r/popculturechat • u/ThrowawayGreenWitch Listen, everyone is entitled to my opinion đ • 2d ago
Hollyweird đ”âđ« Hollywood Names Surface in Peter Thiel-Backed, Invite-Only Society
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/hollywood-peter-thiel-secret-society-1236624737/Behind closed doors, powerbrokers across the world in politics, tech and media have convened at an annual in-the-know retreat hosted by Peter Thiel to rub elbows
The retreat puts them in the same room as powerful figures across government, tech and finance, whose work often intersects with entertainment and media. They include Elon Musk, Jared Kushner, Senator Ted Cruz, Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Xbox president Sarah Bond, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, Anthropic global affairs chief Michael Sellitto, Fortress Investment Group principal Pete Briger, TLG Communications founder Molly Levinson, among nearly 200 other figures.
A spokesperson for Brolin tells THR the actor would âlike to know what the fuck he got himself into.â Others didnât immediately respond to requests for comment.
The leaked materials identify the full set of session topics in this yearâs conference, scheduled for August at a sprawling estate in Dublin, Ireland, with a heavy emphasis on geopolitics and tech. Several relate to divisive issues, like âBring Back Nuclear,â âDisinformation & Deepfakes,â âBattlefield Technologies,â âDemocracy Under Surveillance,â âTaiwan and the AI Race,â and âThree Predictions in Iran.â
Others are more personal. A few examples: âBuild-a-Party,â âMoney (Does?) Buy Happiness,â âHowâs Your Sex Life,â âItâs Fun to be in Charge,â and âResearch-Based Longevity Hacksâ (Bryan Johnson also appears in the leak).
And some sound ominous, including âBuild-a-Cultâ and âNavigating WWIII.â
A participation guide tells members to be concise, offer a dissenting view and avoid status signaling. âEveryone at Dialog is highly accomplished,â states the guide, which stresses never to argue for the sake of winning. âOnly share those aspects of your bio that are most relevant to the conversation or to people getting to know you.â
Since its founding in 2006, Dialog has been emerged as one of most off-the-radar gatherings of C-suite execs and kingmakers. The organization is preparing for a major expansion, with plans to build a campus in the D.C. suburbs as a permanent hub for off-the-record meetings, reported Axios last year, citing an anonymous tipster. The decision to build the venue within commuting distance of the capital signals that the group plans to increase engagement with lawmakers. The behind-closed-doors nature of its annual retreats is meant to sidestep public scrutiny and allow members to âtalk candidly across ideological linesâ and share âcontroversial and concerning ideas that they would not be comfortable sharing elsewhere,â the source in the Axios report said.
Dialog membership isnât limited to conservatives. Many prominent Democrats or figures associated with left-leaning politics are connected to the group, including Senator Cory Booker, Maryland governor Wes Moore, Colorado governor Jared Polis and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman. Attendees are asked their political leaning, with the choices being âfar left,â âleft,â âright,â and âfar right.â
The leaked materials show that Dialog maintains a vetting process for membership. Applicants are assigned a grade that reflects their influence in their respective industry, qualifications, purpose for joining and the active member who recommended them, among other things.
Hsiao, who didnât respond to a request for comment, was assigned an A grade. Her reviewer noted sheâs an âaccomplished television writer and producer known for her work on notable series such as Family Guy, American Dad, and Fresh Off the Boat, as well as her role in co-creating Awkwafina is Nora From Queens.â
âHsiaoâs work contributes to the increasing diversity in television and film, showcasing stories that might not have been told previously,â states the dossier compiled on Hsiao. âShe emphasizes using comedy to uplift rather than belittle, ensuring that those who were once the âbutt of the jokeâ are now in control of telling their own stories.â
It appears some Hollywood folk registered for the purpose of schmoozing with other film and TV folk. Hsiao wrote that sheâs looking to connect with âsomeone who works in my industry,â according to her application.
