Brokeback Mountain Forum @ ennisjack.com

The Movie & Story => News Coverage, Reviews & Awards => Topic started by: ennisandjack on May 31, 2006, 09:35 PM

Title: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: ennisandjack on May 31, 2006, 09:35 PM: Brokeback Mountain for SASOD film festival
Wednesday, May 31st 2006

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_local_news?id=56496377

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimi-nation (SASOD) - Guyana, along with the Sidewalk Cafe will host a gay and lesbian film festival opening this week.

According to a statement from SASOD, 'Painting the Spectrum 2: A Celebration of Love' will explore diversity in sexuality and gender. The new festival follows on the success of the first SASOD film festival, held in October 2005 at the Sidewalk Cafe.

The festival opens on Friday with the Academy Award-winning film, Broke-back Mountain. For this second festival, SASOD has collected 12 feature-length films, seven documentaries and 26 short films that reflect the experiences of people living in Algeria, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Sweden, South Africa, UK and the USA.

The statement also noted that this year several critically acclaimed directors have contributed their films to the festival at no cost.

The films have also been sourced with support from 3HCD & Video Club, Out in Africa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival based in South Africa and Fundacion Triangulo in Madrid, Spain. There have also been many individual donations of films.

SASOD added that this year's festival would have several highlights. Among these is a tribute to South Africa, which was the first country in the world to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. "We pay tribute to South Africa... [It] has certainly learned from its apartheid experience and in the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the persecution of people because of their sexual orientation is every bit as unjust as apartheid," SASOD said. The tribute will be done on Friday, June 9.

Programmes for the festival are available at Sidewalk Cafe and on the SASOD website at http://www. geocities. com/sasod_guyana.

There is no charge for admission and the public is invited.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: ennisandjack on May 31, 2006, 09:38 PM: MTV Movie Awards: Brokeback Mountain still favorite for "Best Kiss"

http://www.gambling911.com/053106news.html

Sports Interaction is featuring Brokeback Mountain's Jake Gyllenhaal & Heath Ledger as a 1.30 favorite for "Best Kiss". That's approximately a 1 to 3 favorite or $1 paid out for every $3 bet.

The other nominees just so happen to be huge underdogs. They include: Rosario Dawson & Clive Owen at 5.50 or approximately 5 to 1 odds, Taraji P.Henson & Terrence Howard at 5.50 odds, Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt at 8.00 odds and Anna Faris & Chris Marquette at 10.00 odds.

This is the first year that online gambling websites are offering betting odds on the MTV Movie Awards.

King Kong is a 2 to 1 favorite for winning "Best Picture", followed by Batman Begins at 4.00, Wedding Crashers at 4.75, Sin City at 6.50 and The 40 Year Old Virgin at 5.00. Not your typical Academy Awards fare.

The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV. It also contains movie parodies that used official movie footage with hosts and other celebrities and music performances. The nominees are decided by a special panel at Tenth Planet Productions, the production company headed by Joel Gallen who also created the MTV Movie Awards. Winners are decided by the general public. Presently voting is done through MTV's official website through a special Movie Awards link.

Unlike sister event the MTV Video Music Awards (which are broadcast live), the MTV Movie Awards are taped and then broadcast a few days later...

Articles continues but in unrelated to Brokeback. http://www.gambling911.com/053106news.html

Originally published May 31, 2006 7:05 am EST
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on May 31, 2006, 09:59 PM: Quote from: ennisandjack on May 31, 2006, 09:35 PM
Brokeback Mountain for SASOD film festival
Wednesday, May 31st 2006

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article_local_news?id=56496377

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimi-nation (SASOD) - Guyana, along with the Sidewalk Cafe will host a gay and lesbian film festival opening this week.

According to a statement from SASOD, 'Painting the Spectrum 2: A Celebration of Love' will explore diversity in sexuality and gender. The new festival follows on the success of the first SASOD film festival, held in October 2005 at the Sidewalk Cafe.

The festival opens on Friday with the Academy Award-winning film, Broke-back Mountain. For this second festival, SASOD has collected 12 feature-length films, seven documentaries and 26 short films that reflect the experiences of people living in Algeria, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Sweden, South Africa, UK and the USA.

The statement also noted that this year several critically acclaimed directors have contributed their films to the festival at no cost.

The films have also been sourced with support from 3HCD & Video Club, Out in Africa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival based in South Africa and Fundacion Triangulo in Madrid, Spain. There have also been many individual donations of films.

SASOD added that this year's festival would have several highlights. Among these is a tribute to South Africa, which was the first country in the world to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. "We pay tribute to South Africa... [It] has certainly learned from its apartheid experience and in the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the persecution of people because of their sexual orientation is every bit as unjust as apartheid," SASOD said. The tribute will be done on Friday, June 9.

Programmes for the festival are available at Sidewalk Cafe and on the SASOD website at http://www. geocities. com/sasod_guyana.

There is no charge for admission and the public is invited.

That's great news.Thanks for posting
Jennis.x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on May 31, 2006, 10:03 PM: Dare not speak its name

The Australian Strewth
Jane Fraser

June 01, 2006

PETER Nicholson's cartoon in yesterday's The Australian comparing Queensland's failed merger between the conservative parties with the gay cowboy flick Brokeback Mountain caused plenty of laughs in Canberra.
"The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have made it clear overnight that their opposition to same-sex marriages includes the Queensland branches of the Liberal and National parties," said Labor MP Kelvin Thompson as he strode into parliament. "It will be like Brokeback Mountain – they will have to be content with the odd stolen weekend together." Independent MP Tony Windsor pushed the analogy further. "People are crying out for real representation in this place, now that doesn't mean they want a goal kicked every day of the week, but they want their views heard, not muffled . . . (with) a pillow put on top of their head in terms of the Liberal Party," he said. But the most sensible observation came from leader of Opposition business in the house, Julia Gillard. "On the Brokeback Mountain analogy, they're all a lot less good looking than the stars of Brokeback Mountain, that's the obvious problem with the comparison

Link to original source:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19324058-25090,00.html
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: ennisandjack on Jun 01, 2006, 02:33 AM: Quote from: Jennis on May 31, 2006, 10:03 PM
But the most sensible observation came from leader of Opposition business in the house, Julia Gillard. "On the Brokeback Mountain analogy, they're all a lot less good looking than the stars of Brokeback Mountain, that's the obvious problem with the comparison

That's hilarious (and so true). Thanks for posting :)
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 01, 2006, 07:04 AM: ennisandjack and Jennis, thank you for these articles!

"On the Brokeback Mountain analogy, they're all a lot less good looking than the stars of Brokeback Mountain, that's the obvious problem with the comparison"

Highly likely. :)
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Koka on Jun 01, 2006, 01:26 PM: thanks for posting you guys!
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 02, 2006, 04:43 PM: BBM related article.

Jennis.x

Batwoman is Back as a Lesbian

Heather Schultz 06/01/2006

The emergence of the homosexual community in pop culture has just reached new heights with a jump into the comic book realm as the reincarnation of Batwoman portrays the heroine as a lesbian.

DC Comics is releasing the new-found conception of Batwoman in July as a 5-foot-ten superheroine with cascading red hair, knee-high red boots with spiked heels and a tight black uniform, according to the Associated Press. Dan DiDio, vice president and executive editor at DC decided to take this route to further expand the diversity of his characters and audience.

In 1956, Batwoman was first brought to the public eye and 1979 marked her departure from civilization. Now, 27 years later, Batwoman has returned and will keep the same name as her original alter ego, Kathy Kane, along with several ties to various prevalent characters of Gotham City.

