Woke ‘Wizard of Oz’? We’d rather stay in Kansas



Goodbye, “new and improved” Yellow Brick Road? Not so fast.

Yes, the proposed “Wizard of Oz” remake from wokester Kenya Barris appears to be stalled, possibly for good. The project announcement came all the way back in 2022, when woke still ruled Hollywood.

If Hollywood’s imagination drain continues, in 30 years they’ll make a movie about the movie about the movie ...

But now, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton promise a “new” “Wizard of Oz” series that reimagines the saga from a young adult perspective.

The series will use “the Yellow Brick Road as a metaphor for the challenges and choices facing young adults today.” As Keanu Reeves might say, “Whoa!”

Maybe if we click our heels three times, this project will go the way of the Wicked Witch of the West ...

‘Potter’ squatter

Sometimes, even Hollywood types make total sense.

Take Chris Columbus. The “Home Alone” director shot the first two “Harry Potter” films in that insanely successful series. Now, HBO Max is prepping a new “Potter” series that will bring the beloved books to life.

Again.

Didn’t the films do just that in epic fashion? Was anyone dissatisfied with the finished product? It’s all pretty confusing to Columbus (and to anyone who doesn’t understand Hollywood’s lust for intellectual property).

“I looked online, and there are photographs of Nick Frost as Hagrid with the new Harry Potter,” Columbus said. “And he’s wearing the exact same costume that we designed for Hagrid. Part of me was like, ‘What’s the point?’ I thought everything [on the HBO show], the costumes and everything, was going to be different. It’s more of the same.”

He’s right. And it doesn’t matter. The streamer wouldn’t risk all that cash — a reported $100 million per episode — if it didn’t have faith it’ll draw a crowd.

Heck, they might as well start a third Harry Potter adaptation as soon as this one wraps ...

Rocky’s road

Sick of reboots, sequels, and prequels? How about a movie about the making of a movie? It sounds pretty darn meta, but this one actually might work.

Why?

The film is “I Play Rocky,” and it recalls Sylvester Stallone’s battle to both write and star in the movie that would change his career. A young Stallone was a virtual nobody in Hollywood when he wrote a script about a down-on-his-luck boxer who got a chance at being the champ.

The studio loved the script but clamored for a “star” to play the main character. Stallone dug in his heels, insisting he was the right person to play Rocky Balboa. “Yo!”

It’s as inspiring as the actual film, and director Peter Farrelly previously gave us the Oscar-winning “Green Book.”

If Hollywood’s imagination drain continues, in 30 years they’ll make a movie about the movie about the movie ...

‘Eternals’ flame out

Ask any indie filmmaker what they crave more than anything else, and the answer is clear.

Money. As in, “Can I have some more, please?”

Indie filmmakers make do with less, cutting corners wherever possible and finding new ways to stretch their limited budgets.

So when indie auteur Chloe Zhao got the keys to a Marvel project, she probably pinched herself. Endless Mouse House cash!

It turns out that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Zhao’s “Eternals” flopped, at least by superhero standards, and she retreated to more familiar terrain with the upcoming indie drama “Hamnet.” That film is a fictional look at the death of William Shakespeare’s son and how it inspired the creation of “Hamlet.”

Too much cash wasn’t the elixir Zhao expected.

“‘Eternals’ had, like, an unlimited amount of money and resources. And here we have one street corner that we can afford, to [stand in for] Stratford. ... ‘Eternals’ didn’t have a lot of limitations, and that is actually quite dangerous. Because we only have that street corner [in ‘Hamnet’], suddenly everything has meaning.”

Here’s betting she’ll miss that MCU-size personal trailer ...

No sisterhood for Sweeney

“It girl” actress Sydney Sweeney enraged the left by flaunting her good “genes” in an American Eagle ad. The commercial roiled the usual suspects, who dubbed her a Nazi for trying to peddle jeans with her iconic curves.

Conservatives rallied to her side, understanding that sex sells and Sweeney did nothing wrong. One group that refused to have the starlet’s back?

Feminists.

RELATED: Sydney Sweeney is rebuilding Americana — one Bronco at a time

Photo by MEGA / Contributor via Getty Images

Why didn’t they support her against the woke mob? Doesn’t she have the “agency” to make her own creative choices?

