Originally Posted By TomSawyer Maybe there isn't some conspiracy, here. A movie like "Hostel" was anticipated to do bigger business than "Brokeback Mountain." More prints would have been ordered and a wider distribution would have been set up. The director of "Hostel" has been pretty successful with his horror films in the past, and tying Tarantino's name to it also helps with marketing. Focus Features had planned on wider distribution for Brokeback Mountain in February, but the movie is generating enough buzz that they are trying to get it out to the theaters now. Maybe this isn't some conspiracy against gays and in favor of violence. Maybe it's just business - an unanticipated buzz about one movie and the anticipated success of another. If a theater company like Loews or Regal thinks that one of the limited number of Brokeback Mountain prints will earn more money in one market instead of another, then of course they are going to pull it out of the less profitable market. Hostel is going to do more business in the red states than Brokeback Mountain. The movie industry, like any other business, is going to try to put products in the marketplace in such a way that profits will be maximized, and that's all that's going on here.
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka I doubt there's a conspiracy. But I think it's weird that the theater was going to show the movie and then decided not to at the very last moment, even after the movie times have been printed in the newspaper. I wonder if that is a common occurrence? I have no idea. I don't even really care about this issue. I don't think theaters should be forced to play any movies they don't want to. If people can't see the movie in theaters, they'll be able to rent or buy it a few months later. No big. I'm just glad I got to see the movie.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice "Conspiracy" is harsh... But I do believe the theater owner chose to censor. If he did it for 'business' reasons, i.e., box office receipts, then he's a moron. The movie is doing very well at other Utah theaters and across the country - Top 10 in receipts for this weekend.
Originally Posted By imadisneygal "Imadisneygal... There are four other theaters in the Salt Lake City area that ARE screening the movie:" Thanks, WonderingAlice...I guess my point was that this isn't really news. It's only news because of the content of the movie. There are only so many screens per theater and the owners have to make a choice somewhere. It's now showing in 4 theaters here in San Diego now, but only two are larger, chain theaters. Two are local theaters with a very limited amount of screens. Again, I my point is that if this was any other movie this wouldn't even be news.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 But if it was any other movie, it wouldn't have even been pulled from the schedule in the first place.
Originally Posted By friendofdd I don't go to many movies and don't plan on seeing this one. Don't know a lot about it, but reading this article in today's OC Register, makes me think I wouldn't care for it because of the marital infidelity involved. Posters here have not mentioned that much, which I find curious. After all, many of us are married. <a href="http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/life/abox/article_937016.php" target="_blank">http://www.ocregister.com/ocre gister/life/abox/article_937016.php</a> Bringing men to the 'Mountain' Many straight guys, for many reasons, are passing on the film. The reasons aren't all clear. By DRU SEFTON Newhouse News Service It's true, the movie "Brokeback Mountain" does provoke what one researcher calls "a very strong ick factor" in some straight men. What is it in this story of two cowboy pals in 1960s Wyoming who find themselves in lifelong love - yet go on to marry women - that elicits this response from heterosexual males? The answers are as complex as the plot. A psychologist who coined the word "homophobic" said the revulsion was precisely that. A scientist who discovered genetic links to sexuality said he simply did not understand the response. The author of "The Sexual Brain" said there was nothing on a neurobiological basis to explain the aversion. To film fan Eddie Hargreaves of Stockton, it's more like the "ick" of romantic drama. "I'm not going to speak for everybody," he said, "but I don't know a lot of straight guys who said, 'Oh, man, I can't wait to see "Bridges of Madison County,"'" a famous tearjerker from 1995. "Brokeback Mountain," directed by Oscar winner Ang Lee and starring box-office hunks Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, is sparking both