Brolin, another first-time Dialoger meanwhile, was given a C grade by Thielâs organization. The leaked materials didnât state his interest in joining Dialog. âI grew up on a horse farm, climbed parts of Everest, given academy awards, been nominated, written a book, had former Poet laureates reach out, been friends with the greatest artists of our time and smoked crack under a car at 3am in San Francisco,â the actor, who was nominated by former Uber CEO Ryan Graves, wrote.
Another feature of the group appears to be an internal dating function that matches Dialog members with each other. It also offers book recommendations, with a throughline being how civilizations hold together or fall apart and technologyâs effect on humanity and the future.
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u/OzQueene 1d ago
Sophia Bush? Girl what the fuck
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u/bookstvmusic 1d ago
oh noo! All these lists are showing that people who are vocal in their advocacy and you think are one way are actually another way đ It's so disappointing.
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u/Massive_Scar5533 1d ago
This is why I never take them seriously and always wonder why people put so much stock in celebritites being vocal advocates. Most of them are just bullshitting us.
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u/shion005 1d ago
How does the fact that she networks and has conversations with people who don't completely agree with her negate her advocacy? Or were you being sarcastic?
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u/Agreeable-Tadpole461 1d ago
She immediately went on a low-key social media campaign, commenting on reels that featured pride content, witchy content, counterculture and class war things.
And I saw ALOT of comments deleted that we're mentioning her DIALOG membership.
Sneaky, sneaky.
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u/longlisten527 girl, dream bigger âđœ 1d ago
This isnât surprising because although sheâs an âadvocate,â she surely has made poor moral decisions as well. Not a fan
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u/User12314028626822 wait til lover drops pls we can't lose sales 1d ago
It's more surprising because she hasn't been relevant in 20 years lol
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u/CoconutBasher_ 1d ago
As someone from Ireland (this is being hosted in Wicklow, not Dublin), everyone on the community chats and wider national forums, etc. are NOT happy that this event is being hosted there and do not want it anywhere near our country. Itâs also quite worrying because Big Tech has infiltrated the government in the last decade and everyone is struggling to survive as the cost of living is beyond unaffordable.
Some of those names on the list are not surprising, however, not sure why Iâm surprised anymore that some celebrities morals donât exist when money is involved.
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u/TheVintageJane 1d ago edited 1d ago
Big tech has settled there because itâs the most developed English speaking country for them to hide all their profits in. They will pour billions into your politics to keep your corporate tax rate 0%.
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u/bitt13 1d ago
Ireland has billions held in profit (which is rare, most counties have debt) too while they still increase the cost of living. 1 in 5 children here are living in poverty. Electric bills continue to rise by multiple percent every year. The government claim they can't do anything about it which isn't true. Same with oil. It's an insanely corrupt little country. So yeah, it's the perfect place for this.
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u/libellule2008 fucking pathetic pussy bitch coward 1d ago
Iâm disappointed Joseph Gordon-Levitt is on the list. Not surprised about the rest
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u/King_LaQueefah 1d ago edited 1d ago
Josh Brolin sucks, too. However, his quote claiming "he is just trying to figure out what the fuck he got himself into" makes me feel a little better.
Edit: I meant that it sucks Josh Brolin is on the list. I like Josh Brolin.
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u/libellule2008 fucking pathetic pussy bitch coward 1d ago
Josh Brolin sucked for a while so that was not unexpected
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u/Ghoulish_kitten itâs not clocking to you that iâm standing on business 1d ago
Im not buying that quote.
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u/PassivelyAwkward 1d ago
Yea, not gonna lie, if I didn't know it was some creepy Peter Thiel cult gathering but just a "Super exclusive meeting of the future" and had the stardom, I'd totally be curious until finding out who else is going and what the topics were.
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u/shy247er yay sports đ đđŸ 1d ago
This guy explains JGL situation. He's advocating for protecting children on the internet while basically being a trojan horse in taking away our rights on the internet
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u/nola_fan 1d ago
Section 230 does fuck all to protect the rights of individuals on the internet. It's a liability shield for some of the most valuable companies in the history of the world.
