With the upcoming release of Creed on November 25, the Rocky films have given fans an earnest and heartfelt look into the life of a professional boxer, The Great White Hype is not a film that does any of that
Released in 1996, The Great White Hype is not inspirational or uplifting. It is as far from Rocky as one can get. Meant to be a satire about boxing, spin, fight promotion, and racial tension, Hype comes off as a semi-realistic look at the world of professional boxing.
Damon Wayans plays James “The Grim Reaper” Roper, the current heavyweight champion of the world and as complacent as it gets. He even goes so far as to gently complain about his victory over an opponent during a post fight interview. His manager/promoter/sort of father figure Reverend Fred Sultan (Samuel L. Jackson) talks his way out of paying Roper his bounty from his most recent fight because the event was a financial failure.
THE GREAT WHITE HYPE, Damon Wayans, Jon Lovitz, 1996, TM and Copyright (c)20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved.
Sultans’ grand plan is to create a white heavyweight for Roper to fight, playing on the racial divide and the assumed desire for the audience to see such an event. He and his coterie of associates locate Terry Conklin (Peter Berg, director of The Kingdom, Hancock) front man for a rock band in Cleveland and the last person to defeat Roper when they were both teenagers in a Golden Gloves tournament. Terry has little interest at first, proclaiming he does not need to fight, happy with his band, and wanting to help the homeless. Reverend Sultan sweetens the deal with the offer of a big payday for Terry to help the homeless as much as he sees fit.
Re-branding him as “Irish” Terry Conklin, complete with an English trainer and a kilt, Sultan sets his plan into motion. Going so far as to recruit journalist Mitchell Kane (played by Jeff Goldblum), who at first attempts to expose Sultan for the charlatan he is, the spin machine begins to work its magic on the general public.
The Reverend Fred Sultan (Samuel L. Jackson) Photo: 20th Century Fox
The best parts here showcase the hype and spin machine. From the weigh in, where Wayans shows up looking severely out of shape, to a white-haired grandmother at a betting window putting “$2 on the clean-cut white boy”, this has the feel of what boxing really is, as opposed the noble endeavor showcased in the Rocky films.
After all the hype, spin, and backdoor dealing to make Conklin the #8 contender for the title, you could almost believe that Conklin can win this. He’s in much better shape, the media loves him, he even does a photo shoot for Playboy Magazine, which he then says he despised doing and again champions his desire the help the homeless. It also appears that Mitchell Kane believes, seeking to backdoor Sultan by becoming Conklins’ promoter and hopefully the promoter of the next heavyweight champion.
After a stirring rendition of “Danny Boy”, performed by Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats, Conklin is led to the ring by leprechauns (not real ones, but little people in costume) and the crowd at a fever pitch. Roper takes his sweet time heading to the ring, delaying so he can watch his favorite scene from ‘Dolemite‘.
The bell rings and the fight is over before it has even begun. Conklin goes for an overhand right (the punch he knocked a young James Roper out with at 15), which enrages the champ and Conklin is flat on his back barely two minutes in. No comeback, no stirring music, no motivational speech from his corner.
Anchored by solid supporting performances from Corbin Bernsen, Rocky Carroll (NCIS), Jon Lovitz, and Jamie Foxx, this movie will not tug at your heartstrings, but it will give you sharp wit, tons of humor, and a great skewed view of the machine of professional boxing.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is less than a month away and it seems that every other day we come across brand new TV spots promoting the highly anticipated picture. The most amazing part of all of this buildup is that the audience is mostly unaware of what exactly is going to transpire when the film hits theaters on December 18th. It seems that each The Force Awakens TV Spot centers around a particular main character and the latest are no exception. In the first spot it’s easy to see that it centers around Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac)
The second T.V. spot centers around Finn (John Boyega)
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as “Star Wars” returns to the big screen with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.Episode VII in the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opens in theaters December 18, 2015.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.
The film is being produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk, and John Williams returns as the composer.
