Conservatives tend to be more well-balanced and risk averse than the arts require. What conservative would raise $200 million and invest it in a very long strip of plastic with pictures on it? What conservative would enter a profession where 99.999% of its practitioners are out of work at any given time?
At the same time, "stars" come from odd places. Brando was from Nebraska. Borgart (everyone's favorite every man) grew well off up on Park Avenue in NYC surrounded by artists etc. Nicholson was from a working class family in south Jersey (believing his mother was his sister. Yikes!)
The guy who co-financed Narnia, for one.
http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-fi-anschutz5dec05,0,2989796.story?coll=la-tot-promo
And once again, Philip Anschutz is risking big. The Denver-based multibillionaire, who made a fortune in oil, natural gas, railroads, telecommunications and real estate, has spent $90 million — half the film's $180-million budget — to produce the screen adaptation of the children's classic "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
I do see your point, but many of the people actually risking the dollars in Hollywood are somewhat conservative.
The Nicholson story is plenty weird. But it made Jack one liberal who's against abortion to an extent-he said most abortions are about women who don't want to mess up their lunch schedules. Yikes!
Also, I don't agree that one has to be unbalanced to be in the arts. Too often artists use that pose to get away with murder, but it's the artists who are balanced and work hard who accomplish something.