A VARIETY OF TOPICS

Doesn't matter if you're on the left or right -- everybody says Hollywood (the catchall word for all things showbiz) isn't what it used to be. But has the entertainment world really changed all that much? Let's thumb through the October 2, 1929 issue of "the Bible of show business" Variety to see.

You can't turn on any news program without another actor or politician complaining about the possible merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. And yet, it almost happened in 1929-- the same month that Fox Film was going to take over Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The only that stopped these mergers from happening? The stock market crash three weeks later. Like they say, Timing is everything. Honest to God, the idea of a contemporary studio still called Paramount-Vitaphone would have been the greatest thing ever. 

But this merger went through. RKO and Pathe weren't going to let the
destruction of our financial system stop them! And nobody cared about no damn merger!

Remember when pop stars Britney Spears, Amanda Byrnes, Drew Barrymore, and Selena Gomez were provided with room & board at psych wards? Maria Orska, star of German stage and screen, got there before they did. 

Think stage plays today have a tough time turning a profit? The Casino Theatre in Newport, RI says, "Hold my Narragansett."

A day doesn't go by without protests regarding A.I. taking the jobs of real people like carpenters and set designers. But the Schufftan film process had a head start. 

Tell me about it! Have you seen The Real Housewives of Boise?

What's the difference between having to pay for a livestream of a lousy, 27-second heavyweight boxing match and buying a movie ticket for the privilege a week later? (Answer: about 40 bucks.)

Nothing changes in the Motherland. You'd they'd catch on that their people just wanna have веселье. (That's "fun" for all you running dog capitalists.)

Admittedly, this is more political than showbiz, but -- are you listening, Mayor Mamdani?

Killing workers over the stupidest things is an American tradition.

Suing people over the stupidest things is an American tradition.

This is from four years earlier, but I couldn't resist. Threatening to deport people for the stupidest reasons is an American tradition.

                                                                

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