Jordan Zakarin
Former Huffington Post Entertainment Editor
- HuffPost
WATCH: The Obama Flip-Flop Mashup
President Barack Obama's campaign has decided to fight fire with fire -- a decision that may just burn a hole in our democracy. Obama, an immediate critic of the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decision that allows a sea of corporate and special interest money in political campaigns, toured the nation in 2010, warning Americans about the dangers that unfettered cash donations posed to discourse and representative government. At the time, Republicans were taking in the vast majority of the money, primarily through super PACs, which could support individual candidates.
- HuffPost
How Taylor Kitsch Went To Mars, On Budget
"It's frustrating, because it's wrong," Lindsey Collins, one of the film's co-producers, says of years of trade reports that the film, the first live-action effort from Oscar-winning "WALL-E" director Andrew Stanton, was a bloated, over-budget mess. The budget they say they hit was $250 million, which went into live shoots in desert locations and massive computer graphic work to create an elaborate world in which a leather-clad Taylor Kitsch, as Carter, leaps into a war between two rival nations and a race of green, horned, four-armed natives.
- HuffPost
Navy SEALs And The Military's Secret Hollywood Mission
The upcoming film "Act of Valor" is replete with that kind of action, but there are a few things it doesn't have: There are no corrupt officers, no damaged heroes, no queasy doubts about the value of the mission or the virtue of the cause. It was commissioned by the Navy's Special Warfare Command and its success will be measured not in box-office receipts, but in the number of new recruits it attracts to the Navy SEALs. This may be the U.S. armed forces' first feature-length recruiting film, but it's far from the first time unsuspecting audiences have been treated to Pentagon propaganda at the movies.
- HuffPost
Michele Bachmann Denies 'Dancing With The Stars' Rumors
"In full disclosure, I did win a polka dancing competition when I was in the tenth grade at my alma mater, Anoka High School in Anoka, Minn.," Bachmann said. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Herman Cain said that the Godfather's Pizza CEO and?Pokemon enthusiast?would?not be competing on the show?because he "can't dance in an eight-count.
- HuffPost
WATCH: Dogs Protest Against Romney In New York City
Dogs (and their owners) howled their disapproval of Mitt Romney in New York City on Tuesday. Dogs Against Romney, a?Facebook-based protest group, demonstrated outside Madison Square Garden to bring attention to the now-infamous incident in which the former Massachusetts governor, now a leading Republican candidate for president,?put his Irish setter Seamus inside a dog crate?and strapped it to his vehicle for a 12-hour drive to a family vacation. Using the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show as a backdrop, a small cluster of protesters with signs that were media-ready with talking points braved the New York cold to greet passersby with their anti-Romney message.
- HuffPost
Republicans In Hollywood: Who Are They Endorsing?
Republicans often decry Hollywood as a liberal town, and it's largely true: tinseltown often champions progressive issues, and give much more generously to Democratic candidates. But that doesn't mean there aren't celebrities who lean to the right, either. There is a sizable contingent of stars who are registered Republicans and routinely campaign and support the GOP's causes.
- HuffPost
Mitt Romney Super PAC Donors: Own Your Ad
Thanks to the financial floodgates opened by the Supreme Court's decision in the now-infamous?Citizens United decision, campaign spending in the 2012 election cycle is?projected to reach a record high. The decision, along with subsequent lower court rulings, enabled creation of so-called super PACs, which are independent campaign groups that are allowed to solicit and spend unlimited amounts of money in support of their preferred candidates or political issues.
- HuffPost
Obama's Hollywood Fundraising Tanked In 2011
According to an analysis of the latest contribution figures conducted by the Center for Responsive Politics at the request of The Hollywood Reporter, the president's re-election campaign collected just under $1.2 million from the entertainment industry last year, which is less than half as much as the $2.8 million he raised during the same period in 2008.
- HuffPost
Pat Robertson Slams 'Twilight' As Demonic
Pat Robertson does not have "Twilight" Fever. Recalling a story about a friend who exorcised a spirit from a young girl, Robertson claimed that the demon had been invited in by the young girl after she had gone to see one of the films in the series. "Yes, I think those vampire movies are evil," Robertson said.
- HuffPost
Ryan Reynolds Is Like Robert Redford, 'Safe House' Director Says
"Safe House," the CIA thriller that opens in theaters on Friday, gives no overt indication that it is a foreign-language filmmaker's American feature debut. If anything, the film -- which features Denzel Washington as Tobin Frost, a CIA agent-turned-traitor, and Ryan Reynolds as Matt Weston, the young, idealistic, agent charged with keeping him in custody -- seems like a classic studio picture meant to bring out big audiences and churn out big popcorn sales. Espinosa called The Huffington Post earlier this month to talk about the film.
