Hollywood Playbook: Monday's Top 5 News Items

1. Lena Dunham is Ratings Poison

After a full week of traveling — three days in DC and four in Kentucky — you would think that the last thing I would have known about is who hosted “Saturday Night Live” last Saturday night. But the hype was such that even though I was in a travel bubble, I knew it was “Girls” star Lena Dunham.

All that hype and the show still tanked.

Dunham’s “SNL” appearance delivered the second lowest ratings of the year.

Dunham may be “hot” with everyone who knows Maureen Dowd or with those who know someone who knows Maureen Dowd, but outside of that tight little obnoxious circle, no one likes her.

And it is not as though no one has heard of Lena Dunham. She is being force fed to us via every lever of popular culture in the free world.

Dunham has been rejected by the public.

One of the Left’s greatest weapons is fabricating a reality that does not exist.

2. Harvey Weinstein is a Welfare Queen

What isn’t there to hate about a Left that openly attacks tax cuts and openly calls for tax increases, but at the same time openly calls for tax incentives for their rich selves.

And the media lets them get away with it.

Overrated producer Harvey Weinstein is advocating for $400 million in California film tax incentives using the argument that lower taxes attracts industry and therefore jobs.

Well, no shit. But it is just not HOLLYWOOD jobs. That formula works for all jobs.

I am unaware of anyone in the entertainment or mainstream media that has challenged even one of these left-wing Hollywood welfare queens on this point.

3. Bill ‘Wild Bill’ Guarnere, of ‘Band of Brothers’ fame, dies at 90

Here is the Fox News story. Frank John Hughes, who so memorably portrayed ‘Wild Bill’ in the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” tweeted his own tribute:

I’ve lost my hero and my friend. Knowing him made me a better man and playing him was the greatest honor of my life. pic.twitter.com/8lvLzsUhaz

— Frank John Hughes (@frankjhughes) March 9, 2014

—

It really is time to watch “Band of Brothers” again.

4. Why Hollywood Puts Up with Charlie Sheen

The Hollywood Reporter claims that “Anger Management” star Charlie Sheen is reverting back to the behavior that cost him his lucrative “Two and a Half Men” gig. If you are wondering why FX would pick Sheen up after his CBS implosion:

There is much riding on Sheen’s continued involvement in Anger, which is poised to generate between $350 million to $500 million in revenue if it completes its 100 episode order. If it ends up running for 150 episodes, that range could grow to as much as $800 million, say sources, once network license fees, international sales and syndication revenue are included. (The series, thanks to the global recognition of Sheen, is expected to generate close to $1 million an episode overseas.)

“Anger Management” isn’t even a hit.

It is all about feeding the bundled cable monster.

Man alive, what a racket. Billions made from television shows no one watches just because over 100 million Americans are dumb enough to pay for dozens of channels they never watch.

5. ‘Noah’ Banned in Several Middle Eastern Countries

Christians might argue against a film and then choose not to go. Some might even attempt a boycott.

Muslim countries outright ban the sucker.

Still, Hollywood aims all its hostility at Christians.

Quick Hits

Jack Is Back May 24