Hanging with the Crazies and THE COACH

What if… the raves on the first two Avatars were wrong? What if the visuals were so mesmerizing on the first that it turned people’s brains to mush and it took some time for folks to realize that the story so far is mind-numbingly dull/silly?

I regret to inform you that I did not enjoy Jay Kelly. Give them another take.

Kash Patel says people who track his gov jet usage are “dangerous and cowardly.” So here’s how to track it…

strong "sir, this is an Arby's" vibes.

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Just got an alert that ICE is showing up today in Park Slope. I have a feeling that their presence is going to grow quickly in retaliation for Mamdani’s win. Chicagoans have learned a lot. I have to think ppl have put together good resources to post about how to effectively resist them?

I don't care what the polls say. I don't care what the odds say. I don't care what the online and TV pundits say. NYC, if you haven't voted for Zohran Mamdani, please go. If you voted, please ask your friends. Let's leave no stone unturned. The movement is now. zohranfornyc.com/vote

Mark this down: On Monday, Trump will announce that he "saved" the SNAP program and people will get their food stamps for November. Republicans will claim that Democrats wanted people to starve but Trump made sure it didn't happen. The media will go along with them.

So they didn’t like the ad. Let’s just post Reagan’s 5 min speech against tariffs as it appears on YouTube. Over and over. On all platforms (some of y’all are still on X). *1981 Sherrilyn horrified by 2025 Sherrilyn saying “let’s post Reagan’s speech.” youtu.be/5t5QK03KXPc

What if—and go with me on this—they did something good with the Alien franchise instead of just squandering goodwill?

President Trump is so far gone that he is pushing an obviously fake AI video of *himself* He can’t even discern what’s true about his own words and his own actions.

after today's Sunset Park march, @cmalexaaviles.bsky.social handed out cards with QR codes with info for folks to make a plan for ICE raids. Check it out!!!

Well, there it is. Sinclair is digging in for a fight, so please help push back -- find stations in your area, watch their local news to see what ads they run, then write those advertisers to tell them you're boycotting as long as they're on a Sinclair station. List here: sbgi.net/tv-stations/

It’s really all we should be talking about today.

That’s me in the video. And a Fox News host just celebrated me being assaulted by ICE. If ICE will do this to a congressional candidate with a big platform, just imagine what they’re doing to the people they’re kidnapping.

This is Hollywood's McCarthy Moment. This is the litmus test. Learn from history. Who will step up and fight? Who will bend the knee and be complicit? History will remember.

Just so I'm clear: TV host says we should kill every homeless person? No big deal TV host says the right must "go to war" with the left? Pfft. TV host says the government is cracking down on critics? Well, the government cracks down on him for the criticism. Free speech, everyone.

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Free speech is essential to our democracy. This attempt to silence is a clear abuse of power. @jimmykimmel.com Kimmel is an ally of our community, and a model of what it means to live the American Dream. Thank you, Jimmy.

That #RobertRedford fellow? Talk about an honor for which I was completely unprepared... www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAIQ...

Holy Christ, if a cultural institution like Rolling Stone is letting go of an absolute giant like @sepinwall.bsky.social ... we are in dark times man alansepinwall.ghost.io/dont-stop-be...

Alan is one of my closest friends (not just in the work-friends way), and a great critic, and a person practically everybody in TV knows, and an incredibly prolific hard worker who produces a mind-boggling quantity of good stuff. Find him continuing in those capacities at alansepinwall.ghost.io.

Some news: yesterday was my last at Rolling Stone. For now, I'm going solo, doing all my TV reviewing, recapping, etc., at my newsletter. I hope you'll consider subscribing. Many more details here:

The Sundance Kid?

Time to subscribe to a new thing just as soon as I figure out what the hell Rolling Stone was thinking.

in not horrible news, did you all know our House of Harkness comic is available to read right now free, you don't even need to sign in???? (i didn't) Read it here: www.marvel.com/comics/issue...

We've got Gavin Newsom et al. eulogizing a version Charlie Kirk who did not exist, Trump et al. blaming his death on leftist violence that didnt happen, and the entire media apparatus denouncing Dems for dancing on his grave, something no Dems are doing. Has The Discourse ever felt more unmoored?

I know Charlie Kirk valued debate and free speech because he blocked me for fact-checking his lies on Twitter and then put me on his organization's Professor Watchlist for writing a book he didn't like.

Normally a massive fan of @npr.org’s Steve Inskeep. Love hearing his take. Today though in an interview he completely failed to push back when told that Charlie Kirk never said anything divisive. To be clear: Kirk was a bad person who said a ton of horrible things AND didn’t deserve to be killed.

Alright, so I've been afraid to say this out loud, but I think after today, I can say it: In the first Battle of Los Angeles, the good people of LA County have prevailed. We beat ICE back. 1/

Know your rights, Illinois. Stay safe and stay informed.

About this Florida vaccine story: When they were little - 1 yr and 3 1/2 - my two older boys, who’d had all their shots, got whooping cough. We asked their pediatrician what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been vaccinated. “Oh, they’d have died.”

This is a huge gamble. I worry about losing the people I have and not growing but it's a risk I'm willing to take. Consider checking out TheFilmMaven.com right now. Become a free or paid subscriber or hell just tip on a post you enjoy. Got a lot of great stuff coming!!

Without the Substack social media component though I'm now completely reliant on word of mouth (and SEO) to get subscribers so if you enjoy my work, my snark, hell me in general, PLEASE consider subscribing. I have paid subscriptions less than $5 thanks to Ghost!

The Film Maven's new home is now 100% TheFilmMaven.com which I'm so excited to outright own. If you're already a Substack subscriber to my stuff you don't have to worry about a thing as you're already set up on our new, permanent home.

This is scary but I'm taking The Film Maven off Substack and have transferred to Ghost. Not only does this give me complete ownership of my work, but also means I won't continue to lose money to Substack and Apple. I lay everything out for Subscribers here. thefilmmaven.substack.com/p/the-film-m...

seriously @nytimes.com? Great Headline, "Crime Festers in Republican States While Their Troops Patrol Washington," but then you immediately follow it with "Republican governors who have mustered National Guard troops for deployment in blue-state...

Do you ever have a dream about a Simpsons episode and have no idea if it’s a real episode or entirely something you imagined? Homer, with the help of Nelson, finds a gold mine under the house. It *could* be an episode, I just don’t know.

Absolutely disgraceful and despicable. If you are a partner at Paul Weiss or Kirkland & Ellis you should be ashamed of yourself -- that is, if you had any shame left.

It's my superhero origin story!

there are 250 Democrats in Congress who should be out on the streets telling these folks to go home right now

Every Democratic member of Congress should be in the streets of DC saying this dangerous authoritarian escalation must stop. Do they not grasp what’s going on here?

"mission-essential equipment" is code for "Family Guy paint chips," right?

now we're locking up political enemies. is anyone - anyone at all - still unclear on the fascism question

A functioning free press pushes back on the DC thing. Ours will praise it in an attempt to push through a corporate merger. @cbsnews.com, you guys looking to do some business? This smells like opportunity!

If you’re in DC and seeing National Guard/Federal agent activity, reach out via Signal at marisakabas.04

Meanwhile in Tulsa…