Entertaiment

Editor’s Note:  Kieth Merrill will be teaching at Meridian Live!, our education and concert series, in Mesa, Arizona, on March 25-26. Click here for more information and to register for the event.

As a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Kieth Merrill previews the films nominated for awards in order to cast his ballot.   

The furor of Oscars is upon us. Are you out of touch with Hollywood? If you say “yes,” you are not alone. In fact, you are part of a growing majority. Happily it does not mean that the days of conservative movie-lovers are numbered.

Read on to discover a movie you will love but one that Hollywood would never make. And why that happens.

In response to the question, “Do Hollywood movie-makers share your values?” a whopping 70% of American’s polled said “No.” Another 10% said, “It depends.” That means, of course, that since some good films like Incredibles and Spiderman 2 are considered “Hollywood,” their values “sometimes” coincide. Only 13% of the respondents gave an unqualified, “Yes.”

In reality, you aren’t out of touch with Hollywood.  In fact, it is the other way around. Hollywood is out of touch with you!  Most Christians, conservatives and Latter-day Saints in particular would agree that for the most part, Hollywood is out of touch with America.

According to former MPAA czar Jack Valenti, the Hollywood movie machine cranked out 750 films in 2004. He confessed with his inimitable twinkle that, “Some were so bad you had to subpoena the audience to get them into the theater.”

According to this year’s Reminder List for Distinguished Achievements During 2004 from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, only 270 films were recognized as “eligible” for Oscar consideration.

How many movies did you see last year? How many “really good movies” do you remember? How many did you recommend to your friends? How many of the motion pictures that were “distinguished” by Oscar nominations did you ever even hear about before they were nominated?

If out of 750 movies there were only a dozen that you liked, it is fair to say that somewhere there’s a disconnect. Perhaps you should feel lucky to be out of touch with Hollywood. Those of us who make films struggle to reconcile what we do with who we are and how to make a difference “in” the system but not “of” the system. But that is for another day.

Unlike the memorable years when blockbusters like Titanic, (see end note) and Lord of the Rings were both critically acclaimed and popular favorites, 2004 was a lackluster year for great films if you draw conclusions from the Academy Award nominations. [With maybe one exception?]

Films nominated for Best Picture include the following:

The Aviator

“A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes’ career, from the late 1920’s to the mid-1940’s. Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, nudity, language and a crash sequence.”

My take:  Entertaining, epic but tediously episodic with a terrible ending. Scorsese’s fascination with Hughes’ movie, Hell’s Angels, distorted the balance and left too much of the inside story out. [I know one of Howard Hughes trusted executive/confidants personally. He was with Hughes for a lifetime. We discussed the making of a feature film and Scorsese missed a lot. Too bad he was content to skim across the bigger bumps of a life that anyone who cares about Howard Hughes already knows.]

Finding Neverland

“The movie details the experiences of Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, which led him to write the children’s classic. He got to know four children who have no fathers. Drawing from his time with the kids, he writes a story about children who don’t want to grow up.” Rated PG for mild thematic elements and brief language.

My take: Recommended. It is the one probable “classic” in the slate of Oscar contenders. There is much to like about this film. [But then some of us are happy to pay $9.50 to watch Johnny Depp read the telephone directory]

Million Dollar Baby

“A hardened fighter-come-trainer works with a determined woman in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer.” Rated PG-13 for violence, some disturbing images, thematic material and language.

My Take: I agree with critics and promoters that this as Clint Eastwood’s best work. But only after the film opened did the dark underbelly of the story roll into view, with a theme that shifts from shades of Rocky to a depiction of euthanasia as our hero commits murder in the form of assisted suicide. Conservative commentator, Debbie Schlussel, predicts that Million Dollar Baby will win the Oscar “because it’s Hollywood’s best political propaganda of the year . it supports killing the handicapped, literally putting their lights out.”

Ray

“The extraordinary life and career of the legendary popular music pianist, Ray Charles, a man who fought harder and went farther than anyone thought possible.” Rated PG-13 for depiction of drug addiction, sexuality and some thematic elements.