It seems as if controversy is easily ignited when the word, “gay” is brought forth into the media limelight. Although more individuals have come to terms with their true sexual orientation, others choose to remain silent. Instead of casting two gay actors for the roles of Jack and Ennis in Brokeback Mountain, straight Hollywood heart-throbs, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger were chosen on the premier basis as marketing devices.

Brokeback Mountain promoted such integral facets of the lessons of true love, identity and tolerance set against the atrocities associated with hatred, scorn and ignorance. Yet, all the film is reduced to is “the gay cowboy movie” and the influx of more gay jokes. The Oscars were not ready to give the film its coveted top prize this year. The question proposed is, “will the new spin on Batwoman create the same type of homophobia?”

The media is also partly responsible for the growing perception of the gay community as a mere fad that will eventually diminish within time. The gay community may have made recent strides over the years, but they still are the targets of exploitation. DiDio was well aware of the wildcard nature of the word, “gay,” and many hope his actual reasoning behind the new Batwoman is honest.

Link to original source:
http://www.longislandpress.com/?cp=145&show=article&a_id=8699
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 02, 2006, 05:02 PM: A surprisingly perceptive article. Thank you Jennis, for posting this.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: ennisandjack on Jun 03, 2006, 03:04 AM: I get tired of hearing how they chose straight actors over gay actors - as if there were dozens of young openly gay male stars vying for these roles but instead Heath and Jake got the parts. The sad truth is the hollywood system does not allow gay male actors to be out. Maybe because of the success of Brokeback there will one day be more openly gay actors in hollywood, but that day has not yet come. To try to lay this on Heath and Jake seems like a convenient way to bash them instead of the system. Atleast they took the roles when others wouldn't. Ang said he chose the actors he felt were best for the parts - I think he got it right.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: mélisande on Jun 04, 2006, 06:48 AM: http://www.sensesofcinema.com/index.html
Haunted by Memories: Brokeback Mountain by Dennis Grunes
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 04, 2006, 11:52 AM: Thank you Melisande, very interesting one.

I don't agree entirely with Dennis Grunes's review though.

Two examples :

Brokeback Mountain does nothing to get in the way of our giving serious thought to a serious issue. Lee, who is Taiwanese-born, more often has highlighted the oppression of women in various societies; here, he has shifted his attention to another oppressed group. But he has proceeded with more sensitivity than intellectual acumen or artistic purpose. Instead, he has gone the route of pop propaganda. By imposing straight stereotypes on gay characters, he hopes to expand the comfort level of non-gays toward their gay brethren. He has made a tearjerker in a good cause - but he has made a tearjerker
[/b]
On the other hand, Jake Gyllenhaal is not nearly so credible as Jack. Early on, he is at his best; but he ages unconvincingly, and his performance strikes many more sentimental notes than authentic ones. (He could be acting in the television series Dallas.) Ledger strikes chords of great tenderness in his scenes with Gyllenhaal, but Gyllenhaal’s Jack never seems to love Ledger’s Ennis as much as Ennis seems to love Jack. This is ironic, given that Ennis is the character who is more conflicted about his homosexuality, and it is quite possible that this is a deliberate choice on Lee’s part and on Gyllenhaal’s. But the discrepancy between the love that Jack professes and the love that is apparent - at least to my eye - eventually defeated my understanding.[/b]

WHUT?

(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi77.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj66%2Ffranny19%2Fnit.jpg&hash=f58d1fdcfa195d7a7e0c6f2c7a7210f8fc11bd5e)

(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi77.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj66%2Ffranny19%2Fbbm0903.jpg&hash=7142c12f61adb8db53aab5f4ab0023efc8dc4599)
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: ennisandjack on Jun 05, 2006, 08:41 PM: I found those comments strange also. I think its a very interpretive film because I am always amazed how differently people experience this film. Thanks for the stills also - they show perfectly Jake's amazing performance and very apparent love for Ennis.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 07, 2006, 04:15 PM: I think Sheila put her boot in her mouth,or shoe as i call it. Jake Gyllenhaal is no lightweight.

Jennis.x

Brokeback Mountain,

Randy Quaid embarrassed,

By Sheila Benson, Colin Fleming, and Mike Seely

Seattle Weekly Pick" Brokeback Mountain

Universal, $29.98

The good news first: Visually and in its sound transfer, the DVD of Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain is everything it should be. Shrinking these Wyoming peaks and high meadows in no way dwarfs their breathtaking effect (yes, we know it's Alberta, never mind), while the shivering highs and the very real dangers of this tumultuous love story are more of a gut-wrench up close, if that's imaginable.

In the published version of his and Diana Ossana's screenplay, Larry McMurtry calls Annie Proulx's story "a tragedy of emotional deprivation."

Watching Heath Ledger capture every nuance of Ennis Del Mar's clenched, impoverished soul seems even more of a miracle here. As the busted-down rodeo-er Jack Twist, Jake Gyllenhaal seems like the lightweight of the piece until you realize that without Jack, Ennis would never have found his true other half.

The DVD's other soul-stirring performance is Michelle Williams as Ennis' loving, baffled wife, no more able to understand what has rocked her husband's life than Ennis himself—at first.

The bad news is the DVD's threadbare, self-congratulatory quartet of "extras." Only one runs longer than 10 minutes; none is particularly valuable. While it's charming to hear Ang Lee say that he loves the taste of the words "Brokeback Mountain" in his mouth, it would be even nicer to hear his (missing) commentary.

The only meat here is the tidbit that McMurtry believed Ossana had better insights into the male characters, and she thought he did better with the women—so that's how they split the work. Thanks.

The whole anemic package reeks of opportunism, a post-Oscar rush job. Expect a proper repackaging just in time for Christmas stockings. Or cowboy boots.

As for putting your boot in your mouth, there's Randy Quaid's interview here in which he talks about finding the Proulx story in a magazine at his gym and having been so struck by it that he swiped that copy of The New Yorker to finish at home.

Yet despite this longstanding passion for the story, he later sued Focus Features for $10 million in damages, alleging that he was duped into working at a reduced rate in a mere "art-house film," when the producers knew it would be a major release. Then, after much bad press, he dropped the suit earlier this month.

Guess who won't be invited back for the deluxe DVD set this holiday season.

SHEILA BENSON
http://seattleweekly.com/film/0623/dvd.php
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Koka on Jun 08, 2006, 08:52 AM: Quote from: frances on Jun 04, 2006, 11:52 AM
Thank you Melisande, very interesting one.

I don't agree entirely with Dennis Grunes's review though.

Two examples :

Brokeback Mountain does nothing to get in the way of our giving serious thought to a serious issue. Lee, who is Taiwanese-born, more often has highlighted the oppression of women in various societies; here, he has shifted his attention to another oppressed group. But he has proceeded with more sensitivity than intellectual acumen or artistic purpose. Instead, he has gone the route of pop propaganda. By imposing straight stereotypes on gay characters, he hopes to expand the comfort level of non-gays toward their gay brethren. He has made a tearjerker in a good cause - but he has made a tearjerker
[/b]
On the other hand, Jake Gyllenhaal is not nearly so credible as Jack. Early on, he is at his best; but he ages unconvincingly, and his performance strikes many more sentimental notes than authentic ones. (He could be acting in the television series Dallas.) Ledger strikes chords of great tenderness in his scenes with Gyllenhaal, but Gyllenhaal’s Jack never seems to love Ledger’s Ennis as much as Ennis seems to love Jack. This is ironic, given that Ennis is the character who is more conflicted about his homosexuality, and it is quite possible that this is a deliberate choice on Lee’s part and on Gyllenhaal’s. But the discrepancy between the love that Jack professes and the love that is apparent - at least to my eye - eventually defeated my understanding.[/b]

WHUT?

