Two New Cojones Winners


Cyrus Nowrasteh, screenwriter, is the grim reaper for the Left, alongside his co-reaper, director David Cunningham, the twin-towers of cinematic cultural warriors this cultural D-Day on ABC. With "Path to 9/11" they have launched the largest armada yet against the beachhead of the liberal Pont du Hoc. A mere Ranger platoon to date, this armada still needs much more gravitas to overwhelm the reinforced positions which the liberals are bulking up even as the second-night's broadcast is being readied. As the adventure to map and navigate the Louisiana Purchase was commanded by co-captains Lewis & Clark, this venture was co-captained by cojones-rich commanders in the cinematic corps of discovery -- to discover how to FIGHT THE CULTURE WARS.

And these co-captains are going to become casualties soon, but after they lie down and bleed a while, they will rejoin the battle and we go forth. Take note that Cyrus and David have been bashed quite a bit so far, with Cyrus' home phone and address distributed by the 'sensitive' and 'compassionate' leftwing's blogsters, making his home life a wee bit 'interesting' of late. There is much bruising and bashing yet to come, and they will show their scars to their grandchildren.

But: THEY DID IT.

Who'da thunk it....

First recipient of the Hollywood Forum's Cojones Trophy was congressional candidate and SONY economist Victor Elizalde, after whom it is informally named the "Victor" for his daring gesture during the heat of his 2004 campaign against Henry Waxman: holding a fundraiser/film-screening at the WGA theatre! Yep, that is inside the belly of the beast, Beverly Hills, a block from Rodeo Drive, screening "Michael Moore Hates America" after first watching the presidential debates. The latest recipients of the "Victor" are these twin-towers of tutelage of how to do it in Hollywood.

Think of them as two replicas of Captain Miller, the ordinary guy up against Germans and burrocrats in the attempt to find Private Ryan. Lots of uncharted ground, and many casualties for these Captains Courageous. "Path to 9/11" shows courage, and burrocratic insouciance and ass-protecting, spanning many years. The forty-million dollars of budget is there on the screen, not in some crew members' nose. Cunningham surely had a second-unit for the details cutaways, endless setups, massive sets and locations, and innumerable props and vehicles. The tension and patina of "Path" is feature-quality, comparable to the work of Spielberg -- not yet equal, let's be clear -- with its approximating of layering, and music, and sound that other masters practice in big-screen output.

How this happened will make interesting panel discussions: liberal ABC, home of "Commander in Chief" and other liberal products, approaching Cyrus to write this story, and booking Cunningham, with his very Christian-themed prior opus, "To End All Wars" in what would often be a dead-weight handicap! Who woulda thunk this could happen?

But it has: a $40 million masterpiece that has the left nervous, and Clintonists raging, and so far a hint of rightwingers flinching at finding that the left is as unrelenting in this realm as they are in the other arenas of political combat. The 'controversy' so far focuses on less than two minutes' film, in 300 minutes of product. Sort of the O.J. Defense: find one tiny scrap of not-quite-accurate material, and condemn the entire body of evidence. It worked for a murderer, and may yet work for killers of our ideas in the popular culture battlegrounds.

New Milestone, Miles to Go ...

Hopefully, our conservative allies won't wither in the face of these attacks, unlike George Will's recent surrender to the cut-and-run summer-soldiers on Iraq -- though he did attempt ration and reason on "This Week" but found himself, as usual, outnumbered on the panel, starting with Georgie Porgie Stephanopolous, who should have recused himself from the discussion, and also tried a bit of "fair and balanced" booking of the panel.

But we've climbed the Pont du Hoc, challenging cliffs to conquer. It's a long, long way to the hedgerows that lie ahead, and many more battles before crossing the Rhine, and a litkely Battle of the Bulge and other distractions. But a new milestone is checked off the victory strategery list: we've crossed the $40 million mark. A considerable improvement over Chetwynd's budget for "Celsius 41.11" and "DC 911" in the recent past.

These nasties will fight back. COUNT ON IT.... but we've seen cojones and they are us. We have miles to go before we sleep, and will bleed a while on many occasions. But now, these twin towers of tutelage can teach others how to do it, what are the pitfalls, where are the IEDs of liberal opposition. I look forward to the best-selling book, and the Fox News Channel documentary based on it.

Now to rest up for part-deux..... and dream pleasant thoughts of Malibu and Brentwood residents in a dither of high dudgeon, at the thought that The Alphabet Net [ABC] gave forty million bucks to a pair our own banzai buckaroos.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ....CRO