Bill Maher: Eastwood 'killed' it

[cash__whatiwant]

Bill Maher isn’t among those panning Clint Eastwood’s speech delivery at the Republican National Convention.

On his HBO show on Friday, Maher gave the actor “props” for pretending that President Obama was sitting in an empty chair next to him onstage.

“As a performer, as a stand-up comedian for 30 years who knows how hard it is to get laughs, excuse me, he went up there … without a net, on a tightrope. There was no teleprompter. He did a bit with just an empty chair and killed,” Maher said. “He committed to it, it was consistent and it worked.”

“People have been saying for years: these conventions are too scripted, they’re too slick, they’re too overproduced,” he added. “A guy who went up there who wasn’t slick … and killed with the crowd? I gotta give him props for that.”

http://www.politico.com/blogs/click/2012/09/bill-maher-eastwood-killed-it-134038.html?hp=r1

lol...ok, bill.

[rocktivity]

1. Clint DID "kill" -- Mitt Romney's credibility and judgment

Last edited Sat Sep 1, 2012, 02:06 PM - Edit history (1)

Clint must have forgotten about the convention's SECONDARY audience, the ones watching on TV -- including undecided and swing voters. And what Maher considers "theatrical improvising," I consider "dementia-laced babbling."


rocktivity

[Bjorn Against]

2. I think he did kill it...

Mitt Romney's campaign that is. I don't know what to think of Clint's speech, on one hand it was absolutely horrible but on the other hand it destroyed the convention so it made me really happy. I don't know what Clint's intent was but sabotage would not surprise me, even if he did call himself a Republican he has never been totally in line with the Republican's beliefs and I could see him do something like this to get back at them if they pissed him off in some way.

[Surya Gayatri]

8. The RW attacked him viciously after his Chrysler Super Bowl ad...

Could that be a motive for revenge?

[Bjorn Against]

16. That is certainly something I have considered

He also tends to cast actors the right-wing hates in his movies. He works with people like Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, most of the big stars in the recent films he has directed have been outspoken lefties that the right-wing loves to hate. There are many reasons that he could potentially be mad at the GOP, there are far fewer reasons to believe he has suddenly become a partisan Republican. He may have called himself a Republican before, but when he has expressed political opinions they have more often than not been fairly liberal leaning and he has never been a partisan. I suspect he despises the rabid right and I could see him sabotaging their convention.

[LiberalFighter]

20. Doesn't make sense for him having good views that are contrary to Republican views.

Maybe he has gotten out of touch with the current Republicans. Likely at his age that he doesn't have as much interaction outside of work.

[Bjorn Against]

28. He has always been a moderate libertarian

He became a Republican under Eisenhower when the party was not nearly as right-wing as it is now, while he has never ditched the party label he has voted for and donated to several Democrats. He considers himself a libertarian but he is far more moderate than many others who call themselves libertarian. He is pro-choice, pro-gay rights, and anti-war. Unless he has changed drastically in recent months he does not fit in well with the modern GOP, that is why I suspect this is intentional sabotage of Mitt's big night.

[progressivebydesign]

24. I did find it odd that Karl Rove openly attacked him after the Chrysler ad..

.. and now he's cheerleading for Karl's regime?

[JohnnyRingo]

3. By Maher's standards I could be a great stand up comic.

Apparently, the key is to ramble off the top of my head and Maher gives me four stars. *badaboom*

[Cha]

33. Ramble Red Meat Lies to whip up

a frothing teabag crowd. Go JohnnyRingo!

[XemaSab]

34. It would have been so easy to get up there and give a teabagger speech

Ladies and gentlemen! Fellow republicans!!!

Four years ago the American people elected a president, Barack Obama, who promised to change this country. Well, change it he did. Since Obama took office, people have lost their jobs, factories have been shuttered, and families have been kicked out of their homes.

Well tonight we're here to nominate the next president of the United States. He's not promising "hope and change," he's promising a return to the America of old, the America we all remember. It's the America where moms tuck their babies in safe at night, and kids can go out in the street and play ball until the street lights come on. It's a place where dads have good, secure jobs and they know that when they retire social security will be there for them.

