Post by RS Davis on May 16, 2004 15:02:41 GMT -5
-- For the easier-to-read HTML version of this newsletter, click
here: <http://www.missliberty.com>
May 16, 2004
Dear Friends of Liberty:
-- The selection process for Showtime's "American Candidate" program--in
which ordinary people will be invited to make a case on TV why they
should be president--is under way. The winner of this contest will
receive $200,000 and a nationwide media appearance to occur after the
conclusion of the series. Nominations have closed and votes of a sort
are now being taken. If you want to support libertarian candidates (it's
quick and easy!), just go to this link, sort for libertarians using the
buttons on the left of the page, and click "support" in the upper right
hand of the page for each candidate:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z29715058>
-- Atlas movie update: The takeover of Crusader Entertainment, which
earlier acquired the film rights to Atlas Shrugged, by Anschutz Film
Group, may affect whether Atlas is ultimately produced. More on this
here: <http://makeashorterlink.com/?J2A732058>
-- A tax professor has analyzed the tax consequences for the characters
of the last episode of Frasier. Amusing to note how complicated it all
is: <http://makeashorterlink.com/?P4B712058>
-- "The Day After Tomorrow" is a soon-to-be released film about the
catastrophic effect that global warming will have on our lives
. The
Environmental News Network has a good article about how silly it all is:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?E2C724058>
-- Season One of "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" is now available on DVD. It
includes, among other things, a fantastic segment on environmental
hysteria and another on overreaction to second-hand smoke. You can get a
complete list of its contents here:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?E1D712058> or order it here:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?W1F763058>
-- "Dirty Pretty Things," a thriller, may not dramatize libertarian
solutions to the ongoing human organ shortage here and abroad, but at
least it focuses attention on this otherwise little-discussed topic. You
can see the trailer to this film here:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?F21855058>
-- A couple of readers have recommended the film "The Alamo,"
interpreting it as essentially a story about secession from bad
government. You can see the trailer here:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?N32812058>
-- This year's vote, by the readers of this newsletter, for "Best
Libertarian Film" and "Best Libertarian Documentary" of 2003 narrowed
the field to five films and three documentaries. However, the votes were
too widespread to determine a final winner in each category. This result
partly reflected the domination of foreign films, some of which have not
received large-scale distribution in the U.S. Accordingly, I have
appealed to the libertarian celebrity world for help, from which ten
volunteers have kindly offered to watch and judge these remaining
nominated films and documentaries.
The honored judges are: Paul Feine, Program Director, Institute for
Humane Studies; Michelle Forren, Founder, The Edge Film Festival &
Peachtree International Film Festival; James Harris, Editor: The
Libertarian Communicator, Writer, Filmmaker; Sharon Harris, President,
Advocates for Self-Government; Kathleen Hiserodt, Director,
Laissez-Faire Books; Tim Lee, Staff Writer, Cato Institute; Sunni
Marivalossa, Director, <Free-Market.Net>; Norman Singleton, Legislative
Director, Congressman Ron Paul; Bill Winter, Editor, Libertarian Party
News; Kelly Young, Vice President, Charles G. Koch Charitable
Foundation.
The final determination of the winners will be made using instant runoff
voting and will be announced in the weeks to come. You can see the list
of surviving nominees (now being judged) here:
<http://www.missliberty.com/Awards2003.html>
-- Author Chris Sciabarra reports in "The Altlasphere" that "Brad Pitt,
mega-star of the new film, Troy, which opens nationwide today, told
interviewer Charlie Rose that Oliver Stone--yes, he, of the left, who
admires Fidel Castro--was still interested in directing a new version of
'The Fountainhead.' As he has done on other occasions, Pitt talked
glowingly of the science and aesthetics of architecture. Rose asked him
if he knew of any way to combine his passion for architecture with his
passion for acting; he wondered if there was any 'story of a great
architect' that might inspire Pitt. 'That would go back to The
Fountainhead,' Pitt replied. Rose wondered if Pitt would even consider
re-making it. Pitt said that the book is 'so dense and complex, it would
have to be a six-hour movie ... I don't know how you do it under four,
and not lose, really lose, what Ayn Rand was after.' But he affirmed his
profound interest to star in a re-make, and cited Oliver Stone's own
interest in directing it as a feature film."
