How liberal is 'Liberal Hollywood'?
If there's something you can set your watch to in the movie business, it's some right-winger railing against those evil "Hollywood liberals."
Take, for example, conservative children's-book author Katharine DeBrecht, whose latest title is Help! Mom! Hollywood's in My Hamper! - a sequel to her popular, Rush Limbaugh-endorsed title Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!
DeBrecht's publicists sent out a release Monday touting something called the "Red Carpet Red States" Awards. The release begins: "With an unprecedented number of non-family-friendly films nominated for Oscars this year, coupled with liberal John [sic] Stewart hosting the show, mainstream America was screaming out for an alternative to the Academy Awards."
OK, if you want to make that argument about so-called Hollywood liberalism, that's up to you. But look at the movies DeBrecht nominates for her awards: "The Chronicles of Narnia," "March of the Penguins," "Madagascar," "Walk the Line," "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," "Pride & Prejudice," "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" and "Cinderella Man."
Two things stand out (to me, anyway) about this list. The first is that all of them, except "Madagascar," did receive Oscar nominations in one category or another - and "Walk the Line," "March of the Penguins" and "Narnia" each won one.
The second is that all of these films were made by or distributed through movie studios based in Hollywood. Not Dallas or Des Moines or Indianapolis or Mobile or Salt Lake City, but Los Angeles, Calif. - the place DeBrecht calls "Hellywood."
Remember, the industry that provides George Clooney, Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand their livelihoods also produced Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mel Gibson. One of Hollywood's most successful studios, 20th Century Fox, is part of the same corporate family as the New York Post and the Fox News Channel.
The movie business is among the most robustly capitalist and democratic industries in America. If you've got the money and the moxie, you can get your story up there on the big screen. (Look at Rupert Murdoch, king of the Fox empire, or Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, whose Walden Media bankrolled "The Chronicles of Narnia.") If the people want your kind of movie, they'll come in droves - and the industry will try to make more movies just like yours. What could be more democratic, or more American, than that?
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Sorry there was no entry Tuesday. The Tribune's online staff had to deal with some technical issues - I'd try to explain, if I understood any of it - and all of our blogs were down for a day.
Take, for example, conservative children's-book author Katharine DeBrecht, whose latest title is Help! Mom! Hollywood's in My Hamper! - a sequel to her popular, Rush Limbaugh-endorsed title Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!
DeBrecht's publicists sent out a release Monday touting something called the "Red Carpet Red States" Awards. The release begins: "With an unprecedented number of non-family-friendly films nominated for Oscars this year, coupled with liberal John [sic] Stewart hosting the show, mainstream America was screaming out for an alternative to the Academy Awards."
OK, if you want to make that argument about so-called Hollywood liberalism, that's up to you. But look at the movies DeBrecht nominates for her awards: "The Chronicles of Narnia," "March of the Penguins," "Madagascar," "Walk the Line," "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," "Pride & Prejudice," "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" and "Cinderella Man."
Two things stand out (to me, anyway) about this list. The first is that all of them, except "Madagascar," did receive Oscar nominations in one category or another - and "Walk the Line," "March of the Penguins" and "Narnia" each won one.
The second is that all of these films were made by or distributed through movie studios based in Hollywood. Not Dallas or Des Moines or Indianapolis or Mobile or Salt Lake City, but Los Angeles, Calif. - the place DeBrecht calls "Hellywood."
Remember, the industry that provides George Clooney, Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand their livelihoods also produced Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mel Gibson. One of Hollywood's most successful studios, 20th Century Fox, is part of the same corporate family as the New York Post and the Fox News Channel.
The movie business is among the most robustly capitalist and democratic industries in America. If you've got the money and the moxie, you can get your story up there on the big screen. (Look at Rupert Murdoch, king of the Fox empire, or Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, whose Walden Media bankrolled "The Chronicles of Narnia.") If the people want your kind of movie, they'll come in droves - and the industry will try to make more movies just like yours. What could be more democratic, or more American, than that?
------
Sorry there was no entry Tuesday. The Tribune's online staff had to deal with some technical issues - I'd try to explain, if I understood any of it - and all of our blogs were down for a day.
10:08 PM
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