Trump personally requested the revival of an iconic movie franchise — and now it's happening



Just days after it was reported that President Donald Trump was pushing for the revival of classic 1980s and 1990s movies, Paramount is now making the president's dream a reality.

Trump ally Larry Ellison's control over Paramount — and its giant film library that includes "Titanic" and "Saving Private Ryan" — is the key connection.

'Cancel culture stopped them dead in their tracks.'

According to Semafor, Trump has been pushing to bring back what were described as the "raucous comedies" and action movies of decades past, and has shown passion for titles like Jean-Claude Van Damme's generational martial arts movie, 1988's "Bloodsport."

That isn't the first title to be resuscitated by Paramount, however. Rather, the president has reportedly personally asked Paramount to revive the buddy cop film "Rush Hour," from director Brett Ratner, starring comedian Chris Tucker and action star Jackie Chan.

As of Tuesday, it seems Paramount is ready to get the ball rolling on "Rush Hour 4" nearly two decades since the last release.

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Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The studio is now in the works to distribute the sequel, according to Variety, which also reported that Trump requested the franchise's return. Paramount will release the movie theatrically but will not be marketing or financing it, while Warner Bros.' New Line Cinema will get a percentage of box office revenue; they backed the original production and sequels.

Variety also reported that director Ratner and the "Rush Hour" producers shopped the new film around to different studios, but cancel culture stopped them dead in their tracks, with other Hollywood execs not wanting to be attached to Ratner's name.

Ratner, who recently directed a documentary on Melania Trump, hasn't done a feature film since 2014's "Hercules" starring Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson.

Ratner was accused of a whole slew of sex crimes in October 2017 as part of the Me Too movement that saw at least six women launch accusations at him.

This resulted in Warner Bros. severing ties with the "X-Men: The Last Stand" director.

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Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

The three "Rush Hour" films, released in 1998, 2001, and 2007, vaulted both Chan and Tucker from their specific genres into the mainstream and grossed over $500 million against a combined budget of around $263 million. Internationally, the films grossed almost another $400 million.

Throughout the 1990s, Tucker had been a successful stand-up comedian and starred in movies like "Friday" and "The Fifth Element" before landing the iconic role.

Chan had already starred in dozens of action films, but his popularity was on the rise in the United States in 1990s, with "Supercop" and "Rumble in the Bronx" gaining cult status, before "Rush Hour" took him to new heights.

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'The Naked Gun' creator David Zucker bashes 'frightened' Hollywood elites



Legendary "Airplane!" director David Zucker has a theory about why today's movies are flopping so badly — and the folks in charge aren't going to like it.

"The studios are very frightened people afraid to take risks," the director told Align, stroking his chin. "I wrote an article ... about the 9% rule. There's 9% of people who just don't have a sense of humor. There's like zero sense of humor. So the studios are being guided by those people."

'There's 9% of people who just don't have a sense of humor.'

According to Zucker — whose cinematic pedigree includes comedies like "The Naked Gun," "BASEketball," and "Top Secret!" — cancel culture is still alive and well in the film biz, pushed by overly cautious studio brass.

Cracked rearview

"It's like driving looking through the rearview mirror," Zucker said — an attitude that leads to unfunny films that repackage old ideas with jokes that don't land.

Zucker didn't have to look far to find an example: the recent "The Naked Gun" reboot, which went ahead without his involvement.

RELATED: 'Trey didn't have a car': 'Airplane!' director David Zucker on humble origins of 'South Park' empire

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Blocked calls

Zucker recalled the confusion he felt when he learned Paramount had no intention of consulting him on "The Naked Gun" reboot, despite having pages upon pages of jokes already written. Instead, the studio went with "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, who came in and took over.

Zucker attempted to explained the debacle:

"I'm excluded from it. I called him. He didn't return my calls, refused to meet with me. So I don't know. I don't know what's going on, but that's Hollywood."

Still he said MacFarlane did contact him after the movie finished production and spent "10 minutes just telling me how much he idolized [my movies], hard to get mad at a guy who keeps telling you what a genius you are."

'Painful' viewing

Despite all the flattery, Zucker said he had no intentions of ever seeing the new version of "The Naked Gun," recalling his experience watching "Airplane II: The Sequel," with which he also had no involvement.

"If your daughter became a prostitute, would you go watch her work?" he asked. "So you know, it's painful. It would be painful to sit through. It's somebody else doing our movie, and they don't know what they're doing."

