Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune

Here's a great review by CommonDreams.org of a new documentary on folk singer and songwriter Phil Ochs. Among those interviewed: Sean Penn, Paul Krassner, Ed Sanders, Van Dyke Parks, Abbie Hoffman, Christopher Hitchens, Joan Baez, Billy Bragg, Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow, and Tom Hayden...
Phil Ochs Lives!
Michael Simmons
Monday, January 3, 2011

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/01/03-1

Sean Penn: Concerned About Wyclef Jean's Haiti Candidacy

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/sean-penn-concerned-about-wyclef-jean

Sean Penn: Concerned About Wyclef Jean's Haiti Candidacy, Support From Corporate Interests
Susie Madrak
Saturday Aug 07, 2010

Wyclef Jean has filed papers to run for president of Haiti, and Sean Penn is skeptical.

Interviewed on CNN last night as Wyclef officially announced his bid, Penn said, "This is somebody who's going to receive an enormous amount of support from the United States, and I have to say I'm very suspicious of it, simply because he, as an ambassador at large, has been virtually silent. For those of us in Haiti, he has been a non-presence," Penn said.

Penn, who has been active in Haiti since the earthquake, highlighted allegations that Wyclef mishandled $400,000 donated for the country through his Yele Haiti foundation. "He claims he didn't do it. That has to be looked into it," said Penn, who has been running a 55,000-person tent camp through the J/P Haitian Relief Organization he co-founded. "I've been there. I know what $400,000 could do for these people's lives."

He added, "I'm not accusing Wyclef Jean of being an opportunist; I don't know the man," Penn told Wolf Blitzer, who was filling in for Larry King. "One of the reasons I don't know very much about Wyclef Jean is that I haven't seen or heard anything of him in these last six months that I've been in Haiti."

Courage Campaign & Prop 8

Today is a turning point. And, as Harvey Milk used to say so often, we're "here to recruit you."

A few minutes ago, the California Supreme Court heard the final oral arguments in the case to overturn Proposition 8. Within 90 days, we will know whether the court will restore equal rights or uphold injustice.

No matter what the state Supreme Court decides, the fight for equality will continue in California and across the country.

If we win, the same people who backed Prop 8 will find another way to undermine equal rights. If we lose, we will need to take our case to the people of California again. No matter what, we'll eventually need to win full equality under federal law.

At nearly 700,000 members and growing, the Courage Campaign is building an army to prepare for this fight -- the kind of people-powered movement that Harvey Milk would lead. A movement that proudly portrays -- and tells the stories of -- the people victimized by the discrimination of Prop 8, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the Defense of Marriage Act.

We're here to recruit you. Will you help the Courage Campaign build this movement? Please contribute what you can today to restore marriage equality to California and bring equal rights to America:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/BuildTheMovement

Harvey Milk understood the need to organize communities from the bottom-up, the need for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender people to be out and proud as leaders in this movement, and the need for straight allies to join them in solidarity.

That's why we worked so hard to get the film "Milk" to movie screens across America. We wanted to show a new generation of Americans how Harvey organized to win landmark victories in the fight for equal rights.

Just like Harvey did in 1978 when he led the movement to defeat the "Briggs Initiative," the Courage Campaign is organizing across California to repeal Prop 8 -- training marriage equality activists at "Camp Courage" events, launching Equality Teams county-by-county, and producing online videos like the heartbreaking "Fidelity," viewed by more than 1 million people.

The only way we will win true equality in California and across the country is by giving people the power to do it themselves. And that's what the Courage Campaign is doing. Please contribute what you can afford today to help the Courage Campaign build this people-powered army from the ground up:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/BuildTheMovement

Thank you for joining us in supporting the Courage Campaign.

Sean Penn, Gus Van Sant, Dustin Lance Black, Cleve Jones, Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks
"Milk" Actor, Director, Screenwriter, Historical Consultant and Producers
..............
Courage Campaign Issues is part of the Courage Campaign's online organizing network that empowers nearly 700,000 grassroots and netroots activists to push for progressive change in California.

Countdown to 2012

For review copies or to interview the filmmakers please contact dvd@disinfo.com.