The pilot of Jessica Jones was pretty great, but ‘AKA Crush Syndrome’ had to prove that Jessica Jones can follow-up on that. Boy, does ‘AKA Crush Syndrome’ achieve that.
Review of Jessica Jones Episode 2 ‘AKA Crush Syndrome’
Let’s get the obvious out-of-the-way, the opening is simply fantastic, the colors are vivid (and mostly purple) the song starts off slow and somber before getting more and more intense (much like the show itself). The entire OST is pretty great as well, it gives the entire show an apt noir tone to it.
We get a couple of characters introduced to us, mostly neighbors. Like Malcolm, the high neighbor. Fun Fact: While bingeing Jessica Jones Malcolm got the nickname “High Guy,” it is he most memorable aspect after all. We also met Robin and Reuben, the twin neighbor, also known as Crazy Sister and Creepy Brother. We also meet Officer Clemons, otherwise known as Jessica Jones’ incarnation of Ben Urich.
Marvel’s Jessica Jones
If there is one thing Jessica Jones is great at so far, it’s the way Kilgrave has been handled so far. We see very little of him so far, a couple PTSD visions in the first episode, a flashback in this one, but his influence is everywhere. Hope’s actions are evidence enough, but we see more, Dr. Kurata and Jack, poor Jack.
Let’s talk about that for a bit, Jack is forced to help Kilgrave escape, donate both his kidneys, and get’s a stroke because of it. Jessica Jones is really a show built around moments, that scene that just makes you go crazy, and Jack has one of them.
“KIL-”
“Kilgrave, I know.”
“-L ME”
This was really the first moment that cemented Jessica Jones ability to deliver these, of course, this is far from the last.
Jessica Jones also loves giving us a sense of paranoia, the feeling that anything can happen, that everything will happen. This is most notable when Jessica beats on a poor door guy. Kilgrave could show up at any moment, and Jessica Jones wants us to know it.
All of this builds up to our first real glimpse of Kilgrave, and boy does this scene also deliver. While its impact was significantly lessened due to the fact that it was released online days before, it still sent shivers. David Tenant delivers a perfect, chilling, performance as the psychopathic uncaring killer. Making even harmless actions like walking into someones house near nightmare inducing.
Hope is not all lost however (ha ha, name puns), Luke is freaking awesome (A saw to his stomach did nothing!?) and Jessica in on the move. Two episodes in and we’ve already found Kilgrave’s weakness, though Sufentanil seems a little overkill, all that’s left is to find the drug and apply it.
A few other developments include: Trish learning how to fight (that’ll keep the comic fans happy), Jeri learning about Jessica’s personal involvement, and Jessica kinda ruining things with Luke and Andre’s wife (come on lady, your marriage was over thanks to your affairs).
Jessica Jones has a surprising tone of humor, the dialogue is witty, and that fight scene was pretty hilarious. Jessica Jones has a found a great balance between humor and paranoia.
However, ‘AKA Crush Syndrome’ isn’t without its flaws. Despite the hype it’s gotten before release, the chemistry between Jessica and Luke was pretty nonexistent. That was an obvious choice in the first episode (there was no love in that sex scene), but it has yet to develop yet.
Regardless, ‘AKA Crush Syndrome’ was a fantastic follow-up to ‘Ladies Night’, we can only hope it will continue.
This morning Warner Bros. Pictures announced principal photography has started on Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot in the role of Diane Prince/Wonder Woman. An official announcement was also made about the cast joining Gadot in her first feature role. The film also stars Chris Pine (the Star Trek films) as Captain Steve Trevor, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Ewen Bremner, Saïd Taghmaoui, Elena Anaya, and Lucy Davis. To celebrate the start of principal photography, Gal Gadot posted the first photo directly from the set of the highly anticipated picture.
The film is being produced by Charles Roven, Zack Snyder and Deborah Snyder, with Richard Suckle, Stephen Jones, Wesley Coller, Geoff Johns and Rebecca Roven serving as executive producers.