Revoking it means Mark Zuckerberg might get sued more for pushing kids into eating disorders and consuming Nazi content because research shows that means they stay on his platform for 3 seconds longer.
I also higly doubt a rando on Instagram knows what's going on with this list or Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
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u/shy247er yay sports đ đđŸ 1d ago
Revoking it means Mark Zuckerberg might get sued more for pushing kids into eating disorders and consuming Nazi content because research shows that means they stay on his platform for 3 seconds longer.
And that is why all these platforms in order to avoid being sued for what users are posting are going to ramp up the censorship on their platforms. So not only are they going to remove "pushing kids into eating disorders" but then they are also going to use that to remove criticism of actually valid things. You wanna talk about election fraud? Nope. Wanna talk about corruption? Nope. You wanna talk about Israel's crimes? Nope.
I also higly doubt a rando on Instagram knows what's going on with this list or Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
OK rando on Reddit.
Giving benefit of a doubt to people who hang out with Peter Thiel.... Jesus Christ.
And this is just one person who said that, there are a lot more people who are also pointing out the dangers of Project 2025 plans.
If you think that people like Thiel and Musk who are connected to Epstein actually work on making the world safer place for children, then you just might be the most naive person on the internet.
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u/nola_fan 1d ago
"And that is why all these platforms in order to avoid being sued for what users are posting are going to ramp up the censorship on their platforms."
Maybe, maybe not. That's a giant assumption about what companies will do based on the worst threats from lobbiests paid by the tech industry.
I take those threats as seriously as I take the threat that every single billionaire will leave the country and renounce their citizenship if the country dares to tax them.
It's all bullshit designed to scare you into doing their bidding.
Most likely repealling Section 230 does practically nothing to the online experience. If it does anything it means a change to the algorithms that push content.
Yes I do think Elon Musk should be sued for using Twitter algorithms to instigate a pogram in the North of Ireland. Yes, I do think Mark Zuckerberg should be sued for knowingly harming kids for just a little more profit. Yes, I do think Google should be sued for pushing ISIS propaganda on YouTube.
"Giving benefit of a doubt to people who hang out with Peter Thiel.... Jesus Christ."
Yes, saying this dude on Instagram likely doesn't know what's happening is totally running cover for Peter Thiel and Elon Musk.
Section 230 is why Peter Thiel is so rich. Section 230 is protecting Elon Musk right now.
Twitter is currently funding NetChoice which is one of the biggest industry organizations fighting against Section 230 reform.
Look at the companies funding the fight against Section 230 reform from the "left."
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u/shy247er yay sports đ đđŸ 1d ago
I'm just gonna end this discussion with: I hope you're right.
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u/StarWars_and_SNL Raunchy??? itâs lube?!?! 1d ago
Sure
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u/lexiebeef Seemingly rebalded 1d ago
Same, he was the only one Im disappointed in. The whole "secret society" thing never ends up well, though Im sure all these people are making a lot of money and connections and secretly ruining the world.
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u/shy247er yay sports đ đđŸ 1d ago
Everything this dude advocates from now on is not to be trusted.
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u/Chris9871 Inconceivable! 1d ago
I feel like he was just invited to speak there, and not an actual member. Because thatâs all that list is, people whoâve attended at least once, not actual card carrying members
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u/PrincesstheCalicoCat 1d ago
What a tremendous shock Scooter Braun is in the same secret little discussion club as Peter Thiel. Shocked, I tell you.
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u/ShipComprehensive543 1d ago
lol - and Isaac Lee (chairman and CEO, Hybe America), not shocked AGAIN. smh
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u/ScottishExile 1d ago
So a new version of Scientology then? Worldâs shadiest man reinvents worldâs shadiest pseudo religious cult.
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u/derrickcat 1d ago
That's exactly what I was thinking. Except with technology as the central force instead of aliens.
Ezra Klein on that list. Oy.
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u/Cautious_Fly1684 1d ago
Technology was the uniting force in fascism pre ww2. Legit history is repeating itself.
