One of the most familiar and widely commented upon John Wayne photos to ever hit the internet. I don’t why I’m posting this, and I don’t even know what the above headline means. But it came to me a couple of minutes ago and it sounded good so I went with it.

Just wave it through, let it go, to each his own, fine with me, etc.

If I was living in the left-side home, I probably wouldn’t have a BLM sign in my front yard as that would indicate that I’m living in the recent past (early summer of ’20).

I would instead post a political sign that points forward — forward to a sensible, fair-minded, left-center government, headed by a moderately charismatic, quick-witted, not-too-old President who isn’t owned by the wokesters and knows how to talk straight and plain to the hinterlanders.

That’s a dream, of course.

I’d like to think that the overturning of Roe v. Wade will energize voters and lead to a surge of support for at least some Democratic candidates, and that the left in general might not be heading for a general all-around slaughter in November. I’d love to see Beto O’Rourke win in Texas, for example. And Val Demmings in Florida.

Alas, Democrats are probably stuck with Biden running in ’24, and that means an almost certain loss. With Trump being discredited left and right that means Ron DeSantis might actually be elected President. Yes, bizarre as that sounds.

Bret Stephens in 6.27.22 “Conversation” column, “The Supreme Court’s Fighting Words“:

World of Reel‘s Jordan Ruimy reports that he’s been “assured” that Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon will “indeed” be a 2022 release. Good to hear, but will it open in November or December? We all understand that an Oscar contender has to be screened no later than Thanksgiving and preferably earlier.

We all assume that Marty and Thelma Schoonmaker are working their fingers to the bone. They’ve been editing since the fall of ’21, then came the extra shooting, and now they’re back at it. How could they announce in good conscience “we can’t finish until ’23”? Where would be the honor in that?

A curious conversation on Facebook Messenger…sorry.

Jeff [last name redacted]: “Watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance with the kids last night. It didn’t hold up much. However, I was singing the ‘end credits’ Gene Pitney song during the whole film, and then when we got to the end…no song. I looked it up and realized that I had originally seen the film on TV in the 70s and the song was not in the actual film, but some guy at the TV station must have overlaid it on to the end credits. Curious if you’ve ever heard of this weird TV artifact?”

HE: “’Some guy at the TV station’ couldn’t have overlaid or inserted the Gene Pitney song onto the end credits because there is no end credits sequence in Liberty Valance. It just ends with a final static shot of the moving train (25 mph!) that James Stewart and Vera Miles are riding on and then ‘The End.’ Maybe the TV station guy played the song over a black background or an artificial freeze frame.”

Jeff: “My memory is a bit foggy so I don’t know. I do know my brother and I sang the song for a month after we saw it, so the song and the film are inextricably entwined for us. Maybe John Ford had a sudden worry that the film would seem too light with a pop song bringing it home. Thanks for your two cents.”

HE: “What I told you isn’t my ‘two cents’ — it’s fact. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance doesn’t have an end-credits sequence. And it’s a stupid song anyway. It celebrates the awesome six-shooter bravery of the man who stood up to the evil Liberty Valance face to face and shot him dead. Stewart’s Ransom Stoddard character isn’t celebrated, but there’s a line that says “when the final showdown came at last, a law book was no good.”

Jeff: “A song doesn’t have to be smart to be catchy. I suppose the idea is that they were both somehow brave or noble. Stewart for standing up to Valance and Wayne for letting Stewart live, knowing that Vera Miles preferred him.”

Some may find it odd that handicappers are calling Lightyear (Disney, 6.17) dead meat despite earnings of $152 million worldwide and $88.7 million domestic. But you have to look at the details, and detail #1 is that Lightyear dropped 65% last weekend, earning a lousy $17.5 million after pulling down $50.5 million on opening weekend.

The Ankler‘s Sean McNulty is calling this the “worst-ever drop for a PIXAR film (not counting Covid-impacted Onward)….with Minions arriving on Friday, [Lightyear] was just a misfire. And cue the ‘PIXAR isn’t the same without Lasseter’ pieces in 3, 2…   Just remember to include the reasons why Lasseter was ousted.”

Two days ago N.Y. Post columnist Kyle Smith speculated that Lightyear was hurt by general audiences being fed up with films that secrete woke instruction. Not the brief lesbian kiss but a suggestion that Lightyear might have a hidden lecture or two up its sleeve.

“Hollywood was founded by, and for generations run by, pure showmen who were fanatically devoted to giving the audience what it wanted,” Smith wrote. “Today Hollywood’s message is, ‘Let us entertain you! But first, a brief lecture on what’s wrong with you, the audience…’

“One reason Top Gun: Maverick is such a huge success — the biggest movie of Tom Cruise’s career and probably the biggest movie of this year — is that it simply ignores all quarrelsome real-world issues. Maverick seeks merely to entertain, not to persuade you that the people who made it are virtuous.”

Remember those “Dirty Disney” trend stories from the mid ’90s? (I wrote one for the Sunday entertainment section of the N.Y. Daily News.) I’m not saying that “Dirty Disney” applies today, but between Lightyear‘s chaste, no-big-deal lesbian kiss scene and Disney fighting Gov. Ron DeSantis’s law that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, The Mouse has clearly associated itself with the LGBTQIA agenda of the moment.

The legend continues to scream from the Hollywood hills…”go woke, go broke.”

Based on pure nutso speculation, Greta Gerwig‘s Barbie is going to be either Logan’s Run or Village of the Damned. Or a blend of the two. That’s what I’m sniffing in the air. I’m just putting this out there. I know nothing.

If I’m even a little bit intrigued by a film after a first viewing, there’s a slight chance I’ll watch it again. If I’m a bit more than mildly intrigued, I’ll almost certainly watch it twice. And if I’m flat-out intrigued or turned on even, there’s a decent chance I’ll see it three times or more.

I was okay with Elvis (certainly the final third in Las Vegas portion), but honestly? Right now I don’t have the slightest interest in seeing it again. It was too annoying and exhausting. Okay, I might catch it again when it goes to streaming…

Variety‘s Owen Gleiberman has already seen it twice, and he’s written a fascinating side-eyed take (“Why Isn’t Elvis A Home Run?“). You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to. But I did.