Joining Jenkins behind the camera are director of photography Matthew Jensen (“Chronicle,” “Fantastic Four,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), Oscar-nominated production designer Aline Bonetto (“Amélie,” “A Very Long Engagement,” “Pan”), and Oscar-winning editor Martin Walsh (“Chicago,” “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” “V for Vendetta”), and Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (“The Dark Knight” trilogy, “Topsy-Turvy”).
Principal photography will take place on location in the UK, France and Italy.
Set to open in 2017, the Wonder Woman feature film is based on characters created by William Moulton Marston, appearing in comic books published by DC Entertainment. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
Jonathan Levine’s The Night Before is yet another example of Seth Rogen playing the manchild dealing with pending adulthood and learning that friendship can survive the journey to maturity. Throughout the rowdy, raucous, drug-fueled comedy, Rogen’s character talks to his friends about this being the absolute last time they are going to go through their Christmas ritual. It made me wonder if Rogen and his team of writers were in a room with director Levine taking bong rips and thinking out loud, “dude …. You know what we did in Neighbors … we should totally do that again.” The Night Before is a well-intentioned comedy, but ultimately it’s a bad film.
It opens with a literal Christmas storybook animation, narrated by Tracy Morgan in a way that only he would. We learn of three good Friends – Ethan (Joseph Gordon Levitt), Isaac (Seth Rogen) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) who have been spending Christmas together for over a decade – since Ethan lost his parents – doing their best to have the time of their lives. Essentially, they like to act like idiots. From blowing up snowmen to getting high and looking at the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, they are willing to do whatever needs to be done to keep Ethan positive around the holidays. However, the annual event is starting to strain as each of them inches closer towards adulthood. Isaac is about to become a dad for the first time, Chris is dealing with the realization that he now needs to use steroids to help him perform on the football field, and Ethan is dealing with a breakup from his longtime girlfriend, Diana (Lizzy Caplan). As the boys get ready for the big night, Issac’s wife gives him an early Christmas gift, a box of drugs to help him party that night. Isaac gets extremely messed up, allowing Rogen to display some truly horrific behavior after he mixes molly, coke, and weed from his box of goodies.
The one highlight of this film would have to be Micheal Shannon, who plays Mr. Green (The drug dealer/life coach). Every time Mr. Green pops up he gnashes the scenery and generates the film’s biggest laughs. Micheal Shannon never really struck me as much of a comedic actor, but this certainly has altered my perception of him going forward. Other than Shannon, The Night Before was one failed bit after another.
Mindy Kaling (who I’m guessing is in this film as favor to either Rogen or his writing partner Evan Goldberg) plays Diana’s best friend, and is in a scene where Isaac’s nose drips “cocaine blood” into her drink that isn’t quite as funny as it should be. Ethan (Gordon-Levitt) also picks a fight with a couple of drunk guys dressed as Santa Claus that simply falls flat. Johnathan Levine has shown his talent before, directing films like 50/50, but one can’t help but wonder if he was the right for this type of “wacky buddy comedy.” Comedy is about balance and timing, and you can’t go from stealing a horse-drawn carriage (really) to yet another short-lived introspective moment in a manner of moments. The Night Before suffers from an identity crisis. Itattempts to be both poignant and funny and fails miserably at both. Maybe if Johnathan Levine and Evan Goldberg had taken the time to smooth out the imbalances in the script, The Night Before would have been a far more enjoyable film.
Jessica Jones has finally hit Netflix and its first episode set the show’s haunting mood that sets itself apart from all other Marvel adaptations. “A.K.A Ladies Night” kicks off the series with our heroine Jessica Jones working on a case to find a missing girl. Her investigation leads her to a man from her past who has the ability to take control of people’s minds, The Purple Man. Jones is absolutely terrified to confront him due to their past relationship, but she knows that she’s going to have to in order to finally put an end to her PTSD.
And that is all of the story that can be said in order to keep this review spoiler free. From the get go, Jessica Jones is a phenomenal show, dripping with tense atmosphere, emotional conflict, and disturbing imagery. To talk anymore about its story would be doing you a disservice as it would be a distilled version of this show’s brilliance.
