Rush Limbaugh: Hollywood Simply Refuses to Learn

RushLimbaugh.com ^ | 1/25/05 | Rush Limbaugh

[wagglebee]

The Academy Award nominations came out today. Nothing. Well, three minor nominations for The Passion of the Christ, and, let's see, there was nothing for Fahrenheit 9/11. And that's because that idiot, Michael Moore, decided to keep the movie out of the documentary category and instead hold out for the best picture category. It's a cut and paste job. What is he thinking? I mean, I wouldn't even call that a documentary. It's a basement cut and paste job. To call that thing a movie is an absolute disgrace to people who take movie making seriously.

So we're not surprised about Mel Gibson. Let me ask you this. The academy said, "Well, we didn't go see it." Can I give you a couple of analogies on this? Let's say that some company we have never heard of before, or maybe we've heard of the guy but he's always been chump change, comes out with a computer that just runs rings around anything Apple makes or Hewlett Packard or has an operating system that outdoes anything Windows or the Mac OS have even conceived of, do you think, folks, that the existing computer executives from Apple, to Microsoft, to Dell, to Gateway, whoever, wouldn't go look at that computer to find out what's so hot about it? You know damn well they would.

Let's say that some guy named Tucker comes along and invents or produces an automobile that gets 85 miles to the gallon, it weighs five thousand pounds, it's got a V12 in it, and it just has every bell and whistle on it in the world, and as such outsells everything on the market, do you think GM and Chrysler, whoever else, would not send executives to look at that car to figure out how they did it? Of course they would. Yet we are to believe that the voting members of the academy didn't go see Passion of the Christ, and they haven't studied it to find out why it set box office records! We're asked to believe that they didn't do any of this. (interruption) I know, I believe it, too. I can actually believe that they are so obstinate and that they are so stubborn that they are in denial about why The Passion of the Christ succeeded so well and are purposely avoiding it, and Mel Gibson did not -- you know, what happens here at academy time, all these studios produce screeners, DVDs of the movies and they send them to all the members of the academy, and they want them to watch them. Gibson didn't do that. Thus, the voting members of the academy, said, "Well, we haven't seen it." And I'm sure they didn't pay the freight to go to a theater to see it, there's just no way. We know a whole bunch of reasons why they wouldn't go see it. So I can believe in this one instance, the one business that will not learn from its competitors because they're so obstinate and stubborn out there, they'd rather go to Sundance and fall down in the snow wearing a Robert Redford sweatshirt than they would learn what it is the American movie-going public actually wants to see.

So, anyway, Gibson is not upset about this, folks. He didn't even get in on the marketing phase of the movie to the voting members of the academy. I mean, you can say religious bigotry is at work, come up with any reason you want to say that the movie got snubbed, but understand this from Mel Gibson's point of view. He doesn't need no stinking Oscar. He's got $700 million from the American movie-going public and around the world. That's what that $35 million of his own money invested in this movie produced, a box office of around 700 million. He'll take that, he even said so earlier this year. His audience is his award. The movie-going public was his audience and that's who he targeted, he wasn't targeting the academy, so don't feel bad for Mel Gibson and don't even get mad wasting any energy over the academy. Their actions are totally understandable here and you might, if you enjoy schadenfreude, and that is feeling happy over someone else's misery, then have a little schadenfreude over what happened to that bloated bigot, Michael Moore, and that cut-and-paste job of a Super-8 thing called a movie, Fahrenheit 9/11.

[mel]

Great show

[HHFi]

I was furious and couldn't believe it when Rush did that! He just sat there on the radio and told the entire plot of the movie. I'd already heard it because of other commentators who couldn't keep their big mouths shut, but my wife isn't as plugged in as I am and I didn't want the movie ruined for her before we could get out to see it. Thank goodness she happened to step out of the room at the exact moment that Rush ruined it for 20 million people. How about letting me see it FIRST, Rush, and THEN we'll have a discussion about the morality of its surprise plot twists?!

Personally, I am absolutely in favor of euthanizing people who thoughtlessly blurt out the plot twists of movies I haven't seen yet.

[aft_lizard]

I personally am glad they didnt pick the Passion under these circumstances. We dont need nor does that movie need to be validated by that group, besidexs if they had picked it it would be a tainted choice having everybody say it was only thre because we strong armed it.

[PoplarBluffian]

The fact that James Caviezel was not selected for best actor shows how much this whole "Academy" process and the people involved in it are a joke.


The actress who played Mary gave a stunning performance, too. Her eyes showed such profound grief. As a mother, watching it through her eyes was totally devastating to me. I was truly hoping they would not ignore her. Of course, I knew they would, but.........

[SuziQ]

And does anyone remember who won the big one last year...I don't and I do not care..

BITE YOUR TONGUE!! It was "Lord of the Rings:Return of the King, and it won every Oscar for which it was nominated. 11 of them! Last year was the only time I've watched the entire show in almost 15 years. I had a little card with all the categories for RoTK, and checked them off as it won. When it came time for Best Picture and Stephen Speilberg opened the envelope and said "It's a sweep", I just jumped up out of my chair squealing!! I thoroughly enjoyed the trilogy of movies. I just finished listening to the RoTK soundtrack, as a matter of fact. ;o)

[Cedar]

I'm so glad Mel Gibson didn't sink low to try to "buy" Oscar votes, as the other movie stars do.

