A federal judge blocked California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom’s anti-deepfake legislation on Wednesday, which sought to criminalize digitally-altered political images and videos 60 days before an election.

Director Todd Phillips ditched laughter for tears with 2019’s “Joker.” The mind behind “The Hangover” franchise, “Old School” and more got fed up with woke comedy restrictions and joined the superhero craze. On his terms. His “Joker” became a sensation, earned star Joaquin Phoenix a Best Actor Oscar and proved there’s more to superhero films than CGI dustups. The media tried to turn “Joker” into an incel warning, but when the film refused to spark violence journalists moved on to other false narratives. One thing was clear. An encore was inevitable. “Joker: Folie à Deux” defies superhero norms. Again. No action sequences, lycra-clad heroes or tired genre tropes. Phillips even made it a musical, tasking stars Phoenix and Lady Gaga to play out their tortured romance in song. Two-plus hours later, you’ll still wonder why they bothered. The first “Joker” delivered a brutal study of a man in psychological agony. Arthur Fleck’s transformation into the Joker happened because society pushed him to the boundaries. The health care system failed him. His co-workers couldn’t empathize with his middling comedy career. Bullies pounced and seized at will. And, eventually, he snapped. Or, to be more specific, he opened fire. That arc touched on societal critiques that spiked the narrative punch. “Folie à Deux” revisits some of those themes but adds precious little to the franchise. Arthur is being held at a mental institution (Arkham style!) following the events of the 2019 film. He faces the death penalty for killing five people, although the law doesn’t realize he also killed his Ma. His lawyer (Catherine Keener) wants to improve his public image in the hopes of avoiding the electric chair. Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker: Folie à Deux” (2024). DC Entertainment. Warner Bros. Pictures. IMDB. The guards at the institution try to pry jokes from Arthur. All Arthur wants is to smoke every cigarette within reach. This film loves smoking in ways that would make Joe Camel blush. Meanwhile, society has made Arthur a hero of sorts. He fought back against The System on his terms. They even made a TV movie about his transformation. That warped fame draws the attention of a fellow patient, Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga). That’s Harley Quinn, of course, one of the micro-nods to the comic book source material. The other? Harry Lawtey’s Harvey Dent is the prosecutor hoping to end the Joker’s reign. Lee is drawn to Arthur’s anti-social Joker and he’s just happy to have a woman look his way. Can their bond survive the trial and their self-defeating ways? What are the stakes in said trial, anyway? Phillips cast convention aside the first time around. Now, he’s doubling down in his cinematic sandbox. The film begins with an animated short featuring the Joker and his mischievous shadow. Huh? The musical numbers, drawn in naturalist fashion and relying on classic tunes like “That’s Entertainment” and “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” offer modest rewards. Phoenix isn’t a singer but throws himself into the unorthodox dancing. Lady Gaga is squarely in her element, but the film won’t embrace the full musical charms that Gene Kelly and Judy Garland embraced. “Joker: Folie à Deux” is surprisingly lifeless despite two charismatic stars and a bracing origin story. Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in “Joker: Folie à Deux” (2024). DC Entertainment. Warner Bros. Pictures. IMDB. Steve Coogan appears as a tabloid journalist eager to make Arthur summon the Joker for his audience. It’s all about ratings and The Narrative, not the truth. Is Phillips, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver, mocking corporate journalism?  Maybe. Likely. The scene ends and the film drops that criticism cold. Other scenes depict how society continues to keep poor Arthur down. The asylum’s security guards, including a brute played by the great Brendan Gleeson, use Arthur to further their own ends.  And? Prison guards routinely behave badly on screen and, we’re sure, sometimes off-screen. What’s so different, or meaningful, here? The most memorable moment brings back actor Leigh Gill, whose character witnessed one of the Joker’s killings in the first film. The haunted soul describes to the courtroom how the tragedy left him fearful of everyday life. Gill’s performance chills. We’re reminded what the real-world implications of worshiping a serial killer are. “Joker” made us mourn a sick man’s descent into madness. We rooted for him to find some sort of comfort or healing. That never materialized. The sequel marinates in the idea that this fallen man matters. He has a purpose, a mission beyond himself. His fame alone makes him worth our admiration. He’s suddenly … cool. No. And there’s no oversized Bat to put him in his place. Moral complexities could have powered “Folie à Deux.” There’s a reason we hoped Tony Soprano could stay one step ahead of The Law. Instead, we get a lethargic courtroom trial, a romance with little heat and a third act that proves the sequel never had a plan in the first place. Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! There’s no denying “Folie à Deux” looks magnificent. The dream sequences marry the film’s gritty aesthetic with old Hollywood panache. Phillips’ camera captures every scene for maximum impact, crafting indelible images along the way. The film’s waning moments seem like they’re building to something mythical, a rationale for everything we’ve just witnessed. Instead, what follows erases the modest goodwill already generated. “Joker” reinvigorated the comic book movie. “Joker: Folie à Deux” reminds us that sequels for sequels’ sake only taint the original. * * * Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at @HollywoodInToto. