Actor Tommy Lee Jones has just listed the 50-acre polo farm he owns in Wellington, Fla. for $26.75 million, according to a South Florida gossip blog (via Zillow).
Jones bought the property a decade ago and built the equestrian center himself. The Lincoln star is a known polo lover who also owns a ranch in Texas.
In addition to recreational facilities and miles of horse trails, there's a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house on the property.
The 50-acre ranch is a half-mile from the International Polo Club.
Those lucky enough to get an invite to the super exclusive affair walked a black and white carpet before heading inside to dance the night away -- and chow down on In-N-Out burgers.
After the Oscar show, celebrities braved traffic on Sunset Boulevard to attend the Vanity Fair after party at Sunset Tower hotel.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Stars walked a black and white carpet and smiled for tons of cameras.
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Model Chrissy Teigen tweeted a picture of the exclusive invite. Arrival times were stacked and set before the event.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein showed off his political connections at the 2013 Oscars — even if his "Silver Linings Playbook" did not win Best Picture.
For a final push, however, Weinstein reached out to former Obama for America 2012 campaign manager Stephanie Cutter, Vulture reported on Monday.
According to Vulture, Cutter was hired to promote the film "not just as a well-made movie, but a culturally relevant and especially politically significant film that was shaping the national conversation about mental health triggered in part by the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut."
In the weeks leading up to the Oscars, Cutter tweeted a link to the making of "Silver Linings Playbook" and aSalon article asking whether "Silver Linings Playbook" could steal the top spot from "Argo."
Weinstein also "sought the advice" of other major Democrats, a Weinstein Company spokeswoman told Vulture:
“When it was clear that Silver Linings Playbook's treatment of mental health issues was becoming a topic in the advocacy community and political circle, Harvey Weinstein sought the advice of a number of friends with experience in those areas, including former Senator Chris Dodd, Senators Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand, and Stephanie Cutter, who he knows from his work as a supporter of President Obama.”
Earlier last year, "Silver Linings Playbook" director David O. Russell and actor Bradley Cooper met with Vice President Joe Biden to discuss mental health care in light of the tragic Newtown shootings.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.A standup routine by the comedian Louis C.K. observes that nobody gets divorced at the right time:
"When you get divorced, you don't get divorced right on time. Nobody says ... 'It just went bad just now. Let's stop!' That's not what happens. You get divorced after just being in a s--- marriage for several years and you're only aware of it for one."
It's funny because it's true.
A 2008 study in The Economic Journal measured happiness before and after major life events. Four years before a divorce, a guy is relatively unhappy. Three years before a divorce, he is even less happy. Two years before a divorce, it gets worse. One year before a divorce, he is miserable.
These conclusions were drawn from 20 years of survey data in Germany.
Check out a chart of male happiness going into a divorce:
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In an ideal world, the guy would have gotten divorced in one, two, three, or four years earlier. By the time the actual divorce comes rolling around, however, he's feeling pretty happy with his life.
Women exhibit their own strange emotional pattern, in which unhappiness peaks two years before the divorce and improves in the following year. This trend may reflect the fact that most divorces are initiated by the woman, according to the study.
Directed by Sofia Coppola, the ad campaign for the new Miss Dior eau de toilette entitled 'La Vie en Rose,' is as pretty as the juice inside the bottle. (See video below.)
This is the second time Coppola and Hollywood starlet Natalie Portman have teamed up for Dior perfume; as the Black Swan actress was signed up by the brand two years ago.
Just last year, Portman's advert for Diorshow mascara was banned in the UK after the Advertising Standards Authority suspected a little heavy handedness with the photo-shopping on her lashes.
This sugar coated film should keep everyone sweet though. Just like the new scent it's promoting (which for the record is out now exclusively at Selfridges, and goes nationwide on March 1) La Vie en Rose is full of roses for something all together more light-hearted and sweet.
