Conservative Outlet Streams Into Culture War With Thrillers, a Superhero Comedy, and a Western

The Daily Wire is attempting to take the culture war in a new direction by distributing independent films that aim to rival Hollywood productions. The company has released two feature films in the past year for members of its streaming service and is scheduled to add more this year. Its third film, “The Hyperions,” is a superhero comedy that will make its premiere on Thursday. The Daily Wire’s CEO, Jeremy Boreing, said he shares Andrew Breitbart’s belief that “politics is downstream from culture,” and alongside his business partner, Ben Shapiro, wants to produce art for conservatives. Breitbart, a convervative writer and political commentator who founded Breitbart News, died in 2012 at age 43. “Andrew was a mentor to Ben and to me,” Mr. Boreing told The New York Sun. “His happy warrior ethos has become our own. His view of the relationship between politics and culture was formative for both of us. We’re upfront about what we’re building — entertainment-first movies for young adults without the left-wing sucker punch.” Their goal is to create an alternative path for Hollywood conservatives and to tell stories for a conservative audience. Their creative partners are actors and producers who apparently have been exiled from mainstream Hollywood, such as Gina Carano, Vincent Gallo, and Dallas Sonnier. The first two films — “Run Hide Fight” and “Shut In” — are thrillers produced by the Texas-based studio Bonfire Legends, owned by producers formerly with CineState. The premiere of “Shut In” was streamed free of charge on YouTube on February 10 to an audience of more than 500,000 viewers. The livestream has since been taken down, yet it and the previous film are available to stream for customers who subscribe to the Daily Wire’s streaming service.The company has announced two other upcoming movies: “Terror on the Prairie” and an adaptation of the book “White Knuckle,” both starring Ms. Carano, who also appeared in “The Mandalorian.” Last year Ms. Carano was fired from Disney after making comments on Instagram about the Holocaust, comparing anti-Republican rhetoric to anti-Jewish rhetoric. “Terror on the Prairie” is a Western scheduled for a summer release. The service also has documentaries available, including, “China: The Enemy Within,” which had its premiere on February 18. The series, about Chinese influence over American universities and culture, is written by and stars Lee Harold Smith. He previously wrote “The Plot Against the President.”It remains to be seen whether the Daily Wire’s strategy is effective when it comes to having an impact on the culture war. Its films are behind a paywall and the brand is associated with conservative voices like Mr. Shapiro. It is unclear if the films will be able to attract interest among the politically neutral. “Shut In” has already received negative coverage from websites such as Uproxx, which mocked Daily Wire for releasing it on YouTube because “they know nobody will pay to watch it.” The chief film critic at IndieWire, David Ehrlich, dismissed “Run Hide Fight” as a “glib, artless, and reprehensibly stupid thriller.” “I’m sure there are those who will reject our movies out of hand because of their impressions of who we are,” Mr. Boreing said. “That’s unavoidable, and tragic. But that’s all the more reason for us to do what we’re doing. The left hates half the country. Conservatives deserve great content, too.” The Daily Wire’s base — the young and religious — has embraced both films. “Run Hide Fight” had an audience of 300,000 viewers for the January 2021 premiere. “Shut In” has a 96 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, while “Run Hide Fight” has 93 percent, with a 40 percent critic rating. The Daily Wire is betting that its brand is powerful enough to sell subscription services and that it’ll be able to increase its audience through word of mouth.Streaming video “is the name of the game if we want to be in the business long-term,” Mr. Boreing said.

Conservative Outlet Streams Into Culture War With Thrillers, a Superhero Comedy, and a Western

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