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  • Robert Redford Encourages Grads — and Graduating Grandson — With the Words, ‘You’re Stepping Into a World That’s Pretty Rough’

    Robert Redford addressed the graduating class of Maine’s Colby College, which included his grandson, reminding the graduates that the world is “grim.”

    Thankfully, those words were not the only bits of wisdom shared by Robert Redford on Sunday in Waterford, Maine.

    He also encouraged the graduates to be fearless in a world of challenges and to become collaborators with others and the environment to overcome life’s daunting difficulties.

    Robert Redford received an honorary fine arts degree from the school before offering his moving commencement speech to an audience of thousands, including nearly the 500 graduates, his grandson among those graduating, according to the Morning Sentinel.

    “You’re stepping into a world that’s, well, pretty rough. It’s pretty chaotic, pretty divisive,” Robert Redford said. “You’ve got climate change, you’ve got debt, you’ve got wars, you’ve got political paralysis. It’s kind of a grim story. But the story, I think, can be retold, and I really believe that you’re the ones to do it.”

    Robert Redford left the graduates with much to ponder, including inspirational words to live by.

    “Don’t be afraid to take a risk, don’t be afraid of failure, be bold,” he said, adding that what the world needs is “collaboration and connection,” not only between people but also between people and the environment.

    Robert Redford, whose speech can be found on the college’s website, is the founder of the Sundance Film Festival.

    The acclaimed actor is best known for roles in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Quiz Show, All the President’s Men and The Way We Were. He received an Oscar for his directorial debut of Ordinary People, and another for lifetime achievement.

  • Robert Redford Upset About Oscar Snub

    Robert Redford Upset About Oscar Snub

    Nobody puts Baby, er, Robert Redford, in the corner!

    The legendary actor played a little bit of the blame game as to why he wasn’t named in Thursday’s Oscar nominations. Apparently, he believes his role in the film All is Lost deserved the nom, and thinks the film’s distributor, Roadside Attractions, is reason for the snub.

    “We had no campaign to help us cross over to the mainstream,” said Redford. “I don’t know what they were afraid of. They didn’t want to spend money or they were incapable.”

    Ouch.

    Even if Redford would’ve been nominated – he has one two Oscars in the past, but neither were for acting – he would face some pretty stiff competition for the Best Actor award. The 77-year-old actor would be up against Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street,) Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club,) Christian Bale (American Hustle,) Bruce Dern (Nebraska) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave.)

    Watch the nominations here:

    And although Redford brought up the issue during his opening remarks at the kickoff to the 30th annual Sundance Film Festival, he maintains he’s not too upset about being passed over.

    “Would it have been wonderful to be nominated?” he asked. “Of course, but I’m not disturbed by it. I’m fine.”

    After Redford told the crowd he didn’t want his non-nomination to get in the way of why they were there, he went on to say that Hollywood is a business, and it is one that he respects. He also stated that films are dependent upon campaigns, and that the whole thing can get very political.

    On the bright side, Redford doesn’t count this entire experience as a loss.

    “The film I made with J.C. Chandor is something I’m very proud of,” he said. “It was for me a pure cinematic experience. For me as an actor, it gave me a chance to go back to my roots.”

    Well at least there’s that.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Robert Redford Talks Government Shutdown

    What do you call a person who uses belligerent language and demagogy to demonize and stigmatize the opposition while contributing zero ideas to solve the tsunami of American debt?

    What do you call a person who lectures the 99% to cough up more of their hard earned money to finance the parasites in Washington DC, while sitting on a cool $170 million?

    You call this person Robert Redford. Just when you thought the actor could not say something more inflammatory, Redford doubled down on his own venomous tirades on CNN today on the causes and consequences of government shutdown:

    According to Redford, bigotry and politics of personal attacks against President Barack Obama have paralyzed the U.S. government, not the determination to protect future generations from dollar crisis and hyperinflation.

    So when a bipartisan group of lawmakers want to stop the White House campaign to bleed and bankrupt America by inaugurating new wars to support Sunni Islamists in Syria, Turkey and Yemen, it is nothing but tea-party bigotry. When a bipartisan group of tea-party and progressive lawmakers want to Audit the Pentagon, Audit the Federal Reserve, despite intense hostility against transparency by White House, that is all bigotry and hate.

    According to Redford, women and young people will solve all the problems in Washington, if they are given the reins. “Give them the reins…I think they can do better than we have,” said Redford. Of course, the hypocritical actor did not offer to give the reins of all the $170 million he is hoarding, to poor people, struggling women and needy children.

    This is exactly why many who oppose the size and power of Federal Government are so disgusted at holier than thou celebrities who masquerade as moral judges over the 99% masses, while hoarding all their wealth in off-shore accounts to avoid paying taxes they vociferously support.

    Redford pontificated further on the events surrounding the ongoing tussle in Washington over government shutdown:

    “It’s so divided now with the people that are so narrow and so limited that they would take us back into the past…And I was trying to figure out, why are these people behaving so stupidly? Why are they behaving so horribly that it’s crippling our whole country? …And I think it has to do with fear. I think it’s a group of people that are so afraid of change, and they’re so narrow-minded that some people — when they see change coming — get so threatened by change, they get angry and they get terrorized, and then they get vicious. I think that’s who these people are. They’re so afraid of change that they’re behaving miserably.

    Obama is “a compassionate man who can’t function. It is so decrepit, it is so paralyzed, and the worst of it is it is paralyzed by intention…There is a body of congressional people that wants to paralyze the system. I think what sits underneath it, unfortunately, is there’s probably some racism involved, which is really awful…because their determination was to destroy this person…They wanted, if it meant destroying the government, anything to keep him from succeeding…I think just the idea of giving credit to this President, giving him credit for anything, is abhorrent to them, so they’ll go against it. Never mind that it’s the better good of the people, never mind that they’re supposed to be in office representing the interest of the public. They’re representing their own self-interests, which is very narrow and in some cases bigoted.”

    To polish his image further, Redford ranted again,

    “Susan Collins, who is a Republican (Senator from Maine), is saying: ‘Enough of this. This is not the job I signed up for. I’ve got to do something,’ …So she’s bringing a bipartisan group together of women. I think the future should belong more to women and young people….a lot of men that were in control were behaving stupidly…I mean, sometimes you say: ‘Can we actually be this dumbed down, or am I actually hearing what I’m hearing from some of these people? Are they really, is that really happening?’ It’s sad.”

    [image from youtube]