Nielsen last week took a symbolic step toward helping the biz monetize TV viewing done via the Internet. But reaction to the ratings service's decision to add Internet-connected TV sets to its formal definition of a "TV household" was muted among execs because it addresses only part of the vexing measurement challenges facing traditional TV nets.
Nielsen had been grappling with adjusting the definition in order to count homes that only receive programming via broadband connections as part of the universe of TV homes. The decision unveiled to TV and advertising execs on Thursday had been expected (Daily Variety, Jan. 10).
New definition doesn't encompass homes where viewers only receive TV via tablets and smartphones. The growth of viewing on tablets is seen as a big driver of second-screen multi-tasking activities surrounding TV shows, particularly among younger viewers. Not being able to capture the viewing among auds who are highly engaged with programming is frustrating to bizzers.
There's also the issue of how to count viewing done via VOD and Web streaming platforms where the program's commercial load does not match up with the spots aired during the linear telecast. As such, the industry's goal of achieving an omnibus number that captures how many people watch a particular program over a given time frame (and there's even a healthy debate about the best time parameters) remains far out of reach, for now.
Underscoring the shift in behavior, Nielsen's estimate of the number of U.S. TV households has dropped in recent years, sliding from 115.9 million in 2011 to 114.6 million in 2012. Some of the drop can be attributed to the disruption of the broadcast biz's transition to all-digital signals in 2009, which left behind a small percentage of Americans with older TV sets.
And some can be attributed to cord-cutting and "cord nevers," or the rise in the number of younger viewers who rely on Internet-delivered sources and have never subscribed to cable, satellite or telco service.
Regardless of the reason, the decline in the TV household universe estimate is alarming for industryites, especially amid other reports that many Americans are watching more TV than ever before precisely because there are so many options for viewing.
The number of homes that will be added to the total TV universe under the new definition, to take effect in the 2013-14 season, is less than 1%. In discussions with network execs and Madison Avenue, Nielsen characterized the definition shift for fall 2013 as a first step. The company that provides the ratings that are the currency of ad-supported TV is clearly continuing to feel the pressure to crack the multiplatform-measurement conundrum.
"On the path to capturing all viewing in all homes, this foundational change addresses the lion's share of viewing, in effect including any home with a TV that can receive video via an external source," said Pat McDonough, Nielsen's senior veep of insights and analysis.
(Andrew Wallenstein contributed to this report.)
Click here for more television news on Variety.com.
Nielsen last week took a symbolic step toward helping the biz monetize TV viewing done via the Internet. But reaction to the ratings service's decision to add Internet-connected TV sets to its formal definition of a "TV household" was muted among execs because it addresses only part of the vexing measurement challenges facing traditional TV nets.
Nielsen had been grappling with adjusting the definition in order to count homes that only receive programming via broadband connections as part of the universe of TV homes. The decision unveiled to TV and advertising execs on Thursday had been expected (Daily Variety, Jan. 10).
New definition doesn't encompass homes where viewers only receive TV via tablets and smartphones. The growth of viewing on tablets is seen as a big driver of second-screen multi-tasking activities surrounding TV shows, particularly among younger viewers. Not being able to capture the viewing among auds who are highly engaged with programming is frustrating to bizzers.
There's also the issue of how to count viewing done via VOD and Web streaming platforms where the program's commercial load does not match up with the spots aired during the linear telecast. As such, the industry's goal of achieving an omnibus number that captures how many people watch a particular program over a given time frame (and there's even a healthy debate about the best time parameters) remains far out of reach, for now.
Underscoring the shift in behavior, Nielsen's estimate of the number of U.S. TV households has dropped in recent years, sliding from 115.9 million in 2011 to 114.6 million in 2012. Some of the drop can be attributed to the disruption of the broadcast biz's transition to all-digital signals in 2009, which left behind a small percentage of Americans with older TV sets.
And some can be attributed to cord-cutting and "cord nevers," or the rise in the number of younger viewers who rely on Internet-delivered sources and have never subscribed to cable, satellite or telco service.