Countdown to 2012: A Disinformation News Exclusive

I think we have gone through, and are going through the final stages of a very dark age, but I also see glimmers of hope everywhere I look. I see people who are no longer willing to have their thoughts and consciousness controlled, and controlled by others. Who seek direct spiritual contact ... I see everywhere around me those seeking to bypass that monolithic block ... and make their own contacts and their own connections.

— Graham Hancock, as quoted in the disinformation® documentary 2012: SCIENCE OR SUPERSTITION

NEW YORK, NY — December 21, 2012: the end date of the sophisticated Long Count Calendar created by the ancient Maya in Central America. Countless books and websites, magazine articles and newspaper headlines debate its meaning, with enthusiasts in two camps: those forecasting apocalypse — the end of time — and those who see a coming renewal, a rebirth of consciousness.

In this thorough, fascinating documentary, leading researchers, writers and scientists in the field tell us exactly what this date means to them, why it's important, and what we should expect. These award-winning authors, historians, scholars, professors, archaeologists, astronomers and journalists — many of whom offer varying and sometimes conflicting perspectives — include: Dr. Anthony F. Aveni, Robert Bauval (The Orion Mystery, The Egypt Code), Walter Cruttenden (The Great Year, an award-winning PBS documnetary narrated by James Earl Jones), Benito Venegas Duran, Graham Hancock (Supernatural, Fingerprints of the Gods), John Major Jenkins (Maya Cosmogenesis 2012), Lawrence E. Joseph (Apocalypse 2012), Jim Marrs (Alien Agenda, Rule By Secrecy), Alonso Mendez, Daniel Pinchbeck (2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl), Douglas Rushkoff (Cyberia, Media Virus), Dr. Alberto Villoldo and John Anthony West.

On January 27, delve into the many mysteries, theories and hypotheses that swirl about this long-prophesied day with 2012: SCIENCE OR SUPERSTITION, a disinformation® original documentary motion picture. Available January 27, this compelling and definitive documentary brings to life the fascinating debate on the 2012 phenomenon through riveting interviews with leading experts, illuminating cosmic footage from NASA and eye-popping CGI.

In addition to the full, feature-length documentary, this timely release also includes bonus programming including a featurette exploring American psychedelic shaman Terence McKenna's "Time Wave Zero" in which the I Ching calendar and fractal mathematics is used to prophecy the end of time in 2012; and, a tour of Palenque, a classic period Mayan city in the Mexican state of Chiapas, the site of ancient Maya calendars and the home of Pakal Votan, the revered culture bearer and healer of Palenque.

What can the world expect on December 21, 2012? Uncover the latest facts, findings and discussions and decide for yourself with 2012: SCIENCE OR SUPERSTITION, only from The Disinformation Company. More information and trailer available at 2012DVD.com.

For review copies or to interview the filmmakers please contact dvd@disinfo.com.

About disinformation®

The Disinformation Company Ltd. is active in TV production, book publishing and home entertainment. It is most widely recognized for its distribution of products on subjects not usually covered by the traditional media. Recent DVD exclusives from The Disinformation Company include Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising, the Sean Penn-narrated War Made Easy, Robert Greenwald's documentaries Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, and Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers, and Robert Baer's The Cult of the Suicide Bomber.

Sean Penn warns Barack Obama at Cannes

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/1955538/Sean-Penn-endorses-Barack-Obama-at-Cannes-Film-Festival-opening.html

Sean Penn warns Barack Obama at Cannes Film Festival opening
By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor
15/05/2008

The Cannes Film Festival got off to a lively start with Sean Penn, president of this year's jury, sounding off about US Presidential hopeful Barack Obama and the opening movie almost being upstaged by a bunch of performing pandas.

Penn joined fellow judge Natalie Portman on the red carpet for the premiere of the first night film, Blindness, a thriller starring Julianne Moore.

At a press conference beforehand, the actor, an outspoken critic of the Bush administration, offered his views on the Democratic nomination race.

Asked if he would be joining other Hollywood A-listers in pledging support for Obama, Penn gave him a less than ringing endorsement and warned that he has an awful lot to live up to.

