Posted on 04/27/2010 9:19:54 AM PDT by Mr. Mojo
(CNSNews.com) – Screenwriter and author Andrew Klavan said that in Hollywood, “(i)f you’re a conservative, especially a religious person, people have to meet in secret. They talk in whispers. It’s a very disturbing kind of culture.”
Klavan, in an exclusive interview with CNSNews.com, explained that he and fellow conservatives in Hollywood are battling the liberal status quo by creating entertainment that reflects the values held by the majority of Americans.
And things are changing for the better, he said, pointing to the best-picture Oscar nomination for the Christian-themed film “The Blind Side” and Sandra Bullock’s win as best actress in the movie.
There is a political/social shift occurring in Hollywood, Klavan told CNSNews.com, adding, “I think we’re changing it. It’s not something that’s happening passively. It’s something that’s happening because people are really making noise.”
“I have nothing against atheists or left-wingers making movies,” Klavan said. “I think everybody should be able to make movies. I simply think this kind of lock-step conformity that has become the default position of American intellectuals has to go. It’s bad for the arts. It’s bad for our intellectual conversation.”
The Hollywood culture, Klavan said, has made it difficult for conservatives to be successful and promote their own brand of entertainment product.
“There’s a culture in Hollywood where you are a left-winger; you can speak very openly – even in business meetings,” Klavan said. “If you’re a conservative, especially a religious person, people have to meet in secret. They talk in whispers. It’s a very disturbing kind of culture.”
Klavan also mentioned the experience of Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington’s experience in making the movie, “The Book of Eli,” which is about a post-apocalyptic world where the hero’s mission is to protect the last remaining Bible.
“When Denzel Washington recently made a film called ‘The Book of Eli’ – and Washington is a Christian and he made a film about a post-apocalyptic world in which he’s fighting to save the Bible, fighting to save the last copy of the Bible – the studio kept coming to him and saying, ‘Could you cut out some of the references to the Bible? Could you cut out some of the religious references?’” said Klavan.
“And I thought, ‘Why, are you afraid of making too much money? What’s the problem?” he said.
Klavan explained, as is well-documented, that many of the traditional, pro-family, and pro-religious movies are usually very financially successful in Hollywood. But many producers and directors do not like to make the films regardless of their potential for success.
Klavan said in his own career he has tried to “change the rules” by creating compelling books and films that feature characters who share the same beliefs and values of most Americans.
Two of his crime novels, "True Crime" and "Don’t Say a Word" were made into films starring Clint Eastwood and Michael Douglas, respectively. His screenplays include “Shock to the System” starring Michael Caine, and “One Missed Call.”
And now his series of books for young adults, "The Homelanders," has been optioned by Summit Entertainment, maker of the “Twilight” film series and the film that won the 2010 Oscar for best picture, “The Hurt Locker.”
The hero of the series, teenager Charlie West, is a Christian and an American patriot with a black belt in karate whose adventures include fighting Islamic extremists and trying to clear his name after he’s charged with murder.
Klavan was in Washington, D.C., on Monday, to speak at a conference about intellectual property rights as it pertains to artists whose work is stolen online.
But the real threat, as Klavan sees it, is the Democrats who are in control in the White House and Congress.
“I think it’s a really very sinister and bad development,” Klavan said when asked about current events in the nation’s capital. “I don’t think the people involved are necessarily sinister and bad, but I think they are misguided.”
“They believe in a philosophy that has already been shown to be destructive and not to work,” Klavan said. “They are people who don’t understand the basic values of our country, the basic values of a bottom-up government, of the consent of the governed, of limited government, of a government who doesn’t do things for you -- that says you have to do these things for yourself.”
Klavan also said he is a fan of the tea party movement, which he said is made up of regular Americans who want limited government and support the Constitution.
Hollywood conservatives have to go into hiding while leftist, America haters can speak their minds. Welcome to Opposite Land!
Simple solution.....bring back McCarthyism. It set the left back in Hollywood 60 years.
this is my experience in Hollywood as well.
Klaavan is a good guy, he shows conservatism in Hollywoo0d can be successfull.
Where is the book of Eli found?
Hollywood lobbied to have centuries of American copyright law changed to protect their monopoly on the cultural product of this nation in the 20th Century.
Mickey Mouse will never lapse into the public domain. The same is true of most of our films since 1930 (essentially the era of the talkies).
If Hollywood was not getting rich on decades (and billions of dollars) of "old" material (often by antiCommunist Americans like Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Stewart, Walt Disney, Frank Capra and others), they would be more accountable to contemporary theater going audiences. As it is, the studios can lose millions on liberal propaganda documentaries and fake but accurate depictions of the Iraq war or Bush administration and STILL show a positive bottom line because of DVD sales and cable tv broadcasts of old works that in an earlier day and age would have lapsed into the public domain by now.
I don’t think it is far fetched that in the future Christians in America will under go such persecution that the church may be forced underground at some point. The courts are attacking the church, the administration is not welcoming the church, the culture is destroying the fabric of society, the children are under assault in the schools. This country’s Christian identity is in peril.
Great post, Mr. Mojo - thanks for sharing.
I hear about individuals who were supposedly blacklisted. Except they got work under pseudonyms from studios and professionals who knew damn well who they were working with.
It was about keeping that information from the ticket buying public who might have boycotted such works by Joe Stalin worshiping Communists.
Back catalogs do provide funding, but mostly via licensing. There aren't that many folks buying John Wayne and Ronald Reagan DVDs out there (I am one of the exceptions).
Oh but one of the most delicious ironies is that the left is now the Establishment they once despised and warned us about. The right are the rebels they wanted to be.
Cindie
The secularization of America, particularly of the “European descended” population is a very real phenomenon. The only way Xians can work against that is more effective evangelization. Hardcore political Christianity is strictly a regional phenomenon, and has been for several decades.
Go back 28 years. That includes Star Wars in those films that at one time would be PD now.
How many attempts at an Avatar (which was also the most expensive movie ever made at over $300 million) fail (like the antitheism fantasty “The Golden Compass”; at $180 million, it was one of New Line’s most expensive projects ever)?
Spoiler: Since the main character is Eli (who in the last scene is revealed to have been BLIND) so The Book of Eli is shown the be The Bible. And while his (single remaining copy of the) Bible does fall into the hands of the enemy, this does not matter as it turned out to be written in BRAILLE.
But his constant Bible reading, we are told, puts him in the position of knowing EVERY word by heart; this is why he can dictate the bible to the scribe at the end of the movie, after which Eli dies.
Umm...this movie could have been REALLY great, but mostly chickened out.
The Left didn’t “warn” us about the establishment, they always sought to subvert it and cast it out.
Question authority. Time to question the authority of those who overthrew Western civilization and why they are so adamant to usher in Marxist ideology.
The fact remains that Hollywood is far from being at its low point financially, as it was in the 1950s-late 1960s, when television took away much of its audience, and theatres nationwide were being converted to other uses (whether as performing arts centers or porno houses). Of course, much of the revenue lost in the US is more than compensated for abroad, which is why films like GI Joe are made with the "international" audience in mind.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.