Love him or hate him, you can't deny Bill O'Reilly's success. Starting tomorrow, the loud mouthed host of Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" will mark his 100th consecutive month as the No. 1-rated cable news show. Check out what he had to say about President Obama, how he went from schoolteacher to successful talk show host, what's his favorite movies, and which popular actor's movies he's boycotting. It was a long interview he did with the Holywood Reporter, but I'll post the most interesting bits.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHY DID CANDIDATE OBAMA TAKE SO LONG TO AGREE TO AN INTERVIEW WITH YOU?
O'Reilly: I could be wrong, but I think Obama is not a confrontational guy. So why would he get in a confrontational interview situation where he knows he'll be challenged? Look at his interview history. Very rarely has he done that. He did it with me because he wanted to disrupt the Republican convention and get a lot of attention. He succeeded in doing the latter.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHY ARE ACTORS SUCH FREQUENT TARGETS OF "THE FACTOR"?
O'Reilly: My job is to watch the powerful. A performer has a forum that other people do not, and all we ask is that they be fair. If they believe something and use their TV show, movie or concert to spout off about it, that's fine. But if we have some questions about their beliefs, I think they should answer them -- and not be drive-by people.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHY ARE ACTORS SUCH FREQUENT TARGETS OF "THE FACTOR"?
O'Reilly: My job is to watch the powerful. A performer has a forum that other people do not, and all we ask is that they be fair. If they believe something and use their TV show, movie or concert to spout off about it, that's fine. But if we have some questions about their beliefs, I think they should answer them -- and not be drive-by people.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHO ARE THESE DRIVE-BY PEOPLE YOUSPEAK OF?
O'Reilly: I take it case by case. We took on George Clooney over the 9/11 charities, and we were absolutely right, but Clooney does a good job with Darfur. We took on Bruce Springsteen for things he has done at concerts because we want to know what his frame of reference is. These are powerful people, and we're not going to give them a free ride. If there was somebody screaming right-wing stuff, we'd do the same thing. But there is no one like that because if they do that in Hollywood, they're not going to work, which is an interesting story in and of itself.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: ARE THERE ACTORS WHOSE POLITICAL OPINIONS DISTURB YOU SO MUCH YOU WON'T SEE THEIR MOVIES?
O'Reilly: Just Sean Penn
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: SOMEONE WILL READ THAT AND ACCUSE YOU OF ENCOURAGING A NEW BLACKLIST ERA.
O'Reilly: Not at all. He's a great actor, and if you hire him, you'll get a good performance. I'm just not going to give a guy who gives aid and comfort to people like (Iran president Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez and Saddam Hussein, when he was alive, my 10 bucks. That's my right as an American.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MOVIES?
O'Reilly: "Godfather" and "Godfather II"; M*A*S*H; the original "The Producers." I'm a big movie guy.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: AND FAVORITE ACTORS?
O'Reilly: Clint Eastwood is No. 1. I admire him because he's a self-made guy. Gene Hackman, because I've never seen him give a bad performance. Al Pacino, particularly the early stuff.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE EASTWOOD MOVIE?
O'Reilly: "Unforgiven." That thing was layered 15 different ways. A great film. He deserved the Academy Award for that.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: HOW DOES ONE GO FROM HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER IN MIAMI TO NO. 1 CABLE NEWS STAR?
O'Reilly: I did it the hard way. I went back to school, got a master's degree from Boston University in broadcast journalism. I took a job in Scranton, Pa., and I worked hard. I took chances and did what I had to do. It's the great American story. That's why "Bold Fresh" (his latest book) is so successful, because if I can do it with my personality, so can anybody.
Not really a big fan of Bill's, but I have respect for anyone who stands by their beliefs regardless how many people will be against him. I also believe that hard work pays off. I don't agree with people getting handouts, and then getting pissed off when the government steps in on things they don't want the government interfering with. Only thing I ask is that he be fair to the people he interviews and stops thinking that by being louder than the person he disagrees with it will give him the upper hand. Oh, and I didn't forget about the woman who accused you of sexual harrassment a few years ago that you paid to go away real quickly.
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