Regardless of the reason, the decline in the TV household universe estimate is alarming for industryites, especially amid other reports that many Americans are watching more TV than ever before precisely because there are so many options for viewing.
The number of homes that will be added to the total TV universe under the new definition, to take effect in the 2013-14 season, is less than 1%. In discussions with network execs and Madison Avenue, Nielsen characterized the definition shift for fall 2013 as a first step. The company that provides the ratings that are the currency of ad-supported TV is clearly continuing to feel the pressure to crack the multiplatform-measurement conundrum.
"On the path to capturing all viewing in all homes, this foundational change addresses the lion's share of viewing, in effect including any home with a TV that can receive video via an external source," said Pat McDonough, Nielsen's senior veep of insights and analysis.
(Andrew Wallenstein contributed to this report.)
Click here for more television news on Variety.com.
Janet Jacksonsecretly got married to her boyfriendWissam Al Mana -- last year! The two announced a joint statement revealing the news: “The rumors regarding an extravagant wedding are simply not true. Last year we were married in a quiet, private, and beautiful ceremony. Our wedding gifts to one another were contributions to our respective favourite children’s charities."
The Coen brothers have been tapped to rewrite "Unbroken," about the true story of World War II hero Lou Zamperini based on Laura Hillenbrand’s 2010 book being directed by Angelina Jolie for Universal.
"Arrested Development" is NOT getting a second Netflix season. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told investors Monday "'Arrested' is a unique property, we don’t anticipate being able to do season five, six and seven. We have less of a stake in it. It is really a fantastic one-off, which is coming together incredibly. I think it will be amazing for us, but think of it as a nonrepeatable amazing."
As if she's not the most likeable celebrity of this year's award season already, Jennifer Lawrence gave the most genuinely starstruck reaction after Jack Nicholson crashed her post-Oscars interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
"Oh my god!" she squealed, before jokingly telling the Hollywood vet, "you're being really rude."
“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Lisa Vanderpump
BoxerVictor Ortiz
Actor Andy Dick
Actor/Comedian D.L Hughley
Teen actress and singerZendaya Coleman
Soap star Ingo Rademacher
Former Olympian Dorothy Hamill
Now here's which professional dancers they'll be paired with:
Women: Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman and Mark Ballas Country singer Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough Country legend Wynonna Judd and Tony Dovolani Disney Channel star Zendaya Coleman and Valentin Chmerkovskiy Olympic figure skater Dorothy Hamill and Tristan MacManus "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and "Vanderpump Rules" star Lisa Vanderpump and new pro Gleb Savchenko
Men: Boxer Victor Ortiz and new pro Lindsay Arnold Actor/Comedian D.L Hughley and Cheryl Burke Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff Comedian Andy Dick and former troupe member Sharna Burgess Actor Ingo Rademacher and Kym Johnson
Now who do you think will take home this year's disco ball trophy?
Cara Delevingne, a model for Burberry and Chanel who is famous for her dramatic eyebrows, has trademarked her name, according to Refinery29.
The Telegraph notes she has listed Cara & Co as the name of her company, with her father Charles as co-director: "Delevingne is also said to have trademarked her name against numerous product lines, ranging from perfumes, handbags and nail files, to umbrellas, key rings and perhaps more peculiarly - walking sticks."
Just a day after Zero Dark Thirty foundered at the Oscars, taking just a single technical prize, the high-profile US senate investigation that may have helped scupper the drama's awards season has been quietly dropped.
With Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal having previously won best film in 2010 for The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty – about the hunt for Osama bin Laden – was one of the early frontrunners for this year's Oscars and took many of the critics' prizes that preface the bigger awards ceremonies. But then disquiet grew over the film's depiction of the CIA's alleged use of torture in the hunt for the leader of al-Qaida.
In January the US Senate intelligence committee launched an investigation into whether Bigelow and Boal were granted "inappropriate access" to classified CIA material after the committee's Democratic chair Dianne Feinstein and member John McCain, the former Republican US presidential candidate, expressed concern about Zero Dark Thirty's torture scenes. In an article on the Guardian website Naomi Wolf later compared Bigelow with the Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl.