Their silence got even louder when a certain comedian came to her defense. Matt Rife, known for his rough-and-tumble crowd work, isn’t a feminist by any definition. Glamour magazine slammed his comedy brand as misogynist.

Yet it was Rife who defended Sweeney on a related subject. The actress recently teamed with Dr. Squatch for a bathwater soap product dubbed “Bathwater Bliss.”

“I keep seeing people mad at Sydney Sweeney for noooothing. She’s learning that the internet is full of absolute garbage losers who will twist anything you say into a c**ty misinterpretation. People are awful.”

People can be awful. And feminists can be hypocrites all day long.

Trump’s commonsense approach is the gift America needed



In a memorable scene from 1992’s “Home Alone 2,” Donald Trump guides a lost Kevin McCallister to the lobby of the Plaza Hotel. As Christmas approaches this year, Trump’s commonsense approach resonates even more in a culture filled with lost children.

Donald Trump’s election, along with the drama surrounding it — from indictments and FBI raids to Hitler comparisons, McDonald’s meals, and garbage trucks — highlights one thing: America was starving for what Trump promised to deliver: sanity.

Trump was the little boy who said the emperor had no clothes — who gave us permission to say what we always knew was true.

For years, Americans felt pressured to accept woke ideologies that clashed with natural law, common sense, and the timeless values of faith, family, and truth. Trump’s decisive victory proved Americans are rejecting wokeness and overcoming the fear of standing by those values in their daily lives.

Even prominent left-wing media outlets couldn’t ignore the rejection. The New York Times, long viewed as a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party, admitted that identity politics — which surged after George Floyd’s death in 2020 — had lost its hold on the nation.

Americans have turned away from a culture dominated by destructive woke ideology. When a billionaire from New York connects more with the common man than elected officials, it’s a sign of the times. In a political landscape filled with confusion, Trump’s straightforward truths resonate.

The hope and redemption of Christmas stand in stark contrast to the divisive, militant ideology the left has pushed on Americans in recent years.

While Kamala Harris pounded the table for late-term abortion and sex changes for undocumented minors, Trump, in ironic yet comedic fashion, emerged as the candidate for everyday people with commonsense values. He invited Americans to overcome the fear of stating simple truths.

Men can’t get pregnant. The climate isn’t on the brink of ending the world. People are not defined solely by race. Family is the foundation of a thriving society. Christianity is not the enemy of the state. Men shouldn’t compete in women’s sports or use their locker rooms. Faith, work, and family give life purpose and meaning.

Trump was the little boy who said the emperor had no clothes — who gave us permission to say what we always knew was true.

As a result, this Christmas, we see an embrace of common sense and a positive spirit about the future, a cultural revival rooted in values.

Bible sales are surging, particularly among first-time and younger buyers. Christmas movies and pro-family advertisements dominate the cultural conversation as brands move away from demeaning Christmas and instead embrace faith and family. Companies like Apple and Volvo have shifted from woke messaging to themes of family, life, and connection, recognizing the changing cultural tide.

Celebrities, often pressured to align with woke ideologies, are also embracing their faith this Christmas. Gwen Stefani, a lifelong Catholic, made a notable public shift this year by openly expressing her faith. She endorsed the Christian prayer app Hallow, encouraging her followers to join her and “millions of other Christians around the world as we celebrate the truth that God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son.”

The election results — and the public’s reaction to them — show America is better than how the media and the left often portray us. We are not hateful racists. Instead, we are people who love our families, work hard to provide for them, and recognize when we are being lied to.

Treating Americans as stupid backfired this election cycle, and speaking common sense was rewarded. The response has been appropriate: getting back to reason, faith, and a positive spirit that looks at the good qualities of individuals, not viewing them as irredeemable bigots.

Kevin did find the lobby in the Plaza and was eventually reunited with his family. We don’t need Trump to solve all our problems. We do need him to stick to common sense so we can raise our kids, practice our faith, and see that we and our country have many sins but are still redeemable. Merry Christmas.

Gwen Stefani Understands Cultural Appreciation Is What Makes Us Great

Assistant Editor Kylee Zempel joins Culture Editor Emily Jashinsky to discuss how the left's definition of cultural appropriation skews discourse.

Gwen Stefani Is Right: Cultural Appreciation Is Not Cultural Appropriation

If loving Harajuku so much that you stylize your art around it is the equivalent of a minstrel show or blackface, then how are we supposed to qualify flagrant acts of racism?