Mitt Romney is this next president, and he'll bring back American opportunity again. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.


That took me literally 5 minutes to type, and for a republican who is saying stuff that he actually believes, it would flow like shit from a goose. The stuff Eastwood was spouting was a lot more cerebral that that.

[Cha]

35. Clint's sounded very teabaggery

to me. Make my Day ruh ruh. Slashing his throat with his finger..not too cerebral along with the rest of his lies.

[XemaSab]

36. I respectfully disagree

"We don't have to be -- what I'm saying, we do not have to be mental masochists and vote for somebody that we don't really even want in office just because they seem to be nice guys or maybe not so nice guys, if you look at some of the recent ads going out there, I don't know."

You think he's saying that Democrats are masochists for voting for Obama, and that we don't really like him or want him in office? Our side doesn't have that problem. Most democrats are going to punch the Obama/Biden ticket with enthusiasm not only because we remember what life was like under Bush and we can easily picture a dismal future with Mitt, but because Obama's a likable guy that we mostly trust to take our country in a good direction.

Clint used the word "we" while he was standing up there as a republican and talking to a convention center full of republicans. I think he was talking to all the republicans who are looking at Mitt and wondering what the hell happened that they're stuck with that turkey.

[Cha]

37. Interesting that he has two diametrically

opposing sides to just what exactly he was doing up there.

I just want the Democratic Convention to be as brilliant as it looks like it's going to be with all these inspiring people involved.


Hollywood stars headed for Charlotte

MONDAY

Grammy winner James Taylor and Academy Award nominee Jeff Bridges will both perform (yeah, The Dude is a musician, too) at CarolinaFest in uptown. Ty Pennington, former “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” host, will build half a house at the festival. R&B man John Legend, right, and neo-soul hip-hoppers The Roots will perform at separate parties, at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and the Elder Gallery, respectively.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/09/01/3496646/hollywood-stars-headed-for-charlotte.html#storylink=cpy

[XemaSab]

38. Eh, I figure we'll know one way or the other in a few weeks

I just looked at the speakers' list and it looks like a good week to be a democrat!

[Grammy23]

4. That was no act....

Bill Maher may know all about comedy and what passes for good theater, but he is no expert on human behavior. What I saw was a sad, pathetic old man trying desperately to make his brain cells fire enough to get his lines out. It was not funny one bit to see this. It was sad. And to try to pretend that it was a courageous risk for Eastwood is giving him too much credit. People do not just get demented over night. It is a PROCESS that usually takes time to evolve. And the people who are changing and declining give off signs and symptoms that may be ignored or mislabeled for a long time. That includes THEMSELVES. They pass a point when they do not have the judgment to know that something is wrong. (Not to say that many don't have worries that there is something going wrong with their thinking...early in the process.)

Having seen my own mother go through this process, it was not seen as humorous to me to watch Eastwood do his bit....without scripts or rehearsal. Perhaps if someone, anyone had gotten a hint of what he planned to do they might have saved him from doing this terrible disservice to his long career. As it was, it does appear from what we've been told, Mr. Eastwood gave little detail about his plans (kind of like Romney) and just went out with a blank check from the RNC to do what he wanted. He and they are reaping the results of that catastrophic decision.

[progressivebydesign]

23. Yes, I saw it as sad and scary. You're like me and can read between the lines..

I can see micro expressions very well, and can read what someone is saying.. without listening to them. It was not entertaining. It made me wince.

[sofa king]

5. He should have seen my public speaking attempt.

I created dozens of empty chairs. I am awesome, too!

[JBoy]

6. That's gold, Clint. Gold!

[Pab Sungenis]

7. Clint's bit was amusing.

Unfortunately, it was poorly delivered, and inappropriate for the setting or the message.

[JNelson6563]

9. He's a broken clock

Right twice a day, wrong the rest of the time. Throw in a healthy dose of self-promotion and a smattering of narcissism and Voila! You've got Bill Maher.