(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi77.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj66%2Ffranny19%2Fnit.jpg&hash=f58d1fdcfa195d7a7e0c6f2c7a7210f8fc11bd5e)

(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi77.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj66%2Ffranny19%2Fbbm0903.jpg&hash=7142c12f61adb8db53aab5f4ab0023efc8dc4599)

okay, WHAT?!?! the whole second paragraph is such utter crap. 'On the other hand, Jake Gyllenhaal is not nearly so credible as Jack' and 'but Gyllenhaal’s Jack never seems to love Ledger’s Ennis as much as Ennis seems to love Jack' is this guys kidding me? jake landed the role of his LIFE with BBM playing Jack f****** Twist. he was absolutelly remarkable. I FELT Jack's love for Ennis in every word that came out of his mouth, in every gesture he made....in everything unspoken.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 08, 2006, 09:10 AM: Quote from: Koka on Jun 08, 2006, 08:52 AM
Quote from: frances on Jun 04, 2006, 11:52 AM
Thank you Melisande, very interesting one.

I don't agree entirely with Dennis Grunes's review though.

Two examples :

Brokeback Mountain does nothing to get in the way of our giving serious thought to a serious issue. Lee, who is Taiwanese-born, more often has highlighted the oppression of women in various societies; here, he has shifted his attention to another oppressed group. But he has proceeded with more sensitivity than intellectual acumen or artistic purpose. Instead, he has gone the route of pop propaganda. By imposing straight stereotypes on gay characters, he hopes to expand the comfort level of non-gays toward their gay brethren. He has made a tearjerker in a good cause - but he has made a tearjerker
[/b]
On the other hand, Jake Gyllenhaal is not nearly so credible as Jack. Early on, he is at his best; but he ages unconvincingly, and his performance strikes many more sentimental notes than authentic ones. (He could be acting in the television series Dallas.) Ledger strikes chords of great tenderness in his scenes with Gyllenhaal, but Gyllenhaal’s Jack never seems to love Ledger’s Ennis as much as Ennis seems to love Jack. This is ironic, given that Ennis is the character who is more conflicted about his homosexuality, and it is quite possible that this is a deliberate choice on Lee’s part and on Gyllenhaal’s. But the discrepancy between the love that Jack professes and the love that is apparent - at least to my eye - eventually defeated my understanding.[/b]

WHUT?

(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi77.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj66%2Ffranny19%2Fnit.jpg&hash=f58d1fdcfa195d7a7e0c6f2c7a7210f8fc11bd5e)

(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi77.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj66%2Ffranny19%2Fbbm0903.jpg&hash=7142c12f61adb8db53aab5f4ab0023efc8dc4599)

okay, WHAT?!?! the whole second paragraph is such utter crap. 'On the other hand, Jake Gyllenhaal is not nearly so credible as Jack' and 'but Gyllenhaal’s Jack never seems to love Ledger’s Ennis as much as Ennis seems to love Jack' is this guys kidding me? jake landed the role of his LIFE with BBM playing Jack f****** Twist. he was absolutelly remarkable. I FELT Jack's love for Ennis in every word that came out of his mouth, in every gesture he made....in everything unspoken.

It is interesting to see the variance between Jake Gyllenhaal reviews for BBM from Dec 2005 through April/May 2006.

There are certain critics that I follow because I know through their overall consistency that their judgements stand the test of time (even if even just a few months!)

Outstanding is one of the New York Times reviewers who in late Decmber of 2005 went out of her way to praise Jake Gyllenhaal's performance in BBM and commented on the almost universal silence then on his outstanding performance. Time and and succeeding (and more thoughtful) reviews have proven her right.

Fans of jake Gyllenhaal should know this by now: the condescension Jake gets from blockheads. Perhaps the most outstanding example is NOT BBM but the reviews that witnessed the releases of the original (theatre version) of 'Donnie Darko' and the Directors Cut that followed 3 years later.

For those who care: look at the cream of the crop (i.e., professional) reviews in Rotten Tomatoes for the original version. There was heavy ridicule among many US critics for the original Theatre version. Now, go to the reviews of the Director's Cut that followed 3 years later. WHAT YOU WILL SEE BY THEN IS ALMOST UNIVERSAL ACCLAIM FOR DONNIE DARKO, EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THEM ADMIT THAT NOTHING REALLY WAS CHANGED!!!!!

There are true critics, and there are hypocrites. One has to divide the sheep and the goats.

As for Jake Gyllenhaal, TIME and TRUTH are on his side.

In my almost 8 years following him, I have come to believe.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Koka on Jun 08, 2006, 09:22 AM: thanks tpe, I needed that. and I think you're absolutelly right.

once again- brilliantly put. you will never cease to amaze me.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 08, 2006, 09:26 AM: Quote from: Koka on Jun 08, 2006, 09:22 AM
thanks tpe, I needed that. and I think you're absolutelly right.

once again- brilliantly put. you will never cease to amaze me.

Just to amuse us, koka, I post here the ridiculous contrast from the hometown barbarians at the Chicago tribune. It is funny, but you will no longer see a reference to the original bad review EXCEPT in Rotten Tomatoes!! ;)

From the Director's Cut Review of the Chicago Tribune:
With 20 additional minutes of screen time, the director's cut of Richard Kelly's genre-splicing "Donnie Darko" offers new viewers a second chance to discover his mind-bending masterwork.

From the original Chicago Tribune Review:
"Just another self-absorbed teen chronicle, with the added twist of a little time travel and a surprise ending."

What unmitigated idiocy!
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Koka on Jun 08, 2006, 09:35 AM: oh wow, now THAT really IS amusing! thanks for posting it tpe, I got a real good laugh out of it ;)
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 08, 2006, 06:58 PM: Quote from: tpe on Jun 08, 2006, 09:26 AM
Quote from: Koka on Jun 08, 2006, 09:22 AM
thanks tpe, I needed that. and I think you're absolutelly right.

once again- brilliantly put. you will never cease to amaze me.

Just to amuse us, koka, I post here the ridiculous contrast from the hometown barbarians at the Chicago tribune. It is funny, but you will no longer see a reference to the original bad review EXCEPT in Rotten Tomatoes!! ;)

From the Director's Cut Review of the Chicago Tribune:
With 20 additional minutes of screen time, the director's cut of Richard Kelly's genre-splicing "Donnie Darko" offers new viewers a second chance to discover his mind-bending masterwork.

From the original Chicago Tribune Review:
"Just another self-absorbed teen chronicle, with the added twist of a little time travel and a surprise ending."

What unmitigated idiocy!

Thanks tpe.It was definately amusing ;D
J.x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 08, 2006, 07:00 PM: What a lovely review...

Jennis.x

Rappahannock News

Ang Lee's “Brokeback Mountain” premieres at The Theatre

By Sue Dranitzke
06/08/2006

“Brokeback Mountain,” the most Oscar-nominated movie of the year, received the top award for Best Director (Ang Lee), Best Screenplay and Best Music at the 2006 Academy Awards.

The Rappahannock Association for the Arts and the Community brings this epic love story set in the American West in the 1960s to The Theatre in Washington, Friday, June 16, at 8 p.m.

Set against the sweeping vistas of Wyoming and Texas, the film celebrates geography and landscape. The plot is taken from a short story by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Annie Proulx (Shipping News) which was published in the New Yorker. Larry McMurty (Lonesome Dove, Last Picture Show) adapted the story to make the screenplay, stretching it out and filling it in to document the passing years, the sadness and loneliness between the time of adolescent idyll of “Brokeback Mountain” and the shocking conclusion of the story.

