Actor John Schneider—best known for playing Bo Duke on the hit 1970s television series The Dukes of Hazzard—was mocked after he complained that "woke Hollywood" did not help finance To Die For, his movie about a veteran "frustrated with the liberal left" and their disrespect for the American flag.
Speaking to Newsmax, Schneider said that he and his wife, filmmaker Alicia Allain, went "all in" on financing the project, noting that if it "doesn’t work, we lose everything.”
You can listen to Schneider's comments in the video below.
\u201cAt one point choking up fighting off tears, former Dukes of Hazzard actor John Schneider says \u201cwoke Hollywood\u201d wouldn\u2019t help him develop his patriotic movie about the flag, so he had to finance it: \u201cMy wife and I - we are all in. If this movie doesn\u2019t work, we lose everything.\u201d\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1666137762
Schneider said:
"My gosh, they wouldn't spend any money to develop it. They wouldn't film it. They wouldn't distribute it."
"But my wife and I are fiercely and unapologetically independent so we make our own content and we also distribute our own content."
"So when you watch this movie or any movie that we've made or listen to any of the music, we—right now—we are all in. If this movie doesn't work, we lose everything."
"But we've always been there. If you're not all in, you're out."
Then, choking up at an image of the film's poster that shows the lead character hoisting up the American flag, Schneider praised his own creation, saying "he won't let that flag touch the ground."
The site of the choked-up Schneider had social media rolling their eyes and he was abruptly criticized.
\u201cAnother 'has been' trying to be relevant.\u201d— Kelly McKenzie (@Kelly McKenzie) 1666184426
\u201cWin some,lose some.\nWelcome to the poor house Johnny. Crying won't help. It just makes it easier to laugh.\u201d— Brian R. Russell (@Brian R. Russell) 1666173006
\u201cAnti-woke means he's going broke\u201d— 42 (@42) 1666179221
\u201cDoes @John_Schneider know he could do something else with his money - like enjoy retirement - instead of making a propaganda film that is going to flop?\u201d— MIGIRLINVA (@MIGIRLINVA) 1666183045
\u201cThey really hate the free market they claim to love.\u201d— Portia \u264d\ufe0f McGonagal (@Portia \u264d\ufe0f McGonagal) 1666150531
\u201cThe big takeaway from this clip is that John Schneider, of Dukes of Hazzard fame, is still alive and is a #MAGAMORON\u201d— Mike's Tweets \ud83d\udc3e\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\udc3e (@Mike's Tweets \ud83d\udc3e\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udf3b\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83d\udc3e) 1666151903
\u201cno one cares... Tha's not being woke... that's him boring me back to sleep...\u201d— Dan Skinner (@Dan Skinner) 1666176456
\u201cWhy is he crying? Lots of films of all types of content don\u2019t get green lit. Maybe the content isn\u2019t well developed. When rejected the MAGA crowd blames \u201cliberalism\u201d, never their lack of content/quality. Lots of people are rejected by the film industry&finance their own projects.\u201d— MSaraPonders (@MSaraPonders) 1666197904
\u201cIt won't work, and you will lose everything, and I will be happy about it\u201d— Shea LaRoux \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b (@Shea LaRoux \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b) 1666152128
To Die For's marketing campaign has emphasized the importance Schneider and other conservatives place on patriotism, and the film's protagonist—who is played by Schneider—is "ordered by the court to keep his distance from the local high school with the American flag on the back of his El Camino or face a fine and jail time."
Schneider says he and his wife made the movie "with a crew of under 10 people over the last 10 months because we had to" respond to what he calls the "madness" within the country. Schneider has high hopes for his own film, saying that all "great movements and reclamations begin with a single thought and a God-given means of expression."
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