‘Real Time': Bill Maher Mocks Conservatives Who Hate Hollywood as Jealous Haters
”I implore tonight of all Hollywood executives, the next time a conservative comes to you with a really dumb idea for a movie or a TV show, just f—— do it,“ HBO host says
Bill Maher ended Friday’s “Real Time” by saying conservatives who profess hatred for Hollywood liberals are jealous they couldn’t hack it in the entertainment business.
“Republicans have to stop pretending they hate it when celebrities give their political opinions,” Maher said during the “New Rules” segment ending the show. “Please. You’re the party that made Reagan president.”
“It’s not our fault that your celebrities are Ted Nugent, Pat Sajak and Donald Trump,” Maher added.
“James Woods? His last credit was on a Mastercard bill.”
“Scott Baio? The only thing he’s been in that made headlines recently was his costar.”
Noting that Antonio Sabàto Jr. recently said he’d been “blacklisted” for appearing at the 2016 Republican National Convention, Maher joked that being blacklisted would be a step up. “He’d be lucky to get on a do not call list. You’d have to run him in to show business.”
Maher noted that NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch once tried, and failed, to get a sitcom off the ground, adding that the “same thing” pretty much happened to Andrew Breitbart, as well as his successor at the website Breitbart founded, Steve Bannon.
“[Breitbart] called celebrities ‘elitist pestilence with their cocktail parties on the West Side.’ ‘God, I f—ing hate them,’ he said. Which is funny because for years you know who I’d always see at cocktail parties on the West Side? Andrew Breitbart.”
“Oh, he hated Hollywood. Hated it,” Maher added. “Hated it. Hated it. Mostly from his home in America’s heartland, Brentwood.”
Maher lamented that “If only they had made that sitcom, today [Dana Loesch] might be a completely normal person,” and ended “New Rules” with a plea for studios to try and reverse the trend of Republican media heroes who started out with Hollywood dreams.
“That is why I implore tonight of all Hollywood executives, the next time a conservative comes to you with a really dumb idea for a movie or a TV show, just f—ing do it. We need affirmative action for Republicans in show business. They’re not good enough to make it on their own but if we give them a leg up, maybe they won’t take their rejection out on the whole country.”
All 19 Movies and Shows Steve Bannon Wrote, Directed or Produced (Photos)
Before he had the ear of the president, former White House Chief Political Strategist Steve Bannon tried his hand at Hollywood. As a producer, he was behind several small movies, but he really hit his movie-making stride writing and directing conservative documentaries aimed at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Here's a complete list of every Hollywood project in which Bannon's had a hand.
“The Indian Runner” (1991) — Executive Producer Bannon’s first movie as an executive producer was, somewhat ironically, written and directed by famous Trump critic Sean Penn. “The Indian Runner” starred Viggo Mortensen and David Morse as brothers on the opposite sides of the law. Here’s the trailer.
MGM
"Seinfeld" (1992) — Investor Bannon's investment banking company bought a minor stake in Castle Rock Entertainment, the producer behind the show, in 1992. That gave Bannon's company an undisclosed chunk of the syndication royalties for the show. By 2013, "Seinfeld" reruns had earned $3.1 billion. Even if Bannon only had a 1% cut of the royalties, "Seinfeld" would have netted him $31 million.
NBC
"Titus" (1999) — Co-Executive Producer Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange star in this modern-styled adaptation of the Shakespeare “Titus Andronicus.” That story packs an interesting mix of 1950s aesthetics and ancient Roman subject matter. Bannon served as co-executive producer on the project, the production of which was his obsession for almost a decade. Watch the trailer here.
Fox
“Reagan: In the Face of Evil” (2004) — Co-Producer Bannon wrote and directed this documentary, based on the book “Reagan’s War” by Peter Schweizer. It’s heavily conservative and positive about the former Republican president, focusing on his Cold War battle with the Soviet Union. It also holds a fairly abysmal 11 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration” (2006) — Executive Producer Bannon’s got a lot of interest in illegal immigration. “Border War” expands its look on illegal immigrants coming from Mexico, trying to include everything from human smuggling and crime to protests and immigration laws. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Tradition Never Graduates: A Season Inside Notre Dame Football” (2007) — Executive Producer For the first time since he was producing Shakespeare, Bannon’s filmography takes a break from conservative-leaning movies to talk about how great Notre Dame football is.
