One celebrates movies that people actually watch and the other celebrates movies that critics think people should watch.
“Milk,” the biopic starring Sean Penn about Harvey Milk, California’s first openly gay elected official, perfectly illustrated the divide between “the people” and “the critics.”
Critics loved the movie, as evidenced by a 92 percent favorable rating on the aggregate film review site Rottentomatoes.com and the eight nominations “Milk” received from the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Sean Penn received the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Milk, and the entire cast garnered the Best Acting Ensemble at last night’s Critics Choice Awards ceremony.
Given the controversy over the passage of California’s Proposition 8 that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman, one would think a movie commemorating an early homosexual activist would garner more interest among moviegoers.
But apparently that wasn’t the case. Boxofficemojo.com reports that the film has earned only $17.7 million in the six weeks since its release. Not only that, the film failed to receive any nominations for the People’s Choice Awards. Instead, “the people” awarded the summer blockbuster “The Dark Knight” seven nominations, five of which it won including Favorite Movie and Favorite Cast.
And while celebrities kept the liberal posturing that appears at so many Hollywood events to a minimum, some just couldn’t help themselves. People’s Choice host Queen Latifah led the audience in a chant of “Yes, we can!” during Wednesday’s ceremony. Kerry Picket pointed out on Newsbusters that actor Richard Gere used his acceptance speech for the Joel Siegel award to bash President George W. Bush one more time last night:
We changed the world, and then something happened. It all became selfish…and rancid…and silly…and stupid, and we ended up with the last eight years that we’ve had in this country, which is almost over. We have a few days left, but with this new administration, I think we can recapture the innate instinctive feeling that we really can genuinely care for and love each other…everywhere on the planet.
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Richard Gere
January 9, 2009 - 14:36 ET by Snilwar4Just another dillusional Hollywood actor. I guess I would like for someone to ask him whether he thinks nations have the right to defend themselves? How does he think Tibet is ever going to be free of China? Hey Richard, lots of guns and bullets, that's how.
This is why
January 9, 2009 - 14:39 ET by ToddonCapeCodThis is why Americans are boycotting movies, and boycotting these mutual masturbatory awards shows.
Hollywood continues to pump out this tripe, and then scratches their heads and wonder why they bomb and why more and more Americans think their elitists and out-of-touch arrogant SOBs.
But so long as they keep wasting their money, we'll be happy to deprive them of ours!
I guess Hollywood will really have nothing to fear, as long as there's star-struck crowds, though, who think they're gazing at royalty, along with shows like "Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood," and the E! channel
I rented a bad movie last week,
January 9, 2009 - 14:53 ET by WhoIsJohnGaltit was "Burn After Reading", and the movie was a waste of time. But the real kicker was watching the extras on the DVD. One of them was the cast describing their characters, and it was clear the absolute disdain and contempt that these Hollywood pampered twits have for average Americans.
In one candid conversation with one of the writers/directors/whatever, she was describing George Clooney's middle-aged character. He was sporting "one of those bad beards", she said. It was just a close trimmed beard, and I might add, the exact type that George Clooney chose to wear in his personal life for several years. I guess it was no longer "in" with the crowd.
She also picked on his jeans (just Levi's, worn normally) and the fact that he tucked his shirt in (yeah, so?). I was just amazed at the stuff these pompous asses can find to hate about average people...her goal was to make Clooney's character someone to laugh at, a buffoon of sorts. And instead of finding his philandering ways something to be critical of, she picked on his beard and average clothes!
What a miserable bunch of cretins we must all be!!!
WIJG, did those
January 9, 2009 - 19:43 ET by Trix RabbitWIJG, did those commentaries have anything by John Malkovich? I have it understood that he is fairly conservative.
Liberal: a power worshipper without power. George Orwell
Yes, but it was fairly benign.
January 12, 2009 - 13:18 ET by WhoIsJohnGaltBut then, you usually only see libs constantly poking fun at average Americans. or anyone who is ten minutes out of the fashion of the day.
Kum Ba Yah
January 9, 2009 - 14:44 ET by WhoIsJohnGaltdoesn't pay the bills, spitwad.
Sheesh...
acting?
January 9, 2009 - 14:47 ET by AJBSean Penn was not acting... he and Richard Gere are in the same gerbil club together. And, that arrogant a$$hole, Penn, is nothing but talk and show. Does anyone remember he went to 'help' in New Orleans after Katrina and had more camera people in his boat than supplies or aid? All he was there for was to build his image. He did NOTHING for the people of New Orleans other than grab attention for himself. He's another one I smile when I envision his ugly head on a stick leading up to a Pakastani muslim terrorist camp. That one would certainly scare the camels away!
