George Clooney once referred to former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon as a “failed f*cking screenwriter,” but that won’t stop aspirations from coming. Less than a month after President Trump canned Bannon (who immediately hopped back to Breitbart News), the proud pusher of a nationalist agenda has turned back to his Hollywood dreams. Sort of like Anthony Scaramucci, who will soon help pinch-hit on hosting duties for both The View and TMZ, but Bannon will be content to remain behind the camera. According to Page Six, he’s keen to produce a Hollywood Western.
Bannon, of course, isn’t coming to this endeavor out of the blue. All told, he’s notched 18 IMDb credits while either writing, producing, or directing other projects. Mainly, these projects — even The Indian Runner (starring the outspoken political Sean Penn) but mostly projects like Clinton Cash and Border War — were labors of love to promote his own political interests. A Western also fits nicely into Bannon’s agenda, and here’s more from Page Six, which approaches the subject in their standard gossipy way:
We’re told the appearance of Bannon in liberal Hollywood circles has left some feeling queasy. But execs have been willing to hear him out.
“The Western thing actually makes sense when you consider his strategy with Trump,” said a source, referring to Bannon’s trademark appeal to voters with old-school values. “Maybe [Bannon] thinks there’s an untapped market for movies about John Wayne-style alpha males,” the insider added.
Bannon previously produced 2013’s Sweetwater, a Western starring January Jones, which didn’t make waves but proves — at least a little — that he’s wet his feet in the desired genre. With all of those previous reports that he pushed Trump TV as a back up plan when everyone (even Trump) thought the election would go differently, this career direction makes sense for Bannon. And with Suicide Squad producer Steven Mnuchin out of the game (for the foreseeable future), Bannon can fill that void for his own purposes.
Maybe he’ll even change his mind on staying behind the camera and make a cameo in this Western? Admit it, you’d watch that clip.
(Via Page Six)