”I don't have a candidate I'm supporting and I'm certainly interested and excited by the hope that Barack Obama is inspiring,” he said, but went on to accuse him of a “phenomenally inhuman and unconstitutional” voting record.

”I hope that he will understand, if he is the nominee, the degree of disillusionment that will happen if he doesn't become a greater man than he will ever be,” Penn said. “This is the most important election, certainly in my lifetime, and maybe ever.”

Portman, 26, said she would not be endorsing Obama or his rival, Hillary Clinton, but added: “I think it's a very exciting year for our politics, that for the first time in a while we have a choice of who we like better instead of who we hate least.”

Penn said it was impossible to separate film from politics, and promised that the winning film would be a reflection of the current climate.

“One way or another, when we select the Palme d'Or winner, I think we are going to feel very confident that the film-maker who made the film is very aware of the times in which he or she lives.”

There are 22 films in competition for the Palme d'Or and the jury will watch them over the next 12 days. “The idea is to be wide awake with an empty bladder for the start of everything,” explained Penn.

Asked if he was enjoying it so far, he complained that he had been “discouraged from smoking” – France's smoking ban was introduced last year – before lighting up and chain-smoking his way through the press conference.

The opening film, Blindness, is a thriller from director Fernando Meirelles about a town struck down by a mysterious epidemic, leaving Moore the only character with the ability to see.

Based on the novel by Nobel Prize-winning author Jose Saramago, its story of a community hit by disaster and receiving no government help draws obvious parallels with Hurricane Katrina.

Moore said the film was timely: “I think there's sometimes something in the zeitgeist. There's a tremendous amount of tragedy right now, physical tragedy and man-made tragedy, and we are feeling anxious.”

The 47-year-old actress dyed her famous red hair blonde for the role. She said: “I'm a redhead and I'm always a redhead, except for this movie. I don't want to do it again. I didn't like it very much.”

Away from the main competition, comic actor Jack Black launched his latest movie, DreamWorks animation Kung Fu Panda, by performing martial arts moves on the beach in the company of 40 extras in panda suits. Black, who lends his voice to the film along with the likes of Angelina Jolie and Lucy Liu, explained that he was there to create “panda-monium”.

The film creating the most buzz on the Croisette remains Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which has its world premiere on Sunday. Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett and director Steven Spielberg will fly in later this week for the summer's most eagerly-awaited sequel.

WAR MADE EASY

WAR MADE EASY: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death
Disinfo.com

In the critically-acclaimed and highly compelling film, WAR MADE EASY, a disturbing 50-year pattern of government deception is uncovered. Narrated by actor and activist Sean Penn, and based on the book by nationally-renowned media columnist Norman Solomon, this documentary is a scathing indictment of five decades of U.S. media coverage of American-led military interventions, and the pro-war spoon-feeding by both journalists and politicans to the American public. Marking the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, this film hailed by critics — called “a superb form of visual investigation” by noted author Howard Zinn — is more timely than ever for its release on DVD from The Disinformation Company.

How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death

Giving special attention to parallels between Vietnam and Iraq, WAR MADE EASY sets government spin and media collusion from the present, alongside virtually identical patterns from the past, guided by Solomon’s meticulous research and tough-minded analysis. Rare footage of political leaders and journalists from the past includes Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and news correspondents Walter Cronkite and Morley Safer. According to Solomon, whose work has been praised by The Los Angeles Times as “brutally persuasive,” the positive attention the film has received may indicate a new willingness to counter years of pro-war media spin and government deception. “These deep patterns of ongoing ‘perception management’ must be demystified and decoded if we're going to move beyond the horrors of perpetual war,” he said. “The way War Made Easy is being embraced could be an important step in that direction.”

An Official Selection of 2007’s International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam and the 2007 Montreal and Vancouver International Film Festivals, WAR MADE EASY, directed by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp, is an invaluable introduction to war propaganda and public relations that transcends partisan politics, and raises serious questions about the role of journalism and political communication in our society.

