conservative coming out in Hollywood, is it different because they know everybody that you talk to, you can kill them?

NORRIS: No. No.

BECK: You ever had problems with being a conservative?

NORRIS: No, I haven`t. All my bosses have been liberals. But you know, that`s why I love David Zucker, you know. He stands up there.

And I would be willing to guess 30 -- 30 percent of the actors, directors and producers in Hollywood lean towards conservatism but they`re too afraid to stand up it. And I really appreciate Zucker standing up...

BECK: Yes.

NORRIS: ... and espousing his conservatism. I can`t wait to see his movie.

BECK: You know, what`s really amazing is how many people, if you just stand up, how many people you will see around you say, "Really? Me too. I was afraid to say something."

NORRIS: Yes. I`ve never been afraid to say anything, Glenn, in all my years, you know.

BECK: No!

NORRIS: I am what I am. And you can either take it or leave it.

BECK: Right. OK. Chuck, thank you very much, sir. I appreciate it. We`ll see you again.

NORRIS: OK, Glenn.

BECK: Thanks.

Just ahead, a conservative in Hollywood? Yes, yes. We were just talking about him, David Zucker, the director of "Airplane," brand new movie out. It`s called "An American Carol." We`ll talk to him about it next.

ok...does this mean no one has a right to their own opinion? if that is the case, then those who oppose someone elses opinion should also have no right to their own opinion. sounds like one big gag order unless you are a politician, a friend of a politician, have a big enough portfolio or the correct current political views................that could change depending on which way the wind blows. Amazing reading this speech of hatred that our government says nothing about:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013...in-attendance/ "Farrakhan Talks of ‘Satanic Jews’ and ‘Synagogue of Satan’ at Detroit Church Speech — but Wait Until You Hear Who Was in Attendance
May. 22, 2013 7:45am "