RELATED: 'The Naked Gun' remake is laugh-out-loud funny? Surely, you can't be serious

(L-R) Seth MacFarlane, Pamela Anderson, and Liam Neeson attend 'The Naked Gun' New York Premiere on July 28, 2025. Photo by Arturo Holmes/WireImage

In Zucker's view, Hollywood's risk-averse approach is especially obvious in comedies. "If you do a comedy that's not funny, you can't hide," he noted, adding that the new "The Naked Gun" "must have been excruciating to sit through."

It's safe to say Zucker won't be lining up for the upcoming "Spaceballs" reboot either. Not that he was a huge fan of the 1987 original, which he dismissed as "an attempt to copy 'Airplane!'"

"You can't do stuff that's 10, 20 years old ... puns [that] were fresh in 1982," he laughed.

As for his own movies, Zucker said he hopes to advance the pun-filled, slapstick comedy genre he helped popularize — with his next project offering a fresh, humorous spin on film noir.

Eddie Murphy says younger people are defiant against woke speech restrictions: 'F**k that cancel-culture s**t'



Iconic comedian and entertainer Eddie Murphy weighed in on the current state of cancel culture among the youth, and he did not hold back.

Murphy made the comments to the Hollywood Reporter while publicizing an upcoming documentary about his life titled "Being Eddie" on Netflix.

'If you go into clubs, the comics are talking crazier than ever. They say whatever the f**k they want to say.'

While Murphy downplayed the effect cancel culture has on society, he also went on to say that younger people have turned against speech restrictions.

"I can’t think of a comedian that said a joke that made them get canceled. I feel like that whole canceled thing was just a moment in time where people were like, 'Comics have to be careful what they say,'" said Murphy.

"If you go into clubs, the comics are talking crazier than ever. They say whatever the f**k they want to say. It’s a generation that’s coming up now that’s defiant about that whole cancel-culture s**t: 'F**k that cancel-culture s**t. Let the chips fall where they may.' If I ever did it again, I would say what I wanted to say and do whatever I wanted to do," he added.

"I’m not even thinking about getting canceled at 64, after 50 years in the business," Murphy concluded.

Farther on in the interview, Murphy said that he was working on a reboot of the "It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" movie from 1963.

RELATED: 'I felt it was racist': Eddie Murphy says David Spade made racist joke about him in 1995

Photo by Rich Polk/NBC via Getty Images

Murphy previously called out some in the black community who treated him harshly when some of his endeavors did poorly.

"Even black folks, you get cheap shots from your people. ... I remember Ebony magazine, instead of talking about the movie and my performance and all that, they said, 'Maybe there'll come a day when a black man can play a professor and he doesn't have to be nutty,'" he said in 2024.

"I was like, what the f**k?! That's the review of my movie?" he added. "That's the review of that? I play all these different characters and that's what you say about me, and it's us, and it's me?! Yeah, that hurt my feelings."

"Being Eddie" is scheduled for release on Nov. 12 and includes interviews with Dave Chappelle, Jamie Foxx, and Jerry Seinfeld.

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‘Wokeness is feminization’: The true origins of cancel culture



Journalist Helen Andrews has written what BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock calls “one of the most important pieces of journalism in quite some time.”

The article for the online publication Compact, titled “The Great Feminization,” dives into the dangers of feminism and the havoc it has wreaked on society as a whole — starting with “cancel culture.”

“Cancel culture is simply what women do whenever there are enough of them in a given organization or field. That is the Great Feminization thesis. … Everything you think of as ‘wokeness’ is simply an epiphenomenon of demographic feminization,” Andrews writes.

“Wokeness is not a new ideology, an outgrowth of Marxism, or a result of post-Obama disillusionment. It is simply feminine patterns of behavior applied to institutions where women were few in number until recently,” she continues. “How did I not see it before?”


Andrews notes that women “became a majority of college-educated workforce nationwide in 2019,” which was followed by women becoming a “majority of college instructors in 2023.”

“Wokeness arose around the same time that many important institutions tipped demographically from majority male to majority female,” she writes.

“The substance fits, too. Everything you think of as wokeness involves prioritizing the feminine over the masculine: empathy over rationality, safety over risk, cohesion over competition,” she adds.

Andrews also points out that within group dynamics, the “most important sex difference” is the “attitude to conflict.” While “men wage conflict openly,” women “covertly undermine or ostracize their enemies.”

