New satire ‘The Opposition’ finds humor in the alt-right

Spielberg subject of docu

NEW YORK, Sept 28, (Agencies): In Donald Trump’s America, according to television’s newest satirical host, “you get to pick which facts are right for you.”

Fanatically paranoid with a penchant for conspiracy-peddling, Jordan Klepper has molded his persona in the image of the so-called alt-right’s head honchos to host “The Opposition” — Comedy Central’s latest foray into political satire.

“I know why you’re here,” Klepper tells his viewers in the first episode, which premiered this week. “You’re here because you’ve noticed that all mainstream media sounds the same.”

“We’re all controlled by the same elite puppet masters.” But the “golden rule” of “The Opposition”? “May you only hear from others what you’ve already been telling yourself.”

A veteran of “The Daily Show”, Klepper created his alter-ego by riffing on the likes of “alt-right” figureheads Alex Jones of Infowars, Steve Bannon of Breitbart or The Blaze’s ultraconservative Glenn Beck.

“It’s a world that is full of paranoia, that has conspiracy in it, that kind of builds its own truth, it can build its own reality,” Klepper said in a recent presentation to journalists in New York.

“It’s a great place for a comedian to show the bullshit that is out there — as opposed to just yelling at that bullshit.”

A veteran of another satirical news program, “The Daily Show”, Klepper said he conceived of “The Opposition” by attending Trump rallies during the reality star-turned-president’s election campaign.

At such rallies Trump regularly skewered the “dishonest” media — including major outlets like CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post.

“I fight to break up their monopoly on truth,” Klepper the character tells his audience.

Conceived of as the evil twin of “The Daily Show” — made famous by comedian Jon Stewart, and now hosted by Trevor Noah — “The Opposition” fills the time slot formerly held by “The Colbert Report.”

Comedian Stephen Colbert’s hit show was also a parody, satirizing Fox News’s loudmouthed former host Bill O’Reilly.

“’The Daily Show’ is mainstream, we’re going the other way,” Klepper told journalists. “We want these shows to live in tandem.”

Seated in front of a bleak grayish-blue set akin to a bunker, Klepper the host delivers his sharp one-liners with an ironically straight face — perhaps an antidote to today’s stream of real news that seemingly grows more bizarre by the day.

Like “The Colbert Report,” Klepper’s show includes an interview segment with a real-life guest lending insight into the news as the host stays in character.

The first week’s line-up included activists and personalities who have espoused more Democratic-leaning views.

“We think it’s important for someone who sees himself as anti-mainstream to bring some of those people who have maybe more rational points of view,” the comedian said.

Klepper knows his new venture is playing with volatile material: “There are these fringe ideas that are dangerous, that are scary ideas and they shouldn’t be given oxygen,” he said during his press event.

“What we’re looking for is where is the germination of fear or nationalism that you see making its way downstream,” he continued. “That we can play with.” On Monday, the show took on the wave of protests across the National Football League sparked by Trump’s berating of players who kneel or sit during the US national anthem to draw attention to racial injustice.

“Athletes are there to get concussions,” Klepper the host said. “Not to make us think.”

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LOS ANGELES: Steven Spielberg has directed dozens of award-winning movies in a 40-year career, but when it came to turning the cameras on himself he found the attention pretty uncomfortable.

The double Oscar winner, who has directed films like “Schindler’s List”, “Jaws” and “Saving Private Ryan,” is the subject of a documentary for HBO television based on more than 30 hours of interviews with Spielberg, his family and friends.

“It’s a very interesting experience being the subject of a film when I have spent my entire career seeking subjects for my films. And to be suddenly be in that hot seat — for me it was both intimidating and daunting,” Spielberg told reporters at the documentary’s Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday.

Spielberg, 70, said director Susan Lacy got him to open up about what inspires his films, although it’s not a subject he spends much energy on himself.

The documentary also features interviews with many of those who have worked with Spielberg or been influenced by his work, including Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey, Harrison Ford, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese and Cate Blanchett.

“Spielberg” will be shown on HBO on Oct 7.

NEW YORK: Megyn Kelly says she’s not really done with politics after all.

The former Fox News host attracted attention on the debut of NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today” this week by saying she’s “kind of done with politics for now.”

But she said Wednesday that doesn’t mean her show won’t cover politics. Instead, she wondered whether every show everywhere should be all about President Donald Trump.

With the president getting so much attention, she said she wanted to start a program that would be more broad and not mired in the negativity of dark, political arts.

Among her guests Wednesday were actors Jane Fonda, Robert Redford and Rumer Willis. (AP)

NEW YORK: CBS says “60 Minutes” has landed the first television interview with House Majority Whip Steve Scalise since he was shot at a congressional baseball team practice in June.

The network said Wednesday that Scalise will speak to Norah O’Donnell for the newsmagazine’s episode this Sunday.

He’ll recount the attack from his vantage point and will talk about what his medical ordeal has been since then.

Four Republicans were shot in the June 14 attack by an Illinois man, James Hodgkinson. He was killed in a shootout with police. (AP)

WACO, Texas: The husband and wife team behind HGTV remodeling show “Fixer Upper” have announced that the popular series will end after its upcoming fifth season.

In a blog post Tuesday announcing the decision, Joanna and Chip Gaines write that they need to catch their breath for a moment. The couple says their family is healthy and their marriage “has honestly never been stronger.” They say they plan “to take this time to shore up and strengthen the spots that are weak, rest the places that are tired and give lots of love and attention to both our family and our businesses.”