George Clooney: “I Want To Be On That Deck Of Cards”
Your wish is our command.
Of course, for those who may not remember, Hollywood’s darling is referring to the famous deck of cards used by U.S. military to track the Saddam regime and other terrorists in Iraq. Obviously, George Clooney is the missing joker.
These are the kinds of remarks Mssr. Clooney must dream up when he lays about in a general malaise, surrounded by “his people” and only the cool gentle breeze of Lake Como to comfort him. Such are the woes of the idle wealthy. Narcissism. Confusion. Loneliness.
So, what’s the full story behind his remarks?
Newsmax reports:
“There’s a lot of George Clooney news these days, so let us get you caught up with it. First of all, as if it wasn’t enough that he was nominated as Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and for Best Original Screenplay, now word comes from the Academy that Clooney will be presenting an Oscar on Sunday night on ABC as well. So we’re apparently heading for what the Academy intends to be the apotheosis of George Clooney this Sunday. Clooney is going to be so full of himself he may actually explode on stage. Perhaps the show will be worth watching after all …
Even more dispiriting news comes from the Hollywood Reporter that Clooney’s “Syriana” happens to be the top box office draw overseas right now. This is immensely depressing, in that “Syriana’s” basic premise is that both terrorism and the crushing of progressive reform movements in the middle East are products of a corrupt collusion between American oil companies and the American government. “Syriana” actually implies that if ever a reformist emir came to power in a major, oil-rich Arab state - that emir would be assassinated by our government if he didn’t sign lucrative oil deals with American companies.
What is so horrifying about this film is the way it perpetuates the comfortable lies that keep Islamo-fascists going. And “Syriana’s” plot - remember here that the film’s screenplay is Oscar nominated - seems so extravagantly out of place, when you consider our present situation vis-a-vis Iran, and also Hamas.
Wouldn’t we all prefer reform in the middle East? Are Clooney and writer/director Stephen Gaghan so blinded by hate for Bush and/or American capitalism to think that we wouldn’t welcome more Westernized governments in the middle East right now, particularly with Iran on the verge of the bomb? (By the way, where exactly are “Syriana’s” profits going? To “greedy capitalists” like producer Jeff Skoll, formerly of eBay?)
Finally today, there’s this interview Clooney did recently on the BBC. You’re going to love this:
“U.S. actor and director George Clooney said this morning he was proud to be denounced as unpatriotic for questioning U.S. policy because he wanted to be on ‘the right side of history.’
“Interviewed on BBC television’s ‘Newsnight’ about his latest films ‘Syriana’ and ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ Clooney said that not only did he accept the right to be attacked for his views but he even relished them. Clooney, who has weathered attacks since opposing the 2003 Iraq invasion, said at one point that it was ‘frustrating’ to be listed as a ‘traitor’ on a set of playing cards, but he also accepted people’s right to free speech.
“He later admitted he relished the attacks. ‘I think it’s important to be on the right side of history,’ Clooney said.
“‘I want to be on that deck of cards. And I want to be able to say that they boycotted my films … I want to be able to say I was on the cover of a magazine called a ‘traitor,’ he said. ‘I’m proud of those because those were badges of honor for me because that was when you did it when it was hard to do,‘ the actor and director said.
UPDATE:
Appears we weren’t the first ones to issue a card for Clooney
Barbara Streisand probably can’t spell ‘traitor’
March 5th, 2006 at 5:15 am
“he said. ‘I’m proud of those because those were badges of honor for me because that was when you did it when it was hard to do,‘ the actor and director said.”
If you haven’t read it already, Mark Steyn has a hilarious discussion about Clooney’s “bravery” here. Enjoy!
March 11th, 2006 at 12:12 am
[...] California Conservative George Clooney: I Want To Be On That You re going to love this: U.S. actor and director George Clooney said this morning he was proud to be denounced as unpatriotic for questioning U.S. policy because he wanted to be on the right Permalink TrackBack [...]
March 17th, 2006 at 5:23 am
[...] As one of the many millions of people who did not watch this year’s Academy Awards, I was quite surprised to learn, the next day, that one of Hollywood’s resident leftist-actor-philosophers George Clooney made the comment: “We are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood. I think that’s probably a good thing.†[Click image] [...]