“We’ve all been in denial, that we all just, you know, ‘Women and men, they’re all the same and welcoming them into the workforce and into all positions of power — this is long overdue and this is good for America,’ and this article points out in great detail, and very powerfully, like no, they’re not the same,” Whitlock says in response.

However, while BlazeTV contributor Chad Jackson agrees somewhat with Andrews, he points out that the article was still “written from a spirit of feminism.”

“And what I mean by that is that she describes wokeism kind of rising up out of nowhere, seemingly out of nowhere here recently. When the reality of it is that what we’re seeing in these recent years is actually a culmination of what’s been going on for a few centuries, actually,” Jackson explains.

“When you’re coming from a kind of evolutionary worldview, you might get a lot of things right, but you miss the mark when it comes to certain key points. … I think that we tend to miss the mark when it comes to how these things have been brewing up for much longer than the recent history," he adds.

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This is very obvious to people who can think their way out of a wet paper bag Sharpied over with 'cancel culture bad.'

I experienced Jimmy Kimmel’s lies firsthand. His suspension is justice.



ABC announced last week that it was indefinitely pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” The network cited his dishonest remarks about MAGA and the alleged assassin of Charlie Kirk. Then on Monday, the network reversed itself. Kimmel is expected to return to the air on Tuesday night.

The original decision outraged the left. Activists immediately claimed it was a violation of free speech, pretending Kimmel was a victim of “cancel culture.” The network’s change of heart likely won’t please anyone, except for Kimmel and his staff. The irony? Kimmel himself cheered when others lost their platforms.

I still live with the fallout of his lies. Many others do too. For once, at least, Kimmel faces consequences.

This isn’t a man who deserves sympathy. I know from experience.

How Kimmel targeted me

Five years ago, while working for the California Republican Party, I promoted the party’s legal ballot collection efforts online. That one tweet turned into a smear campaign. Politicians and left-leaning groups smeared and defamed me. My own employers abandoned me.

Media figures amplified the false narrative. None did more damage than Jimmy Kimmel. Days after the controversy began, he ran a segment featuring my full name and photo. He falsely claimed my work was illegal and added a grotesque line suggesting that someone should stuff me into a ballot collection box. The box was too small to fit a person. The implication was obvious.

He wasn’t joking. The segment was a televised incitement that smeared my reputation and put my safety at even greater risk.

Living with the fallout

The consequences came fast. Threats filled my inbox. Law enforcement advised me to leave my apartment and lay low. Police guarded my parents’ home after they were harassed.

When my short-term contract with the California Republican Party ended, I couldn’t find work. Despite my clean record, military service, and two master’s degrees, doors kept closing. They still do. Kimmel wasn’t the only one who defamed me, but his national broadcast magnified the lies and hardened the damage.

Unlike Kimmel, I didn’t have millions in the bank or a network behind me. I was a junior staffer, recently out of the military, scraping by on less than $60,000 a year. His words carried a weight mine never could.

Kimmel’s hypocrisy

In 2023, NFL star Aaron Rodgers joked that Kimmel didn’t want the Epstein client list released. Kimmel threatened to sue him. Yet when Kimmel broadcast falsehoods about me — and encouraged violence against me — no apology ever came.

Kimmel even lectured Rodgers from his monologue: “When I do get something wrong, which happens on rare occasions, you know what I do? I apologize.” That’s an obvious lie. He certainly never apologized to me.

And I’m not the only one. He has encouraged vandalism against Tesla owners and, most recently, pushed the outrageous lie that Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin was a MAGA Republican — a smear made after evidence proved otherwise.

RELATED: The market fired Jimmy Kimmel

Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

Why ABC pulled the plug

Contrary to the left-liberal narrative, ABC’s move was not political interference. It was business. Kimmel’s audience had been shrinking for years. Just this month, his ratings fell another 11%. His rant about Kirk’s assassination would only have accelerated the collapse.

Networks have every right to act when a host becomes a liability. The First Amendment does not entitle Jimmy Kimmel to ABC’s airwaves.

Consequences at last

So, in reality, Kimmel’s return to late night may be short-lived. His career decline is his own making. But unlike his targets, he’ll be fine. He will walk away with a $50 million net worth. He’ll find plenty of work again.

I, on the other hand, still live with the fallout of his lies. Many others do too. But for a moment, at least, Kimmel faced consequences. And to borrow a favorite line from his liberal supporters: Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences.

