ROBERT REDFORD, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: In light of what's happened in the last six years, political diversity has been attempted to be thwarted, and we have kept it alive here. We have nodded here to any of the snuffing attempts that have come from the administration.
I think anybody with a rational mind, with a sense of decency, is being positioned as a lefty by the behavior of the extreme right.
Gibson was first up to take swings at this piñata:
As I see it, open and shut case, case closed, Hollywood is far left. People have been saying all along that Hollywood is one big left-wing propaganda machine, using their movies to tout their politics. Now Redford is actually admitting it. What took him so long?
[…]
Now, Danny, the deal about this that I think is interesting, is that we have all known that Barbra Streisand and a whole bunch of other Hollywood people are left-wingers, but this guy controls the gate, the door into the movie business for a lot of young people. Didn't he just give them their marching orders? You want to be in Sundance, make sure you do this kind of film?
Bonaduce took the bat, and predictably swung even harder:
Yes, he did. That's a very good point. That's exactly what he did. But what he also did was just so self- serving, when he said these movies are made like -- to make you make this kind of a decision, but we don't do that here.
You know what? At my house, I'm going to go lower my American flag and put up a statue of Robert Redford for reminding me I'm an American. I will tell you what, Robert, you can make any kind of movie you want. And if you have got the nine bucks, you can go see it and make a decision for yourself.
And as much as I admire Robert Redford -- because I love him -- I can make up my own mind.
Gibson then made a salient point that seemed lost in Redford’s remarks: “The thing that's curious to me, Danny, is he says that somebody was trying to squelch political speaking out. I haven't noticed any shortage of it among the liberals who make entertainment.”
Bonaduce agreed:
I have noticed -- I have noticed actually more of it. And first of all, if somebody owes America an apology, it is Robert Redford for "Legal Eagles" with Demi Moore. But let me just tell you right now, these people, the actors drive me insane. Alec Baldwin, who I used to worry about because I think he was a brilliant actor and he was so handsome, I didn't think he would get the credit he deserved. And then he blew up like Brando, and I had to stop worrying.
But didn't he promise to leave this country if President Bush was elected? Well, I have got a Ryder truck outside, and I will pack you myself. I am so sick of everybody making these giant political statements, but nobody does anything. President Bush may not be popular for sending young men off to war, but things need to be done, and movie stars just talk about it.
Gibson then asked a Hollywoodan what causes this delirium in most Hollywoodans:
Well, what is it about the -- about the culture that you live in out there, the air that you breathe out there, that you have got to be left? That being a -- somebody who might support the war, might support the president or might have thought it was a good idea is just a doofus or worse?
Bonaduce responded:
Or worse. You could really, really injure yourself, because especially in a time of war, which is, by the way, the reason I voted for Bush twice, because I didn't think we should unseat a president during a time of war.
If I worried about my business life, you know, I have never been real rich, but I have been real poor, which makes me OK for the rest of my life now and I'm not afraid of these guys. And the fact that if Barbra Streisand thinks she can keep me out of work or Steven Spielberg thinks he can keep me out of work because I believe in America, I would rather be out of work.
Gibson asked another marvelous question: “Is that the punishment for expressing a view that's out of step?”
Bonaduce answered:
Now, that, to be honest with you, I don't know, because I feel very privileged and I feel very lucky, and I say what's on my mind all the time. I never pull punches. When I see these actors go on and say things -- and not just actors. Singers like -- I think like the Dixie Chicks, for example. If they want to say they are embarrassed that Bush comes from Texas in Texas, OK, because that's covered by the First Amendment. But you don't do it on foreign soil. That's this close to treason, as far as I'm concerned.
Though clearly infrequent, isn't it refreshing to hear sanity emanating from this bastion of lunacy?
