I largely agree with the first part of Michael Tomasky’s post. Conservatives are sometimes way too desperate to claim Hollywood types as conservatives. As someone who thinks most of the leftwing actors who chime in about politics are idjits, I’m often frustrated when conservatives — usually of the Young Republicans variety — get all jazzed that Bo Derek is a Republican. Who cares?
As for his second point about Stillman, I think he’s being dismissive for its own sake (which is atypical for Tomasky, who I think is a very sharp guy). The idea that conservatives like Stillman solely because he’s nostalgic for “lost worlds” isn’t really very persuasive. If that’s all it took, conservatives would love all sorts of leftwing tripe about various “lost ages” of innocence. We don’t. There’s something more than mere nostalgia at work here, especially in Barcelona which is my favorite of Stillman’s work.