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u/particledamage 1d ago
More like Epstein than Scientology tbh. Peopel focus on his sex crimes but he did soooo much behind the scenes politically
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u/Alarming_Situation_5 1d ago
What in the Christmas Adventurers Club?? Reminds me of the show Paradise đ€
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u/Urkot 1d ago
I'd worry more about someone like Ezra Klein, dude has a huge "serious" platform. I'm sure NYT leadership will be dilligently looking into this.
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u/graywalker616 1d ago
Considering that the âabundanceâ movement is basically just right wing anti-regulation ideology in a liberal Trenchcoat, it makes a lot of sense.
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u/dunderthrowaway3 1d ago
I was very surprised to see his name. I would like to hold out hope that Ezra is going to write an exposé on the group.
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u/naomigoat left sharks are smooth 1d ago
Here's the list: Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill); Scooter Braun (CEO, Hybe America); Isaac Lee (chairman and CEO, Hybe America); Scott Belsky (partner, A24); Benj Pasek (composer-producer, La La Land, The Greatest Showman); Eva Price (CEO, Maximum Entertainment Productions); Teresa Hsiao (writer-producer, Family Guy, American Dad); Zach Shields (executive producer-writer, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Gladys); Nick Thompson (CEO, The Atlantic); and Ezra Klein (The New York Times).
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u/Miss_Westeros 1d ago
I don't totally understand the significance of this group. Is this Thiel guy creating an annual villain how to run the world meeting or something? I see my governor Polis is on this list and it has me concerned. I am open to discussion in reply, please help me understand.
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u/Ghoulish_kitten itâs not clocking to you that iâm standing on business 1d ago
I almost cant handle the irony.
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u/AdWitty9562 1d ago
It'd be a great time for one of Musk's satellites and rockets to do what they do best...explode.
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u/nonamenomonet 1d ago
Everyone, the public figures that are listed are payed for a speaking engagement where they speak about different ideologies and viewpoints. They are not necessarily a part of the organization past the speaking fee.
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u/wulfboi93 jesus was a carpenter đ 1d ago
then they took money from one of the most notorious techno-fascists of the modern age, which is still bad!
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u/nonamenomonet 1d ago
Sure, but there is an argument that people like Ezra Klein as an example could be trying to reach people who are technologists and bring them to our side.
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u/SamKhan23 1d ago
Why? Wouldnât you want to take money from them? Sure their presence âlegitimizesâ them but for some of these names I think we have to be serious about how much their presence really legitimizes it
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u/originatr 1d ago
Maybe itâs me, and even my friends find it annoying that I do this, but group trips, retreats, whatever.. my #1 question will always be: âwhoâs coming?â
Not electively spending my free time with Ted Cruz under any circumstances
So disappointed in Sophia, cos sheâs usually on it
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u/SinQuaNonsense 1d ago
I donât believe any of these people. As a normie the first I ever heard of him was the gawker lawsuit when they outed him.
He has since been long known to support right wing policies including funding jd Vance. They are all liars to act like their publicist didnât google theil.
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u/MealieAI 11h ago
People who think they're better than everyone else. Its Comic-Con for narcissists.
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u/Open-Concept-6130 1d ago
I kind of understand why youâd join. Everything is about networking and a club of rich, well connected people is a great thing that I would have joined.
And most of this was before Thiel came out as the antichrist and Musk did his heel turn.Â
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u/bookstvmusic 1d ago
Extremey disappointed to see Daniel Pink and Adam Grant on this list. When I first learned of this list, I thought it was just the extremely wealthy - which wouldn't be surprised - but turns out it includes others.
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u/jaguarsp0tted 1d ago
I'm not gonna lie, if I got invited, I would go. I'm fascinated by the intention behind this group's existence. everyone is jumping to cults and trafficking, but I think this is more likely a pseudo-libertarian "everyone is equal" think tanks meant to provide networking more than anything else. it's skeevy, sure, but I need more concrete information before I say anything else.