The story about a ranch hand and rodeo rider is simple. The time is 1963. Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal (Jarhead) and Ennis del Mar, played by Heath Ledger (Monster’s Ball), meet while seeking employment with local rancher Joe Aguirre, played by Randy Quaid. They unexpectedly form a passionate and totally unexpected relationship. Not able to deal with their feelings, they go their separate ways and marry but their attraction brings them back together years later.

As Ennis, Australian Heath Ledger mumbles as inarticulately and evocatively as the early Marlon Brando or James Dean. His face seems to fade away as we look at him, and he carefully avoids making contact, except violently with his body, in his various fist fights with strangers who don’t behave properly. Gyllenhaal’s sad-eyed Jack is studly but naïve, a swaggering seducer and dreamer who is just as lonely as Ennis, but more verbal. As time passes we witness the changes in both men and in their wives.

Film maker Ang Lee weaves his spell, finding the most beautiful paradise in the Rockies, and contrasting that to the stark towns, trailers, and prefabs Ennis lives in and the grim, barren home of Jack’s parents. It’s as if leaving Brokeback Mountain means stepping into Texas and becoming blind to the beauty of the earth.

“Brokeback Mountain” challenges our most cherished gender stereotypes. The Code of the West, enshrined in nearly one hundred years of Hollywood films, glorified the fierce, masculine loyalty of “partners” and “mates”. But the tenderness of men for men, the emotional substrate of that male bonding, even if not acted upon, has rarely been explored as deftly as it is in “Brokeback Mountain”

Beautiful, poetic, mournful, “Brokeback Mountain” takes universal themes and creates of it an overwhelming work of art that should speak to anyone capable of love.

Link to original source:
http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab4.cfm?newsid=16755148&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506087&rfi=6
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 08, 2006, 07:26 PM: Quote from: Jennis on Jun 08, 2006, 07:00 PM

Beautiful, poetic, mournful, “Brokeback Mountain” takes universal themes and creates of it an overwhelming work of art that should speak to anyone capable of love.

Thanks Jennis.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Brokeback_Ca on Jun 09, 2006, 06:36 AM: Quote from: ennisandjack on Jun 03, 2006, 03:04 AM
I get tired of hearing how they chose straight actors over gay actors - as if there were dozens of young openly gay male stars vying for these roles but instead Heath and Jake got the parts. The sad truth is the hollywood system does not allow gay male actors to be out. Maybe because of the success of Brokeback there will one day be more openly gay actors in hollywood, but that day has not yet come. To try to lay this on Heath and Jake seems like a convenient way to bash them instead of the system. Atleast they took the roles when others wouldn't. Ang said he chose the actors he felt were best for the parts - I think he got it right.
Very well said, ennisandjack. It is the system that does this. And Ang Lee and Brokeback Mountain have dealt it a mighty blow.
Title: Brokeback Mountain Revisited
Post by: Jennis on Jun 10, 2006, 04:34 PM: I don't think i need to point out the obvious in this article,but i will say what gave her the right to comment on a film she "Twitched" through and could not be bothered to watch.

The only "Irksome" thing around here, is you Ilana (an unfortunate name)

Jennis.x

'Brokeback Mountain' revisited

Posted: June 9, 2006

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

At the time, I avoided "Brokeback Mountain," the film about two, bareback-riding cowboys (I discovered what that meant by reading about Andrew Sullivan's alleged, online sexual cruising). As a rule, I see very few films. I used to love the cinema, but that was before the motion picture industry forsook good scripts and well-developed characters for storylines fit for a stun-gunned audience, with the attention span of a nit, and an ability to focus only on fast-moving or imploding animated objects and characters as flat as pancakes. If it's not an orgy of special effects, then it's a succession of vapid chick flicks featuring toothy tarts like Jessica Alba or Jake Gyllenhaal. For me, the highlight of the insufferably pompous Academy Awards ceremony was when members of the band Hustle & Flow burst onto the stage and pierced the rarified atmosphere with "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp." Hollywood's anointed were appalled, flabbergasted.

They had gathered to congratulate themselves for the visionary "Brokeback Mountain." Instead, the sacramental moment was sullied by rude, crude and politically incorrect hip-hop. Hurray! The sterile smugness was punctured again when "Crash," which I had seen, crushed "Brokeback" and was crowned Best Motion Picture. "Crash" was over-the-top, but generally inoffensive. The forced attempt to be out-of-the mold yielded the opposite effect: a highly stylized effort. Later on, a lemon-faced Lee (Brokeback's director) and a posse of sore losers, including author Annie Proulx, complained about bigotry. The academy, they claimed, had rear ended their hopes for an award because of a "rural bias." Does this mean Hollywood will exit its echo chamber to make a film in praise of rube hicks? We'll see.

Movies with a message are especially irksome. Because the people involved in movie making are much less talented nowadays (not an implausible thesis, and perfectly compatible with Charles Murray's in his monumental "Human Accomplishment: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Arts and Sciences, 800 B.C. to 1950"), and because they think in clumsy clichés, the overall effect on the viewer is that of a giant wagging, prodding finger. They get in your face and stay there – for two hours, plus. I'd take an action film like "Flight Plan," starring Jodie Foster, any day over "Lord of War" with Nicholas Cage, where the voice-over serves as a constant reminder of who is "Running with the Devil," and who is on the side of the angels. Peggy Noonan has said succinctly that "Orson Welles was an artist. George Clooney is a fellow who read an article and now wants to tell us the truth, if we can handle it." Clooney or Lee – it's all the same to me. To pay for a two-hour-long sermon from a pea brain, in the guise of entertainment, is not my cup of tea. Which is why I avoided "Brokeback."

To be fair, film has almost always come with a moral. "Deliverance" had a message. So did "Midnight Express," but it was incidental to a superb story. Billy Hayes told his inhuman and inhumane Turkish jailers that "the concept of a society is based on the quality of its mercy, of its sense of fair play, its sense of justice." Hayes' far-from-delighted Turkish tormentors also heard: "For a nation of pigs, it's funny you don't eat them." Try getting that past the "daring" Ang Lee – or other consensus keepers in the Dar al-Islam that is Hollywood.

It so happened that circumstances combined to render me a captive audience. "Brokeback" was being screened on my BA flight back from the Britain last month. I twitched through some of it, before going back to my book. Heath Ledger as Ennis (an unfortunate name) Del Mar tried to emulate Marlon Brando's potato-in-the-cheek mumbling in "The Godfather." A bad idea then – and now. The "love scene" between the two men was akin to a bear fight. And as sensuous (contrast it with the artful and achingly sad scene in "Midnight Express"). The only sympathetic and authentic character was Alma Del Mar, the betrayed wife (portrayed by Michelle Williams) and her castaway kids.

That gays have such a vested interest in this dreary and dull film indicates that, like Hollywood, they too have become colossal bores. Once interesting and iconoclastic, all gays seem to crave now is the State's pension and seal of approval. They ought to go back to the days of the Stonewall Riots, when the police's violations of privacy – and private property – were the object of their anger and activism. More poignantly, if, in Ayn Rand's magnificent words, "civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy," then sexual activism or exhibitionism – homo or hetero – is anathema. All in all, it's most regrettable that the closet has come to signify oppression rather than discretion.

Ilana Mercer

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50565
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frenchcda on Jun 10, 2006, 06:30 PM: Late breaking news from San Francisco!