The film soon became a political football, with the film-makers furiously defending their right to include fictional elements. "It's a movie. I've been saying from the beginning it's a movie," Boal said last month. "That shouldn't be too confusing. It's in cinemas and if it's not totally obvious, a CIA agent wasn't really an Australian [Jason Clarke] that was on a lot of TV shows and Jessica Chastain isn't really a CIA agent; she's a very talented actress. But I think most American audiences understand that." Speaking at the New York Film Critics Circle awards, where she won best director, Bigelow said: "I thankfully want to say that I'm standing in a room of people who understand that depiction is not endorsement, and if it was, no artist could ever portray inhumane practices; no author could ever write about them; and no film-maker could ever delve into the knotty subjects of our time."
When the Oscar nominees were announced on 10 January, Bigelow surprisingly missed out on a nod for best director and her film was left to compete only for best picture, best original screenwriting (Boal), best actress (Chastain) and two editing prizes. On Sunday night, Chastain lost out to Silver Linings Playbook's Jennifer Lawrence and Boal was defeated by Django Unchained's Quentin Tarantino. Zero Dark Thirty ultimately had to be content with a single gong for best sound editing, in a tie with James Bond movie Skyfall.
During the conference, Hastings said the company's current focus is on franchises. He referred to the series return as a great "one-off" that would be a "non-repeatable" event for the company:
"'Arrested' is a unique property, we don’t anticipate being able to do season five, six and seven. We have less of a stake in it. It is really a fantastic one-off, which is coming together incredibly. I think it will be amazing for us, but think of it as a non-repeatable amazing, whereas the other thing that we are doing is to trying to figure out a real mechanism where we can build shows and develop franchises over the long term."
A spokesperson expanded on Hastings' comments telling the Wall Street Journal it would be "extremely difficult to get the cast together" again for anything more.
However, for fans of the show, there is hope.
A Netflix spokesperson told website HitFix the streaming site is interested in pursuing more seasons of the quirky comedy.
But it would be up to Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos to make it happen.
"We're hopeful there will be more seasons," the spokesperson told HitFix. "If anyone can pull it together, it's going to be Ted. But by no means is this the end of it. We're definitely planning to do more with them.
Bill Gold, the 92-year-old movie poster designer who created iconic ads for A Clockwork Orange, Alien, and The Exorcist, gave a fascinating interview to UnBeige, the design blog, recently.
He revealed that one of his original drafts for the 1942 Humphrey Bogart movie Casablanca left out a crucial detail. Without this detail, the movie poster makes no sense at all.
Casablanca is probably the best movie ever made, and it was advertised with one of the most memorable classic painted posters created by Hollywood. It depicts Bogart in the final scene of the movie, wearing a white raincoat and a wide-brimmed fedora.
In that scene, of course, he shoots the Nazi commander who has been pursuing him, and walks off into the fog as he tells Claude Rains (the French police captain), "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Receding behind him in the poster, in ochre shadows, are the other stars of the movie, including Ingrid Bergman, Sydney Greenstreet, Rains and Peter Lorre.
The plot of Casablanca is so complicated, however — it's a wartime romance in which Bogart and the Nazis both pursue a set of valuable visa papers and the resistance leader who needs them to leave the country — that it's impossible to convey the gist of it in a single, still image.
Initially, Gold says, he thought the lineup of characters would be interesting enough:
This was one of my first posters. My initial thoughts were to put together a montage showing all the characters depicted in the film. They appeared to be an interesting ensemble of notable characters. Something was missing, however. And I was asked to add some more ‘excitement’ to the scene.
The characters alone didn't hint at the threat of violence that lurks throughout the whole movie. So Gold added ... Bogart's gun:
I added the gun in Bogart’s hand, and the poster suddenly came alive with intrigue.
As is now obvious, the gun is the focal point of the entire ad, and the only part of the ad not covered in partial shadow.