Available for interview: Norman Solomon

Solomon is a nationally syndicated columnist on media and politics, as well as the founder and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a national consortium of policy researchers and analysts. He has been writing the weekly “Media Beat” column since 1992. The book on which the film was based, War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death, was published in 2005 and The Los Angeles Times called it “a must-read for those who would like greater context with their bitter morning coffee, or to arm themselves for the debates about Iraq that are still to come.” His latest book is Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America's Warfare State (October 2007).

About The Disinformation Company

The Disinformation Company Ltd is active in documentary production, book publishing and home entertainment. It is most widely recognized for its publishing and distribution efforts on subjects not usually covered by the traditional media. Recent DVD exclusives from The Disinformation Company include the best-selling Robert Greenwald documentaries Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism, Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War, and Unconstitutional: The War on our Civil Liberties, as well as Robert Baer’s The Cult of the Suicide Bomber, and Greg Palast’s Bush Family Fortunes.

It's a wrap - 'Milk' filming ends in S.F.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/18/DDNDVJJHL.DTL

It's a wrap - 'Milk' filming ends in S.F.
Ruthe Stein, Chronicle Senior Movie Writer
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

"Harvey will be coming out soon," an extra assured the crowd in front of City Hall on a recent Sunday. They had gathered to be in a scene in "Milk"- the movie about the life and death of Harvey Milk - in which the San Francisco supervisor delivers an impassioned speech. It was really Sean Penn, of course, who plays the martyred supervisor, who would be appearing. But, this extra explained, because he's a "method actor," he wants to be called Harvey.

From the bright sun, it could have been June, when the Gay Freedom Day parade was led 30 years ago by Milk, seated on top of a convertible with flowers in one hand and the other hand a clenched fist. He was as pumped up as his bulging muscles.

A couple thousand people waited for a re-enactment of Milk's fiery speech, which capped the parade. This was the last day calling for such a large cast.

"Milk" had been filming all over San Francisco for eight weeks and wrapped Monday with a scene shot on a set on Treasure Island of Milk watching "Tosca." The movie is due in the fall, positioning it for Oscar consideration.

Appearing on the City Hall steps to deafening applause, Penn looked shockingly like Milk. He had his almost Grecian nose and dark wavy hair parted to one side and wore a tight T-shirt that showed off his muscles.

"Brothers and sisters, you must come out to your parents," Penn/Harvey shouted, pronouncing his vowels distinctly to sound like a New Yorker. "It may hurt them. But think how they could hurt you in the voting booth."

Penn would do eight takes of this speech all to loud applause from an indefatigable crowd, including people who had stood in the same spot 30 years ago listening to Milk urge gays to protect their rights from those trying to get gay-friendly legislation repealed.

A dozen rows back from Penn, John Hershey, 63, started crying. Milk had influenced him to come out to his family, Hershey recalled.

"This is an important thing for me because I want all the kids to know what Harvey did," he said.

All age groups were represented. Peter Weitl came with his wife, Jenni. They're both 28. "We came to be part of history, even if it's re-created history. We couldn't have been there the first time," he said.

The production company had posted instructions on the Internet of what to wear to look of the period. Shorts and blue jeans were fine; bell bottoms and garish colors were not. A lot of people blithely ignored this, dressing in copies of Pucci's brightly colored wrap dress and in drag. Men showed off large tattoos by wearing leather vests with nothing under them. The few cars on Polk Street were all period, including a Thunderbird and Ford Pinto station wagon.

Bottled water was available for free, but extras were warned to pitch the bottles when the cameras were on. People drank H2O out of the tap in the '70s.

A production assistant followed Penn around the front of City Hall with a large navy blue umbrella. She held it over his head to shield him from the sun. Seeing he had a captive audience, Penn broke loose of the umbrella to deliver an impromptu speech that Milk would have loved.

"I almost wish Jerry Falwell were alive to see this. Almost," Penn shouted to the crowd. After dropping some names of conservatives who are still with us - "Bill O'Reilly, who is too stupid to talk about," and "Sean Hannity, the butt boy of Rupert Murdoch," Penn said, "We know something more. We know their end is near."

What was fun about having "Milk" shot here is how "in" it made locals feel. They could go home that Sunday and tell friends that Penn gave a speech just for them. Keen observers might have caught a glimpse of Robin Williams, who at one point was to play Milk, and Oliver Stone, who was to direct one version of the biopic. Both stopped by to watch Penn and director Gus Van Sant, whom Williams worked with on "Good Will Hunting."