-- Teachers! The organization "Stossel in the Classroom" is offering
amazingly low prices on John Stossel video kits now through the end of
May. You can purchase one video kit for $20, two for $35, three for $45,
four for $50, or five for just $11 each! Compare that with the retail
price of $30 just for the video alone. This is an excellent deal. You
can learn more about it or order here: <http://www.intheclassroom.org/>
-- My top TV pick for the week is the classic Jimmy Stewart film
"Harvey," airing on TCM on Thursday (5/20, 11AM, Pacific). This is a
great social tolerance film about an eccentric man and those who try to
have him institutionalized. It's a well-written, hilarious story full of
good will that implicitly defends the freedom of eccentrics to be
eccentric.
Also notable, TCM will air another notable Jimmy Stewart film, "The
Mortal Storm," also on Thursday (5/20, 7AM, Pacific). In this story, the
rise of National Socialism in prewar Germany divides family and friends,
as each must choose sides according to personal convictions. What makes
this film particularly interesting is its dramatization of the social
domino effect that takes place once authoritarian rule reaches a certain
critical mass, as ordinary people align themselves with even the most
malignant power for fear of incurring its wrath.
Also notable, the History Channel will air "The Numbers Racket" on
Tuesday (5/18, 8AM, 2PM, Pacific), about government hypocrisy with
regard to gambling. "For decades, the government has promoted the same
game they spent centuries condemning. The saga of the numbers racket
unwinds from the founding fathers onto the back alleys of Depression-era
Harlem up to Madison Avenue ad campaigns. The battle over who booked the
bets, made the profit, and paid the dreamers was fought throughout the
20th century. Features interviews with politicians, lottery
commissioners, addicted players, and illegal operators, who detail their
roles in this world of vice for profit."
Also notable, "The Darwin Conspiracy" will air on the SciFi Channel on
Monday (5/17, 11PM, Pacific). It's about a geneticist who must save his
brother from government experimentation. I haven't seen it, but in the
course of researching it, I did find that the reason the hero discovers
the conspiracy is that he couldn't "bring myself to trust
government-sponsored medicine." Sounds like a possibility...
Enjoy!
-----------------------------------------------------
You can subscribe or unsubscribe from "Miss Liberty's Film & TV Update"
here: <http://www.free-market.net/partners/m/missliberty.html>. All
other correspondence should be sent to <oz@missliberty.com>. For more
information on libertarian film and video generally, see
<http://www.missliberty.com>. Still not sure what this whole libertarian
thing is all about? Discover your real political identity in minutes by
taking the world-famous "World's Smallest Political Quiz" on-line at
<http://www.self-gov.org> .
here: <http://www.missliberty.com>
May 16, 2004
Dear Friends of Liberty:
-- The selection process for Showtime's "American Candidate" program--in
which ordinary people will be invited to make a case on TV why they
should be president--is under way. The winner of this contest will
receive $200,000 and a nationwide media appearance to occur after the
conclusion of the series. Nominations have closed and votes of a sort
are now being taken. If you want to support libertarian candidates (it's
quick and easy!), just go to this link, sort for libertarians using the
buttons on the left of the page, and click "support" in the upper right
hand of the page for each candidate:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z29715058>
-- Atlas movie update: The takeover of Crusader Entertainment, which
earlier acquired the film rights to Atlas Shrugged, by Anschutz Film
Group, may affect whether Atlas is ultimately produced. More on this
here: <http://makeashorterlink.com/?J2A732058>
-- A tax professor has analyzed the tax consequences for the characters
of the last episode of Frasier. Amusing to note how complicated it all
is: <http://makeashorterlink.com/?P4B712058>
-- "The Day After Tomorrow" is a soon-to-be released film about the
catastrophic effect that global warming will have on our lives
. TheEnvironmental News Network has a good article about how silly it all is:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?E2C724058>
-- Season One of "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" is now available on DVD. It
includes, among other things, a fantastic segment on environmental
hysteria and another on overreaction to second-hand smoke. You can get a
complete list of its contents here:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?E1D712058> or order it here:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?W1F763058>
-- "Dirty Pretty Things," a thriller, may not dramatize libertarian
solutions to the ongoing human organ shortage here and abroad, but at
least it focuses attention on this otherwise little-discussed topic. You
can see the trailer to this film here:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?F21855058>
-- A couple of readers have recommended the film "The Alamo,"
interpreting it as essentially a story about secession from bad
government. You can see the trailer here:
<http://makeashorterlink.com/?N32812058>
-- This year's vote, by the readers of this newsletter, for "Best
Libertarian Film" and "Best Libertarian Documentary" of 2003 narrowed
the field to five films and three documentaries. However, the votes were
too widespread to determine a final winner in each category. This result
partly reflected the domination of foreign films, some of which have not
received large-scale distribution in the U.S. Accordingly, I have
appealed to the libertarian celebrity world for help, from which ten
volunteers have kindly offered to watch and judge these remaining
nominated films and documentaries.
