The Outrageous 20-Year-Old Movie That Predicted Trump’s America

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It turns out that sometimes life takes a page directly from art, adding elements such as National Guard checkpoints and broadcasting itself live from Los Angeles. For instance, consider the film “A Day Without a Mexican“, a humorous 2004 sci-fi satire by Mexican directors Sergio Arau and Yareli Arizmendi. In this movie, California wakes up to find that every person of Latino descent has mysteriously disappeared, leaving Angelenos in a state of panic over who will mow the lawns and manage the kitchens. Fast forward twenty years, and with ICE patrols pursuing undocumented workers at Home Depots and a genuine sense of fear enveloping the city, this movie no longer seems like a farce but rather a chilling prediction of the future.

Arizmendi, who appeared in and collaborated on the script with his partner Arau, advises us not to focus on the storyline involving Latinos in the movie,” he said. “Instead, consider the narrative’s impact without their presence.

Made on a minimal budget of $1.8 million, significantly lower than the estimated $130 million for Brad Pitt’s epic film Troy, which also premiered on the same day, the Mexican movie managed to generate a moderate income of approximately $10 million worldwide. However, it made waves in more ways than one. As part of an unconventional promotional strategy, the filmmakers installed a billboard in a Hollywood Sav-on drugstore parking lot that read, “On May 14th there will be no Mexicans in California.” Predictably, this caused quite a stir. “People called radio stations and news outlets,” recounts Arizmendi. “They thought it was from the KKK.” Despite Sav-on removing the sign within a day, the controversy had already propelled the movie into the spotlight. “I was like, ‘Well done,'” Arizmendi remarked.

Twenty years after its initial release, the film “A Day Without a Mexican” is experiencing a revival – it’s now available on Amazon Prime and is being widely discussed across social media platforms due to its chilling relevance. According to its leading actor, “We find great joy in this resurgence. It feels like justice… in a positive sense.


‘Tomorrow Belongs to Me’ — But the Lederhosen Are Up for Grabs

Joel Grey humorously implies that the closet was full, perhaps suggesting it was overflowing with a lifetime of treasures as he prepares to auction off these keepsakes at 92 years old. Notably, Grey is not just selling memorabilia; he’s also sharing the personal narrative he secretly created for the character of the Emcee in Cabaret, a role that significantly shaped his career.

Up until now, I’ve kept my thoughts about the character largely to myself. “I guess he resided in a humble two-room apartment, and he would summon the Kit Kat Club girls to his quarters for intimacy,” I mused. “He exploited them, he was a scoundrel of the lowest order.” Furthermore, I have my doubts about whether he made it through the Holocaust. “Given his Jewish heritage,” I reason, “he had to conceal it and live each moment as if everything was fine.

The appearance of the MC is not just random; it has its own history. Grey shares that it originated from a search through his ex-wife Jo Wilder’s makeup box, where he discovered a foundation stick labeled “Juvenile Pink” and a discarded bunch of fake lashes in the trash. In the early hours of 4 am, he decided to affix them, thinking, “No one would ever want to see this.

Initially, they created it. Now, several decades have passed, and some of their work can be purchased – items such as a top hat, lederhosen, a cane, and an aesthetically pleasing assortment of male nudes – at the auction titled “Master of Ceremonies: The Joel Grey Collection.” This auction will take place on June 20th, both online and in person, at Freeman’s Hindman in Philadelphia. — Seth Abramovitch

Khaby Lame Has No Comment — Unless You’ve Got $1.2 Million

Want to ask Khaby Lame about getting deported? That’ll be $1.2 million.

As reported by his representatives from Sharks Celebrities Management in Dubai, this is the usual price for an interview with the 25-year-old Senegalese-Italian TikTok star known for his silent comedy, who boasts over 162 million followers. Rambling Reporter contacted them following Lame’s detention during a June 6 ICE raid at Las Vegas airport. According to immigration authorities, Lame, who was recently attending the Met Gala, is no longer in the U.S. now.

As a gaming enthusiast eagerly waiting for the chance, I’d leap at organizing an interview – but here’s the catch: Khaby’s fee for such media sessions amounts to a whopping $1.2M.

Initially, it seemed like they were joking, but it turned out they weren’t. A subsequent email left no room for misunderstanding: “We have no interest in you or your agency, and you are prohibited from using our talent’s name on your allegedly false news platform,” was the message we received.

Too late! — S.A.

Where in the World Is Chet Hanks? Scheduled to Read, Texted Instead

At a flower display, a dog accidentally urinated. The bathroom queue consistently had five people waiting. Meanwhile, the atmosphere oscillated between a downtown book launch and an abstract joke, as ‘On the Rag’ — Los Angeles’ trendy new literary gossip magazine — marked its debut at Night Gallery with a smoke-filled party filled with poetry, prose, and soil from potted plants.

The only thing missing? Chet Hanks.

Initially, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson’s son was scheduled as the main act at the event, planned to share a chapter from his upcoming memoir. However, when it came time to perform, another writer named Kennedy Wright stepped up and announced that Chet had messaged her saying he wanted to read a chapter from his new novel, “The Baptism of Abraxas,” instead. He expressed his excitement for the next book and hoped to see everyone there.

There was a brief moment of silence, followed by some laughter. After that, Wright began presenting her own content, and the performance continued.

Nevertheless, considering the paper’s final page hosts controversial remarks such as “Paris sucks cock,” and boasts esteemed editors like Chris Kraus, a prominent figure in the downtown art scene, and Rachel Kushner, known for causing highbrow stir, the vanishing Hanks seemed remarkably fitting. — Oren Peleg

You can find this article in the June 18th edition of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Why not consider subscribing for more updates?

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2025-06-18 20:24