Behind his countless roles in film and television productions, actor James Woods has experienced his share of "takes" and "wraps" just as endings and new beginnings have occurred in his creative and personal life.

Now, during what he's referred to as his life’s "second act" after his notorious Hollywood blacklisting and then later the Pacific Palisades fires in January 2025, which still has him and his wife Sara displaced due to their home’s smoke damage, Woods seems to have settled into a life of songwriting serenity.

His third album, "The Killer’s Wife," is what became a concept record released under his own label, Breakheart Music. Created in collaboration with musical artist Bob Wayne and four-time Grammy winner Shooter Jennings, the album draws on Woods’ early years as an actor on the road. At its heart is a true story that he initially treated as fiction: his past relationship with a young woman and mother whom he later discovered was married to a serial killer. That extraordinary saga inspired both the album’s title and its featured song.

"I’m not gonna reveal her privacy and her story. I have no way of knowing where she is now or anything, but I heard that she has a fine life, and she carried on, and she overcame this incredible moment in her life. But I always thought about this question. It intrigued me. Why didn’t he murder her?" Woods explained to Fox News Digital, describing the inspiration behind the album.

"And knowing her, I thought, ‘There’s something about her unbelievable purity of spirit that I think was more powerful than his satanic evil.’ And considering the state of the world, I thought, well, now we’ve got an epic, literally spiritual battle for the survival of the species, really, as a big idea behind the album."

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Woods describes "The Killer’s Wife" as "a musical parable into the dark heart of evil and the glorious triumph of good."

Other songs on the album explore that theme in different ways. "The Hearts of Men" came to Woods as he was reading Matthew 24:12 in the Bible, a passage that speaks of the hardening of human hearts as wickedness spreads. "One in the Chamber," which Woods calls his favorite track, came to him at the last minute and speaks to the need to be prepared for the violent times in which we live.

"Bob does it like a beautiful ballad — it’s so pretty — and everybody said, ‘This song is so beautiful.’ And then you realize what it’s about as you’re singing it, you know, and that’s what I love about our music and why people are really responding to it," Woods said. "It has just such a unique flavor."

A serendipitous encounter at Dan Tana’s, the iconic West Hollywood restaurant, brought Woods and his wife, Sara, together with Jennings and his wife, Misty Swain. Tana, who died last year, was a close friend of Woods. The two couples were the only diners in the restaurant before the dinner rush, and the chance meeting led not only to an unlikely friendship but also to a remarkable musical journey for everyone involved.

Sara has even become Breakheart Music’s art director, creating all three album covers and every photograph used in the releases.

During dinner, Jennings asked Woods whether he had ever considered writing lyrics, telling him to send some along if he ever did. That night, Woods went home and wrote "Misty Morning" in the Notes app on his iPhone in just 20 minutes. Then he heard nothing from Jennings for nearly a month.

"I thought and said to Sara, ‘Oh, what an idiot. I just ruined a good friendship.’ And then all of a sudden, I got this song back (‘Misty Morning’), which is like one of the most beautiful songs ever. And my whole life changed."

Jennings described Woods’ first album, "Hear the Thunder Crack" released in October 2024, as an "expansive poetic journey" and told Woods that it was, in fact, the actor’s autobiography.

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Wayne later came on board at the suggestion of Jennings, to sing on Woods’ second album, "Tombstone Opera," which Woods described as a kind of "Sergio Leone revenge tale." The project marked another chapter in his second act, one that continued even after the Palisades fires.

Both albums reached the Top 10 on Apple Music’s country album charts and have sold several thousand physical copies.

Like its predecessors, "The Killer’s Wife" was recorded at Hollywood’s iconic Sunset Sound studio and follows Woods’ steadfast rule against using Auto-Tune or artificial intelligence. In addition to writing the lyrics, Woods lends his own voice to the songs performed by Wayne, adding spoken-word passages layered throughout the music.

"It is unusual to have a spoken part, but in this album, it really serves a lot of the songs," Woods explained.

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The record is available on CD and vinyl through jameswoods.com. The vinyl edition, custom-made by Memphis Record Pressing, features translucent colors and sand-like, opaque elements evoking the seaside, along with a bright-red blood splatter representing the places where the serial killer’s victims were buried.

"One of my favorite things about working with James Woods is how cinematic his writing is. With ‘The Killer’s Wife,’ he really found such a unique way to unfold this mini-opera, and paired with Bob’s amazing musical structures, this album explores so much sonic space that we hadn’t in the beginning," Jennings said.

For Woods, now 79, this musical chapter follows a remarkable acting career that included roles in Oliver Stone’s "Salvador" (1986), Martin Scorsese’s crime drama "Casino" (1995), and Rob Reiner’s "Ghosts of Mississippi" (1996), among many others. Woods left MIT during his senior year in 1969 to pursue acting.

Numerous award nominations and accolades followed.

