HollywoodIdiocy.com

British actor Daniel Radcliffe, who has played Harry Potter for the entire run of four movies to date, the fifth being due this summer, will be starring in the nude in a West End revival of Peter Shaffer’s play, Equus, according to a report on ThisIsLondon.co.uk.

Like so many child actors who don’t want to be seen as child actors - call it the “Dana Plato Syndrome” - Radcliffe is clearly rebelling by choosing a role that totally goes against the image that made people love him. Defending his decision, Radcliffe’s agent, Vanessa Davies, said, “Daniel does not want to step away from Harry Potter but he does want to show he is an rounded actor capable of very different and diverse roles. He has tremendous support from Harry Potter fans.”

Yet the play’s “lengthy nude sex scene” with actress Joanna Christie is considered a betrayal by many fans… or at least by their parents, whose kids look up to Radcliffe as a role model. One thing’s for sure, if it were being staged in the US, it would be considered child porn; Radcliffe is only 17.

If backlash builds up enough, Radcliffe’s future in the last two movies may come into question; instead of being known as Harry Potter, Radcliffe could find himself relegated to selling Cary NC real estate.

For some celebrities, fame just isn’t enough. Never mind that Naomi Watts is gorgeous, famous and well-paid; listen to her and she’ll tell you the truth: her life stinks.

Never mind the fact that she chooses the roles she stars in and has been in some great hit movies like The Ring and last year’s King Kong remake. It’s just not good enough for the fussy screen diva.

I think what Katherine Heigl of Gray’s Anatomy said of a castmate who outed a fellow GA cast member applies here: some celebrities just shouldn’t open their mouths at all and speak in public.

Ms. Watts, I’ve enjoyed your movies. You have a career most actresses would kill for. Stop complaining, or get yourself some business cards and choose a new line of work.

Sometimes I get so tired of Hollywood’s self-importance, I think it’s good to point out who the real celebrities are in our country: the troops who sacrifice their family life and their own personal safety to keep the world safe for John Kerry, Michael Moore and a lot of other ungrateful blowhards to belittle them and make fun of them.

Now more than ever, it would be a good time to invest in some printable greeting cards and write a note of support to any soldiers you know who are serving abroad. If you don’t know any, check with your local VFW and I’m sure they can get you a list.

With the new Democratic majority looking to possibly cut off funding, spurred on by liberal Hollywood types with no stomach for war, our men and women need to know some folks still care about them. Make yourself one of them!

In a rare and shocking display of good taste, Hollywood executives - including the Weinstein brothers, who normally have no moral compass - have overwhelmingly rejected “Hounddog,” the Sundance Film Festival film that shows child star Dakota Fanning being graphically raped.

After receiving numerous reviews explaining the graphic, tacky, exploitative and poorly-written, poorly-directed effort, “Hounddog” inspired no self-righteous “First Amendment, free speech above all else” comments from the pool of usual airhead suspects who normally defend all sorts of indecency - as long as it’s on film.

Of course, once Hollywood learns some conservatives are complimenting their common sense, I’m sure Barbra Streisand or Tim Robbins or Sean Penn or someone will open their mouths and try to defend the trash. But for the moment, let’s sit back and enjoy their silence. While it lasts.

Unfortunately, Dakota’s parents are standing by their daugther’s participation in the film, and her agent, Joy Pervis, is praising them as a “good Christian family.” I bet they even buy Catholic gifts for her agent. But what a bad choice in parenting! How could any parent want their daughter taking part in a rape movie? Idiots. Hollywood idiots.

The whole “Hold your wee to win a Nintendo Wii” promotion took an ugly turn in Sacramento, California recently. Even though a radio station and its disc jockeys demonstrated a lot of awareness that the water-drinking competition could lead to death by water intoxication, they did nothing to hold videogame-crazed fans from overdoing it to win a $250 videogame console.

The radio station knew the risks, doing so far as to compel contestants to sign a standard “hold harmless” waiver before competing. But despite all that, one woman died in her attempt to win the Wii, even going so far as to be interviewed on the radio, complaining of a bloated stomach that made her look like she “was pregnant” and headache… both danger signs of water intoxication.

Radio host Sean Hannity helped bring the story to a national spotlight and now comes the news that the woman’s family is going to sue the radio station for gross negligence in her death, despite the “hold harmless” agreement.

I say, go get ‘em! If it had been Red Bull instead of water, I doubt the station would have let contestants go to such unhealthy, potentially deadly extremes. Hiding negligence behind a “hold harmless” agreement is the epitome of premeditation.

I love Steven Spielberg’s movies. He’s one of the best storytellers in Hollywood. But when it comes to his voting booth habits, I’d rather not hear about it. And the latest effort by his DreamWorks’ crew is an example of why.