Much like Marvel’s other Netflix series, Daredevil, Jessica Jones has heavy shadows, creative angles, and a noir aesthetic that fits the dark content well. Unlike Daredevil the conflict is less external, the pacing is slow, and the action is minimal. Matt Murdock’s story focused on violence and its consequences when dealing with crime. Jessica Jones is focusing more on the internal struggles of trauma and deciphering the ramifications that come with it. This allows Jessica Jones to be a slow burn; meaning we can focus on the emotional complexity of our main lead.
The acting is superb with Kristen Ritter perfectly nailing down the sardonic, tough as nails Jessica Jones. Carrie Anne-Moss plays a mysterious, and slick Jeryn Hogarth, Rachael Taylor is a caring Patricia Walker, and Mike Colter shines as future Defender Luke Cage. But, David Tennant steals the show as the terrifying, Purple Man. He’s barely in the episode, and pretty much only through flashback, but he leaves a haunting impression of what’s to come. His soft accent is somehow both soothing, and strong at the same time.
The show is very mature, full of realistic sex scenes, excessive drinking, and even some nudity. So this is definitely not for younger audiences. And while the narrative is very strong, at times it does feel a little scattered, but that could just be setting up the mystery element of the show. Keeping the audience in the dark about certain aspects of it keeps us coming back for more.
Overall while it is a much slower show than Daredevil, Jessica Jones shows a darker side to the world of the MCU, and we’re excited to call of work in order to binge watch the series. Check Monkeys Fighting Robots later this week for a full season recap. And let us know in the comics what you guys think of the series?
Early on in Spotlight, Tom McCarthy’s incredible newspaper film about the exposure of child abuse running through the veins of the Catholic church in Boston and beyond, a local priest, addressing his open-faced congregation, explains, “knowledge is one thing, faith is another.” It is the crux of this film. Spotlight is a journalism film, first and foremost, the most complete of its kind in forty years, yet it deals with community. There is the community of The Boston Globe, and the Spotlight team who uncovers the sprawling scandal. There is the community of Boston, steeped in religion, the very community the Globe serves. And there is the seedy community of the archdiocese, one of the most powerful and disturbing organized crime rackets in all of human history. This film flows through these communities, all interacting with one another in a push and pull of morality, despair, sadness, and truth.
The Spotlight team at the Globe, a small team of investigative journalists, is led by Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton, stellar as usual). The Globe is, like most newspapers in 2001, in a state of flux. The Internet is creeping into the physical media of the times, and a new editor is coming in from out of town. He is Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber, subdued brilliance here), a Jewish outsider from South Florida who, when Robby meets him for the first time, is reading The Curse of The Bambino to try and get a feel for the city. Though he doesn’t care for baseball. It would be easy to expect this new editor, charged with trimming some fat from the Globe in these modern times, would be that character who gums up the works and impedes progress in the investigation into the Catholic church. Quite the opposite. Baron’s outsider status is what pushes the investigation forward, unwrapping the bigger story here. These Boston-bred reporters, ingrained in the city (still a very small town in a lot of ways, one character is careful to note) as much as in their jobs as journalists, are reluctant to dig deep into a scandal that has always existed as nothing more than a whisper. Better to turn the other way than upset their overly-Catholic readership. Baron thinks those readers will take note.
Reluctantly, Robby and his team being to investigate accusations against a priest here and a priest there, accused of molesting young boys and girls in their congregation. Only their investigation begins to expose a much larger threat, and as the threat grows larger, the accounts grow more intimate. A few priests grows into a dozen, then almost 90, touching the lives of these reporters. This is where Spotlight absolutely sings, as we pound the pavement in a world of reporting that is practically dead in 2015. Robby’s team includes Mike Rezendes, played by Mark Ruffalo as an energetic, quick-twitch nuisance in the best ways imaginable. Ruffalo has the market cornered on characters loaded with idiosyncrasies, and he is stellar here, worthy of awards. Rachel McAdams is Sacha Pfeiffer, who has a more personal local connection to the church. And there is Brian d’Arcy James as Matt Carroll, who has the greatest moment of personal reveal in the middle of the picture. Beyond the Spotlight team, the film is filled to the edges with the likes of John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup, and all manner of character players who weave a wonderful tapestry of convincing, lived-in performances.