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The release of records from President Joe Biden’s terms as vice president – specifically emails with his son, Hunter, and brother, James, regarding business dealings – has been delayed until the day after the 2024 election. America First Legal, a conservative organization whose mission is to “[fight] back against lawless executive actions and the Radical Left,” has been trying for years to obtain Biden’s vice presidential records as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. On Wednesday, the organization was notified by the Department of Justice that the records would not be released until November 6, 2024 – the day after the election. The notification revealed that Biden’s lawyers and former President Barack Obama’s legal representatives claimed an extension under the Presidential Records Act, which will delay the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) release of records pertaining to Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings. “NARA has arbitrarily deferred to former President Obama and current President Biden’s requests to delay disclosure of likely embarrassing records until after the election that shows then-Vice President Biden’s communications with Rosemont Seneca and financial disclosures that may reveal profits from Burisma through Rosemont!” Dan Epstein, AFL’s vice president, said in a statement. Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! AFL began seeking the records in August 2022 and filed a lawsuit in September of that year after NARA refused to comply with the FOIA request. As AFL reported, what they have received so far revealed that Biden used a personal email address for official government business when he served as vice president, his son Hunter served in a position that should have required him to register as a foreign agent, and the Biden family used influence to enrich the lives of family and friends. Yet there were still more documents to be released, AFL said. The unreleased documents reportedly contain “email messages with James Biden …, Lion Hall …, and [Hunter’s firm] Rosemont Seneca,” about “photographs from a White House visit of Vice President Biden with James Biden [and] preparation of Vice President and Biden’s final tax forms and financial disclosures for the year 2015,” according to a copy of the notification published by AFL. As AFL noted, Biden and Obama’s legal representatives can file a 30-day working extension if they need more time to review the records to assert “a claim of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure.” But, AFL argued, they’ve had the documents since June and, therefore, have had enough time to review them, making the delay seem political.

Whoopi Goldberg scolded Christians and Catholics from her perch behind the table at ABC’s “The View” on Thursday, chastising them for daring to stand on doctrine and say that abortion is wrong. Goldberg, who has often pushed the illegal-back-alley-abortion narrative as the reason that women should be free to end the lives of their unborn children without restriction, also suggested that the mother was the only human being whose life would be impacted in any way by the abortion issue. WATCH: Whoopi lectures "all of those Christians and Catholics out there" that the only "human being" impacted by abortion is the mom."Is this the way Jesus wants you to be? Is this the way Jesus wants you to act?"She also suggests that religious folks don't care about folks' struggles pic.twitter.com/8L6JSg8hle — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) October 3, 2024 “I’d like to remind all those Christians and Catholics out there that it is a much bigger conversation than just abortion,” Goldberg began. “And if you are concerned about what this does to a human being in their life — Is this the way Jesus wants you to be? Is this the way Jesus wants you to act?” “Doesn’t Jesus want you to be able to say to somebody, ‘Come over here, I know you must be something tough,'” she added, repeating the false narrative that pro-life activists only care about the babies and not the mothers. “As opposed to what we’re seeing, which is insane.” Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! Goldberg and her cohosts also discussed former first lady Melania Trump’s recent video, in which she stated that she favored abortion rights for women — and Sunny Hostin in particular seemed almost giddy over the news. Hostin argued that Melania Trump — who has made a series of similar videos to promote her memoir due out next Tuesday — would only release that particular video if she hated her husband, former President Trump, and wanted him to lose the 2024 election. WATCH: DISGUSTING: Sunny Hostin says First Lady Melania "hates" President Trump, "wants to take him out." This is your modern Democrat Party, folks. pic.twitter.com/3iD1WQdWRT — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 3, 2024 “I think she hates him,” Hostin began, and when there were a few positive murmurs from around the table, she continued, “So we can all agree on that, that’s a given.” “I also think that she wants to take him out,” Hostin said then, not really clarifying whether she meant “out” of the presidential race or “out” in a more permanent sense. “She does not want to be the first lady anymore. She destroyed the Rose Garden. Who hates Christmas? Melania Trump hates Christmas. She doesn’t want to decorate for Christmas, she doesn’t want anything to do with it. She doesn’t want to sleep in the same room with him. She can’t tolerate him.” “Allegedly,” Goldberg interrupted. “How do you know all this?” Joy Behar asked, and Goldberg quickly explained that was why she’d jumped in to say, “allegedly.”

