If the gay cowboys
were played by Famke Janssen
and Brittany Murphy . . .
Posted on 12/07/2005 1:52:30 PM PST by Millee
It has wowed film festivals, won rave reviews and sparked Oscar buzz, but when "Brokeback Mountain," a.k.a. the gay cowboy movie, begins playing to general audiences on Friday, it faces its toughest challenge yet -- wooing mainstream America.
Two of Hollywood's hottest leading men, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, risk alienating fans and sending their stars plummeting if, after watching the pair have sex on screen, audiences cannot see them any other way than gay.
Winning over middle America is important for the roughly $12.5 million movie because its backer, art house specialist Focus Features, wants a big box office and wider exposure for the film's themes of love, friendship and family ties.
Two other films built around gay subjects this season, "Transamerica" and "Breakfast on Pluto," have gained critical attention but they have less at stake in terms of costs and star power.
Gyllenhaal and Ledger say they are less concerned about their futures than the film's, which was directed by Ang Lee and based on Annie Proulx's story about two cowboys who meet in 1963 wrangling sheep in Wyoming and form a bond that transcends time and transforms their lives.
Ledger, 26, said he was both anxious and curious to see whether audiences will view the movie as a gay romance or, as its makers want, simply a romance.
"I have my hopes held high in terms of the level of maturity in today's society," he said. "I think people are a lot smarter than we are giving them credit for being."
Gyllenhaal, who turns 25 this month, added in a separate interview: "The issues are much bigger than sexuality."
Both said their decisions to take the roles were spurred by the desire to work with Lee, director of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,"
(Excerpt) Read more at today.reuters.com ...
okay okay okay... How do you know when the cowboys hosting the barbecue are gay?
all the hot dogs taste like sh!t.....:)
Ready made excuse for when it *ahem* goes down in *ahem* flames.
Oh Nasty! I'm sure the first day of Brokeback Mountain will be filled with a bunch of HOMO's viewing it, but for me no thanks. I honestly don't think the people of America are going to go to this film. It will do horribly, the majority of American's don't put up with this crap!
I sure hope the MAN FROM THE SNOWY RIVER wasn't a fruit that is one of my favorite movies!
The "gay" angle didn't really work for Alexander, did it? ;-)
Straight to video.
So to speak.
Sure, he's now called Alexthander the Fabulous!
If it only cost 12.5 million it may actually end up making a profit. The article makes it clear that distribution is going to be very limited and only in cities with large homosexual enclaves. It will no doubt eventually open in Canada and Europe as well and then again only in selected cities that have sizable homosexual populations. I doubt it will play outside such places or if it does that it will last more than a week. Might play in art film venues near colleges and universities (Madison, Berkeley and the like).
Of more interest is the question of whether the Hollywood establishment is so invested in "mainstreaming" homosexuality that they will put this thing up for an Oscar or two in the hopes that will provide enough of a hook to draw viewers from among the sane population. I suppose it is even possible they would award this thing a win in one of the major categories to try and boost the audience. Given that the main agenda of the "Hollywood" establishment is the spread of demoralizing garbage laced with mindless violence, gratuitous sex and anything that will undermine morals and character this thing might even win for best picture.
wrangling sheep
I thought they were called shepards.
If the gay cowboys
were played by Famke Janssen
and Brittany Murphy . . .
Naturally it is getting better reviews than Narnia over on rottentomatoes. Frankly this movie looks like mystery science theatre 3000 material to me.
It will be as triumphantly successful as "Kinsley" and "De-Lovely" and "Alexander" were.
Another Hollyweird movie I can't wait to NOT see.
It may be the case this year. Last year (the one held early 2005), it was the year of 'mercy killings', where both english and non-english movie winners were of that theme. They may make the gay cowboys win the main oscar, and pick one of the french (or Almadovar movies about gay priests) to be the winner in the foreign movies category.
Depends on how many millions they sink into advertising.
I have a hard enough time accepting Brittany Murphy as Joseph Gribble on King of the Hill.
Please don't ask me to picture her as a gay cowboy.
Although we are lucky that Hollywood didn't cast a butch lesbian as Johnny Cash...
And immature.
It can't be a true independent movie because there doesn't appear to be any pudding eating.
Brittany Murphy
is the lead in Cherry Falls.
It's a magic film:
 |
Amazon.com -- Cherry Falls is a small town with some dirty secrets--secrets that come to light when a psychotic killer starts killing teenagers. Only the killer has an unusual criterion: only virgins are marked for death. Cherry Falls is a striking movie that never got released in theaters, probably because marketers didn't know what to do with it. It's not a winking, smirk-while-you-shriek twist on the genre like Scream, nor is it a broad parody like Scary Movie--instead, Cherry Falls tries to turn the clichés of slasher movies into something that will do more than make you jump in shock, and it largely succeeds. It's still scary; few things are creepier than wandering the empty hallways of a high school after hours, and Cherry Falls takes full advantage of that. It's also often funny, mostly because the mechanics of a slasher movie have become just a little too much and you can't help laughing. But it also makes you think twice about attitudes towards sex--moments such as parents breaking into a brawl while talking about their children's sex activity, or an "experienced" girl's pep talk to an assembly of girls eager to lose their virginity, are both funny and caustic. Brittany Murphy (Clueless, Girl, Interrupted) shines as the sheriff's daughter caught in the middle of it all; Michael Biehn (The Terminator, The Rock) is great as the earnest sheriff who knows more than he lets on; and Jay Mohr (Go, Jerry Maguire) smoothly handles the part of a teacher with an unhealthy interest in Murphy. Cherry Falls doesn't tell you when it's funny or scary, which makes many viewers uncomfortable. But if you're interested in watching a slippery, layered examination of sexual attitudes that is also a successful, spooky slasher flick, then this movie is for you. --Bret Fetzer |
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