critical praise and water-cooler chatter. It's been nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards. But when movie critic Dave White, who is gay, wrote a humorous piece titled "The Straight Dude's Guide to 'Brokeback,'" "I got hundreds of messages, most of whom hated me for just existing," he said. An excerpt from the column: "The good news - there's less than one minute of making out. It's about 130 minutes long and 129 of them are about Men Not Having Sex." We're not talking here about rejections of homosexuality based on moral or religious grounds, though the film has provoked its share of those. It's that some men who pointedly won't see "Brokeback" are social liberals who generally find no fault with people being gay. "I didn't write the piece with the homophobe in mind," said White, a Movie.com reviewer in Los Angeles who wrote the column for MSNBC.com. "I wrote it for the liberal guy who just can't see this movie, because they know that reads as socially uncool." White's theory on straight-male queasiness centers on self-identification. "These characters are too close to being regular guys," he said. "That's part of the freakout." Timothy Shary also noticed that. He's director of the Screen Studies Program at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., and examines masculinity in movies. "This is a threat to most men because it opens up the possibility that two men who are friendly may become affectionate," Shary said. "That's something men just do not want to consider." Countless movies feature characters who marry (or are married to) someone but linger evermore over feelings for another. Think "Casablanca." "But this is about two men who are attracted to each other and keep that connection. That's especially troubling for some men," Shary said, adding, "but that's what makes this a truly revolutionary film." George Weinberg said this aversion was "definitely homophobia." He is the New York City psychologist and researcher who invented that term in the 1960s, and broke ground with his 1972 book, "Society and the Healthy Homosexual." "This is the idea of one man's adoration for another," Weinberg said. "A love affair more deep and lasting and romantic" than with their wives. His advice for straights uneasy about "Brokeback" is to "first understand you have this problem. At least by acknowledging it, that's a start. It's like saying, 'I have a fear of heights.'" Research into a physical source of these feelings is lacking. "It does seem to be almost culturally universal that heterosexual men can have a deep repulsion to overt homosexuality," said Dean Hamer, scientist and author of "The Science of Desire: The Gay Gene and the Biology of Behavior." "But there is no study I know of to ascertain whether this is a biologically based trait," Hamer said. Simon LeVay agreed. He is a lecturer on neuroscience and author of "The Sexual Brain," a biological overview of sexuality. "From a neurobiological basis, I just don't think this response has been researched at that level," LeVay said, "although it's something that should be." Movie buff Hargreaves, who is straight and married, still isn't going to see "Brokeback Mountain." Not that there's anything wrong with that. "To say that straight guys are missing out because they're unjustly turned off by the plot, well, there wasn't anything to turn them on in the first place," Hargreaves said. "At least 'The English Patient' had a plane crash."
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Friendofdd, I think the idea that these men married women when they loved each other brings the idea of infidelity into a new light. The marriage itself is the infidelity, not the relationship between the men. And it is an infidelity pushed on them by society. It's an interesting enough idea to me that I plan on seeing the film.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Imadisneygal, gurgitoy's point is in line with mine and I'll add that no matter what the theater owner is claiming (i.e., not knowing the content of the film)... It's suspicious because he pulled it AFTER posting the showtimes. Any other movie being pulled in the same way might also raise questions - depending on content or customer demand. For example, if he'd suddenly pulled a children's film, blaming low potential box office, you can bet folks would be yelling about that - just for different reasons.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Good point, Tom Sawyer. I'll probably rent the movie eventually -we seldom go out to movies, just three last year and one of those was "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory," which I went to alone.
