Originally Posted By -em THe movie is scheduled to hit my local theatres this next week and I *hope* it plays (as I really want to see it...) and it doesnt get banned down here... -em
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<But there's no evidence he would have lost money.>> Not saying there is. <<I live in Salt Lake, have been to this movie theatre many times, and saw Brokeback at the Broadway theatre mentioned in the article. There hasn't been any protests, any uprising, any complaints at all about this movie.>> I am not surprised that there isn't any uprising or protest. The folks who don't want to see it just won't see it. <<This is yet another example of someone creating a controversy that doesn't exist.>> That someone would be the person who wrote the article. <<The Broadway theatre actually had a midnight showing for the film that did really well, just because demand has been so high.>> Is it playing in many theaters in SLC? If not, that may explain it to some degree. <<This is hypocrisy at its worst, pure and simple. He's showing Hostel at this theatre, which surely couldn't make any more money than Brokeback. There's just no way to defend this as a "business" decision.>> Sure there is. Just because it may be a bad business decision doesn't make it less of one.
Originally Posted By woody The movie isn't banned. It is not shown at that theater. Many people make bad business decisions, but I'm sure this theater will survive. There are many reasons for not showing it. Perhaps it has to do with future business. The owners don't want to offend the vast majority of theater goers so they decide to offend a small minority. That's the way it works. In the end, it will be a small blemish, but nothing serious.
Originally Posted By gadzuux What if the movie goes on to win a boatload of awards (almost a certainty)? Will that "vast majority" sit in their living rooms offended? Good! Will that theater owner kick himself for his own stupid decision? Not a chance. Will the good people of utah change their thinking about what is or isn't offensive? Nah - they'll just line up for tickets to 'hostel' instead, with smug self-satisfaction that they've avoided that sick twisted movie. Funny how some people think.
Originally Posted By patrickegan <<What if the movie goes on to win a boatload of awards (almost a certainty)? Will that "vast majority" sit in their living rooms offended? Good! Will that theater owner kick himself for his own stupid decision? Not a chance. Will the good people of utah change their thinking about what is or isn't offensive? Nah - they'll just line up for tickets to 'hostel' instead, with smug self-satisfaction that they've avoided that sick twisted movie. Funny how some people think.>> Who do you think nominates these movies for awards, housewives in Texas? The Hollywood crowd is bonging down and falling all over themselves to look more open minded, it all good with the exception of Christianity. So yes, funny how some people think!
Originally Posted By StillThePassHolder "Who do you think nominates these movies for awards, housewives in Texas? The Hollywood crowd is bonging down and falling all over themselves to look more open minded, it all good with the exception of Christianity. So yes, funny how some people think!" Yeah, funny how some people embrace sterotypes as the truth. Enjoy your isolation. All this hoo-ha over this movie does is generate more publicity for it and cause many. many others to go see for themselves, because, well, they'd rather have some actual knowledge about something before passing judgment. Consequently, this puts more money in the movie maker's pocket. Where should they send the thank you note, patrick and woody?
Originally Posted By gadzuux >> It's not Annie Proulx' or Ang Lee's responsibility to make that happen, and it doesn't make it wrong for them to have brought us one very compelling story set in a past time in a specific location. << You're absolutely right - they told the story they wanted to tell, and they told it well. It's just not the story I hoped it would be going into the theater. But then, I never like depressing movies.
Originally Posted By woody "Where should they send the thank you note, patrick and woody?" To the theater owner, of course.
Originally Posted By guerillagorilla This theatre is just a few miles away from me, and it's owned by an individual who, in turn, owns the Utah Jazz NBA team, 20 some-odd car dealerships and probably a few out of state interests. Knowing him, his actions don't surprise me at all. Because, after all, "I know this guy!" I've got no interest to see the movie in question, but I definitely take issue with banning it altogether, being that anybody has the right to see it. Interesting to note that Mr. Miller's theatre is just fine with allowing "Hostel" to play. Just goes to show that murder, bloodbaths and extreme violence are seen as a more cheerful subject matter than homosexuality. Gimme a break.
Originally Posted By woody "Interesting to note that Mr. Miller's theatre is just fine with allowing "Hostel" to play." It does seem wrong to not show "Brokeback" when they are showing the despicable "Hostel". Oh well.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal Frankly it would be news to me if there was a theater in Utah that WAS showing this movie. Here in San Diego there are only three theaters showing the movie. Three. With all of the theaters we have that's a very small percentage. Although it's better than just the one when it was in limited release.
Originally Posted By JeffG It really is still in fairly limited release. This weekend, it was playing on 483 screens. That means that it is likely playing in most mid-size to large markets, but few cities are likely to have it on more than a couple screens and it likely hasn't reached most smaller towns or suburbs yet. As a point of comparison, "Narnia" and "King Kong" are both playing on around 3500 screens while "Hostel", which topped the box-office this weekend, opened on just under 2200 screens. "Munich" went into moderately wide-release this weekend with just under 1500 screens. Currently, "Brokeback Mountain" is scheduled to expand to over 700 screens next weekend and the release will likely continue to widen as long as the film continues doing well and, particularly, if it continues to win awards. I suspect it will probably go into its widest release around the time the Oscar nominations are announced. -Jeff
Originally Posted By TomSawyer It's only playing in a handful of theaters in Seattle, which is pretty typical for a movie of this scope. The distributors didn't expect it to catch on like it has, and I'm sure they had to order more prints.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom What I found was intresting was that on a few gay message boards a large number of gay men didn't get the point of the movie.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice On the "Brokeback Mountain" vs. "Hostel" thing... I found a handy online feedback form for the Jordan Commons Megaplex and told them just how hypocritical they are and that the fine, ADULT members of their community should be allowed to decide for themselves what they'd like to see onscreen. Hopefully, they're being bombarded with messages.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Imadisneygal... There are four other theaters in the Salt Lake City area that ARE screening the movie: <a href="http://www.google.com/movies?oi=showtimesm&hl=en&near=salt+lake+city&dq=salt+lake+city+theater+brokeback+mountain&sort=1&mid=67d28fb05eaef1ae" target="_blank">http://www.google.com/movies?o i=showtimesm&hl=en&near=salt+lake+city&dq=salt+lake+city+theater+brokeback+mountain&sort=1&mid=67d28fb05eaef1ae</a>
Originally Posted By wonderingalice One more link if anyone would like to... <a href="http://www.megaplextheatres.com/contact.php?action=feedback" target="_blank">http://www.megaplextheatres.co m/contact.php?action=feedback</a>
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<I've got no interest to see the movie in question, but I definitely take issue with banning it altogether>> As woody pointed out, the movie isn't being banned anywhere. One theater owner decided not to screen it, nothing more. There is no reason for anyone to get indignant over this story AT ALL.
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka Well, yeah, there is a reason for people to get indignant. People can be annoyed that the theater owner is apparently offended by Brokeback Mtn yet has no problem showing the extremely violent Hostel. People can get annoyed with whatever they want to. Discussing it on a message board is just about the right level of indignation.