McCarthy and Josh Singer’s screenplay is smart, quick, and doesn’t slow down to explain what would never be explained in real conversations. These are newspaper men and women who live these lives, so exposition is what needs to be said for these people, not the audience. Compared to Truth, another journalism film earlier this year that was rote and embarrassing to the profession, Spotlight is its photo negative. This world is real, un-glamorous and utilitarian. It is convincing and captivating.
As a narrative, Spotlight is all about reveals, and they are handled perfectly. Regarding the aforementioned personal reveal from Matt Carroll, it happens just as the scope of this abuse scandal is being uncovered by the team. Carroll is scanning a list of priests who have been “reassigned,” spots a name, and panics. He runs out his front door, down the street, and around the corner, where he stops and stares at a home mere feet from his front door. It is a home where two of these pedophiles still live, and it brings the immediacy of the situation home for Carroll, who ha children to consider. “Stay away from this house” his note says on the fridge. The scene is a wonderful moment in the film, shot with immediacy but not flash. None of this film is flashy, a perfect decision from Masanobu Takayanagi, who allows the actors and their settings room to breathe.
Despite its procedural structure and importance on the inner workings of journalism, Spotlight is not short on emotion. As the investigation begins to expand, the weight of the situation presses down hard on these reporters. There are tough moments with victims – “survivors,” as they are more aptly described since many of the children who are abused were felled by drugs, alcohol, and suicide later in life – as they describe their encounters. Each of the Spotlight reporters get their moment to consider the gravity of the story they are uncovering, and each of these moments pull us into the story even further. Churches and religious decorum loom large in the background more often than not, emphasizing even more the power the church has over the community.
An interesting thing happens two-thirds of the way in. 9/11 happens, and it subtly shifts the tone of the entire film. While the attacks are mentioned, shown on television, and subsequently noted, McCarthy never strays from his story too much. He simply changes the language of his characters. Now, nobody wants to hear about priests molesting children, because these people need their religion now more than ever. “This isn’t the time for such a story” is uttered, in so many words, more than once. It is a quiet shift in the film, but a bold transition at the same time. Just another reason why this is a masterpiece.
Perfect films are rare birds. Even the best films of any given year can show their warts. I believe Spotlight is as close to perfect as 2015 has gotten, and it is unquestionably the best film this year. It is a smart and fluid story, loaded top to bottom with wonderful and convincing performances. The true power of a film is its ability to be tactile, to stick in your gut and linger in your mind. 12 Years A Slave did that to me two years ago, and a film has not done that since. Until now.
Star Wars fans have only seen a glimpse of Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 in the trailers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and it appears that BB-8 is our droid for a new genration.
Yet a UK prmotional event from O2 Priority brings the two droids together for the first time.
Episode VII in the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opens in theaters December 18, 2015.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.
In 2001, The Boston Globe uncovered a massive cover-up of the archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Boston, revealing 90 priests in several parishes were caught molesting children, facing no reparations for it. In 2015, Spotlight comes along to tell the tragic tale. The title Spotlight refers to the investigative journalism part of the Boston Globe, headed by Walter “Robby” Robinson. Some may be confused that Spotlight is about sexual abuse, but it’s every bit about the power of investigative journalism. Without question, Spotlight is the best journalism movie since All The President’s Men and one of the very best films of 2015.
Michael Keaton leads this film and the cast with a phenomenal performance. After Keaton’s incredible performance in “Birdman,” there was a chance that his next role would be a disappointment, but Keaton steps up to the challenge leaving no doubt that he’s big time star. Mark Ruffalo does what Mark Ruffalo does, churning out another fantastic performance as Mike Rezendes, a Spotlight reporter tasked with dealing with the prosecuting attorney, Mitchell Garabedian played by Stanley Tucci. Live Schreiber puts forth a significantly understated performance as The Boston Globe editor Marty Baron. Rachel McAdams rounds out the cast as Sacha Pfeiffer, the Spotlight reporter who had the task of interviewing the most of the sexual abuse victims.
