The Republican National Convention has quite the line-up of speakers tonight in Cleveland. Not only is Scott Baio speaking, but so is Antonio Sabato Jr.
Wait, who?
Its okay to ask. Its been a while since either of these guys were relevant, and were using the term relevant pretty loosely. So heres a refresher for who your big conventionspeakers are.
[What happened in Chicago in 1968, and why is everyone talking about it now?]
Who is Scott Baio?
Hes most famous for playing Chachi on Happy Days less so for the short-lived spinoff Joanie Loves Chachi and the title character on the quintessential 1980s sitcom Charles in Charge. Charles was a college kid who moved in with a family to work as the nanny to their three kids. (No word on whether his best pal Buddy will be watching from the audience for emotional support.) Baio also starred in the 1976 gangster musical Bugsy Malone opposite Jodie Foster. That was the one with kids in all the roles. You remember, right?
Millennials may be more likely to know Baio from Arrested Development, where he played blogging lawyer Bob Loblaw. He also bears more than a passing resemblance to Bojack Horseman, although, you know, less equine.
He must be really into politics, too, right?
Pretty much. He revealed to Glenn Beck that hes campaigned for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and he likes to get political on Twitter. Yep, hes one of those. Although that sometimes gets him into trouble.
Sample tweet:
Taxes are DONEThat should feed, house & provide medical for a few lazy non working people at my expense. Have a great Monday!
He also once tweeted a less-than-flattering photo of Michelle Obama with the caption: WOW He wakes up to this every morning. Classy stuff.
He recently went on Fox News to publicly proclaim his support for Donald Trump. When he speaks I understand him, Baio said. He speaks like I speak. He also commended Trump on his willingness to get down and dirty.
We need somebody to relentlessly, relentlessly attack Hillary, and thats the only way were gonna win, because this getting above the fray and not getting in the dirt and were better than that, it doesnt work anymore. But to win elections nowadays, the Democrats and liberals attack viciously.
[Clinton vs. Trump: Whose celebrities are better? A scrupulously fair analysis.]
"Happy Days" actor Scott Baio spoke at Republican National Convention calling Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump "a man who knows how to get things done." (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post)
How did he end up speaking at the Republican convention?
Thats a good question. According to Baio, Trump asked him in a seemingly spontaneous way. Baio told Fox News Jeanine Pirro that he was at a fundraiser for Trump, and when the candidate was leaving, Baio intercepted him. I looked at him and said, Mr. Trump, Scott Baio, and he goes, Oh my G*d, and he said to me, Did you want to speak? and I went, Here? and he goes, No, no, no, at the convention."
Theres also the issue of Trumps lack of starry support. While Hillary counts Lena Dunham and Beyonc among her endorsements, Trump has Tila Tequila and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Who else could Trump have possibly tapped? Loose cannon Gary Busey?
Not likely. After all, would Busey do this?
[Clinton vs. Trump: Whose celebrities are better? A scrupulously fair analysis.]
Who is Antonio Sabato Jr.?
First of all, he was born in Italy and immigrated with his parents to the U.S. when he was a teen. Let that sink in.
Now fast-forward a few years: Sabato burst onto the scene in 1990, as the Cute Dimples Guy From That Janet Jackson Video. This should jog your memory. (Hes the guy who isnt isnt Djimon Hounsou.)
Before that, Sabato (and Hounsou, incidentally) had been a Calvin Klein model. But that silent, smiling cameo was enough to get the aspiring actor a role on General Hospital as fan-favorite Jagger Cates. Has there ever been a more soap-opera name? Then he transitioned to prime time with a recurring part on Melrose Place as Jack Parezi, Amanda Woodwards malevolent estranged husband. Spoiler: He died after a dramatic balcony fall.
Hes bounced around since then, reprising his role as Jagger on General Hospital: Night Shift in 2008 and doing a two-year stint on The Bold and the Beautiful. He has also taken advantage of the reality TV industry, with guest appearances on everything from Dancing With the Stars in 2014 (he finished eighth) to Celebrity Wife Swap.
What about his politics?
He formally endorsed Trump in April, and posted a photo of the pair together on Instagram, proclaiming himself part of the #trumptrain.
Hes also a prolific Twitter user, who like to bash Clinton and Obama on social media. He even suggested that the two should be imprisoned at Guantanamo.
He was more restrained during a recent interview.
Actor Antonio Sabato Jr. spoke at the Republican National Convention supporting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and calling for secure borders. (The Washington Post)
It is refreshing to have a candidate like Trump who is so honest about his feelings because he speaks for many of us when he says we are in a bad place, Sabato told People. I have never been a Republican or Democrat. I am an American.
