Republicans Say They [sic] More Accepted in Hollywood

Reuters ^ | 9/23/04 | Arthur Spiegelman

[MarlboroRed]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) is quick to criticize Hollywood values and Hollywood is quick to bash the president, but Republicans in the country's liberal filmmaking capital say they no longer feel like an endangered species.

With action movie hero Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites) now starring as California's Republican governor, several top stars declaring party allegiance and a new generation of young Republicans filling film industry jobs, some conservatives say it is finally safe to come out of the political closet.

But they are quick to add there still can be some testy moments in a town where liberalism rules the roost.

On Jesse Moss' documentary "Rated R: Republicans in Hollywood," Patricia Heaton, the star of "Everybody Loves Raymond," bluntly described a dinner at which guests were appalled when she said she voted for Bush.

"You'd think I'd crapped in the middle of the table," the Emmy-winning actress said.

For years, Hollywood was the place where the causes of minority groups such as blacks, Jews and gays were treated with sympathy while Republicans usually got the back of the tinsel-town hand.

After all, the Hollywood premiere of Michael Moore's anti-Bush and Iraq (news - web sites) war documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" ended with a standing ovation from the town's movers and shakers.

To compound that, a New York fund-raiser for Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites) attended by some of the biggest names in show business ended in a barrage of vulgar jokes and sharp jabs at the president that did not go unnoticed.

Referring to a comment by Kerry, Bush told Republicans at the party's convention this month, "If you say the heart and soul of America is found in Hollywood, I'm afraid you are not the candidate of conservative values."

Hollywood doesn't only lend its star power to politics. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the entertainment industry is the 10th biggest contributor to political campaigns, with almost $14 million going to Democrats and about $7 million to Republicans so far this year.

YEARS OF BLACKLIST

There are historic reasons for Hollywood's anathema to Republicans, having long attracted liberals to do the work and conservatives to run the studios. Memories also still run deep over the McCarthy-era blacklist backed by the studio heads to prove their Americanism.

Hollywood has had stars like John Wayne and Frank Sinatra who have supported Republican causes, and it was one of their own, Ronald Reagan (news - web sites), who led the conservative revolution that brought him to the White House. Other Republican actors who gained political office were Clint Eastwood, Sonny Bono and George Murphy.

Many Republicans say that for years they had to hide their true political colors but screenwriter Lionel Chetwynd thinks they may be gaining the upper hand among people under 35.

But the well-known Republican added in an interview that while the industry had no blacklist keeping conservatives from getting work, it does have a "white list."

"You can get work if are useful to a producer but you are held to a higher standard."

Chetwynd is finishing an anti-Michael Moore documentary he hopes to have in theaters in two weeks, called "Celsius 41.11," a reference to the temperature at which the brain deteriorates from heat or as he says from Moore's "lies" and left-wing rhetoric.

Paul Bond, West Coast business editor for the Hollywood Reporter, said there is an "out of the closet" conservative surge in Hollywood this year that include film festivals and even workshops on how conservatives can get scripts sold.

Steve Marmel, a comedian, writer and producer, says being a Republican in Hollywood is "really not that bad. You just get into more debates with people than if you agreed with them."

[Bob J]

"But the well-known Republican added in an interview that while the industry had no blacklist keeping conservatives from getting work, it does have a "white list."

The KKK was used to saying "We're not against blacks, we're just for whites."

The irony is Hollywood is too stupid to see the irony.

[joesnuffy]

If Republicans are 'more accepted' in Hollywood ...perhaps it's because their 'watered down'
values are more palatable to Hollywood types...

As the Grand Old Party veers increasingly more left...it shouldnt be that surprising that a few
'conservative' lefties sign on...

imo

[jwalsh07]

"You'd think I'd crapped in the middle of the table," the Emmy-winning actress said.

LOL, I like earthy women.

[MarlboroRed]

I agree articles like this annoy me. To cite dear John Wayne and flip-flopper Frank Sinatra (who slolwy turned Republican only after Robert Kennedy told his brother to keep The Chairman away) as prominent Hollywood Republicans is sad.

You need only turn on the TV or go to a movie and the extreme liberalism of Hollywood hits you like a ton of bricks.

[MarlboroRed]

That's an excellent point. Other than Gibson, it's doubtful a single, prominent Hollywood figure is pro-life or anti-gay.

[LuckyHat]

Republicans are "more" accepted...

They are more accepted than for example the Black Plague or Gonorhea.

Hollywood is for girly-boys or hustlers not for Pubs..

[NurdlyPeon]

Maybe Hollywood has accepted me, but that doesn't mean I have accepted them. They can still all go #%@# themselves!!

[bootyist-monk]

As a Republican working in Hollywood with a film that starts rolling cameras next week, I can tell you from personal experience that you are wrong. I've been in the business for almost 20 years now, and the business is not nearly as liberal now as it was when I started. The above-the-line, where I reside, is the most liberal and also the loudest, but crews tend to run more conservative. The younger generation of film-makers tend to be the ones breaking the knee-jerk liberal mold.

And by the way, I would love to see you call some of the grips, gaffers and stuntmen I know "girly-boys".