The Honorable Bevan Dufty, representing District 8 (in which the Castro Theater is located) on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has issued a Proclamation officially declaring June 12, 2006 "Brokeback Mountain Day" in San Francisco!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHEREAS, The award-winning movie, Brokeback Mountain, represents the finest in direction, acting, cinematography, scenery, and musical score; and

WHEREAS, The screenplay and the short story upon which Brokeback Mountain is based are both excellent works in their own right; and

WHEREAS, Both the movie and story have deeply affected and brought people of all ages, genders, and sexual orientations together; and

WHEREAS, Brokeback Mountain has transformed countless lives by inspiring people to take action to make major life changes, and has helped people to overcome long-held prejudicial beliefs; and

WHEREAS, Brokeback Mountain has opened up a nation-wide dialog on the important issues of homophobia, same-sex marriage, and human rights in general; and

WHEREAS, There will be a special showing of Brokeback Mountain at the historic Castro Theater June 12, 2006; and

WHEREAS, People will be flying to San Francisco from places throughout the United States, including New York, Florida, Washington, and southern California specifically to attend this special showing of Brokeback Mountain; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That June 12, 2006 be proclaimed "Brokeback Mountain Day" in San Francisco.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 10, 2006, 06:45 PM: Quote from: frenchcda on Jun 10, 2006, 06:30 PM
Late breaking news from San Francisco!

The Honorable Bevan Dufty, representing District 8 (in which the Castro Theater is located) on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has issued a Proclamation officially declaring June 12, 2006 "Brokeback Mountain Day" in San Francisco!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHEREAS, The award-winning movie, Brokeback Mountain, represents the finest in direction, acting, cinematography, scenery, and musical score; and

WHEREAS, The screenplay and the short story upon which Brokeback Mountain is based are both excellent works in their own right; and

WHEREAS, Both the movie and story have deeply affected and brought people of all ages, genders, and sexual orientations together; and

WHEREAS, Brokeback Mountain has transformed countless lives by inspiring people to take action to make major life changes, and has helped people to overcome long-held prejudicial beliefs; and

WHEREAS, Brokeback Mountain has opened up a nation-wide dialog on the important issues of homophobia, same-sex marriage, and human rights in general; and

WHEREAS, There will be a special showing of Brokeback Mountain at the historic Castro Theater June 12, 2006; and

WHEREAS, People will be flying to San Francisco from places throughout the United States, including New York, Florida, Washington, and southern California specifically to attend this special showing of Brokeback Mountain; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That June 12, 2006 be proclaimed "Brokeback Mountain Day" in San Francisco.

Ooh how fab,Brokeback Mountain day.I think there should be a world one. ;D
Thankyou for the article!!! :)
Jennis.x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 10, 2006, 06:49 PM: Quote from: frenchcda on Jun 10, 2006, 06:30 PM
Late breaking news from San Francisco!

The Honorable Bevan Dufty, representing District 8 (in which the Castro Theater is located) on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has issued a Proclamation officially declaring June 12, 2006 "Brokeback Mountain Day" in San Francisco!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WHEREAS, The award-winning movie, Brokeback Mountain, represents the finest in direction, acting, cinematography, scenery, and musical score; and

WHEREAS, The screenplay and the short story upon which Brokeback Mountain is based are both excellent works in their own right; and

WHEREAS, Both the movie and story have deeply affected and brought people of all ages, genders, and sexual orientations together; and

WHEREAS, Brokeback Mountain has transformed countless lives by inspiring people to take action to make major life changes, and has helped people to overcome long-held prejudicial beliefs; and

WHEREAS, Brokeback Mountain has opened up a nation-wide dialog on the important issues of homophobia, same-sex marriage, and human rights in general; and

WHEREAS, There will be a special showing of Brokeback Mountain at the historic Castro Theater June 12, 2006; and

WHEREAS, People will be flying to San Francisco from places throughout the United States, including New York, Florida, Washington, and southern California specifically to attend this special showing of Brokeback Mountain; now therefore be it

RESOLVED, That June 12, 2006 be proclaimed "Brokeback Mountain Day" in San Francisco.

Quite lovely. Thank you frenchcda!
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 11, 2006, 06:06 PM: I only just came across this.It's from April but i don't think it was posted,so is it ok to post here?It's only short but such a lovely heartfelt review.

Jennis.x

Saturday, April 1, 2006

Brokeback will be Historic Film

by Katherine Monk

Five stars (*****)

Ang Lee's near-silent study of two men who fall deeply in love while
herding sheep in the mountains is a landmark movie for its ability to move beyond gender and capture the aching essence of two souls who cannot be together.

Director Lee brings every minimalist fragment together and comes up with a film of astonishing power and integrity. It's beautifully photographed, skilfully acted and subtle in all the right places.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger offer the performances of their careers. Although the film did not win best picture Oscar as expected, it's bound to become an an important part of cinematic history.

ottawa citizen
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Brokeback_Ca on Jun 12, 2006, 08:11 AM: That is beautiful. Thanks, Jennis.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Brokeback_Ca on Jun 12, 2006, 08:25 AM: Quote from: Jennis on Jun 08, 2006, 07:00 PM

“Brokeback Mountain” challenges our most cherished gender stereotypes. The Code of the West, enshrined in nearly one hundred years of Hollywood films, glorified the fierce, masculine loyalty of “partners” and “mates”. But the tenderness of men for men, the emotional substrate of that male bonding, even if not acted upon, has rarely been explored as deftly as it is in “Brokeback Mountain”

Beautiful, poetic, mournful, “Brokeback Mountain” takes universal themes and creates of it an overwhelming work of art that should speak to anyone capable of love.

Link to original source:
http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab4.cfm?newsid=16755148&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506087&rfi=6

This is a beautiful review, also. Thanks, Jennis!
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 12, 2006, 02:38 PM: Quote from: Brokeback_Ca on Jun 12, 2006, 08:11 AM
That is beautiful. Thanks, Jennis.
You are most welcome.I thought it was heartfelt,not many words,but not many are always needed.It just about said how i feel.I love it too.
Jennis.x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 15, 2006, 04:41 PM: U.K.Cinema Viewing *Somerset*

ANG Lee's triple Oscar winning film Brokeback Mountain is being shown at The Playhouse, Weston, on June 19 by Weston Film Society.

The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Anne Hathaway and Randy Quaid and sees two farmhands forming a bond that develops into a sexual relationship.

However, once the job they are hired for finishes they return to their ordinary lives but the physical attraction remains and haunts them over the next two decades.

Both enter into halfhearted marriages and have children and take dead end jobs but the memory of their time in the mountains remains.

Screenings will be at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets will be priced £2.50 for the matinee and £3.50 for the evening.

http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/content/twm/whatson/story.aspx?brand=Westonmercury&category=whatsonCinema&tBrand=westonmercury&tCategory=zwhatson&itemid=WeED15%20Jun%202006%2009%3A47%3A29%3A840
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 16, 2006, 06:55 AM: Quote from: Jennis on Jun 15, 2006, 04:41 PM
U.K.Cinema Viewing *Somerset*

ANG Lee's triple Oscar winning film Brokeback Mountain is being shown at The Playhouse, Weston, on June 19 by Weston Film Society.

The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Anne Hathaway and Randy Quaid and sees two farmhands forming a bond that develops into a sexual relationship.

However, once the job they are hired for finishes they return to their ordinary lives but the physical attraction remains and haunts them over the next two decades.

Both enter into halfhearted marriages and have children and take dead end jobs but the memory of their time in the mountains remains.

Screenings will be at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets will be priced £2.50 for the matinee and £3.50 for the evening.

http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/content/twm/whatson/story.aspx?brand=Westonmercury&category=whatsonCinema&tBrand=westonmercury&tCategory=zwhatson&itemid=WeED15%20Jun%202006%2009%3A47%3A29%3A840

It is great to know that the film is till being shown in different places around the world so soon after its run at the theatres...

Thanks Jennis. :)
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 16, 2006, 07:17 AM: Quote
tpe said...
It is great to know that the film is till being shown in different places around the world so soon after its run at the theatres...