Silly me
January 9, 2009 - 14:47 ET by BeanManGosh, I'm shocked I tell you, shocked that a movie about a man that wasn't of much interest to most of the country wouldn't earn many millions more that what is reported.
I'm sorry Harvey Milk was shot and I hope the guilty party is still in jail but wow, a homosexual man being elected to office in San Francisco isn't that big of a deal to anyone except Hollywood knuckleheads.
BTW on an unrealted subject of political incorrectness: I have tried to be objective but I just don't think Michelle Obama is very pretty at all. We are supposed to swoon over her beauty but I don't. She wouldn't make the top 100 list for me.
Since government is coercion, politics is largely the exercise of deception regarding the intended use of coercion - George Orwell
being elected to office in San Francisco
January 9, 2009 - 14:53 ET by SickofLibsYes, but Milk was elected back when SF was only 60% homosexual!
Agreed, she doesn't trip my trigger by a long shot.
January 9, 2009 - 14:55 ET by WhoIsJohnGaltAgreed, she doesn't trip my trigger by a long shot.
Her profile reminds me of a
January 9, 2009 - 20:21 ET by Dan DiegoHer profile reminds me of a dog that caught to many parked cars.
Got Milk?
January 9, 2009 - 14:57 ET by j17ghsOnly Marxist-crats could get away with using a bunch of people who literally live and work in a fantasy profession and who are major elitists so out of touch with the average person that somehow they represent the average person?! Talk about Orewellian! No wonder why this crowd so feared McCarthy and attack him even today.
the real historical tragedy that wasn't covered in "Milk"
January 9, 2009 - 15:39 ET by UndercoverConservativeis that after the smoke cleared, the office vacancies allowed Diane Feinstein to become Mayor soon after. Feinstein was the first on the scene.
The scariest part about that whole era, is whom they all got a lot of their "community organization" from: Jim Jones. His "help" in "getting the word out" helped elect Mayor Brown and others into their offices as well, and for his "reward" was made Director of the Housing Authority in SF.
Yes, the same Jim Jones of Kool-Aid fame.
"to call an illegal immigrant an "undocumented alien" is the same as calling a streetcorner drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist".
"You spend your money anyway you want and respect other's rights to do the same"
UC
January 10, 2009 - 03:39 ET by thebutlerdiditYeppers, I made this same point the other day. Jones and Milk were very tight, and Milk actually aided and abeted Jones by helping him get cult members in his group. He wasn't the only one in politics out there that supported Jones. Everyone should go back and read the history on this, even if you remember if from then, it surprised me what all I never knew/heard before. It is amazing.
Richard Gere - Pioneer
January 9, 2009 - 17:26 ET by somedaysSome people may consider Richard Gere an oracle but, someone who flashes his penis as form of "artistic expression" is NO oracle. Check the film - American Gigolo.
Most of the time the
January 9, 2009 - 18:25 ET by balboaMost of the time the critic's choice will never match up with the people's choice. That's kinda the way things are.
the lack of popularity of a film with...
January 9, 2009 - 21:04 ET by clinging to my guns and my religion...sean penn portraying harvey milk is kind of a no-brainer.
"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." Edmund Burke
I'm Detecting Some Hypocrisy Around Here...
January 9, 2009 - 23:29 ET by The7SticksDidn't the Culture Media Institute publish the most scathing article against The Dark Knight of all? Brian Fitzpatrick had used the title of his hit piece "The Pornography Of Violence", which is essentially what he called The Dark Knight. I am detecting some wreaking hypocrisy around this group based on the fact that many of their views are contradictory. For example, Michael Medved is one of the advisors for the CMI. He is also a member of the Broadcast Critics Association (based off of his review work on his radio show and the old Sneak Previews series on PBS.) He reviewed Milk, said that it was obviously politically biased, and still gave it 3 out of 4 stars, which usually indicates a good effort if not perfect. In his review, Medved said the film doesn't gloss over the more unsavory aspects of Harvey Milk's life and does seem to not be a complete piece of propaganda.
Since I haven't seen Milk myself, I have to take Medved's word for it and trust that this film seems to be fairly balanced in portraying Milk's actual life, but nevertheless pushes a liberal agenda for the gay rights cause. Even so, Medved always stresses that you must separate the artist from the art in order to fully enjoy your entertainment choices. I could care less for Sean Penn's political activism and buddying up with Hugo Chavez, but he certainly did a highly convincing job at playing a gay man. It's all about the inflections of the voice, how you modulate it, control it, that's what convinced me that Penn did a pretty good job on screen. Of course, I'm only basing it on the commercials for Milk, but they're pretty convincing commercials.
What's your point?
