Category: Hollywood

Lights, Camera, COVID-19 Safety: How the Virus Has Changed Hollywood

At the onset of COVID-19, the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, all Hollywood productions shut down overnight in March 2020. By mid-summer of that year, a handful of productions ramped up again, emerging with a brand-new production budget line item: COVID-19 safety. Nick Greco was one of the first COVID-19 safety…


Beijing Exploits Hollywood to Project a Positive Image of the CCP: Report

Beijing is manipulating Western movie and film production, especially in Hollywood, to project a positive image of itself to the world, according to a September report by a French military think tank. The 650-page report aims at exposing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s all-encompassing global influence tactics. On the cultural front, the report pointed out that…


Film and Television Workers Union Reaches Agreement With Hollywood Studio Producers, Preventing Nationwide Strikes

A nationwide strike by Hollywood film and television crews was averted on Oct. 16 after the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees International (IATSE) union reached an agreement with studio producers on a new three-year contract. The strike was planned amid disputes with studio producers about working conditions, pay, and schedules, with many members of the union claiming that…


‘If All You Had Was One Source of News’: Chris Fenton on Beijing’s Information Warfare

In this special episode, we sat down with two guests: Chris Fenton, a U.S.–China expert and author of “Feeding the Dragon,” and journalist John Mac Ghlionn, who’s lived and worked in China. They touch on Beijing’s soft power tactics, such as through information warfare and Hollywood, and what that means going forward. On Beijing’s use…


James Bond’s China Problem

Commentary The latest James Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” has been met with rave reviews. However, the movie’s plot, detached from the geopolitical realities of today, tells a much deeper story. Today, China—more specifically, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—poses one of the biggest, if not the biggest, threat to the world. Of course, a…


Woman Fatally Shot Aboard Metro Red Line in Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Police were seeking the public’s help in identifying a man who shot a woman to death today aboard a Metro Red Line train at the Hollywood/Vine Station. Officers were dispatched at about 5:10 a.m. to the station in response to a call of a shooting, the Los Angeles Police Department reported. When they arrived…


Hollywood’s Behind-the-Scenes Crews Vote Overwhelmingly to Authorize Strike Over Pay, Working Conditions

Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes crews have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a nationwide strike if they cannot reach agreement with producers on a new contract, their union announced on Monday. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which represents some 60,000 off-screen workers, said that 90 percent of its members cast ballots and more than 98 percent…


Daniel Craig to Receive Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Daniel Craig, who has portrayed James Bond in five “007” films, including the soon-to-be-released “No Time to Die,” will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week. Craig’s star—the 2,704th on the Walk of Fame—will be dedicated at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard, a location chosen for the Bond-related…


CCP Purges Chinese Celebrities and Influencers in Crackdown on Entertainment Industry

Xi Jinping has seized control of China’s U.S.$359 billion (AU$496 billion) entertainment industry, seeking to align all cultural influences in China with Communist Party dogma through an “eight-point plan” that directs broadcasters on acceptable role models in entertainment. The plan released by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) tolerates no…


Universal Studios Beijing Opens Amid Concerns Over China Influencing Western Entertainment

News Analysis Universal Studios inaugurated a resort in Beijing on Sept. 20, after a two-decade wait, amid concerns over the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) influence on the Western entertainment industry. The CCP aims to create a positive image of itself by influencing Hollywood through large investments and the potential of entering, or being restricted from,…