Thanks Jennis. :)

Quote
Yes it is :)...It's still showing in London.I really had the urge to see it on the big screen again a few days ago but it's too hot to be inside cinemas at the moment.I hope it will stay as long as possible and show up for special screenings every now and again :)
J.x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 16, 2006, 07:41 AM: Quote from: Jennis on Jun 16, 2006, 07:17 AM
Quote
tpe said...
It is great to know that the film is till being shown in different places around the world so soon after its run at the theatres...

Thanks Jennis. :)

Quote
Yes it is :)...It's still showing in London.I really had the urge to see it on the big screen again a few days ago but it's too hot to be inside cinemas at the moment.I hope it will stay as long as possible and show up for special screenings every now and again :)
J.x

I hope you do see it again Jennis. Regular movie houses here in Chicago are as cold as Antarctica. I dread that, even in the hottest summers! :) I wish my neighborhood theatre would show BBM again...
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: ennisandjack on Jun 16, 2006, 03:52 PM: Thanks Jennis for the articles. Its great all these BBM events continue to be held. Here's one more :)

'Brokeback Mountain' theme of gay parade

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/45112.html

Javier Barraza, from Santa Fe, dances on top of the Sin Fronteras float on their way to the Plaza during the Gay Pride parade on Saturday afternoon(2005).

By NATALIE STOREY | The New Mexican
June 16, 2006

The Santa Fe gay community won’t quit Brokeback Mountain.

In the spirit of Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, the rugged cowboys who fall in love in the movie Brokeback Mountain, this year’s Pride on the Plaza festival will celebrate gay cowboys. The annual parade, which will be held June 24, has Brokeback as its theme. Among the floats will be members of the Gay Rodeo Association and their horses, which will have a gay rodeo clown/pooper scooper following them.

“It is a really important movie,” said Donald Stout, an organizer of Pride on the Plaza, Santa Fe’s annual celebration of the gay and lesbian community being held this week and next. “I think most people in the gay community felt that way about it. It busted apart a lot of stereotypes.”

The massive public dialogue that followed the movie has come to be called, The Brokeback Effect. Brokeback has spurred a number of trends from an increase in popularity of Western wear among gay men to popular jokes and even to an adjective used to describe something of questionable masculinity. A party, for example, that has too many men and too few women might now be described as “totally Brokeback.” Some people attribute the Willie Nelson song, Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other to the popularity of the movie.

Brokeback Mountain, which came out in 2005 and is based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx, won four Golden Globes and three Oscars.

The movie’s most important effect will be its challenge of stereotypes on both sides, said Jeff Lowe, who runs New Mexico’s gay rodeo, called the Zia Regional Rodeo, which will be held Aug. 17-20 in Albuquerque.

Not only do Jack and Ennis defy the popular icon of the Western cowboy, but they also cease to be flamboyantly gay, which, to many people, is the standard for what it means to be a gay man, Lowe said. “The old adage, don’t judge a book by its cover, really applies here,” he said.

Many of the Gay Rodeo Association’s members will be in Santa Fe next weekend to show off their stuff in the parade. The association celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

Pride on the Plaza is hoping to capitalize on that. Plus, Stout said, every gay man loves a good looking cowboy.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 16, 2006, 04:47 PM: I would expect a lot of the other pride parades worldwide would have a lot of BBM references. I think this is fitting.

Thanks ennisandjack! :)
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 17, 2006, 02:54 AM: 'Brokeback Mountain' is nominated in the drama trailer category, and in other categories, in the 35th annual Key Arts Awards. The awards, which honors the marketing folks who lure movie audiences through posters, trailers and advertising, will be presented Friday, June 16 in Hollywood.

More information and a complete list of nominees here :

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/keyarts/ad_opps.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002689951
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 17, 2006, 05:57 PM: Thanks for the info, frances. I guess the BBM poster did not make the cut because it was admitted openly that it derived from the Titanic poster design...
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: carlton5 on Jun 17, 2006, 07:31 PM: Looks like BBM didnt win any of the awards -Should have known- the awards were presented in Hollywood-and we all know Hollywood shuns BBM as often as it can- Those A** Wipes!!!
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 17, 2006, 07:54 PM: Quote from: carlton5 on Jun 17, 2006, 07:31 PM
Looks like BBM didnt win any of the awards -Should have known- the awards were presented in Hollywood-and we all know Hollywood shuns BBM as often as it can- Those A** Wipes!!!

If the unmentionable wins again, then to Hell with them all. ;)
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: carlton5 on Jun 17, 2006, 08:32 PM: I think Syriana won in the BBM trailer category- Am sure it was just a vote for George Clooney- Am I the only one that is totally sick and tired of him???
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 18, 2006, 12:08 PM: (https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi77.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj66%2Ffranny19%2Fshirt-1.jpg&hash=e3a81c64b826429346209513d44c02b1d65b6ea5)

Shirts worn by actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in "Brokeback Mountain" are on display during the unveiling of the new exhibit "Idols of Gay Hollywood" at The Hollywood Museum on June 8, 2006 in Hollywood, California
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 18, 2006, 04:07 PM: Quote from: frances on Jun 18, 2006, 12:08 PM
(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi77.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj66%2Ffranny19%2Fshirt-1.jpg&hash=e3a81c64b826429346209513d44c02b1d65b6ea5)

Shirts worn by actors Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in "Brokeback Mountain" are on display during the unveiling of the new exhibit "Idols of Gay Hollywood" at The Hollywood Museum on June 8, 2006 in Hollywood, California

Hello frances. Is there any mention of their jackets? Jennis and myself are trying to trace the whereabouts of Jack's jacket... :)
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 20, 2006, 03:13 AM: On the trail of 'Brokeback,' ridin' a trusty Corolla

By ALAN SOLOMON
Chicago Tribune

June, 18, 2006

The assignment was simple enough.

Not everyone was crazy about everything in Brokeback Mountain, of course, but even among people who had seen only the trailers or the newspaper ads and already hated this movie, there was agreement on one element: the scenery.

It was real good.

The full article :

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/living/travel/14833134.htm?source=rss&channel=dfw_travel
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 20, 2006, 03:53 AM: Quote from: tpe on Jun 17, 2006, 07:54 PM
Quote from: carlton5 on Jun 17, 2006, 07:31 PM
Looks like BBM didnt win any of the awards -Should have known- the awards were presented in Hollywood-and we all know Hollywood shuns BBM as often as it can- Those A** Wipes!!!

If the unmentionable wins again, then to Hell with them all. ;)

Don't worry, the unmentionable didn't win again!

Best Drama Trailer: "Jarhead"

For further information go and see CELLULOID (All About Movies) in Mountain Café (thank you, malawix!)
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: malawix on Jun 20, 2006, 04:51 AM: Quote from: frances on Jun 20, 2006, 03:53 AM
Quote from: tpe on Jun 17, 2006, 07:54 PM
Quote from: carlton5 on Jun 17, 2006, 07:31 PM
Looks like BBM didnt win any of the awards -Should have known- the awards were presented in Hollywood-and we all know Hollywood shuns BBM as often as it can- Those A** Wipes!!!

If the unmentionable wins again, then to Hell with them all. ;)

Don't worry, the unmentionable didn't win again!

Best Drama Trailer: "Jarhead"

For further information go and see CELLULOID (All About Movies) in Mountain Café (thank you, malawix!)