So why is he speaking?
Why else? Look at those dimples.
Here are some of the people who are speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland and some who"ve opted to skip the event. (Sarah Parnass,Danielle Kunitz/The Washington Post)
Down Goes Roger Ailes? Fox Boss On Rupert Murdoch"s Chopping Block
Peter Bart and Mike Fleming Jr. worked together for two decades at Daily Variety. In this weekly column, two old friends get together and grind their axes, mostly on the movie business.
BART: This is the moment when all the top stars are feverishly pitching their summer blockbusters on the talk-show circuit. Its a stressful exercise: Every shoot has to be flawless, every director inspired. Adding stress this summer is the fact that many critics already seem to be playing favorites. They favor the talking animals over the actors.
Consider the excellent critter dialogue in The Secret Life Of Pets, Finding Dory, The Jungle Book, The Angry Birds Movie, Zootopia, King Fu Panda 3 and so on. The performance of Max the Dog in Pets is arguably more profoundly empathetic than Matt Damons in the new Jason Bourne. Hes voiced by Louis C.K. I liked the snake voiced by Scarlett Johansson in Jungle Book she was more fun than Scarletts live-action Lucy. Besides, stars seem more relaxed and amusing in their talk-show pitches when theyre promoting anthropomorphical animal performances. Until now, five of the top 10grossing movies have featured talking animals, so theres a reason to be cheerful.
Disney
FLEMING: Animated films have certainly dominated the summer, to the point where, I wonder, would a cartoon adaptation of Roald Dahls The BFG have fared much better than the VFX-heavy feature that failed at the box office despite the pedigree of director Steven Spielberg and reigning Oscar winner Mark Rylance? All the animated movies you mentioned were slam-dunk options for families with children.But maybe BFGs premise lovable giant kidnaps sassy adorable orphan, who spends the whole picture running from a gnarly bunch of behemoths who are trying to eat her and other kids became a feathered fish to adults trying to figure out if their youngsters would be haunted by nightmares. Dahl was an edgy writer; my kids loved his stories, but some we had to stop reading because the imagery was so disturbing. You knew that wasnt going to happen with the lovable Dory or Pets. It is getting so hard for Hollywood to figure out what franchise fare might work, and the failures have been alarming enough to wonder if the habits of moviegoers have changed forever because of all the other choices offered in this digital age where it becomes harder than ever to create reasons for people to leave their homes. A well-done animated film will always have a built-in audience of parents who want to give their children a thrill.
I spent the last few days seeing Star Trek Beyond, Suicide Squad and Jason Bourne. I predict a rally coming for live-action summer films here; David Ayers Suicide Squad has a lot of the irreverence and fun you saw in Deadpool and didnt see in Batman V Superman, and it should be a monster hit for Warner Bros; Justin Lins Star Trek Beyond and Paul Greengrass Jason Bourne plugs you right back into why you loved these franchises in the first place, moving each forward in interesting storytelling ways. They should be winners for Paramount Pictures and Universal, respectively.
But the tentpole business will only get harder, going forward, in creating clear-cut reasons why a movie is a better option than the free options available through outlets like Netflix and TV, including the coronations of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton at the conventions. Then there is the Summer Olympics. Ghostbusters is a funny movie, and it had a harder road than it would have a decade ago; it was weighed down by the controversy over whether the primary roles should have been played by women, even though it was the only way that movie was going to get made. Bill Murray wasnt coming back to rehash the original, and the silence was deafening when Sony kept sending him scripts and got no response from the actor.
REX/Shutterstock
This tentpole uncertainty is why there has been such a stampede to collar rights to franchise fare like Pokemon.My sources told me last week that Legendary Pictures is moving toward a deal to acquire that property for live-action treatment. Demand has been powered by that Pokemon Go app that has been so popular it catapulted part-owner Nintendos stock up 25%. You hope the fervor for that new iteration of the 30-year pocket monster franchise endures forthe time it takes to make and release a picture, but it certainly has captured the fancy of the masses. Also interesting was this recent massive auction won by Legendary, which will pay $3.5 million to Adam McKay to write, and substantially more to direct Bad Blood, a film about embattled Silicon Valley startup blood-testing company Theranos. Jennifer Lawrence is attached to play its founder, Elizabeth Holmes. Holmes was just banned for two years from operating a lab because of unsafe practices, and the companys precipitous fall from a $4.5 billion valuation has made it a cautionary tale. Lawrences bankability and McKays Oscar-winning success in making another cautionary tale, The Big Short, made Bad Blooda stampede that started with nine offers before Legendary won rights to make a movie in the $40 million-$50 million range. You really need that kind of a hook these days, to rise above all the clutter.