Then, she forgot to thank the film's producer Harvey Weinstein and director David O.Russell.
Big no-no.
So in the wake of Lawrence's memory mishap, everyone's favorite actress released the below statement to Entertainment Weekly apologizing for her "brain fart.":
In the whirlwind of last night, I was remiss to thank two incredibly important people to this film and in my life.
David O. Russell: Thank you for the most incredible experience of my life. Thank you for your genius, for your guidance, for teaching me things about myself and nurturing me to be a better actor. You have so much passion and such a bleeding heart, you believe not only in your films but what your films can do for people and that is the most important thing that I have learned from you.
Harvey Weinstein: You championed this movie and its story from early days. Your passion and unyielding support gave this film the opportunity to thrive and touch so many people.
Thank you to both. I will never be able to forgive myself for such a brain fart but I hope that you both can. Obviously it was not on purpose, I couldn’t remember what I had already said and my mind went completely blank–your brain does funny things during the most overwhelming moment of your life!
AMC Networks points to Q4 shortcomings due to money lost during its feud with DISH.
From July until November 1, AMC Networks channels (AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, and WE tv) weren't aired on DISH due to a lengthy carriage dispute.
As a result, the cable company predicts it lost approximately $31 million in affiliate fees.
AMC Networks also saw a 16 percent increase in fourth quarter advertising spending to $157 million to push its original programs including "Mad Men" and "The Walking Dead."
At the "Argo" after-party at Craig's restaurant in Beverly Hills, Affleck was handed a pair of clippers by his wife, Jennifer Garner.
"He did it himself at the restaurant," an insider revealed to Us Weekly, adding that his wife and George Clooney were egging him on as he shaved in a hallway.
"The whole family was tired of the beard!" adds the Us source. "Jen actually brought the clippers to the party."
As for why Ben felt the beard was good luck, TMZ says "Ben had facial hair when he re-emerged as a major Hollywood player."
"He did it to mark the end of a chapter," adds an E! Online source. "It had that ceremonial quality to it."
Sunday night, Adele took home her first Oscar for Best Original Song.
The award brings the "Skyfall" singer one step closer to achieving what is considered the Triple Crown of acting awards: an EGOT.
This occurs when an individual acquires wins from each of the big competitive Awards shows: the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and Tonys.
With her first Oscar and numerous Grammys, Adele is well on her way to achieving the title since releasing her first album "19" in 2008.
Here is just how successful she is:
9 Grammys
Through 12 nominations, Adele won one Grammy in 2009, 2010, and 2013 and took home six last year including song and record of the year.
4 American Music Awards
Adele took home awards for favorite artist and album "21" between 2011 and 2012.
12 Billboard Music Awards
From a total of 20 nominations, she's taken home: Top Artist of the Year Top Female Artist of the Year Top Billboard 200 Artist of the Year Top Digital Songs Artist of the Year Top Radio Songs Artist of the Year Top Hot 100 Artist of the Year Top Digital Media Artist of the Year Top Pop Artist of the Year Top Streaming Song of the Year (Audio), "Rolling in the Deep" Top Alternative Song of the Year, "Rolling in the Deep" Top Billboard 200 Album of the Year, "21" Top Pop Album of the Year, "21"
4 Brit Awards
Her wins from nine nominations span from 2008 to 2013.
A Golden Globe for "Skyfall"
And, now, she has her first Oscar.
Now, here's the kicker.
Adele's managed to do all of this at the age of …
.................
...
Not 30.
..........
...
Not 27.
..........
...
Not even 25.
.................
...
Adele is 24 years old with an Oscar and nine Grammys.
She also had her first child, a baby boy, in October.
Adele told reporters after the Oscars she has some ideas for how she can go about earning the other two awards to gain her EGOT.
"Maybe I'll do an HBO special like Beyoncé did." she said. "And a Tony, I'm not so sure. Maybe someday I'll do a musical."
I don't intend to branch out into movie reviews, but Django Unchained struck me as a pretty politically important film, so I wanted to say a few words about it.