Little correction: CELLULOID (All About Movies) in Member Interests. ;)
Anyway, it's here: http://www.ennisjack.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=b6d00a2cc75f8d046fe6fb7f2d43f6e4&topic=4588.msg170673#msg170673
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 20, 2006, 07:10 AM: Quote from: malawix on Jun 20, 2006, 04:51 AM
Quote from: frances on Jun 20, 2006, 03:53 AM
Quote from: tpe on Jun 17, 2006, 07:54 PM
Quote from: carlton5 on Jun 17, 2006, 07:31 PM
Looks like BBM didnt win any of the awards -Should have known- the awards were presented in Hollywood-and we all know Hollywood shuns BBM as often as it can- Those A** Wipes!!!

If the unmentionable wins again, then to Hell with them all. ;)

Don't worry, the unmentionable didn't win again!

Best Drama Trailer: "Jarhead"

For further information go and see CELLULOID (All About Movies) in Mountain Café (thank you, malawix!)

Little correction: CELLULOID (All About Movies) in Member Interests. ;)
Anyway, it's here: http://www.ennisjack.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=b6d00a2cc75f8d046fe6fb7f2d43f6e4&topic=4588.msg170673#msg170673

Thanks frances and malawix.

malawix, I am getting an error when I click the link. I will probably just go and check the CELLULOID thread...
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: malawix on Jun 20, 2006, 07:32 AM: Quote from: tpe on Jun 20, 2006, 07:10 AM
Quote from: malawix on Jun 20, 2006, 04:51 AM

Little correction: CELLULOID (All About Movies) in Member Interests. ;)
Anyway, it's here: http://www.ennisjack.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=b6d00a2cc75f8d046fe6fb7f2d43f6e4&topic=4588.msg170673#msg170673

Thanks frances and malawix.

malawix, I am getting an error when I click the link. I will probably just go and check the CELLULOID thread...

ooops... it works here... anyway the link of the thread is this one: http://www.ennisjack.com/index.php?topic=4588.0
I hope it works... :-\\
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 20, 2006, 07:34 AM: Quote from: malawix on Jun 20, 2006, 07:32 AM
Quote from: tpe on Jun 20, 2006, 07:10 AM
Quote from: malawix on Jun 20, 2006, 04:51 AM

Little correction: CELLULOID (All About Movies) in Member Interests. ;)
Anyway, it's here: http://www.ennisjack.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=b6d00a2cc75f8d046fe6fb7f2d43f6e4&topic=4588.msg170673#msg170673

Thanks frances and malawix.

malawix, I am getting an error when I click the link. I will probably just go and check the CELLULOID thread...

ooops... it works here... anyway the link of the thread is this one: http://www.ennisjack.com/index.php?topic=4588.0
I hope it works... :-\\

Thanks malawix!!!!
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 20, 2006, 11:40 AM: Quote from: tpe on Jun 16, 2006, 07:41 AM
Quote from: Jennis on Jun 16, 2006, 07:17 AM
Quote
tpe said...
It is great to know that the film is till being shown in different places around the world so soon after its run at the theatres...

Thanks Jennis. :)

Quote
Yes it is :)...It's still showing in London.I really had the urge to see it on the big screen again a few days ago but it's too hot to be inside cinemas at the moment.I hope it will stay as long as possible and show up for special screenings every now and again :)
J.x

I hope you do see it again Jennis. Regular movie houses here in Chicago are as cold as Antarctica. I dread that, even in the hottest summers! :) I wish my neighborhood theatre would show BBM again...

Are they.That would suit me down to the ground.I love the cold :)
J.x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 20, 2006, 11:43 AM: Quote from: frances on Jun 20, 2006, 03:13 AM
On the trail of 'Brokeback,' ridin' a trusty Corolla

By ALAN SOLOMON
Chicago Tribune

June, 18, 2006

The assignment was simple enough.

Not everyone was crazy about everything in Brokeback Mountain, of course, but even among people who had seen only the trailers or the newspaper ads and already hated this movie, there was agreement on one element: the scenery.

It was real good.

The full article :

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/living/travel/14833134.htm?source=rss&channel=dfw_travel

Thanks Frances,
Castrated,what an insult :X I would like to castrate the man who said it!
J.x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 20, 2006, 11:47 AM: Quote from: frances on Jun 17, 2006, 02:54 AM
'Brokeback Mountain' is nominated in the drama trailer category, and in other categories, in the 35th annual Key Arts Awards. The awards, which honors the marketing folks who lure movie audiences through posters, trailers and advertising, will be presented Friday, June 16 in Hollywood.

More information and a complete list of nominees here :

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/keyarts/ad_opps.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002689951

This is in BBM polls.We voted like mad for it.No results up yet as far as i can tell?
J.x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 20, 2006, 11:48 AM: Quote from: carlton5 on Jun 17, 2006, 07:31 PM
Looks like BBM didnt win any of the awards -Should have known- the awards were presented in Hollywood-and we all know Hollywood shuns BBM as often as it can- Those A** Wipes!!!
It's a public vote.It's in BBM polls,although voting is over now.Don't know results yet?
J.x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 20, 2006, 11:57 AM: McKELLEN RUBBISHES DIRECTOR'S GAY ACTOR THEORY

SIR IAN MCKELLEN has hit out at a Hollywood director's suggestion that homosexual actors should keep their sexuality hidden from the public.

The openly gay X-MEN star, 67, is appalled by the unnamed film-maker's belief that homosexual actors can never convince audiences playing heterosexual characters.

He says, "Acting is acting and if that were true HEATH LEDGER wouldn't be allowed to be in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN because he's presumably a happily married young man who doesn't have a gay bone in his body. "And couldn't you just tell?"

20/06/2006

http://contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/mckellen%20rubbishes%20directors%20gay%20actor%20theory_1000319
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 21, 2006, 03:16 AM: The End of Pride

It's time to stop parading and start marching, for Jack and Ennis' sake.

By Roger Downey

(Seattle Weekly)

I caught up with Brokeback Mountain the other day. I don't know about you, but I usually wait quite a while to see new movies, and the more fuss and flackery there is, the longer I wait. Try all you like, there's no way to escape it, no way actually to see a movie through the fog of other people's opinions and calculations. If you wait until the noise dies down, you have a chance to see at least some of the movie the moviemakers meant to make.

But I thought I was safe assuming Brokeback Mountain was about a tragic gay love affair. I mean, that's what the writers and director said it was, not just the critics. But that's not the movie I saw. Sure, Jack and Ennis are queer, and so bent out of shape by guilt and fear that they're afraid to admit it even to each other. But the movie I saw wasn't about that. What it was about was the constant, corrosive drip of poverty, about the tethering, shackling, muzzling force of ignorance, about the inescapable cage of class. Jack and Ennis—and most of the other characters in the movie—follow the paths they're constrained to follow, eat what's put before them. Their sexual preference is just the shit icing on the cake.

The big irony of the movie—I wish I could believe the filmmakers wanted us to feel it—is that long before Jack and Ennis' 20-year affair ends, the sexual barriers that isolate them were already breaking down, being pulled down, in fact. In the summer of 1969, the patrons of the Stonewall Bar on New York's Sheridan Square reacted to a police raid with flung beer bottles, broken windows, and five days of mass demonstrations. But even before Stonewall, decades before, hundreds of thousands of people in their situation had changed the rules by leaving their closets behind and moving where there was safety in numbers, where their sexual preference was not only tolerated but could serve as a central definer of their identity.

So far as the world at large knew, that meant San Francisco and New York and Miami, but by 1970, anybody looking for congenial company in Houston or Denver or Seattle or even Oklahoma City didn't have to lurk in the shadows to find it. Didn't, that is, if they were white. Pretty much everyone familiar with the Stonewall legend knows that drag queens were among those present and active in the week of demonstrations and riots; fewer recall that lesbians were there, too; but lost in most versions of the story is the fact that Stonewall's main clientele was black, Hispanic, and Asian, and it's documented fact that police overreaction during Sheridan Square's five days of rage was at least as much due to racial hostility as fear and hatred of queers. Gay Pride sprouted from a mulch of equal parts class, race, and gender, but before much time had passed, it had become a movement with rainbow pretensions but wholly dominated by educated, white, middle-class folks like me, and most likely you, too, dear reader.