BART:If the critics are admiring the talking animals, theyre having a tougher time critiquing Woody Allen and Caf Society. No one wants to knock a Woody Allen movie. Its just that after watching 46 of them, theyre finding it difficult to find something new to praise. Or to avoid saying that theyve seen most of the scenes play out in years past. Or that they know most of Woodys one-liners by heart. When one character in Caf Society says, life is a comedy written by a sadistic comedy writer, most of us ask ourselves, in what Woody movie did I hear that before?None of this is daunting to Woody. Hes casting his 47th even as you read this. And his prospective actors are thinking, my lines may seem recycled, but Im going to love delivering them anyway.
FLEMING: That is another movie that got chewed up by a press narrative that began in Cannes. The narrative was hijacked by a rehash of abuse allegations against the filmmaker that were investigated years ago but never prosecuted. They reared up again, despite a lack of any new evidence. Movie makers and marketers seem to have less control than ever of the narrative in the democratized world of social media.
That includes the upcoming Summer Olympics, where the focus has been less on sports and more on things like the Zika virus, or bacteria-infested sewage in the waterways where marathon swimmers and rowers and triathletes will compete to the high risk of their long-term health. Body parts washed up in the waters in Rio on the beach where the volleyball competitions will be held. Numerous athletes have bailed on the grounds that Brazil is ground zero for the mosquitoes spreading Zika, even as the countrys health experts argue minimal risk because it isnt high season for these flying virus-spreading bugs. One look at the potential horrors of that virus in newborns is enough to give pause to anyone planning to start a family, whether its athletes or broadcasters and media that will be covering what was always viewed as a plum assignment. Add the growing move toward banning Russia from competing because of a doping scandal, and the heightened security in the wake of brazen terrorist activities, and this could be an Olympics where the narrative is about everything but athletic achievement. Whether that is good or bad for ratings remains to be seen.
On another front but related to unwieldy media narratives, it sure seems that after a masterful career crafting the message for a litany of Republican presidents, Fox News chief Roger Ailes risks losing control of the narrative surrounding the sexual harassment allegation charges brought against him by fired Fox News personality Gretchen Carlson. He seemed to have the matter in hand initially with a strong denial by the network, followed by testimonials from Fox News fixtures under his employ, and an appeal to keep the trial out of the public eye by putting it into arbitration. Youve saw little or no coverage in Rupert Murdochs New York Post, a tabloid that feasted on these kinds of stories when it was David Letterman or 60 Minutes Steve Kroft in the cross hairs. And you saw most Fox News stars except its biggest talking head Bill OReilly, who chimed in late, and Megyn Kelly, leap to Ailes defense, undoubtedly because OReilly settled a $60 million sexual harassment suit against his producer Andrea Mackris a few years ago that makes him a dubious character witness. It seems carefully choreographed, but I wonder if this campaign to bury Carlson has backfired. Brit Hume, for instance, wonders in tweets why Carlson didnt come forward until she was fired. I dont know if those testimonials are true that New York Magazine unearthed, but all of the women who said they rebuffed rather crude and overt sexual advances, said their careers suffered or ended, as a result. If this stuff is true, the expectation that any woman would voluntarily speak up is ridiculous because it would have been a career-ender. That prospect is the only power that a serial harasser would hold over a woman. Again, I dont know Ailes at all or whether any of this is true, but its hard to argue that the volume of allegations made against Bill Cosby reached a critical mass that obliterated his reputation, even though none of those allegations have been convincingly proven.
Cosby broke the color barrier on primetime television, something that has been completely obscured because of the litany of tawdry testimonials made against him. If more women come forward with sordid allegations about Ailes, Peter, do you think that he could possibly survive this, even if its he-said, she-said Rashomon stuff? After Rupert Murdochs sons James and Lachlan shook up its stable film division with the coronation of Stacey Snider at the expense of entrenched chief Jim Gianopulos and other film division heads, they seem unlikely to stand on ceremony. How much patience will they have if more Ailes tales surface in the coming weeks?
BART: I would be wary about making predictions on the fate of Roger Ailes. Fox News is a major profit center and we are entering a period when the revenues are rolling in. Secondly, its always impossible to analyze a company that is undergoing generational change. Who knows where the power rests in the Land of Murdoch? Ive had dinners with Ailes and his wife; its great fun to talk about journalism and the media with him, less fun to talk politics. Ailes is a survivor and a showman.
