Even Fox News praised President Obama’s Arizona memorial address. Can we set the reset button now and resolve to A.) resist assuming that anyone who disagrees with our particular politics is filled with hate, phobia or ill intent, B.) resist using inflammatory language or imagery in our discourse, C.) resist the urge to use tragedy for political gain?

An angel leaves this world. Actor John Dye, who played Andrew, the Angel of Death on Touched by an Angel, has died. By all accounts he was a truly decent and kind guy. His show touched millions with the simple message that God loves you and the series will live on for decades in reruns. Not a bad creative legacy.

Colin Firth keeps fame in perspective. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor, who just received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is enjoying critical acclaim and award buzz for his performance in The King‘s Speech (an excellent film BTW), said “The attention we get (as actors) is completely disproportionate to our
importance. But we’re not getting attention because we are important. We’re getting
attention because what we happen to do is widely broadcast.” He added ““The people who do household repairs are equally important but you don’t do household repairs for millions and millions of people….They
do things which might seem every day but we couldn’t live without those people
either.”

King’s Speech director Tom Hooper agreed and elaborated, saying “Do we have too much praise in relationship to the unsung heroes of
the world? Of course. People who save lives should be at
the top of the hierarchy – doctors, surgeons and nurses. People who
help the dispossessed and the socially excluded should be at the top of
the hierarchy.” So why aren’t they? Hooper explains “There isn’t a business to be built out of
directing adulation toward doctors and surgeons. There is a business underpinning what happens in awards season.” 

It should be noted, of course, that actors and others involved in the movie-making process can do a lot of good in many ways — including promoting empathy and understanding for others. The King’s Speech, for example, helps us understand what it must be like to be a stutterer even if we don’t stutter ourselves. But Firth and Hooper make valid points about Hollywood being the most overly-awarded industry in the world.

Showtime passes on The Kennedys. As predicted here, the controversial miniseries that got booted from the History Channel amidst political pressure, seems to be having a hard time getting placed on another network. Executive Producer Michael Prupas says his saga of the Kennedy clan is historically accurate. Maybe that’s the problem. Of course, I don’t know because I haven’t seen it  — and it’s beginning to look like relatively few Americans will (though it’ll air in Canada this spring).