Spotlight director Tom McCarthy had one major hurdle to overcome, creating an authentic newsroom environment, and he nails it. McCarthy gets everything right on the money, from the pressed shirts and pleated khakis worn by Globe male reporters to the process reporters have to go through to pull up old clips. McCarthy creates an environment for the audience that feels as if you’re shoulder to shoulder with Keaton (Walter “Robby” Robinson) and his team as they break the biggest scandal in the history of the Catholic Church. McCarthy and screenwriter Josh Singer revisited how the reporters went about breaking the story and revealed The Boston Globe had an opportunity to break the story in 1993. Cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi played a huge part in the success of Spotlight. His decision to create a subtle washed out background for the film and his insistence to pull the camera back at times that allowed the actors to play off of each other. It’s Spotlight’s precision, modesty, and restraint that makes this film so refreshing. McCarthy isn’t seeking to mythologize TheBoston Globe; rather he takes a disciplined approach that gives the film an honesty, which the audience will appreciate.
McCarthy has made Spotlight an ensemble piece rather than showcasing anyone star in particular. He wanted to ensure we knew this was a team of reporters that were working together to get the story right. Keaton, Ruffalo, and McAdams disappear into their respective roles. Spotlight is more about how the team interacts with one another and making sure they get the story right. If Truth, showed us the dangers of rushing a story, Spotlight shows us how to get a story right (even while fully embracing all the bureaucratic hurdles most journalists deal with on a daily basis).
In the end, Spotlight is a slow, steady burn. McCarthy doesn’t make the mistake of trying to advance the plot too quickly; rather he allows the events to unfold at a realistic pace. By doing this, the audience is allowed to process fully the magnitude of how intricate and horrific the scandal truly was in 2001.
Spotlight is in a class all by itself in 2015, from its brilliant performances to outstanding storytelling. Come February 28, Spotlight is sure to win a few awards.
The Dixie Chicks are touring! The Dixie Chicks are touring! Don’t you just want to shout it from the roof tops?!
It has been ten LONG years and lots of waiting, but the Dixie Chicks are going back on tour next year. A little earlier this year we learned that they had scheduled many dates in Europe, but then didn’t hear a peep about any in the US. On November 16 an anticipated event, not unlike the arrival of new music from Adele, FINALLY happened – U.S. dates were announced and their “real” fans are rejoicing.
The Dixie Chicks – Natalie Maines, Emily Robison, and Martie Maguire – will launch their first headlining US tour in a decade beginning on June 10, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio. But will country music, and more importantly fans, accept them and bring them out of the exile from which the genre that they helped crossover into the mainstream success put them in?
What young woman in the mid to late 1990s hadn’t heard of the song, “Wind Open Spaces”? The coming of age story of a young girl moving away from the family and life she has always known to stake her own claim in the world?
Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret: This writer wasn’t really into country music at the time, but that song was a John Hughes film in musical form. That song and many of their others connected with an audience that wondered if anyone else was experiencing those same “growing pains”…just like Hughes. These chicks sang anthems that empower young women across color, ethnic, political ideology, and socioeconomic lines.
We’re all aware of the controversy that drove some fanatics – many of which were/are their fellow country musicians, fans, and radio personalities alike – to level a blacklist campaign against them. Some went so far as to have Chicks paraphernalia destroying rallies akin to those of the 70s Disco backlash.
Although chatter against them has all but quieted on country airwaves and media, it continues to be an unspoken rule that you shy away from ANYTHING Chick related. It is 12, freaking, years later people! And one negative comment made by lead singer Natalie Maines about the then president of the United States, George W. Bush, set the Chicks world afire and destroyed their place in the genre they loved so much.