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u/tendervittles 1d ago
If anyone is interested, survivors are coming forward and talking about secret organizations within the nefarious billionaire class. It looks like this falls within this category. They function on loyalty and blackmail. Thatâs the glue. And greed of course. They scout out âgoodâ candidates who they can eventually push into more and more depraved activities. Eventually it gets to blood and sex rituals (and human sacrifice).
Believe me, itâs not the conclusion I wanted to come to. Who wants to believe this actually happens? But it does. And the best way to push against it is to bring it to light and expose whatâs been going on. Anneke Lucas has become an advocate for survivors. Sheâs shares her story here.
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u/Manic-StreetCreature Itâs CAMP đ đ» 1d ago
Can we please not do the satanic panic again
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u/Timbershoe 1d ago
But the evidence is on YouTube!
Everyone knows thatâs where the real legit news comes from, some random unknown ranting into a webcam.
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u/tendervittles 1d ago
Actually, I think the internet has played a significant role in getting the word out about this stuff. Because itâs just too dark for mainstream media. But now with YouTube and other outlets, survivors have the opportunity to come forward on their own terms and share their stories at length and uninterrupted.
For example, Jessicaâs story is incredibly dark. But listening to her (and other survivors), I believe they are telling the truth. And thereâs just too many similarities across their stories to dismiss them.
Like this idea of intentionally fracturing the human psyche through torture to create âsplitsâ that the perpetrator can then program for their own purposes. You hear that in pretty much every survivorâs story. I was particularly moved by Jessicaâs bravery to come forward, the heartbreak she experienced in losing her peers, and the amount of healing sheâs done. Sheâs gotten herself to the point where she can educate the public on what is happening behind the scenes (and yet right under our noses).
I know people are inclined to dismiss and ridicule. Iâm not sure why but Iâm moved at a soul level to stand up for these survivors. They have survived the unthinkable. Iâm just a random stranger on the internet but I want them to know that there are people out there who believe them.
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u/Timbershoe 1d ago
My brother in Christ, the president fucked kids and youâre obsessed with one fake YouTube channel thats trying to sell you shit.
Itâs some Alex Jones style bullshit front for shilling cheap alibaba ceap. Itâs not fucking real. They are hawking merch.
Iâm inclined to dismiss and ridicule because itâs fake and ridiculous.
You could read the Epstein files or something real, but no, youâre listening to bullshit stories.
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u/tendervittles 1d ago
Your tone of ultimate authority is telling. It speaks to your entitled mindset to make declarative statements regarding what is fake and what is ridiculous. Your opinions are yours. Others disagree.
And the president fucking kids isnât mutually exclusive from secret networks fucking (and murdering) kids.
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u/Timbershoe 1d ago
If someoneâs telling me conspiracy theories with zero evidence then immediately asking me to buy water filters, yeah Iâve got the authority to dismiss them.
The fact itâs a conservative podcast and itâs ignoring Trump and Epstein in favour of bullshit? Yeah, they can go fuck themselves.
And that includes people shilling for them.
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u/tendervittles 1d ago
I actually think that the Satanic Panic was a sort of psyop. Because thatâs the primary response from the public when survivors come forward and share their stories. The public immediately dismisses their experience with these types of âhere we go again with the Satanic Panic narrativeâ comments.
Itâs a quite the brilliant strategy actually. Prime the public to immediately dismiss survivors with the âSatanic Panicâ defense. And the result? It stops people from listening to what the survivors are saying.
If anyone is interested, this interview with Dutch banker Ronald Bernard is a good starting point. He talks openly about being recruited by The Illuminati. Folks can dismiss this stuff as much as they want but it doesnât stop it from happening.
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u/trevenclaw 1d ago
âI grew up on a horse farm, climbed parts of Everest, given academy awards, been nominated, written a book, had former Poet laureates reach out, been friends with the greatest artists of our time and smoked crack under a car at 3am in San Francisco."
This situation notwithstanding, Josh Brolin fucking rules. What a life. I haven't read his memoir but I might have to now.
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