Originally Posted By friendofdd >>>The marriage itself is the infidelity, not the relationship between the men. And it is an infidelity pushed on them by society. It's an interesting enough idea to me that I plan on seeing the film<<< Thanks for the response, Tom. I will accept what you say, but feel it is incomplete. It seems to me they are first unfaithful to their lover and then, additionally, they are unfaithful to their spouse. Understanding why they are unfaithful, doesn't change that it is unfaithfulness.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer No, it doesn't change it. But I think good art explores new ideas, or it explores old ideas from a new perspective to put a different slant on them. I don't think it justifies the behavior, but it does look at the behavior in a fresh light. Shakespeare wasn't trying to justify revenge in Hamlet, but he did look at it and it's effects in a powerful and profound way. It doesn't sound like Brokeback Mountain justifies infidelity any more than Hamlet justifies revenge - it just shows what happens to people who go down that path.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 friendofdd - you need to meet my mom. We saw the movie and we have been debating since we saw it several weeks ago this very issue. You and her share the same opinion. She was married 42 year before my dad passed last year. I think that has a lot to do with her views about this along with her spiritual values. I say it's a bit more complex than that. I understand where she is coming from but I'm having a hard time completely agreeing. On another note, I read the exact opposite about straight men seeing the movie... <a href="http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/movies/article.adp?id=20060109070309990006" target="_blank">http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/mov ies/article.adp?id=20060109070309990006</a> Jan. 9) -- In four weeks, "Brokeback" has recouped its modest budget (south of $20 million) and is now in 120 diverse markets. "We're doing huge grosses in places like Fort Worth and Cleveland," hardly gay capitals, says James Shamus, chief of distributor Focus Features. He says exit polls indicate that the longer the movie remains in a city, "the number of women attending with their (male) significant others goes up dramatically." Still, the film's subject matter can be a tough sell. Comedian Larry David joked in a New York Times commentary that "cowboys would have to lasso" him into the theater, because he's sure the voice in his head would say, " 'You like those cowboys, don't you? They're kind of cute.' " David Fone of San Diego had "no desire to see the film," but, like many men, was lured by Brokeback's stellar reviews celebrating characters whose sexual orientation takes a back seat to their humanity. Fone acknowledges he "grimaced" during the love scenes but "enjoyed (the film) thoroughly." So did Linda Rodriguez of Los Gatos, Calif.: "Somewhere during the movie I forgot that it was about two gay cowboys and found it to be a very tragic and touching love story, and my boyfriend agreed." Anna-Marie Ganje of Minneapolis went with her husband; the film "haunted" them for days. "If you're open-minded, you know that love between two people is love," she says. The movie has emerged as a test of hipness for straight men, says Andrea Miller, founder of relationship magazine Tango: "The coffee dates after this movie surely are filled with intense conversations that get into areas of vulnerability, and women love that in a man." And, some men insist, they're up for the challenge. "Give us straight guys some credit. Not all of us are homophobic and turned off by films that deal with relationships," says Adam Robinson of Washington, D.C. "Occasionally I love to see things blow up, but we're not all 13-year-old boys anymore. Plus, there's nothing wrong with a non-sexual crush on (Brokeback co-star) Heath Ledger. He makes being a cowboy look awesome once again." During filming of the cowboys' final meeting, there was evidence the story would appeal to a broad audience. "Ang suddenly noticed everyone was crying," Shamus says. "This was the crew, folks who are just there to do a day's work. Right then, we thought, 'We have something here.' "
Originally Posted By ADMIN <font color="#FF0000">Message removed by an administrator. <a href="MsgBoard-Rules.asp" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards.</font>
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 Is it true that the girl from Princess Diaries goes topless? May have to rethink my decision about not seeeing it.
Originally Posted By ADMIN <font color="#FF0000">Message removed by an administrator. <a href="MsgBoard-Rules.asp" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the LaughingPlace.com Community Standards.</font>
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Damn it, Tom. When you post a spoiler about Hamlet, would you please put a spoiler warning up? ; )
Originally Posted By Lisann22 One of the saddest things that happens in the movie is Ennis struggle and devotion to his family. His inability to committ to either world wrecks pain and sadness on everyone in him "trying" to do the best he can given his situation and the times he was living in. Like real life, it's not all black and white, it's complex.
Originally Posted By friendofdd >>>The movie has emerged as a test of hipness for straight men, says Andrea Miller, founder of relationship magazine Tango: "The coffee dates after this movie surely are filled with intense conversations that get into areas of vulnerability, and women love that in a man."<<< Aha! There is the clue. I don't think I've ever been hip. Didn't mean to hijack the direction of this thread, so I'll just finish my part of the discussion by saying that I think I'll skip this movie and go see Pride and Predujice a second time, instead. I do like a good cry in the movies occasionally.