Thousands of San Franciscans marched in a simulation of the Gay Freedom Parade that was held on June 25, 1978, and of the vigil in November that year to commemorate the deaths of Milk and Mayor George Moscone, both murdered by Supervisor Dan White.

The cast and crew have been all over town spending money in restaurants and hotels and generally adding to the San Francisco economy. There were other ways in which the local population benefited from the "Milk" people being here.

Those who weren't around to see the Castro district in the 1970s got a sense of it after scenic designers went to work changing storefronts. Overnight a store called Aquarius Records popped up with a purple, yellow, orange and periwinkle front. The shop used to be in the Castro but moved to Noe Valley. Designers also brought back China Court, a popular restaurant in the '70s. Milk's election headquarters was decorated with posters of him under a colorful canopy.

The interior of Milk's camera shop also was re-created and became a place where his pals from the old days like author Armistead Maupin, one-time Milk aide Anne Kronenberg and Cleve Jones, founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt who is an adviser on the film, would stop in. "They were moved to tears to see everything exactly the way it had been," said Dan Jinks, co-producer with Bruce Cohen. The two previously produced "American Beauty" and "Big Fish."

"I have never gotten to work on a project before that not only is based on a true event but where we are shooting it in the places where it actually happened," Cohen said.

Jones came on the set to watch himself be played by Emile Hirsch, telling the actor, "This is where I was standing."

"I feel like 'Milk' is really a once-in-a-lifetime chance," Cohen said. "It is so much about the city. But it isn't just a storybook place. We are re-creating a part of the history of San Francisco."

This is the first time since the cast and crew of "Zodiac" disembarked here in 2005 that a major motion picture has been shot in San Francisco. Like "Milk," "Zodiac" takes place in San Francisco. But not all of it was filmed here because of how expensive this city is. In part because Penn lives in the Bay Area but mainly because, as Jinks put it, "Harvey Milk is such a San Francisco story," he and Cohen resisted pressure from the money people to shoot most of it in Vancouver. It was always their idea that the city be a character in the movie.

"The picture is scripted for the city, and you know it would be a creative embarrassment if they had to shoot it somewhere else," said Stefanie Coyote, executive director of the San Francisco Film Commission, who helped negotiate good access to City Hall.

The area surrounding City Hall, as well as the building, plays a big role in "Milk." In one scene inside City Hall, Supervisor White, played by Josh Brolin fresh off his career-making role in "No Country for Old Men," was being grilled by the press on his decision to remain supervisor. He had resigned his seat, then changed his mind but could not get Moscone to give the position back to him. Milk wanted White gone, which was why he also was shot dead.

Mayor Newsom offered to lend the "Milk" crew his office to film Moscone's shooting. "We did not take him up on his offer. We thought it was more important that he be using his office," Jinks said. Instead, the anteroom to his office, where the killing took place, was re-created on a set. The room has been redecorated numerous times, so the film's version probably is more accurate. Cubicles in the Federal Office Building at 50 United Nations Plaza substituted for the supervisors' work space because they have far more luxurious offices now than in 1978.

A brisk woman with bouffant hair and wearing a blouse with a large bow was seen coming out of the building. She's Ashlee Temple, and she plays then Board of Supervisors President Dianne Feinstein. She auditioned by re-enacting Feinstein's stunning announcement to the press that Moscone and Milk were dead. "She didn't cry but you can see she is very shocked and very fragile," said Temple, who studied a news clip. "It takes every bit of energy in her to get those words out 'and the suspect is Dan White.' "

While the last scene shot here was of Penn listening to "Tosca," the part from the opera he is watching was filmed weeks ago. The modest budget was strained bringing in costumes from "Tosca" and renting an existing set from the opera. The crew put up some lights, and for a couple of hours a soundstage on Treasure Island became an opera house.

"Harvey was a huge opera fan," Jinks said. "Nothing made him happier." Except maybe a whole movie all about him.

E-mail Ruthe Stein at rstein@sfchronicle.com

This article appeared on page E - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle