Posted on 01/17/2006 5:23:00 PM PST by madprof98
CHRISTIAN groups led a furious campaign against Hollywood yesterday, accusing the Golden Globe Awards of promoting films with gay or “leftist” themes to serve a political agenda.
The criticism was made after Brokeback Mountain, a film about the forbidden love between gay Wyoming cowboys, won four awards. Other winners included Philip Seymour Hoffman, named Best Actor for his portrayal of the homosexual writer Truman Capote; and Felicity Huffman, the Desperate Housewives actress who played a transsexual with a gay prostitute son in Transamerica.
“Once again, the media elites are proving that their pet projects are more important than profit,” Janice Crouse, of Concerned Women for America, said. “None of the three movies — Capote, Transamerica or Brokeback Mountain — is a box office hit. Brokeback Mountain has barely topped $25 million (£14.2 million) in ticket sales. If America isn’t watching these films, why are they winning the awards?”
The criticism from the American heartland carried more weight than usual this year because Hollywood suffered the biggest decline in attendance in two decades last year. Some of the few box office hits of the year were films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which appealed strongly to Christian audiences.
Oscar pundits are now questioning whether the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will also reward Brokeback Mountain, potentially souring Hollywood’s relationship with the American ticketbuying public even further. Members of the Academy must hand in their nomination forms by Saturday. The shortlist will be announced on January 31 and the ceremony will be held on March 5.
Religious groups also pointed to the alleged political agenda of winners including George Clooney, who won for his supporting role in Syriana, a film about the ethical pitfalls of the oil business; and Mary Louise Parker, who was rewarded for her performance in Weeds, a television comedy about a suburban mother turned marijuana dealer.
Much of the anger was directed at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the group of 92 journalists from non-American publications who hand out the Golden Globe Awards. The Times, along with many other large overseas publications, is not represented at the HFPA.
The non-profit HFPA collects as much as $5.7 million from selling the broadcast rights to the ceremony, which is consistently one of the three highest-rated awards shows in the United States, along with the Academy Awards and the Grammys. However, reports alleging cronyism at the HFPA were thought to contribute to a 40 per cent decline in viewership last year.
Right-wing radio talk show hosts also took pot shots at the Globes yesterday. Stephen Bennett, of Straight Talk Radio, said: “When Hollywood is pumping out anti-family movies with sexually explicit, twisted and perverse themes that glorify homosexuality, transsexuality and every other kind of sexual immorality — then awarding itself for doing so — Middle America better take note.
“Last night Hollywood exposed its own corrupt agenda. [It] is no doubt out on a mission to homosexualise America.” The British winners at the Globes were some of the most conventional, with Hugh Laurie, 47, winning Best Actor in a Television Series for House. The other big British winner of the night was Rachel Weisz, 35, who collected the award for Best Supporting Dramatic Actress for The Constant Gardener, an adaptation of the bestselling John le Carr é novel.
Britons who failed to win their categories included Polly Walker, 40, a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, who starred in the BBC/HBO joint venture Rome. She lost the Best Actress in a TV Drama award to Geena Davis, who played a female US president in Commander in Chief.
Reese Witherspoon’s performance as June Carter in Walk the Line won her the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical award, for which Keira Knightley, 21, had been nominated for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice.
Even though I choose to not view these movies, I don't tell you what you should do. You have to stand in front of your maker someday and give an explanation. As it says, we will all give account. I have just choosen to side with what I know is good. And this ain't it.
“When Hollywood is pumping out anti-family movies with sexually explicit, twisted and perverse themes that glorify homosexuality, transsexuality and every other kind of sexual immorality — then awarding itself for doing so — Middle America better take note.
“Last night Hollywood exposed its own corrupt agenda. [It] is no doubt out on a mission to homosexualise America.”
Obviously there is an ongoing mission to corrupt America. But why? And I hate to sound tin hat here, but who? There is just no way that this sort of agenda has just materialized out of thin air.
Is it just the Hellyweird left bashing the religious right because of same sex marriage being voted down? Is it in retalian? Or is there something even more profound that is behind it? Somebody tell me. I'd like to know.
Try....Medium, Cold Case, Crossing Jordan, CSI and of course Law & Orders.
Last night, I was watching some sports show with Charles Barkley, and another guy-Kenny-anyway, they were making Broke butt Mountain jokes, and totally trashing the film, and it's audience appeal. The other guy on the show wouldn't join in because it wasn't PC, but Barkley was hilarious.
I don't care about all those movies...what I care about was the best foreign film...nobody is talking about...PARADISE NOW...the story of a boy and his explosives from Palestine. Did anyone catch that? Again, all the jews in the audience just clapped away.
retaliation = retalian
(is that a cat scratching post?)
say what?
The new motto for UnHolywood and Beverly Hells:
"All gay, all the time."
You ought to tune in to the "Black" radio stations in Dallas. The jokes about "Brokeback Mountain" are terrific. Let's face it, "Hollywood" doesn't have a clue!!! For goodness sakes, George Clooney's two films, "Good Night & Good Luck" and "Syriana" are both box office flops, and so is Spielberg's "Munich"! These idiots are dead, and they don't know it.
Wrong angle Janice (and everybody else who thinks that popularity and $$$ equal quality, when exactly the opposite is true nearly always. Ever hoid of the lowest common denominator?) You appear like a philistine, Janice, sorry. If awards are to recognize artistic achievements, then the popcorn sales don't count, and why do we even have to state it? So, let's attack these fag pics on moral and artistic grounds instead. But as far as lucky simpleton millionaires awarding fellow millionaires in an orgy of self-congratulation? Who cares?!
The real question is why so many people think that these awards are important in some way.After another one of these awards ceremonies, I think American viewership of this farce will decline. Same for the Oscars. Americans are getting fed up with it. I haven't watched an Oscars since the abortion/gayfest a couple of years back when Hillary Swank stood up and told America how important her gay movie was. Jay Leno nailed it that night..."They waited till the Christians went to bed before handing out the awards to abortionists and gays".
I'm happy too....I went to the Johnny Cash movie, Walk the Line. I loved it. I thought all the winners from that movie (3) deserved their awards.
Past that, I didn't have a clue. I had seen Kung Fu Hustle, which was an all time first for me: having seen a foreign film that had been nominated.
I don't think there was anything else that was nominated that I had seen. Oh, King Kong.
iWould you favor the showing of those Nazi pre-war movies comparing Jews to rats scurrying across the floor;
Favor movies showing the blacks in a Sambo-esque way?
The problem with your statement is that you view criticism of a movie's message as one group" dictating" to others, abridging the freedom to view a film.
Please give us instances where one such group attempted to stop the showing of a film.
Born yesterday? Welcome to the planet. Please look up the history of Samuel Fuller's film White Dog. It wasn't "attempted" in that case, it was succeeded!
"with Hugh Laurie, 47, winning Best Actor in a Television Series for House....
I'm Happy."
Me too. I like that show. As far as the movies: Leave it alone. They're getting killed at the box office. They are self-destructing. The best way to protest is just stay home. Even if there's a movie you want to see, wait until it's at your neighborhood Blockbuster.
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