I’m no fan of Senator Rodham, but it’s hard to imagine she’s not going to end up at the top of the Democratic ticket. So why are Spielberg and company lining up their money behind respectable-but-inexperienced Sen. Barack Obama?

Obama may be the future of the Democratic party, but it’s pretty clear he’s not its present after only two years in federal office. He may want to keep track of the return address labels on all those donations coming in, because unless Sen. Rodham decides to make Obama her running mate, he’s not headed to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in ‘08.

Then again, you never know. If enough of Hollywierd lines up behind Obama, there’s always a chance… about the same chance that he’d invite Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison to be his running mate!

Okay, I know the show wasn’t that great. Fox’s JUSTICE was a somewhat standard trial drama with the twist that at the end of each episode, they showed you what really happened in the murder case of the night.

I liked the cast, especially seeing Victor Garber, best known as Sydney Bristow’s dad on Alias, in a new role. Kerr Smith of Dawson’s Creek fame did well, and folks like Rebecca Mader and Eamonn Walker were welcome new faces.

I think where the show went south was a case of Perry Mason-itis. The appeal of the big reveal at the end of each episode, potentially, is that for whatever outcome the lawyers in the show thought they won or lost, the truth that was revealed might prove them wrong.

Trouble is, they never were. The lawyers on Justice were always right, no matter what. No matter who they defended or how thin their winning argument seemed, they not only won their cases but the “big reveals” showed them to always be on the money as well. It’s like Perry Mason, squared!

It’s a problem that afflicts nearly every legal drama on TV. Alan Shore on Boston Legal’s never wrong, even when he loses. The same used to apply for The Practice and Ally McBeal. Lawyers are written to be just too perfect, on TV. It hurts a show’s credibility.

By episode six, I knew the series was gonna be put on the van rack by Fox, driven out to a remote location, shot and buried in a shallow grave. I’m just glad all 12 episodes aired, unlike what has happened with so many other Fox shows I’ve liked over the years, including Firefly, Wonderfalls and many others. Heck, I didn’t even watch House the first season, because I was afraid it would be sacked, too.

Another one bites the dust…

The Fox Network used to be the butt of jokes like this: “If someone offered the major networks a chance to broadcast live executions, the only one who’d turn down the opportunity is Fox. They would insist on live, nude executions.”

Yet the same ‘Net bigwigs making those jokes aren’t laughing anymore … and probably haven’t been for a long time. But the power of Fox was made crystal clear this week when it posted its first big win with a powerhouse lineup.

Sunday and Monday’s four-hour, two-night premiere of 24 blew away everything but The Golden Globes, and the Tuesday-Wednesday four-hour, two-night debut of American Idol will prove to be the top two shows of the week, posting an increasingly rare 20.2 rating and a 30 share, according to ratings reports released by Nielsen Media Research.

The 24-American Idol 1-2 punch has never been more potent and is a real metabolism booster for Fox, which did OK last fall with House and Prison Break leading the way; but there’s nothing that quite measures up to Bauer power and Simon making bad singers cry by telling them the truth.

Yet even as audiences grow smaller and smaller for the other big networks … whose ratings varied from a 7.1 (CBS) down to a 2.1 (The CW) … Hollywood grows more and more hostile to something that works.

Sure, Simon’s rudely honest with people. But the show is definitely family viewing. Even 24 can’t lay claim to that, and AI’s ratings are significantly bigger than even 24’s. Yet the networks continue not to get the message and idiotically despise AI while continuing to dish out shows that are anything but family viewing.

And they wonder why they can’t pull in the 30.0 rating that MASH did in the 70s and 80s anymore. It’s not just that cable and satellite bring people more choices, folks… it’s that people no longer like most of the choices the networks dish up anymore, so naturally they’re gonna splinter off and watch Bill O’Reilly, Mythbusters and whatever’s on the History Channel or Animal Planet instead.

Although they’ve been moving to it for quite some time, by blatantly coming out and telling people they’re no longer going to program scripted dramas or sitcoms in the 8 p.m./7 p.m. Central time slot, NBC has really put it’s foot in its mouth.

And it’s a shame, too. With Heroes powering people to NBC, and a reinvigorated Thursday night comedy lineup consisting of My Name Is Earl, The Office, 30 Rock and Scrubs, as well as solid performers like Medium and Friday Night Lights, as well as promising newcomer Studio 60 on the docket, NBC has most of the pieces in place for a solid comeback against ABC, CBS and Fox.

After some humiliating seasons losing out to The WB and sometimes even UPN (which are now The CW), the Peacock is looking stronger than it has is some years. And they choose now to say, “we’re cutting jobs and budget?”

Idiots.

And that’s what this blog is all about. Hollywood idiots. Enjoy the ride!