REX/Shutterstock
On a lighter note, you interviewed Paul Feig and asked whether, in this world where everyone on social media is waiting to be offended, could a movie like Blazing Saddles even get made? The fact that filmmakers of sequels seem so dependent on recycling comedic ideas and characters from the past would have especially annoyed the great Billy Wilder. It was Wilder who was most defiant practitioner of original and politically incorrect comedy. Who else would have built a comedy around a guilt-free French hooker (Irma La Douce) or elicited laughs from the black-market activities of American soldiers occupying 1946 Berlin in A Foreign Affair? Even The Apartment was a send-up of corporate mores. Wilders best work came in the 1940s and 50s when comedies about adultery and corporate hypocrisy were considered dangerous. That led Wilder once to declare, the entire movie industry is in intensive care. Wilder was a brilliant wordsmith, but he encouraged actors to contribute their comedy bits. You can tell a good actor by looking at his script, Wilder once told me. If hes no good the script will be neat. If hes talented like, say, a Charles Laughton, his script will be so filthy it looks like a herring has been wrapped in it.
I was once invited to a meeting with Wilder and Jerry Weintraub when Weintraub was president of UA. Hed begged Wilder to see a new UA comedy that wasnt working and perhaps fix it. The great filmmaker told Weintraub: Your movie is a piece of s**t. I could tell you how to make it a smaller pile but it would still be s**t. Weintraub wasnt used to that sort of candor. He thanked Wilder and said he didnt need his input.
FLEMING: Feig said these trends ebb and flow in movies, and you saw it when superhero pictures were getting too noble and boring and then came irreverent successes like Guardians Of The Galaxy and especially Deadpool, and now Suicide Squad. I dont think Mel Brooks could get Blazing Saddles made right now, honestly, not with all the N-words and other stereotypes he lampooned. It just doesnt feel like the right time, and I imagine hed see it that way, too. We will get to a place eventually where a movie like that will come out of left field, succeed in a big way, and then well see more.
Meanwhile, I get to escape all the madness by heading to San Diego for Comic-Con. Wait, they reinstated the Zombie Walk after the terrible traffic tragedy two years ago, and I always wonder as costumed attendees come with menacing looking fake weapons they dutifully line up to have inspected before they parade them through the convention center. Oh, my.
Ivanka Trump On GOP Leaders Not Attending Republican National Convention
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Transcript for Ivanka Trump on Fears for Her Dad"s Safety, Talks Presidential Campaign
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
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Germany v Lithuania - Full Game - FIBA U20 European Championship 2016
MUNICH Police found a hand-painted Islamic State flag and a text written partly in Pashto in the room of a young Afghan refugee who attacked passengers on a train in southern Germany with an axe, a state minister said on Tuesday.
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said it was too early to say whether the youth was a member of Islamic State or any other militant group. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, according to its Amaq news agency.
"We are aware of the claim of responsibility by Islamic State, but...the investigation has not produced any evidence thus far that would indicate this young man was part of an Islamist network," Herrmann told a news conference.
The 17-year-old severely wounded four Hong Kong residents, one of whom remains in a critical condition, on the train late on Monday, and then injured a local woman after fleeing before police shot him dead.
The attack took place days after a Tunisian delivery man plowed a truck into crowds of Bastille Day revelers in the southern French city of Nice, killing 84. Islamic State has also claimed responsibility for that incident.
The case is likely to deepen worries about so-called "lone wolf" attacks in Europe and could put political pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has welcomed hundreds of thousands of migrants to Germany over the past year.
A leader of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) said Merkel and her supporters were to blame for the dangerous security situation because their "welcoming policies had brought too many young, uneducated and radical Muslim men to Germany".
MOTIVES
Herrmann said people who knew the attacker had described him as a "quiet and balanced person who went to the mosque for important holidays, but wasn"t necessarily there every week."
"He was described as a devout Muslim, but not in any way one who was a radical or fanatic," Herrmann added.
At least one witness reported that the attacker, who had been living with a foster family in the nearby town of Ochsenfurt, had shouted "Allahu Akbar" (G*d is greatest).
Herrmann told Reuters TV that a hand-painted IS flag was found among his belongings when police searched his home, as well as a text that included references to Islam and the "need to resist", according to an initial translation from the Afghan language of Pashto.
He said the text was subject to interpretation, and stressed that the attack was no reason to cast suspicion on other refugees or for Germans to stop living their lives normally.
"Some things clearly point to an Islamist background, but there is no evidence at this point connecting him to any other individuals, or indicating whether he radicalized himself," Herrmann said. "That must all still be investigated."
