Phoenix, AZ— It appears that KTVK-TV has at least for now ended their decades long romance with expensive helicopters.  Pilot/Reporter Bruce “Chopperguy” Hafner’s current leasing contract ran out and has not been renewed.   It appears this will significantly change the way news will be covered in this medium TV market. For the last nearly two decades TV news has hemorrhaged viewers everywhere and keeping a helicopter on standby with a pilot/reporter is more difficult than ever considering that is any news department’s single largest expense.  TV news has had to adjust to lost revenue by replacing some news crews with multi-media journalists that write, shoot and edit reports that once involved as many as four or five people.  They’ve made drastic cuts and quality of the news product delivered has sadly declined.  The once glamorous and high paying careers of reporters and anchors are on the ropes. Replacing anchors with a director queuing ...

Hollywood, CA —Let me begin with a disclaimer.  I don’t suggest for a second that bigotry; hate or genocide should be glorified or be made acceptable in our society.  The fact is these ugly things are a part of our world and writing them out of film scripts is not going to cleanse us of these human imperfections. Books and films are about the life-changing events on this earth.  By necessity we must show evil, hate, violence, war, heroism, peace and love because these are the human realty. Police investigations go wrong and innocent people are convicted.  Sometime justice happens.  All of these things give us the ability to tell the stories that need to be told.  We must always try and preserve the truth of the human experience. The only brave filmmaking soul left that seems to escape the political correctness police is Quentin Tarantino .  However, should Tarantino ever make a film that shows Gays in a less than stellar light he will fi...

Isla Vista, CA —Rather than deal with what really facilitated the savage stabbing, running down with a car and shooting massacre, the usual Leftist suspects seek to politicize the event.  They want to blame the crime spree on the rights Americans have to keep and bear firearms.  Let’s first examine just what went wrong. This all begins with a failed mental health system and serious medical malpractice .  We used to place mental patients like Elliot Rodger in institutions for public safety reasons.  Modern pharmacology produced wonder drugs that control most disturbed people that exhibit anti-social pathologies.  We’ve emptied out the insane asylums thought our nation controlling them instead with mind-altering drugs.  Rodger was under psychiatric care for most of his life and had a long history of refusal to take the drugs that would likely keep him under control.  Rodger’s caregivers had a duty to institutionalize their uncoo...

Director Marc Bauder with Screenwriter Dörte Franke Los Angeles, CA —I’m a frequent visitor to events put on by the arts arm of the German government.  This time it was at the renowned Goethe-Institut across the street from the Screen Actor’s Guild where I’m a member. They had a real treat for me lined up.   A screening of a film called Das System and a Q&A with the director Marc Bauder and one of the two screenwriters, Dörte Franke .   Afterwards there was a meet and greet reception.   The film was a real thriller.   It interposed East Germany’s dark past with modern day corruption.   The unintended protagonist is a 20 year-old boy, Mike Hiller, played by Jacob Matschenz .   Later in the film, through cinematic magic, Hiller returns to play his presumed father, Rolf.   The young Hiller who survives as a petty criminal,  is sought out by a wealthy fellow, Konrad Böhm played by Bernhard Schütz .    Böhm is...

Isla Vista, CA—Elliot Rodger was under the outpatient care of a psychiatrist.  His cadre of mental health professionals allowed Rodger to roam free despite his numerous and very public threats to harm innocent women. When they finally tried to intervene it was too little and too late. Rodger had steadfastly refused to take his prescribed anti-psychotic medications.   Instead of institutionalizing Rodger his keepers knowingly let this time bomb walk our streets. Rodger’s family repeatedly did all they could to warn police of the very real danger.  We’ve yet to hear their repeated 911 calls they made in effort to get police to have Rodger picked up for a 5150 psychiatric hold and examination .   Police finally contacted the troubled lad and then simply failed to actually investigate and do their job. California has some of the most onerous gun bans and restrictions found anywhere in the USA.  No sale or transfer of any firearms can tak...