Julie

[Cannikin]

10. Something sure died that night...

but I was thinking it was Mitt's chances of winning that expired.

[grantcart]

11. Well something died and Eastwood killed it, so I guess its true.

[russspeakeasy]

12. Personally, I guffawed and guffawed.

[SmittynMo]

13. Last nights show

It was one of his best shows this year

[RedStateLiberal]

14. Bill should consider the crowd.

How hard is it to kill in front of a bunch of bloodthirsty Rethug wingnuts? All you have to do is mention the birth certificate or the telepromter and those morans would be rolling in the aisles.

[davidn3600]

15. Crowd seemed more energized with Clint than with Mitt

Remember this is a country that loves reality TV. We all love celebrities and can't get enough of their quirks, especially when they mess up or do something stupid. Clint's act may have actually woke people up from what was otherwise a dry and boring convention.

The problem with these conventions is you got dozens of speakers saying the same thing and after awhile they all start sounding exactly the same. After 4 days, it gets boring and starts to sound scripted.

People like to be entertained, not lectured. That's what Maher is getting at.

[high density]

17. I think anybody could stand up on that stage

and spout a bunch of fantasy nonsense from the alternative Fox News reality that would "kill" in this audience.

[Tx4obama]

18. Here's a Bill Maher VIDEO link, below

Last edited Sat Sep 1, 2012, 04:56 PM - Edit history (1)

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/101753582

[progressivebydesign]

25. I found it more illuminating to watch without the sound...

you can really see where his mind is, and how utterly sad the spectacle was.

[Tx4obama]

27. The video link I posted in the previous comment was a Bill Maher video. n/t

[Quantess]

19. I actually loved Eastwood's performance.

Fascinating, puzzling, memorable. And it reflected poorly on the Romney campaign. I thought it was great!

[progressivebydesign]

22. I thought it was sad and scary... n/t

[Quantess]

26. Yes, it was also sad and scary.

I never said it was good. But I was mesmerized the entire 12 minutes.

Maybe "I loved it" was a poor choice of words for my being so blown away by the performance. The only positive part was that it was bad for Romney.

[progressivebydesign]

21. Isn't Maher a fellow libertarian, with Eastwood?

He's wrong, btw. I've seen GOOD improv, and what Eastwood did.. resorting to vulgar jokes, was the sign of an amateur. The reason why he's an actor and not an improv guy.

[renie408]

29. Actually, for awhile now I have been thinking that Bill is a Contrarian.

I am starting to think that Bill Maher just likes being the 'bad boy'. The majority said Eastwood looked silly? Well, he thinks he looked GREAT.

[Quantess]

39. Yes. It keeps discussion lively.

No fun if everyone agrees with each other. Be the devils advocate and give people something to talk about.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

30. I think Bill needs to watch The Daily Show (Aug. 31). He could learn something

from Jon Stewart.

[Major Hogwash]

31. Maher is not funny.

That's why he thinks that Eastwood "killed".

The problem Maher has had his whole life is that he is not funny.
He doesn't know what funny is.
He wouldn't recognize funny if it walked up to him on the street.
And he has no political barometer whatsoever at all.

Eastwood's chair act was sophomoric, at best.
It was juvenile high school crap.
That's why it wasn't funny.
Eastwood was pathetic, and it was sad to see such a great film producer and actor stutter and stammer through his whole routine.
It doesn't matter how much thought went into it, because I don't think much thought went into it at all.

But, one thing it sure as hell wasn't, it wasn't funny.
Eastwood didn't "kill".

[BelieveMe3]

32. I watched

and Bill mocked it, but comedians always want to appreciate someone having the guts to get up on stage and he appreciated that the loony GOP audience liked it..that was about it.

I am having so much fun running around message boards and taunting republicans about Eastwood.

The Dems should have an empty chair on stage for the entire DNC, & when anyone asks who it belongs to, they can say Osama bin Laden #DNC2012 --Chris Rock