Ever since I was a ten-year-old troublemaking punk growing up in the North Cambridge projects, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Not for fame and fortune. I didn’t even know or care about that back then. All I
by John T. Simpson26 Jun 2011, 1:38 PM PST0
Some things never change. If it’s a day ending in a “y” you can be sure there is more bad news coming out of Iran. It’s like an Islamist Groundhog Day of horror shows in endless loop. Outside Iran itself,
by John T. Simpson11 Apr 2011, 3:08 PM PST0
With the recent unjust imprisonments of famed Iranian directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof, the world finally seems to be coming to terms with the Islamist regime’s rank inhumanity toward its best and brightest and is taking a stand. At
by John T. Simpson21 Jan 2011, 8:05 AM PST0
I’ve named this piece For Jafar as a tribute to both the unjustly imprisoned Jafar Panahi and HBO’s brilliant documentary For Neda, which took us beyond the political and social symbolism of Neda Agha Soltan’s tragic needless death and straight
by John T. Simpson31 Dec 2010, 2:12 PM PST0
“When a filmmaker does not make films, it is as if he is jailed. Even when he is freed from the small jail, he finds himself wandering in a larger jail.” – Jafar Panahi On Monday afternoon I received word
by John T. Simpson21 Dec 2010, 2:51 PM PST0
The HBO documentary For Neda, directed by Antony Thomas and narrated by famed Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, first aired on HBO in the United States on June 14 but went viral in Iran on June 1, well before the regime
by John T. Simpson22 Jun 2010, 5:02 AM PST0
Since my scathing two-part Big Hollywood editorial on imprisoned Iranian film director Jafar Panahi nearly three weeks ago, I have found myself drawn neck-deep into the campaign to push for his freedom. In that cause I have email-blitzed the media,
by John T. Simpson4 May 2010, 1:13 PM PST0
In Part One of this two-part series, I described the widely varying treatment of renowned directors Jafar Panahi and Roman Polanski by the leftist Hollywood establishment vis-a-vis their arrests and incarcerations, Polanski for child rape, Panahi for mere dissent. It
by John T. Simpson15 Apr 2010, 6:44 AM PST0
“Roman Polanski is a French citizen, a renowned international artist now facing extradition. This extradition, if it takes place, will be heavy in consequences and will take away his freedom. Filmmakers, actors, producers and technicians – everyone involved in international
by John T. Simpson13 Apr 2010, 5:02 AM PST0
Can any of you remember a time when so many creative film artists in Hollywood shit where they eat by endlessly voicing such outspoken contempt and loathing for the majority of the American people, our history and our way of
by John T. Simpson23 Mar 2010, 5:14 PM PST0
Many of you know the story of Jerry Maguire, the agent with a conscience. Ya, I know. It’s only a movie. But sometimes movies can be great moral guideposts. Ironic that I should use one of Hollywood’s finest morality plays
by John T. Simpson14 Dec 2009, 11:22 AM PST0
by John T. Simpson23 Nov 2009, 8:30 AM PST0
This past April 15, as a half-million Tea Partiers hit the streets of America to protest the insane tax-and-spend policies of the Obama administration, a new epithet entered the American lexicon, and it was a beauty: “teabagger.” It was both
by John T. Simpson29 Oct 2009, 6:51 AM PST0
by John T. Simpson25 Sep 2009, 6:41 AM PST0
From the riots and chaos of the 1960s to the anti-war rallies of the Bush years, the American Left’s revolution has been widely televised. In fact, the Big Three and Dead Tree Press played a major part in that revolution.
by John T. Simpson19 Sep 2009, 5:31 PM PST0
The news is really unbelievable these days. All that I once thought were core American values and traditions are now being washed away in a sea of propaganda and political attacks from the radical Left, which now rules supreme and
by John T. Simpson31 Aug 2009, 7:12 AM PST0
In Parts One and Two of this interview, Mr Lebaron described the many legal, moral and ethical problems plaguing the California legislative process. In Part Three, Mr. LeBaron describes how We The People can begin to bring the long-hallowed and
by John T. Simpson23 Aug 2009, 6:57 AM PST0
In Part One of this interview, Mr. LeBaron provided background on his own classic American and Hollywood success stories, and why he started the Honor In Office campaign. Today, Mr. LeBaron tells us what Honor In Office is all about,
by John T. Simpson22 Aug 2009, 2:49 PM PST0
THE BACKSTORY From all appearances, Jerrol LeBaron’s life is both a classic American and Hollywood success story. Having started out in the construction industry in and around Los Angeles, Mr. LeBaron became restless and purchased a small jewelry business, which
by John T. Simpson21 Aug 2009, 11:58 AM PST0
Since Iran’s Green Revolution began on June 12th we have all learned the meaning of the term Basiji, whom Matthias Kuntzel of The New Republic called “Ahmadinejad’s Demons.” Since Supreme Leader In Name Only Ali Khamenei’s son now runs the
by John T. Simpson13 Aug 2009, 10:53 AM PST0
For those of you who don’t know, I’m from Cambridge. Born and raised there. I grew up in the Jefferson Park housing projects a stone’s throw from Harvard. Never a Dull Moment in JP I can tell you! Even today.
by John T. Simpson4 Aug 2009, 5:37 PM PST0
Boy, did I ever kick a hornet’s nest with my tongue-in-cheek Archie Bunker-on-steroids BH post, “My Secret Life as a Conservative Republican.” Lefties called it Reaffirmation With Senator Smalley, which I expected. But Righties nearly wet their pants in fear,
by John T. Simpson21 Jul 2009, 10:22 AM PST0
I’m tired of hiding it. Everybody knows anyway. So it’s time to come clean, just like the Klan hoods I’ve got spinning in the dryer as we speak. It’s time for the Neanderthal knuckle-dragging, open mouth-breathing, racist, sexist, Klan and
by John T. Simpson15 Jul 2009, 2:36 PM PST0
You all know the story to date. Former Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was given the bum’s rush out of Tegucigalpa to Costa Rica by Honduras’ military on June 25th. In the days since, this apparent brutal seizure of power has
by John T. Simpson7 Jul 2009, 9:03 AM PST0
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Returning once again to the land beneath the Big Hollywood sign for a most important poll question. “The Stoning of Soraya M.” has received powerful rave reviews across
by John T. Simpson29 Jun 2009, 8:18 AM PST0