The "Passion of the Christ" is so far above all other movies it would be absurd to put it in a cheap race for a Hollywood gold statue.

The Passion's value is much greater than that, and it's far more than just money.

[DJ MacWoW]

I hear about "24" all the time, but I've never watched it. I guess maybe I should rent the first season on DVD.

S1 starts out just a little slow but gets going quickly. Some trivia is that they only shot 13 eps figuring it wouldn't be picked up. It was and they had to write and film 11 more eps for the season. It's gotten even better in S2 and S3. It's at least worth checking it out.

[leprechaun9]

This is one more example of why I don't attend movies. I think the last picture I saw in a theatre was GOING MY WAY

I am sure that my absence was not noticed by Hollywood, but I haven't missed those who act being someone else and then believe that their perfromances make them authorities on Defining Public Policy!

[MoochPooch]

"Return of the King won last year, which was well deserved. They finally did something right."


Although I had preferred MASTER AND COMMANDER to win, I was grateful the Oscar went to a film that, though a fantasy, was based on conservative values -- even religious, albeit oblique. In fact, it was refreshing, especially after all the liberal/amoral claptrap that's been awarded.

[altura]

sadist! (grin)

[BurbankKarl]

The Aviator sucked IMHO....blech.

[Richard Kimball]

Oh, I think people will be watching F911 years from now. It will occupy the same hallowed ground as "Reefer Madness" and "Plan 9 from Outer Space."

[Brimack34]

I will say this no other actor worked as hard as James did in this movie. Hallie won a Oscar for getting naked and mating with Billy bob.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Master and Commander would have undoubtedly snagged the "Best Picture" Oscar, if it had been nominated in any other year.

[Richard Kimball]

For quite a few years, the Oscars were successful in marketing themselves as the "real" awards. I think they started going downhill with the homosexual takeover of Hollywood, which reached the breakover point in 1969, when a pathetic movie, "Midnight Cowboy" won best picture. Since that time, their credibility has gone down a little every year. Personally, I haven't watched them since probably the early seventies.

[MoochPooch]

Once upon a time, films had a moral voice. Even if they tackled a delicate subject, it was with a conservative value system. Now, anyone who's anti-gay, anti-abortion, etc. is portrayed as a no-good meanie. And all the protagonists are liberal or, at best, amoral. Most of the recent films I have seen have left me either detached or irritated.

In fairness to Hollywood, they may have ignored PASSION because, simply they felt it was not good enough stylistically to compete with the other films out there. (I didn't see the film, so I can't argue this.) However, it is true, as Mr. Limbaugh implied, that the folks in Hollywoodland have arrogantly ignored viewers' tastes for conservative values, an uplifting or life-affirming message. Hollywood is dreadfully -- and dangerously -- out of touch with reality.

[LibertarianInExile]

Have you seen a picture of Billybob Thornton recently? She earned it--anyone who could fake enjoying that is a great actress! :)

[LibertarianInExile]

I know. I was going to go see the Passion, but everyone told me the guy gets nailed to a tree, and then he comes back from the dead! What kind of people ruin a film like that, I ask you!?!?!

8^]

[John Lenin]

You're right, the last time I watched a whole Oscars show was when I was a kid. Most people don't even watch these awards shows anymore. The ones that do are part of the choir anyways> I have paid to see so few movies in the last10 years if they had to count on people like me they would be broke.

[Liz]

It's not just the snub of The Passion of The Christ that rankles audiences who love the movie.

In an indictment of Follywood and an exhibition of its rank hatred for Christians and Christian-related films, one Hollyweirdo claims The Passion was the only film to be heartily booed when screened for Academy voters.

Hollyweirdos embarked on a juggernaut to undermine American values. They firmly believe that Christians are evil, women are to be valued only for their cleavage and that the traditional family is archaic, constricting, with no redeeming value. They also insist that 24/7 of sexually salacious and violent TV, movies and music They produce are not harming kids and the culture.

OTOH, they also believe----with the religious fervor of Tammy Faye Baker---- that a single 15-sec commercial will compel tens of millions of Americans into thousands of stores to buy billions of dollars worth of soap, soup, breakfast cereal and cars.

They can't have it both ways.

Hollywaste, here is what you are up against:

Conservative pro-life Christian voters made monumental contributions to GWB's 2004 vote totals. Pres Bush won with 63 Million Votes (13 million more than 2000).

The map, though impressive, conveys the misleading impression that blue state Catholics voted for Kerry.

According to EWTN "The World Over Live" analysts, with the exception of VA, where Catholics spit 70/30 in favor of Bush, the majority of Catholic voters split 55/45 for Bush.....a whopping number of votes since Catholics number about 52 million Americans.

According to CNN exit polls, Bush voters included 38% of union members, 40% of those with union members in their households, 42% of those earning $15,000-$30,000, 44% of those who earn under $50,000 and 44% of Latinos, 45% of youth (aged 18-29), 13% of liberals—even 11% of Democrats voted for Bush.

If you look closely, the map appears to place the insignificant "Other Voters" in the ocean.....that's accurate, because "Other Voters--RINO Republicans" were on cruise ships.

(MAP UPDATE Bush won Michigan, Ohio, Iowa and New Mexico later.)