I loved the movie. Not for the cartoonish violence (which was OK, nothing special) or for Tarantino's trademark witty banter (which was a bit subdued). I loved Django for the politics.
First of all, I'm pretty sure that for all its elements of blaxploitation, Django's politics are all about white people. It's not a black revenge fantasy; it's a white revenge fantasy.
Anyone who grew up in the American South, as I did, knows how equivocal the region still feels toward its past. My history teachers went to great pains to emphasize that the Civil War wasn't fought over slavery, but because the North wanted to protect its economic interests (this is bullshit, by the way; of course it was about slavery, and everyone knows it). The "positive" impacts of slavery were mentioned - slaves were well-cared-for, many slavers had close relationships with their slaves, and yada yada. The fact that slavery was "more acceptable" in the world of the 1800s is always mentioned.
Having been defeated in battle, Southern whites made denial of their past atrocities a central pillar of their group pride - much the same way that Japanese right-wing nationalists defend Imperial Japan's occupation of Korea and brutalization of China, or Turkey denies the Armenian Genocide of Ottoman times.
In recent decades, though, as non-Southern America became more racially diverse, the South has become sort of the standard-bearer for Real White America. From New York to California, rural and working-class whites identify with the South. George Packer describes this process well:
[From the 70s onward], the Southern way of life began to be embraced around the country until, in a sense, it came to stand for the “real America”: country music and Lynyrd Skynyrd, barbecue and nascar, political conservatism, God and guns, the code of masculinity, militarization, hostility to unions, and suspicion of government authority, especially in Washington, D.C. (despite its largesse). In 1978, the Dallas Cowboys laid claim to the title of “America’s team”—something the San Francisco 49ers never would have attempted. In Palo Alto, of all places, the cool way to express rebellion in your high-school yearbook was with a Confederate flag. That same year, the tax revolt began, in California.
Racial homogeneity (ignoring those pesky Southern blacks, of course) is one of the South's selling points. The other is its fabled military prowess. Southerners are supposed to make the best soldiers. This is certainly the South's image of itself; the aforementioned history teachers wasted no time in describing all the battles that Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson won before the North ground them down under the weight of superior numbers and superior industry. The idea of Southern men as a "warrior race" even gave birth to the "Southern race" mythology, in which some Southerners contended that they were descended from the chivalrous Norman warriors of old England, while the Northern whites were descended from cowardly, wimpy, Saxon shopkeepers.
But there is another white racial mythology, with even more power than the old Southern supremacy. This is pan-Nordicism, or the idea of the Germans/Nordics/Anglo-Saxons as the Real White People, which grew popular only in the late 1800s and remains fresher in our collective unconscious. If the Southerners are supposed to be good soldiers, they don't hold a candle to the fabled Prussians.
Which brings us to Django Unchained.
As some critics of the film have pointed out, the protagonist for the first two-thirds of the film is not Django himself, but his German mentor and benefactor, King Schultz:
This film follows a brave, cunning and fearless lead character whose name starts with a "D." Viewers of the film's trailer would think that character is Django, played by Jamie Foxx. In fact, his name is Dr. King Schultz, a German portrayed by Christoph Waltz, (spoiler alert) who sacrifices his life in the pursuit of freedom and justice for the black man. It is the white Dr. King, who after sharing a motivational tale about a man reaching a mountaintop, nobly gives his life for "black justice."
Schultz' attitude toward slavery is one of barely concealed disgust. He doesn't shoot slavers in cold blood, but obviously enjoys killing them when he has an excuse to do so. He dismisses slavery itself as "malarkey," waving his hand as if hundreds of years of history and atrocity were a passing annoyance. This is bound to annoy many black people, whose history is the one being trivialized. But Django is a movie about white people.
King Schultz, you see, is a German. Whatever claim Southerners have to be the Real White People, Schultz' claim is deeper and more credible. He's got Siegfried and Brunhilde. And slavery - the institution on which the South built its civilization - is beneath him. He is contemptuous of it and the degenerate human beings who practice it. He does not view slavery as "normal" for the 1800s. He does not shed a tear when he guns slavers down.