The comment: “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We don’t want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.” This simple statement to an audience on foreign soil, at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire Theatre in 2003, sparked off anti-Dixie Chicks rhetoric – even from the beloved Reba McEntire. And EVERYONE remembers the barrage of anti-Chicks hate filled speech that poured from the tongue of Toby Keith and the back and forth barbs that he and Maines traded.
In 2011, on Fox and Friends, Hank Williams, Jr. likened our current President Barack Obama to Hitler (see here). After these comments ESPN yanked his opening song from the Monday Night Football opening where it had played for over 20 years. At the Iowa State Fair Grandstand, in 2012, he stated, “We’ve got a Muslim president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the U.S., and we hate!” These comments were followed by a round of applause from the audience. Mr. Williams also said in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, “We’ve got a president that does a call to the Koran (Qu’ran) or Mecca or whatever.” In that same story when asked if he believed the President actually hated America he is quoted as saying, “I don’t know about that, but it’s kind of obvious. I guess when you take a world tour, a world tour, to apologize for America.”
Hank Williams, Jr. has made SEVERAL openly disparaging remarks about OUR sitting President Barack Hussein Obama and the country music community has stood by him. On the Country Music Awards in 2011 Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood made it a point to acknowledge Hank’s faux pas and firing from Monday Night Football, and then there was a “surprise” appearance by the censured country star (seen here). He was met with applause from the audience. When asked was he sorry about what he said, he simply stated, “No.” Upon his exit from the stage he was enveloped in applause. Without saying the words, country music told their “kin” – Brad and Carrie’s word – that they support him no matter what. His MANY disparaging remarks about the country’s president was OK. But where was/is that same support for the Dixie Chicks? Aren’t they country music kin?
Two years after the comment that would forever be associated with Maines and Chicks, they emerged back on the scene as a united front and released the album Taking the Long Way. It was met with critical acclaim and fell on harden hearts of many country music fans. While Taking the Long Way went to No. 1 and the song “Not Ready to Make Nice,” was Top 40 hit. This pivotal song dealt with the ladies banishment from country music and gave a resounding middle finger to those who expected them to apologize for vocalizing their opinions. These little ladies were NOT going to take their black listing sitting down.
The platinum selling album Taking the Long Way coupled with “Not Ready to Make Nice,” and the title single “Taking the Long Way,” catapulted these three blue grass musicians onto the world stage. The lines:
My friends from high school, Married their high school boyfriends; Moved into houses, In the same zip codes where their parent’s live; No I, I could never follow…It’s been a long time gone now, Since the Top of the World came crashing down; And I’m getting by on my feet now, By taking the long way…
And take the long way these ladies have! The 2006 documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing chronicles the scrutiny that these three women were subjected to – by by fans, corporate sponsors, and conservatives – over a three year period. These women have endure death threats, name calling, blacklisting, and the shunning from the community that they called home. They were forced to forge a new path in the music industry when the one that they had dedicated some much time and energy turned its back on them. But they came out on the other side, more successful in the mainstream and dismissed by their country brethren.
After the success Long Way, and the stress of the backlash, Nathalie Maines needed to take a break from music and understandably so. The treatment that they received from many of their fans, big corporations, conservation politicians & organization, and ‘country’ left a bad taste in her mouth.
The two sisters of the super group, Emily Robison and Martie Mcguire, formed the band Court Yard Hounds during the Dixie Chicks hiatus. Robison and Mcguire wanted to return to the studio and Maines was not ready – they have released two albums as duo. Court Yard Hounds has experienced some critical. In 2013 Nathalie Maines release her solo album Mother (co-produced by Ben Harper), which has received a lot of positive critical acclaim. But none of these ventures have reached the success of the Dixie Chicks as a complete unit.
It will definitely be interesting to see what the Chicks have in store for us in the new year. They are/were never as strong apart as they are together. These three musicians have a rare ability to compliment each other that cannot taught – not unlike Brooks and Dunn. It will great to see these STRONG, OUTSPOKEN women out on tour in 2016…and let’s hope we have some new music to go along with the tour.