My take: Taylor Hackford’s best work to date. A memorable biopic for fans of Ray Charles, but tainted by depictions of drugs and sexuality. The flashback to his early childhood is stirring stuff but episodic in nature and primarily of interest to movie buffs and fans.

Sideways

“Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment, embark on a week long road trip through California’s wine country in search of wine, in search of women, and in search of themselves. It is a sort of “final fling” only a week before one of them is to be married.” Rated R for language, strong sexual content and nudity.

My take: Hollywood’s darling movie of the year is proof positive that they are out of touch with America. This movie, “while artfully done” by some standards, is a distasteful wallow in the amoral mud and mindset of Hollywood. This “final fling” with old buddies is in truth a deceptive Hollywood euphemism for lust, lies, infidelity and fornication.

Vera Drake

“Abortionist Vera Drake finds her beliefs and practices clash with the mores of 1950s Britain – a conflict that leads to tragedy for her family.” Rated R for depiction of strong thematic material.

My Take: Mike Leigh was the only nominee for Best Director for a film that was not nominated as Best Picture. Edging out Marc Forster who directed Finding Neverland, the nomination put this pro-abortion film in the spotlight.

Samuel Goldwyn said, “If you want to send a message use Western Union.” Mike Leigh and US Distributor, Fine Line Features, opted to use this movie to send their message and promote their pro-abortion sympathies. It is finely crafted piece of propaganda. By the time we discover the good-hearted Vera Drake is performing clandestine abortions, she has endeared herself to us with selfless service.

Unlike Best Film winners Titanic and Lord of the Rings, the audience response to the films selected by this year’s Hollywood elite seem to emphasize the growing chasm between what Hollywood is determined to make and what people really want to see. The audience voices its opinion loud and clear. They plunk down money or they don’t.

On the day the nominations were announced, the total gross revenue of all five films nominated for Best Picture put together was less than one audience favorite, Spiderman 2. Granted the Academy is “far too sophisticated” to recognize a fun-filled fantasy like Spiderman for its honors and accolades, but it does make one wonder.

The Academy Awards Ceremony itself is falling into disfavor. TV ratings have seen a steady and significant decline and the number of people who tune in to Hollywood’s annual love fest of self-adoration is dropping. The inexplicable choice of badmouth bad boy Chris Rock to host this year’s show promises to push ratings lower still.

Here are the most successful films of 2004, according to the audience response.

Title                                         Gross Box Office [To Date]
Shrek 2                                                 436,000,000
Spiderman 2                                          373,000.000
The Passion of the Christ                       370,000,000
Harry Potter                                           249,000,000
Incredibles                                            232,000,000

Only one of the most successful films of 2004 was nominated in a major category. Incredibles was nominated as Best Animated Feature.

The enormous success of this film may be evidence enough that being “out of touch” with Hollywood” is a good thing. Brad Bird, the writer, director and flat-out genius behind Pixar Studio’s incredible Incredibles, is a kid from Kalispell, Montana, who cut his teeth in the movie business as an animator for Disney, moved to Pixar 500 miles north of Hollywood, and hasn’t bothered to post his picture on IMDb. [Internet Movie Database]

When confronted by the apparent disconnect between the movies that America buys tickets to see and the movies nominated for Oscars, Jack Valenti defends his Hollywood cronies by arguing, “It is a business and studios greenlight movies they believe will make money.” The facts do not support his contention that moviemakers cater to their audience in an effort to turn profits ahead of their own social and political agendas.

No matter how you slice the movie business – by star vehicles, by budget levels, by sequels or franchises – by far the best return on investment comes from the not-so-glamorous world of G-rated films .. On the flip side are the R-rated films, which dominate the total releases and yet bring easily the worst return on investment. A whopping 646 R-rated films were released in 2003 – 69% of the total output – but only four of the top 20 grossing movies of the year were R-rated films.

Only 3-4 % of the films produced in any given year are rated “G.” In fairness I must confess that as a filmmaker I understand the curious anomaly of business and profit versus art and self-expression. Creativity is often sustained by powerful egos. The courage to create may not be possible without it.