Vimeo
“The Chaos Experiment” (2009) — Executive Producer Obviously the best way to improve a “Saw”-style serial killer thriller is with a heavy handed anti-global warming message. Val Kilmer is a deranged global warming scientist who no one will believe. So he locks six people in a steam room to simulate what global warming will eventually do to the world. Watch the trailer here.
YouTube
“Generation Zero” (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer More than one critic called Bannon's documentary “Generation Zero” a “horror movie” about the US economy. Bannon explains the economic crash of 2008 by blaming the national deficit and bank bailouts, as well as the 1960s and the Baby Boomer generation. But really, this is about the rise of the Tea Party. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Battle for America” (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer Bannon tried to get out the conservative vote for the 2010 midterm elections by painting it as a war against the Obama Administration in this documentary. It's kind of hilarious listening to some of the conservative comments about the radical Obama presidency in the face of Trump's first seven weeks in office. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Fire from the Heartland" (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer Focusing on women in American conservatism, "Fire from the Heartland" paints the picture of a powerful American cultural movement that draws strength from women's issues. The movie posits that angry "Mama Grizzly" conservative women are the unforeseen side-effect of feminism in America. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Sarah Palin: The Undefeated" (2010) "The Undefeated" chronicles Sarah Palin's rise in battling the Republican establishment and the liberal media. Bannon's doc explores her life and history as a politician, painting her as a warrior who went up against special interests and corruption as she rose from Alaska to the national stage. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“The Hope & the Change” (2012) — Writer, Director, Producer Democrats are disillusioned because of Barack Obama, Bannon works to show in this documentary. Interviewing something like 40 Democrats and Independents, the movie finds people who never got the Hope and Change they were promised. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“District of Corruption” (2012) — Writer, Director, Producer Before he was part of the Trump Administration and the constant allegations of corruption it weathers, Bannon made this doc hammering the Obama Administration with claims of corruption. Bannon wrote and directed this one, working with conservative watch dog group Judicial Watch. Check out the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Occupy Unmasked” (2012) — Writer, Director Bannon's documentaries have shown the Tea Party in a positive light, and in "Occupy Unmasked," he goes after a liberal movement. The movie portrays Occupy as radical, uncontrollable, and dangerous. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Sweetwater” (2013) — Executive Producer Taking a break from making documentaries, Bannon produced "Sweetwater." The Western is all about revenge and murdering bad dudes, and has a pretty notable cast, including heavy hitters like January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Ed Harris and Stephen Root. Watch the trailer here.
“Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power” (2014) — Executive Producer "Rickover" tells the story of controversial US Navy Admiral Hyman Rickover, who pushed for the first nuclear-powered submarine. After that, Rickover became an entrepreneur and nuclear pioneer, building the first commercial nuclear power plant. The documentary, produced by Bannon, appeared on PBS, of all places.
PBS
“Clinton Cash” (2016) — Writer, Executive Producer Ahead of the 2016 election, Bannon wrote a documentary adaptation of the book "Clinton Cash" by Peter Schweizer. The movie focuses on Clinton Foundation corruption and suggests foreign money influences Hillary Clinton in government. Another ironic one, as allegations of ethics breaches and using the presidency for personal enrichment continue to follow the Trump family. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Torchbearer” (2016) — Writer, Director, Executive Producer "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson goes around the world to talk about Christianity and the Bible in this Bannon-directed doc. The Duck Commander uses the Bible to add context to historical sites, pushing the idea of a culture war to get Christians out to the 2016 polls. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Trump @War" (2018) -- Writer, Director
After his ouster from the White House, Bannon directed and co-wrote a documentary ahead of the 2018 midterm elections that portrays Trump supporters as under siege. He also admitted to Axios that he hoped the film would get back into POTUS' good graces: "How jacked do we think Trump will be when he sees this?"
Victory Film Group
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Bannon produced Hollywood movies in the 1990s, but most of his efforts have gone to making polemic, conservative documentaries
Before he had the ear of the president, former White House Chief Political Strategist Steve Bannon tried his hand at Hollywood. As a producer, he was behind several small movies, but he really hit his movie-making stride writing and directing conservative documentaries aimed at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Here's a complete list of every Hollywood project in which Bannon's had a hand.
MGM