The honored judges are: Paul Feine, Program Director, Institute for
Humane Studies; Michelle Forren, Founder, The Edge Film Festival &
Peachtree International Film Festival; James Harris, Editor: The
Libertarian Communicator, Writer, Filmmaker; Sharon Harris, President,
Advocates for Self-Government; Kathleen Hiserodt, Director,
Laissez-Faire Books; Tim Lee, Staff Writer, Cato Institute; Sunni
Marivalossa, Director, <Free-Market.Net>; Norman Singleton, Legislative
Director, Congressman Ron Paul; Bill Winter, Editor, Libertarian Party
News; Kelly Young, Vice President, Charles G. Koch Charitable
Foundation.
The final determination of the winners will be made using instant runoff
voting and will be announced in the weeks to come. You can see the list
of surviving nominees (now being judged) here:
<http://www.missliberty.com/Awards2003.html>
-- Author Chris Sciabarra reports in "The Altlasphere" that "Brad Pitt,
mega-star of the new film, Troy, which opens nationwide today, told
interviewer Charlie Rose that Oliver Stone--yes, he, of the left, who
admires Fidel Castro--was still interested in directing a new version of
'The Fountainhead.' As he has done on other occasions, Pitt talked
glowingly of the science and aesthetics of architecture. Rose asked him
if he knew of any way to combine his passion for architecture with his
passion for acting; he wondered if there was any 'story of a great
architect' that might inspire Pitt. 'That would go back to The
Fountainhead,' Pitt replied. Rose wondered if Pitt would even consider
re-making it. Pitt said that the book is 'so dense and complex, it would
have to be a six-hour movie ... I don't know how you do it under four,
and not lose, really lose, what Ayn Rand was after.' But he affirmed his
profound interest to star in a re-make, and cited Oliver Stone's own
interest in directing it as a feature film."
-- Teachers! The organization "Stossel in the Classroom" is offering
amazingly low prices on John Stossel video kits now through the end of
May. You can purchase one video kit for $20, two for $35, three for $45,
four for $50, or five for just $11 each! Compare that with the retail
price of $30 just for the video alone. This is an excellent deal. You
can learn more about it or order here: <http://www.intheclassroom.org/>
-- My top TV pick for the week is the classic Jimmy Stewart film
"Harvey," airing on TCM on Thursday (5/20, 11AM, Pacific). This is a
great social tolerance film about an eccentric man and those who try to
have him institutionalized. It's a well-written, hilarious story full of
good will that implicitly defends the freedom of eccentrics to be
eccentric.
Also notable, TCM will air another notable Jimmy Stewart film, "The
Mortal Storm," also on Thursday (5/20, 7AM, Pacific). In this story, the
rise of National Socialism in prewar Germany divides family and friends,
as each must choose sides according to personal convictions. What makes
this film particularly interesting is its dramatization of the social
domino effect that takes place once authoritarian rule reaches a certain
critical mass, as ordinary people align themselves with even the most
malignant power for fear of incurring its wrath.
Also notable, the History Channel will air "The Numbers Racket" on
Tuesday (5/18, 8AM, 2PM, Pacific), about government hypocrisy with
regard to gambling. "For decades, the government has promoted the same
game they spent centuries condemning. The saga of the numbers racket
unwinds from the founding fathers onto the back alleys of Depression-era
Harlem up to Madison Avenue ad campaigns. The battle over who booked the
bets, made the profit, and paid the dreamers was fought throughout the
20th century. Features interviews with politicians, lottery
commissioners, addicted players, and illegal operators, who detail their
roles in this world of vice for profit."
Also notable, "The Darwin Conspiracy" will air on the SciFi Channel on
Monday (5/17, 11PM, Pacific). It's about a geneticist who must save his
brother from government experimentation. I haven't seen it, but in the
course of researching it, I did find that the reason the hero discovers
the conspiracy is that he couldn't "bring myself to trust
government-sponsored medicine." Sounds like a possibility...
Enjoy!
-----------------------------------------------------
You can subscribe or unsubscribe from "Miss Liberty's Film & TV Update"
here: <http://www.free-market.net/partners/m/missliberty.html>. All
other correspondence should be sent to <oz@missliberty.com>. For more
information on libertarian film and video generally, see
<http://www.missliberty.com>. Still not sure what this whole libertarian
thing is all about? Discover your real political identity in minutes by
taking the world-famous "World's Smallest Political Quiz" on-line at
<http://www.self-gov.org> .