He started attacking his passengers with an axe and a knife around 9 p.m. local time as the train was approaching its last stop, the Bavarian city of Wuerzburg, Herrmann said.
The attacker, who came to Germany as an unaccompanied minor two years ago, fled into the town of Heidingsfeld after the emergency brake was pulled. He was pursued by a police unit and shot dead after attacking a woman and trying to assault the police officers, Herrmann said.
Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying condemned the attack, which he said injured four of five members of a Hong Kong family that was on holiday in Germany. Herrmann said the family had visited the medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber before the attack.
Leung"s office said Hong Kong and Chinese officials were in touch with the German embassy to follow up on the case, and representatives were en route to visit the family.
Unlike neighbors France and Belgium, Germany has not been the victim of a major attack by Islamic militants in recent years, although security officials say they have thwarted a large number of plots.
Germany welcomed about 1 million migrants in 2015, including thousands of unaccompanied minors. Many were fleeing war in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
(This story corrects paragraph 15 to show name of town is Heidingsfeld, not Heiligenfeld)
(Reporting by Michael Nienaber, Noah Barkin, Andrea Shalal, Caroline Copley, Michelle Martin and Gernot Heller, and Jens Hack in Munich and Reuters TV; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
JUNE FAVORITES 2016 | Jeffree Star Kylie Jenner vs Jeffree Star
PrincessJoules just entered the Kylie Jenner Cosmetics vs Jeffree Star Cosmetics debate. While most people tend to take advice and move forward without taking offense, this particular topic may start some fires.
Some people hate change and will display loyalty beyond the point of reason. The fact that PrincessJoules was a life long user of Jeffree Star Cosmetics, should bare some weight in your mind. The sheer volume of products that she owns should be a testament to her regular use. The fact that PrincessJoulesfeels free to adopt the newcomer, says a lot about the product Kylie is hocking.
No one should be under any illusions that Kylie Jenner is actually at the controls of Kylie Jenner Cosmetics. What likely happened, was a cosmetic company was looking to make a mark and gave her shares in the company for her endorsement. All that being said, the people who actually created the product did a really great job. PrincessJoules isn"t the first person to point this out and won"t be the last. Gigi Gorgeous has sung the praises of Kylie"s makeup in her own favorites videos. Other more mainstream celebrities have also adopted Kylie"s products.
The almost universal adoption of Kylie Jenner Cosmetics has left a mark on us here at TRANZGENDR. We"ve been placing ads for products below our articles, because of all the endorsements that the products have been getting from various celebrities within the community.
The only knock I have on Kylie"s products, is the cost. This is something that most transgender women must to keep in mind, due to theeconomic discrimination the community routinely endures. With that being said, please don"t wreck your budget if you can"t afford the lipsticks.
Melania Trump"s well-received speech to the Republican National Convention contained two passages that match nearly word-for-word the speech that first lady Michelle Obama delivered in 2008 at the Democratic National Convention. (July 19) AP
CLEVELAND Melania Trump"s speech Mondayseemed to go off without a hitch.
But shortly after the opening night of the Republican National Convention concluded, an observeron Twitter noted that a small portion of her remarks was remarkably similar to a passage from first lady Michelle Obama"s speech at the Democratic National Convention eight years earlier in Denver.
Here"s the excerpt from Obama in 2008:
"And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you"re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don"t know them, and even if you don"t agree with them.
"And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and to pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children and all children in this nation to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."
And here"s the passage from Trump"s remarks Monday night that came under scrutiny:
From a young age, my parents impressed on me thevalues that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond and you do what you say and keep your promise, that you treat people with respect.
They taught and showed me values and morals in their daily lives. That is a lesson that I continue to pass along to our son. And we need topass those lessons onto the many generationsto follow.Because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.
It"s not entirely a verbatim match, but the two sections bear considerable similarity in wording, construction and themes. Early Tuesday morning, the Trump campaign issued a statement from senior communications adviser Jason Miller.
"In writing her beautiful speech, Melania"s team of writers took notes on her life"s inspirations, and in some instances included fragments that reflected her own thinking," Miller said. "Melania"s immigrant experience and love for America shone through in her speech, which made it such success."
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Whether this was an inadvertent mistake by campaign speechwriters or a more calculated act of plagiarism remains difficult to discern.But it quickly became clear that the ensuing uproar would overshadow MelaniaTrump"s introduction on the national stage
At least one prominent Twitter user, however, had nothing but positive things to say about the speech.Donald Trumpdescribed his wife"s "speech and demeanor" as "absolutely incredible."