January 9, 2009 - 23:56 ET by RESTLESS 1I'm a fairly regular listener of Medved, but I would consider him a moderate conservative at best. He is definitely to the left of me. The fact that Medved gave the movie a good review is irrelevant. He is supposed to put his biases aside and judge whether or not the movie succeeded in attaining it's intended purpose. This one probably did. The fact that nobody cares does not point out any hypocrisy on Medved's part.
That said, I am most likely in the minority here in that I consider Penn an above average actor. I would categorize him with Johnny Depp. They generally succeed at doing a good job in the roles they choose. They just choose counter-culture roles. That, coupled with their outspoken views turns me off to seeing their movies. When I see them, the reaction is visceral. That does not mean that I demean their acting abilities, it just means I see them as fools in general, and therefore won't waste my money on their films, as I know where they are coming from.
"This
liberal would be all about socialize -- uh, uh, would be about
basically taking over and the government running all of your companies."-Maxine Waters 2008
Milk
January 9, 2009 - 23:32 ET by charlietexasWe're learning. The entertainers and critics bore us. Some day, maybe all of us will ignore them.
It all became selfish…and rancid…and silly…and stupid
January 10, 2009 - 00:06 ET by katainkentthis is what psychologists call projection.
now what they hope to achieve, that is called validation.
I try so very hard not to read actors points of view on anything. It simply destroys my ability to enjoy their work. Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins are definately up there on the 'can't watch a thing they make anymore' list. Which pisses me off because I loved the Shawshank Redemption.
"part of what I'm hoping to introduce as the next president is a new ethic of [government enforced] responsibility" - B. Obama
Simpleminded Idiots
January 10, 2009 - 03:32 ET by opedI will check in with Mr. Richard Gere in 12 months after things are not so silly and stupid and rancid, and I hope he doesn't lose his silly little mind when he discovers that the world still won't love us.
Muslim Extremists will still want to slit his aging and insignificant throat, The Middle east will still be unsettled, Dafour and most of Africa will be run by dictators or despots who oppress their incredibly poor and starving people, and the world will still hate the USA and will all want to come to the USA and will expect the USA to fix everything and pay for everything. Just like today.
Sean Penn
January 10, 2009 - 11:32 ET by misterbee241Sean Penn playing a gay guy - that's a real acting challenge for him isnt it?
I watched Iron Man on PPV the other night. While not a bad movie, it had the same ol' same ol' underlying theme - American defense contractors are evil, and Tony Stark because he was the man who provided the military the tools do save American lives and do their jobs, was evil incarnate. Tony soon realized this, repented and became Iron Man.
I don't know
January 10, 2009 - 13:56 ET by ahusserIf my bias antennae is more sensitive or there is liberal bias in every movie I see. I tend to like action sci-fi movies but almost every one has a liberal slant/message inserted somewhere in the movie. Subtle or blatant it is always there.
Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster
Working in the Entertainment Industry
January 10, 2009 - 14:49 ET by KunisachiI've been working in the entertainment industry for the past 5 years producing independent films in animation. Just to give you some insight from my experience, our industry has it's own film festivals, critics, and organizations that I can't imagine operate much differently than those in Hollywood. When you get on the inside, you realize that many of the "judges" and organizers of these events have a vested interest in the winners of their awards, whether it be that they're friendly with the cast, director, or producer, or sometimes actually involved in the productions.
After going several years without any nominations from some of the "reputable" film festivals, I met with a few organizers and made some friends, sure enough our next film was nominated for an award that same year. You'd think this would be exciting for our team, but we all felt like we were just getting a free slice of pie.
So next time you watch an awards show and see some snarky looks from those left sitting in their seats, you might think they're just being a sore loser. But now I realize that some of them got the shaft because they didn't kiss enough ass, and they know it.
Nazi Pelosi returns to Democrats' history of eugenics
January 27, 2009 - 12:58 ET by j17ghsNazi Pelosi clearly reveals that Democrats haven't changed at all; they are the same as they were in the Dark Ages of Marxist dictators in the '30s. Ironically, they have accomplished this today with the support of unlikely useful idiots such as "Oprah The Obese" and "Whoppi Cushion," who have turned their backs on those of their own races all for fame and fortune (and with an innate ignorance).
Schools and media have been covering the true agenda of Demo-Marxists for decades, and because of that we are now likely under the control of The Fourth Reich. Democrats looked favorably on the Third Reich until one Marxist (Hitler) attacked the other ("Uncle Joe" Stalin, as FDR called him).
Without FDR's interference, Stalin and Hitler would likely have destroyed each other, and we could have saved the lives of 600,000 of America's young men. But Marxists were already heavily entrenched in our government even in the '30s, and they weren't about to let Marxism perish by its own accord.
For his sabotage and subversion, FDR is our country's worst traitor, and he should be tried posthumously.