After being effectively sidelined by Hollywood around 2018 because of his outspoken conservative views and public support for Donald Trump, Woods found a new project in the book "American Prometheus," the biography of Robert Oppenheimer. The project eventually became Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning film "Oppenheimer," released in 2023, and helped put Woods back on the map as a producer.

Although Woods was reportedly advised to remain "invisible" during the film’s release — he wasn’t even invited to the Producers Guild Awards — he eventually discovered something unexpected. What initially felt painful also helped him realize that he no longer cared about the Hollywood world as much as he once had.

"It’s important to understand, I loved being an actor. I loved my years in the film and television industry," he said, recalling roles such as his performance in 1979’s "The Onion Field." Whether based on real events or fictional stories, he explained, such projects often addressed the cultural and political issues of the day.

"And at the same time, I understood that my role as an actor was to take another person’s words and directorial concepts, knowing I was there to serve that."

"Those masters, not the people, but the story," he clarified.

Acting, as he has been quoted as saying, "is now a DEI exercise."

Simply put, Woods said he has turned toward "happier things" and spending time with talented musicians, whom he describes as true "magicians" and among the most jubilant people he has ever been around.

"I have this observation I made once. I thought, you know, whenever you look at statues anywhere in the world, they usually celebrate one of two kinds of people: warriors and poets. And I thought, you know, if you got a choice to do one or the other, I’m tired of being a warrior for a cause, getting in the political fray. I want to celebrate art and poetry and music and things I love, and things other people love," he said.

"So, I want to talk about happier stuff. I want to talk about the creation of art. And I want to talk about how we create art, because I love what we’ve created, and I think the people who are hearing it are loving it … and I want to celebrate it," he continued.

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The mayor of Nice, France, rebuked Victor Wembanyama for supporting the ongoing protest movement in France, accusing the NBA star of encouraging unrest.

"French celebrities like the basketball player Victor Wembanyama, who called for supporting the riots of October 17, bear a historic responsibility," Ciotti wrote on X. "They must be condemned."

For background, the protests began in September with high school students claiming they were demanding better conditions in French schools, including more resources, improved facilities and relief from overcrowded classrooms. The movement has since expanded into a broader protest against government spending cuts, drawing support from university students, labor unions and members of France's "Yellow Vest" movement.

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The unrest escalated significantly on Oct. 17, when an estimated 550,000 to 800,000 people participated in demonstrations across France. Rioters broke out in several major cities, including Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Rioters and looters clashed with police, set fires, damaged public buildings and looted businesses.

Earlier this month, Wembanyama, who was born in France, wrote on Instagram that he'd "really love to" join the protests.

"These are systemic inequalities, problems that are so deep," he added when asked about the demonstrations during a preseason postgame press conference on October 8.

"I’m glad that high school students, young people in general, are making their voices heard, because I hear them and I support them. And I hope the people at the very top will do the same."

Then, on Oct. 16, the eve of the nationwide demonstrations, Wembanyama posted a cryptic image of the White Rabbit from "Alice in Wonderland" pointing to his watch. Some in France interpreted the post as signaling anticipation for the Oct. 17 demonstrations, though Wembanyama did not explain its meaning.

Wembanyama has not publicly commented on the protests since the widespread violence on Oct. 17.

As the emerging face of the NBA, Wembanyama has shown he's more LeBron James than Michael Jordan in his approach to political issues. Last January, he said he ignored the advice of Spurs public relations and spoke out against ICE in America anyway.

"PR has tried, but I'm not going to sit here and give some politically correct [answer]," Wembanyama told reporters. "Every day I wake up and see the news, and I'm horrified. I think it's crazy that some people might make it seem like or sound like the murder of civilians is acceptable."

During the NBA Finals, Wembanyama drew attention for crossing his arms during the playing of the U.S. national anthem. Later in the series, he reportedly stayed off the court entirely during the anthem.

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It would behoove the NBA for its biggest star to not align himself with polarizing political causes. James did little to help his own or the league's popularity when he embraced political activism.

I suspect Wembanyama's commentary and demonstrations, whether about America or France, won't help the league's popularity either.

One must also wonder how informed Wembanyama is about the issues on which he comments. This tends to be the question when athletes and celebrities speak out about complicated issues.

His initial support was for students protesting conditions in French schools. Fine. However, the movement he encouraged has since grown into something much larger and, at times, much more violent.

Wembanyama was willing to lend his considerable platform to the demonstrations when they represented a cause he supported. Now that those demonstrations have been accompanied by widespread violence, he ought to use that same platform to condemn it.

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So far, he hasn't. Nor has he responded to Mayor Ciotti's criticism of him.

Editor's note: This op-ed is part of a series by Eli Steele exploring White guilt in America and the West. Steele is the director of the newly released documentary essay, "White Guilt." See the film at WhiteGuiltFilm.com.

I am a native Californian, and I will never get over the absurdity of seeing California and slavery in the same sentence. I believe I saw it for the first time during the height of the Black Lives Matter unrest. I remembered how I learned in my San Jose elementary school that California entered the Union in 1850 as a free state. Yet here we are again, this time with AB 2599, the Truth in Disclosure Act.

