'No more blacklisting': Antonio Sabato Jr. announces plans for 'conservative movie studio'
Antonio Sabato Jr. is making plans for himself in the entertainment industry after claiming he was blacklisted from Hollywood due to his political beliefs.
In a tweet on Thursday, the former soap opera actor said he plans to start a film studio for projects that Hollywood would shy away from.
"We are putting together a plan to create a conservative movie studio for all patriots to do projects that Hollywood would never do," he wrote. "No more blacklisting and no more injustice from the socialist's elites."
About an hour later, Sabato added in a follow-up tweet that the studio's first film is already in the works and that he encourages all conservative producers to reach out to him.
"To all conservative producers who want to make a change this is the time, get in touch with me, and be part of our team," he wrote. "Right now we are In pre-production with Trail Blazers our first in line for many more & first to start our studio."
According to IMDB, "Trail Blazers" is a Western drama expected for a 2021 release. Sabato is directing the film, which he co-wrote with Deborah Twiss. The film stars Kristy Swanson, Stacey Dash and Robert Wagner. Sabato will also make an appearance in the film.
"This is the ultimate battle between good and evil, between darkness and light, between God and Satan himself," reads the film's IMDB description."8 Heroes vs 8 Villains."
Paste BN has reached out to Sabato's rep for further comment and details.
In an interview with Variety in March, Sabato described how his support for the president has made it difficult for him to make his acting career great again.
According to the actor, all his talent representatives dropped him when he backed Donald Trump for president in 2016. As a result, Sabato said he had to relocate to Florida to pursue a different career in construction.
"It’s been terrible," he continued. "It’s mind-blowing. It’s a disgrace. It’s tough, because if you’re in that environment in Hollywood and you have something to say that they don’t like, they’re going to let you know."
Before 2016, Sabato appeared in major soap operas like "General Hospital," "Melrose Place" and "The Bold and the Beautiful."
Sabato was one of few entertainers to speak at the Republican National Convention in July 2016. During an ABC interview that month, the actor made waves when he insisted then-President Barack Obama was "absolutely" a Muslim.
'It’s a disgrace': Antonio Sabato Jr. says supporting Trump cost him his acting career
When his acting career started to cool, Sabato launched an unsuccessful bid for a California congressional seat as a Republican in 2018, but lost to Democrat Julia Brownley.
While talking to a distribution company about getting a film produced, Sabato recalled, he was told, "We will never distribute a movie with you in it because of your affiliation with the president."
“The reality is the power that makes movies happen in Hollywood – casting directors, producers, executive producers, directors — they’re all liberal," he said. "They hate anyone or anything who supports this president.”
The actor said he called his former reps to see if they'd consider working with him again. All declined.
“Not a reason," he continued. "Just no, plain and simple. They wouldn’t touch me because it would be too tough to get me a job."
Since 2016, Sabato has had 10 screen roles, not including his part in "Trail Blazers."
Despite his career hit, Sabato said his integrity and beliefs are "still intact" — and that he knows he's not alone.
"I know a lot of actors who are lying about who they’re going to vote for because they don’t want the crap," he said. "They won’t want to be talked about and fired from movie sets. This is serious."
Sabato is not the only entertainer to publicly back the president. In December 2019, Jon Voight called for followers to pray for the president and slammed Democrats as being "afraid" of "Trump's truth to save this country."
Actress Roseanne Barr, who lost her ABC show in 2018 over a racist tweet, shared a photo of herself on Twitter in August 2018 wearing a Trump 2020 hat. "2020 vision," she captioned the image.