Free speech is more than a slogan. It’s a duty.



Leftists insist that “words are violence.” They also claim that “silence is violence.” Curious. They wield the term “hate speech” as a weapon, though it has no legal definition. It’s a political tool designed for abuse, much like the tactics of China’s Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution.

Recent debates over free speech have shown how few Americans — left, right, powerful, or powerless — actually understand what the First Amendment protects. That ignorance is unnerving.

Every silence either defends or betrays liberty. Kirk lived and taught that truth. Now, in his absence, we carry that responsibility.

To honor Charlie’s legacy, we must defend free speech boldly, graciously, and without compromise.

Free speech flows from God’s gift of free will, enshrined by the founders in our nation’s founding documents. As Charlie Kirk once said, “Without free speech, there is no such thing as truth. The moment you silence opposing voices, you destroy the foundation of democracy.”

Scripture underscores the responsibility that comes with this freedom. Colossians 4:6 reminds us to speak graciously, with words “seasoned with salt.” Matthew 12:36 warns that we will give an account “for every careless word.” Proverbs 18:21 drives the point home: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

We are free to speak, but we will be held accountable.

Bondi’s blunder

That accountability is central to the recent firestorm over Attorney General Pam Bondi. Appearing on Katie Miller’s podcast last week, Bondi said, “Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is not protected by the First Amendment. It’s a crime.”

Bondi later cited federal statutes criminalizing threats, doxxing, and swatting, promising full prosecution. She framed her argument as a defense of families, freedoms, and Charlie Kirk’s legacy.

But Bondi blurred a crucial line. Threats of violence have been crimes for centuries. “Hate speech” doesn’t legally exist. By conflating the two, Bondi gives more ammunition to those who want to criminalize speech they dislike.

Kirk himself once wrote: “There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And all of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free.” He warned that once “hate speech” becomes a category, it will be used against conservatives first.

Consequences, not censorship

Free speech carries consequences, both spiritual and legal. It also carries social consequences, often borne disproportionately by conservatives. Kirk frequently noted that conservatives are branded “bigots” and accused of “hate speech” simply for defending traditional values.

The media’s distortion of his words proves the point. Misquotations, half-truths, and selective edits continue to shape his legacy. Not long ago, speaking ill of the dead — especially the innocent — was taboo. Today, it is routine.

Government-sanctioned propaganda

The erosion of free speech didn’t happen overnight. In 2012, Congress passed the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act, allowing government propaganda once restricted to foreign audiences to target Americans directly.

Since then, administrations — especially Joe Biden’s — have funneled taxpayer-funded messaging into “news” outlets indistinguishable from government press releases. That’s what Trump meant when he labeled the media “fake news.” It’s not just bias. It’s legalized propaganda.

The results are obvious: riots over George Floyd but prayer vigils after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Manufactured outrage for causes the left elevates, silence for causes it despises.

The algorithmic censor

Corporate media is only half the machine. Social media algorithms do the rest. Conservatives (myself included) face shadow bans and throttling for speaking truth. Posts about Iryna Zarutska’s stabbing death get sanitized into euphemisms like “poked” or “unalived” to avoid suppression. Kirk’s assassination was reduced online to being “pew pewed.”

RELATED: The market fired Jimmy Kimmel

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Language itself has been contorted. Political correctness has turned serious matters into absurdist code words. Kirk once warned: “Political correctness is the most deadly of political weaponry.” He was right. If this continues, truth itself will become unspeakable.

Cancel culture vs. accountability

The left wants to erase the difference between cancel culture and accountability. Cancel culture punishes thought, speech, or belief without moral or legal justification. Accountability punishes advocacy of violence. When employees cheer assassination or call for murder, employers have every right to fire them. That is not tyranny. That is justice.

Failing to distinguish between the two plays into the left’s hands. It allows them to conflate legitimate accountability with censorship, further eroding free speech.

The duty to speak

To honor Charlie’s legacy, we must defend free speech boldly, graciously, and without compromise. Free speech is not merely a constitutional right; it is a moral duty.

Every silence either defends or betrays liberty. Kirk lived and taught that truth. Now, in his absence, we carry that responsibility. Speak now — bravely, responsibly, and without fear — so that the freedoms Charlie cherished endure for generations.

We Are Not Going To Have A Debate About Free Speech

The cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel’s show doesn’t matter. What matters is the left’s embrace of political violence.