On September 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the act into law. "This is a bill that requires large companies that operated before 1965 to search their records for ties to slavery going back to 1849, and then we make it public," Newsom said. "These are insurance policies on enslaved people. Human beings used as collateral, quite literally as collateral for loans."

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I first learned about these atrocities as a child, and they made me understand how total the dehumanization of slavery was. This history should be learned, but there is something profoundly different about turning history into a legal obligation, sworn under penalty of perjury. This comes at a time when most California students, including Black students, are underperforming in reading and math. So why does Sacramento want to excavate corporate records from 1849 rather than fix the classrooms today?

I believe the point of this investigation is not to discover more history, since we have historians for that, but to unearth confessions that can be commodified as grievances. To see why, you have to understand that White guilt is transactional.

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When I mention White guilt, many people tell me they feel none. Of course, they don't. You cannot feel guilt for what you have not done. But, that is not White guilt. "White guilt doesn't have anything to do with actual feelings of guilt," my father, Shelby Steele, author, columnist and Hoover Institution senior fellow, says in our new documentary, "White Guilt." White guilt is the collective guilt that says all Whites must carry the sins of the slave masters and segregationists forever.

Activists on the Left have leveraged this accusation for power since the 1960s, and it has produced a terror in many Whites, the terror of being tied to this racist past. Those Whites, especially liberal Whites, want innocence most of all, the ability to say, "I am not like those racist Whites."

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Black leaders understood early on, as my father did in the 1960s, that Whites would do anything out of their deep, existential desire for innocence. That is what gives White guilt its transactional nature. 

My father has said that White guilt is "quite literally the same thing as Black power." From Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton to Black Lives Matter, these leaders knew their power was in selling Black victimization. Whites bought innocence with everything from endless programs of dependency to lowered education standards. Both sides of this White guilt — Black power symbiosis get what they want, and that is the trap.

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In order to keep the lucrative White guilt grift alive, Black leaders have to keep Blacks locked into permanent victimhood, and Whites have to remain condemned as eternally guilty. As America continues to make racial progress, this symbiosis has moved further left, and further into the past, in search of more grievances.

It was California’s reparations task force that demanded AB 2599. This new law applies to any company doing business in California that takes in more than $100 million a year worldwide and existed in some form by the end of 1964. 

Once the legislature funds it, any such company will be legally bound to go through its records, and the records of its parent companies, subsidiaries and predecessors, back to 1849. It must report any findings that the company sold or leased slaves, used them as collateral for loans or insured them. The first filings are due as early as January 15, 2029, and the records will be kept online indefinitely. Every filing will be a confession made under oath, and every confession becomes one more grievance on the public record, available to the activists for as long as the database exists.

Newsom bought his own racial innocence by signing into law the demand that more Black victimization be found. Imagine if Newsom had refused to sign. He would have been blasted as the governor who protected the companies that exploited slaves. 

Right there is the very terror that White guilt deploys to kill any reasonable objections. And the corporations on the target list will confess to the sins of their predecessors and buy their innocence with statements of regret and funding for programs and initiatives. None of them will risk the stigmatization that comes with fighting a slavery disclosure law.

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On the same day, Newsom vetoed a bill to exempt reparations payments from state income tax. Where there was no innocence to be gained, he refused to cost his state actual revenue.

On the other side of the bargain are the sellers, and their product is Black victimization. The author of the bill, Democratic Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, told CalMatters which companies he expects to file. "I'm thinking agriculture. I'm thinking banking, insurance. I'm thinking anything in the financial sector." Then he said about what comes next. "Once the public has this disclosure and we have a full accounting of the impact, then it's up to us to decide what that means and what we're going to do about it."

If that last line comes off as a threat, it is because it is. Bryan is telling these companies that once the grievance is documented, lawmakers will set the price of penance. And what this statement also reveals is that this is nothing more than a fishing expedition to find the crime to fuel the White guilt-Black power symbiosis.

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That is why the left will never let the White guilt — Black power symbiosis die out. Kristin Nimmers, policy and campaign manager for the California Black Power Network, told Fox News Digital that "a single check is not going to holistically repair our communities." She wants "a harm-based approach, so whoever was harmed should be entitled to that repair."

The rest of us are chum in this transaction, Black children most of all. California released its new test scores on October 15. Only 33.7% of Black students met the state standard in English. In math, it was 21.5%. Our state is busy chasing the ghost of past crimes while ignoring the very crimes of miseducation taking place today.

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But the White guilt-Black power symbiosis never had any interest in doing the hard work of developing young minds into individual talents. Instead, this symbiosis will wait for the companies to report back on the sins of their predecessors, and then its elites will hold up the evidence as yet more proof that California and America are systemically racist. 

The past will be dragged into the present as if no progress had ever been made, the accusation refreshed and sharpened for another generation. And worst of all, the Black children who needed a state that believed in their future will instead be told that the sins in that database, from 1849, are what has been holding them back all along.

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