- HuffPost
Brad Pitt's Film Cleared Of Weapon Trafficking Charges
Good news: as far as Hungarian officials are concerned, Brad Pitt has no ties to illegal arms traffickers. Back in October, a Hungarian Anti-Terrorism Unit?stormed a warehouse that contained 85 fully-functioning assault rifles?intended for use on Pitt's upcoming zombie film, "World War Z." It's illegal to transport working weapons into the country, and because the guns, which were sent from the UK to Budapest, were easily readjusted to fire live ammunition, they were considered an illicit shipment. Now,?according to Hungarian outlets, Pitt's crew has had the charges dropped on a technicality: because the shipment came in to the duty-free area of the country's airport, and there was no one there with ownership rights initially waiting to receive them, it is impossible to hit any specific party with the illegal trafficking charge.
- HuffPost
Woody Harrelson's New Cop Drama Looks To Arrest Social Injustice
Don't let the marquee fool you: while Woody Harrelson is the star of the upcoming cop drama "Rampart," the film is just as much about the troubled society in which his tortured character exists. The film is set in 1999, when the real-life Rampart scandal was making headlines, implicating the unit's officers in a string of alleged beatings, murders, robberies and conspiracies. Add in a less-than-ideal home life -- two ex-wives (who happen to be sisters) and a daughter with each -- and Brown is an anti-hero of the highest order, protesting his innocence even as he continues to break any and all police standards in his pursuit of gang members and criminals.
- HuffPost
PHOTOS: Bill Murray Golfs, Steals The Show At Pebble Beach
It has been over thirty years since he featured as Carl Spackler in "Caddyshack," but Bill Murray still knows how to be a star on the golf course. Murray, equal parts avid golfer and theatrical spectacle on the links, returns this week to the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, the annual star-studded tournament featuring the top names in golf and entertainment swinging clubs side-by-side. Always one of the biggest draws, the Oscar-nominated actor won last year's tournament with partner DA Points and his face plastered all over this year's event, including on the tickets.
- HuffPost
Scarlett Johansson Praises Obama At Fashion Event, Says He 'Inherited A Turkey'
Backing Barack Obama is still in style. Just a week ahead of the start of New York City's Fashion Week, some of the biggest names in design and Hollywood got together in New York City on Tuesday night to launch the new?Runway to Win line of Obama-themed clothing and accessories. Far more stylish and a bit more expensive than the usual campaign shirts and bumper stickers, sales of the celebrity-designed line will benefit the president's re-election campaign, which event co-host Scarlett Johansson endorsed in a short speech in front of the likes of co-host Anna Wintour, Georgina Chapman and Diane Von Furstenberg.
- HuffPost
PHOTO: 'Modern Family' Stars Celebrate Prop 8 Ruling
Just as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state of California, was unconstitutional, one of TV's most famous fictional gay couples appealed to the better angels of their Twitter followers. Both Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet, who play partners Mitch and Cam on ABC's Emmy-winning sitcom "Modern Family," posted a photo on their WhoSay accounts asking "How could you not want to see us tie the knot?" After Tuesday's ruling, it looks like no matter who doesn't want to see them get hitched, there's nothing they can do to stop it.
- HuffPost
Ricky Gervais & Karl Pilkington Riff On HuffPost
As a?longtime The Huffington Post blogger, Ricky Gervais has a lot of love for our site. While the pair shot some upcoming "You've Got" videos?for AOL, Gervais decided that he and Pilkington ought to give us a shout out. When we got this video, we were quite touched -- until Karl, who stars in Gervais' Science Channel series "An Idiot Abroad," decided he would take no part in the greeting.
- HuffPost Life
Walt Disney's Daughter Opens Up, Reveals Memories Of Her Father
It's hardly recognizable in a modern day Disneyland filled with colorful marquees, laser light shows and nightly fireworks, but it's there, shining around the clock. Its soft glow illuminates a small apartment that's decorated with antiques, cranberry red glass lampshades, vintage instruments and a grandfather clock. It still looks today as it did when Walt Disney kept it as his personal home inside Disneyland.
- HuffPost
Gary Oldman, Finally An Oscar Nominee, Reflects On His Long Career
Maybe it's to his credit that it took Gary Oldman this long to earn an Oscar nomination. This year, however, his turn in the big-screen reprisal of the classic novel and BBC miniseries "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" was too hard to ignore. Oldman earned his first Oscar nod for his effort as retired spy George Smiley, a role he says marks a seminal moment in his career.
- HuffPost
Clint Eastwood Addresses Commercial Buzz: 'I'm Not Politically Affiliated With Obama'
After a day filled with chatter about?the political implications of his "Halftime in America" Super Bowl commercial?for Chrysler, acting legend Clint Eastwood moved to quell any speculation that he was making a pitch for President Obama's economic policy. "l am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about job growth and the spirit of America," Eastwood, a libertarian and longtime Republican voter, said Monday evening on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" about the ad, which features him extolling the virtues of a revitalized Detroit.