Legendary British rock band Pink Floyd has agreed to sell its music rights and name-and-likeness rights to Sony Music for approximately $400 million after years of speculation. Sources confirmed the news to Variety on Wednesday. The deal was made after years of disagreements between band songwriters Roger Waters and David Gilmour, drummer Nick Mason, and the estates of keyboardist Richard Wright and singer-songwriter Roger “Syd” Barrett, one of the band’s founding members. Name and likeness rights will include all merchandising rights, making this one of the most lucrative deals in the industry. The Pink Floyd recorded music catalog includes popular albums such as “Dark Side of the Moon,” “The Wall,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Animals,” “Meddle,” “Piper at the Gates of Dawn,” “More,” and others. The outlet noted that Pink Floyd’s catalog has been for sale for years with an asking price of $500 million. However, the sale was complicated by infighting among band members and the public’s opinion of Roger Waters making controversial political statements against both Israel and Ukraine, which is rumored to have made potential buyers hesitant to close the deal.  Waters also told Rolling Stone during a 2022 interview that the United States is “the most evil [country in the world] of all by a factor of at least 10 times.” Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here! Pink Floyd was formed in London in 1965 and is considered one of the most progressive rock bands of all time. The band has gone through a lot of drama over the years as disagreements raged among the members. Wright left Pink Floyd in 1981, and Waters followed in 1985. Wright later came back and rejoined. The albums “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “The Wall” were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. These two LPs, along with “Wish You Were Here,” are among the best-selling albums of all time. In total, Pink Floyd’s albums have sold 75 million copies in the U.S., making it the 10th most of any artist, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The acquisition of Pink Floyd’s catalog is one of several high-profile buys for Sony, who also recently acquired Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Queen’s non-North American rights in the past few years, per Variety.

Less than two months after the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) imploded amid allegations that it amounted to major corporations colluding to censor political opponents, a congressman warned that a new group may be picking up the mantle, a letter exclusively obtained by The Daily Wire shows. Dentsu, a Japanese public relations company that was a founding member of GARM, has created the “Dentsu Coalition,” which says it wants to boost “credible news.” The 614 Group, an advertising consulting firm, is co-leading the coalition, which it said aims to “ensure that journalism … thrives by leveraging the collective power of the [ad] industry’s foremost players.” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a letter Thursday to Dentsu Americas CEO Michael Komasinski that “The Dentsu Coalition appears to be pursuing objectives similar to GARM’s. Before dissolving, GARM routinely attempted to delineate which news outlets were credible enough to receive” advertising dollars. At its founding, GARM said it was led by “Experts at Dentsu, GroupM, IPG, Publicis Media, and Omnicom Media Group, representing media agencies.” GARM pushed members — including some of America’s largest companies and major advertisers — to defer to third-party media-rating organizations to evaluate which news sources were “credible.” Those organizations, in turn, often had left-wing biases and connections to the government. One listed mainstream papers like the New York Post and the Washington Examiner as not “credible” enough to be advertised on. In early August, GARM announced that it was disbanding, crippled by legal fees, and having attracted the very controversy it said it would avoid for its clients by keeping them unassociated with conservative-leaning media. “Under the Sherman Act, Dentsu’s coordinated actions may be illegal, regardless of ‘[t]he social justifications proffered for [the] restraint of trade.’ As outlined in the Committee’s report, the anticompetitive effects of GARM’s actions were severe,” Jordan wrote in the letter. “Initiatives like GARM starve disfavored news outlets of crucial funding. News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson highlighted this anticompetitive conduct when he stated on a recent company earnings call, ‘GARM[’s] harm is real’ thanks to ‘coordinated boycott[s] of media platforms perceived to be unfashionable by illiberal liberals.’” The letter demands that Dentsu produce any documents related to it taking over GARM activities. Dentsu will be responding to the Committee imminently and will not be commenting prior to such a response. GARM emails obtained by Jordan’s committee revealed that its leader consulted with advertising mega-firm and GARM member GroupM about The Daily Wire. A GroupM “brand safety” executive, Joe Barone — in an email replete with a rainbow and the phrase “black lives matter” — said, “Fyi we have Daily Wire on our Global High Risk exclusion list, categorized as Conspiracy Theories …” Another GroupM “brand safety” executive, John Montgomery, said there was “an interesting parallel here with Breitbart,” in which purported “misinformation” rules could be used as a pretext for ideologically-motivated censorship. “As much as we hated their ideology and bulls***, we couldn’t really justify blocking them for misguided opinion. We watched them very carefully and it didn’t take long for them to cross the line — but it was a useful academic lesson,” he wrote. GroupM CEO Christian Juhl was replaced after he struggled to explain the emails to Congress while testifying opposite Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro. The emails also showed a GARM member was upset that X owner Elon Musk did not think the New York Post’s story on Hunter Biden’s laptop should have been censored before the 2020 election. The Department of Justice later acknowledged that the Post’s story was true. Musk shared Shapiro’s congressional testimony on his platform and encouraged states to seek criminal charges for the “advertising boycott racket.” In July, X and video platform Rumble sued the World Federation of Advertisers, GARM’s parent group. Rumble called it an “advertising cartel,” and X alleged that “GARM celebrated—and took responsibility for—the massive economic harm imposed on Twitter by the boycott, boasting within just a few months of the start of the boycott that ‘they [Twitter] are 80% below revenue forecasts,’” the X lawsuit reads. The Daily Wire and The Federalist are suing the State Department, for allegedly backing private firms such as Newsguard and the Global Disinformation Index, some of the purported credibility raters that also sought to financially harm conservative news outlets. All three lawsuits are filed in federal court in Texas.