And gun them down he does - in droves. The supposedly mighty Southern warriors are no match for Schultz' Prussian gunnery. I see this as Tarantino giving a big fat middle finger to Southern pretensions of military manhood; one diminutive middle-aged German dude makes them look like amateurs. King Schultz, you see, is the Real Real White Guy, and one such man is worth a thousand of the chickenshit slavers who tried to usurp the mantle of the white race.
It almost seems as if Schultz' character came to the South just to serve this notice.
And here's the amazing part; it really, really worked. The theater where I saw Django was packed mostly with working-class-type white folks, more men than women. Exactly the kind of people who have felt such an affinity with the South in the last three decades. And every time Schultz gunned down another white Southern slaver, these people laughed and whooped and cheered. No moral equivalence was in evidence. There was no dismay at the easy defeat of Southern manhood.
Think about that. With a bit of cartoonish violence, Quentin Tarantino was able to do what a thousand reasonable op-eds and preachy biopics have been unable to do: reverse white people's affinity for the South. I see Django as a white revenge fantasy - whites, whose ancestors (like Tarantino's) had no part in the institution of slavery, saying "No. The South does not get to represent my racial group. If I was alive in the 1800s, I would have shot those assholes right in the head!"
Which, if you think about it, is probably exactly what they would have done. After all, the North did fight a very bloody war to end slavery, and many people in the North - for example, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the folks who wrote "Battle Hymn of the Republic" - were quite clear that they thought violence was a perfectly legitimate way to cleanse the stain on their civilization. (Update: a commenter points out that German immigrants to the South in fact often bucked the local power structure and fought for the Union.)
Django is not black people's story of slavery, it's white people's. White Americans will never understand or share black Americans' historical experience of suffering and escaping from slavery, but they can remember, and be proud of, their own historical experience of fighting and defeating the slavers.
For almost forty years now, Americans have had to live with the creeping Southernization of our culture. The Confederate flags on the pickup trucks right next to the American flags. The country music playing at the car mechanic's shop. The pundits gushing about the folksy charm of Southern good-ole-boys like George W. Bush. The trumpeting of the South's superior economic model. The ambivalent portrayals of Confederate history. The notion that only a Southerner can win the Presidency. The very real domination of Congress by a heavily Southern Republican caucus. Etc. etc.
But in the last few years, a real pushback has begun. Obama's election is obviously part of it, but I think it's much more result than cause. The rest of white America is starting to realize (or to remember) that in many ways, the South don't really represent them that much. I see Django as part of that realization. And for that reason I love the film, despite its historical insensitivity and over-the-top blaxploitation.
Just like Turkey and Japan, the American South is going to have to realize that yes, they really were the bad guys back in The War. That doesn't mean they have to be the bad guys going forward. But admitting one's mistakes is the first step toward reform.
For women, the last 50 years have brought some of the most sweeping social reforms in history –– and it didn't come without a fight.
In a new AOL/PBS documentary, "MAKERS: Women Who Make America," filmmakers have created an unprecedented archive of stories told by the very women –– deemed "Makers" –– who made it all possible.
The three-party documentary captures more than 160 first-person stories from celebrated pioneers like Oprah Winfrey and Faith Ringold and unsung heroes like New York City's first female firefighter, Brenda Berkman, and the first woman to finish the Boston Marathon, Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb.
Business Insider was invited to the premiere earlier this month at the Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. For about three extremely surreal hours, I rubbed elbows with legendary Makers like Gloria Steinem and Martha Stewart, and was thrilled to see young stars like Allison Williams supporting the cause.
I've gathered the highlights from the night here.
On my way to the Lincoln Center, an ad for MAKERS coincidentally popped up on the taxi monitor. It's the first time I haven't automatically hit "Mute."
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
I arrived at least 45 minutes before showtime, and the place was PACKED. I could barely get through to coat check.
Image may be NSFW.
