Some in Hollywood, it seems, just can't let go of past political
hopes - or at least want to use their films to continue pushing their
political preferences. In Funny People [1], the new movie from writer/director Judd Apatow (IMDb page [2]) which opened July 31, a character played by Seth Rogen (IMDb page [3]) wears a 2004-era "Vote Kerry" T-shirt with an artwork outline image of 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
I caught the scene with Rogen sporting the T-shirt in the
promotional clip played during this past Monday's re-run of the July 20
Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on which the star of the film, Adam
Sandler, was a guest. IMDb has the same video clip, "George asks Ira to kill him. [4]" (For the image here, I've enlarged the blue on black graphic.)
The wardrobe choice may not have been Rogen's, but it would match
his political influences, at least judging from this quote attributed
to him on IMDb's bio page [5] for the Canadian-born actor:
My mom's a social worker and my dad works in non-profit organizations. But they seem very radical in American terms, embracing a form of socialism that really doesn't even exist here. I mean, where I come from, communism is not a terrible word.
IMDb's plot summary for Funny People [6]:
"When seasoned comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal,
inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship
cause him to take a relatively green performer under his wing as his
opening act."
- Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center