WISING UP? – AT 8:32 A.M. ET:  Reader Joseph J. Gallick alerts us to this piece in The Wall Street Journal about Hollywood suddenly recognizing the importance of conservatives.  Of course, it's all self-interest, but that's okay. 

WASHINGTON—Hit by legislative setbacks in Washington, the Motion Picture Association of America is producing a Hollywood-style remake.

The movie industry's main lobbying group has ramped up its budget and donations to political groups in the past few years, and, in a switch for an industry long associated with Democrats, has quietly reached out to Republicans and conservative-leaning organizations in an effort to rebuild its clout.

Last year, the MPAA replaced its longtime lead lobbying firm, considered to be close with Democrats, with a lobbyist with ties to key GOP lawmakers. Its political-action committee now gives more donations to Republicans than Democrats. And it has sent money to a GOP super PAC, a conservative antitax entity and a business lobby helping Republicans in the 2014 elections.

The turnaround comes after Hollywood was handed a major legislative defeat two years ago when Congress bowed to pressure from the high-tech industry and buried legislation that would have made it more difficult for people to illegally download movies and other copyrighted content. It was a clear signal of the rising power of Silicon Valley in Washington, at the expense of Hollywood. "We realized we have to act like a normal trade organization," a senior executive at one studio said of the industry's recent political moves. "We have to reach out…and we can't be all on one side."

The rethink brought out tension between Hollywood's personal politics and its business priorities. Democratic candidates usually get most of the donations made by movie industry creative and business leaders, yet Republicans are more philosophically inclined to side with the industry's goals of copyright protection, free trade and lower taxes.

COMMENT:  I've dealt with the Hollywood left, and it's no fun.  Ronald Reagan, who was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild six times, once said that he'd learned about Communism by dealing with the Hollywood unions. 

Maybe some people in Hollywood are wising up.  Maybe, as they see production in California crumble, they'll realize they need allies beyond the groups of usual suspects.  It's a big maybe. 

February 27,  2014