I've been feeling more and more remote from the events of Gay Pride for years, but seeing Brokeback Mountain, even if I saw it differently than most, got me thinking hard again about what it's for, about just what it is that's being celebrated. Pride? Proud of what? Proud of our "difference"? Proud of our struggle to overcome fear, intimidation, and opposition? Twenty years ago, even 10, I could go along with that. But when I look at the Pride marchers today, if I see anything more than a sort of multicolored St. Patrick's Day celebration, I see people celebrating being, on average, the most privileged people on planet Earth, free to do exactly as they please, absolved even of the implied injunction on heterosexuals to reproduce, to foster their offspring, to devote the best years of their lives and much of their income to providing for the next generation. I'm not saying that's not cause for celebration. I enjoy the same privileges as they. What I don't understand is why we call it "Pride," and why the hets are willing to let us disrupt traffic with our boasting.

OK, I'm overstating. Let me bring this down to earth. What is the Pride March, or Gay Pride in general, doing for the Jacks and Ennises (and the Almas and Lureens) of our own day? What are we doing to pry the closets open in neighborhoods less salubrious to our cause than Capitol Hill? What kind of freedom are we advocating for residents of transient hotels on the Aurora strip? Are we conducting multilingual outreach among the hordes of Asian immigrants in the South End, or among the anonymous apartment complexes sprawling across the Eastside? Who's got the courage to evangelize among the numerous black men practicing the dangerous form of denial called the down low? We make a secular martyr of Matthew Shepard and dutifully attend performances of The Laramie Project, but what are we doing to change the poisonous mind-set that tacitly and not so tacitly ratifies such atrocities?

For me the most memorable performance in Brokeback is Randy Quaid's Joe Aguirre, squeezing the utmost savor of cruelty from his pathetic power over his hirelings. And there are Joe Aguirres everywhere. And the farther from the official centers of power you go, the lower down the economic scale, the deeper into the countryside (on the average, poorer and sicker than the worst urban slums), the more the Joe Aguirres make the rules, up and down the line. Lureen's ag-machinery magnate dad would despise Joe as much as he despises Jack, but, in fact, he's just an Aguirre with a credit line.

If we want to get beyond comfortable self-congratulation, we don't even need to leave our own communities. There are dozens of tax-exempt institutions dotted around the Sound where one can listen to a message of hate for queers (and Muslims and feminists and Latinos and liberals, but let's keep it focused) every day and twice on Sunday. Separation of church and state forbids legal action against hate speech in the name of Christ, but that doesn't mean we can't call bullshit on its sanctified perpetrators. Why aren't we outside Lake Washington High School every Sunday to sing a few hymns of toleration to the communicants of Pastor Ken Hutcherson's Antioch Bible Church as they emerge from their weekly soul bath? Why aren't we challenging radical Christian clergy to debates in front of their congregations? Why aren't we posting a weekly list of the most "hate-full" clergy, documenting and publicizing their institutionalized vileness?

What it comes down to for me, I guess, is that it's time to stop parading and start marching again. Marching (and fighting) are not as much fun and take up more time. But let's acknowledge that in this city, the point of the Pride March has been achieved. We are recognized—boy, are we recognized; is there a leading politician who doesn't show up to grab a piece of the spotlight? It's time to stop celebrating Gay Pride one weekend a year. Sure, let's say it loud: We're gay and proud. Now let's accomplish something we can be proud of. Do it for Jack and Ennis.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: aimi15 on Jun 21, 2006, 11:48 AM: Interesting article frances - thanks x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 21, 2006, 12:58 PM: Pride weekend in Chicago is this coming weekend.

I almost cannot bear seeing all the references to Jack and to Ennis. I am sure that will be a certainty.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: stephan on Jun 21, 2006, 01:30 PM: Thank you, Frances, for the articles you are pointing out. I'm catching up, and enjoying it O0
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 24, 2006, 12:13 PM: Seeing Males Together: Brokeback Mountain and Picturing Men

An essay by John Ibson, author of "Picturing Men" (http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/187941.ctl)

History's fundamental lesson warns those who are comfortable with contemporary social arrangements, as it reassures those who are oppressed by current practices: It hasn't always been like this, and isn't likely to stay this way forever. This lesson is certainly true when it comes to the way that American men today are inclined and allowed to express their affection for each other—whether that affection involves romance, sexual longing, or just profound fondness.

Ang Lee's magnificent film Brokeback Mountain is the sad story of two Wyoming ranch hands whose society severely inhibits their twenty-year-long affectionate and sexual relationship. They express their mutual attraction only when utterly alone in the wilderness, at huge expense to their emotional lives and also their relationships with women. Yet Brokeback Mountain may also be instructively seen as a movie that raises disturbing issues about the ways that all American men feel about the appropriate ways to express their fondness for each other, whether or not that fondness is accompanied by sexual desire. Our culture still so scorns sexual desire between two men that there is a common fear that such desire just might accompany any fondness, as well as a fear that other people might jump to conclusions about the implications of two men's attraction to each other.

Homophobia afflicts all males in our society, both those who genuinely are sexually attracted to each other, like Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist in Brokeback Mountain, as well as those whose love or simple affection for each other has no sexual dimension to it. For one man to tell another he loves him, some joking around often trivializes the expression, with all the depth of a commercial for Bud Light; if two men embrace, a reassuring punch is often part of the action. Simply because they are men, gay men—in spite of being sexually drawn to each other—may often be no less free of inhibition in expressing affection than are their straight brothers.

As a historian who has studied the shifting history of American men's various sorts of relationships with each other, I think it is critical to note that Brokeback Mountain's Ennis and Jack were nineteen in 1963, the year they met. (So was I coincidentally.) They were shaped by the culture of 1950s America, a culture that was unusually hostile to male intimacy, as I argue in Picturing Men.

When most American boys learned to fear and despise any suggestion of queerness in themselves, Ennis received a peculiarly graphic lesson: His father made it a point to show his nine-year-old son the sexually mutilated corpse of a rancher whose relationship with the man with whom he shared a home had bothered his neighbors. Jack's dream for himself and Ennis—simply to live together in peace—was a modest one, in contrast to the reasonable dreams of men today who want to marry each other. Yet, living when they did, Ennis could only warn Jack that if their feelings for each other were ever to "grab on to us again in the wrong place, wrong time, we'll be dead." Their intimacy had to remain in the shadows, making Brokeback Mountain a tragic tale of unrealized potential.

Picturing Men shows a different world. The lost world of American men that I depict in my work was a time when men clearly were comfortable with each other, feeling free to physically express mutual affection for all to witness—not hidden away on a Brokeback Mountain, but in front of a camera, wholly without the coldness or the reassuringly exaggerated gestures that would come to mark photographs from a later time. Picturing Men does not argue that the lost world was in every way better than the world of men today, but does surely maintain that the earlier world was different, and that our understanding it, and the reasons for its demise, might improve men's relationships nowadays, with each other and with the women in their lives.

Picturing Men is based on my systematic scrutiny of thousands of everyday photographs of two or more American men together, from the dawn of photography before the Civil War until the early 1950s—both studio portraits as well as the snapshots that became common after the invention of roll film in 1888. The book displays well over a hundred representative images, showing men indoors and out, in homes, dorm rooms, and bunk houses, at the beach and in the work place, soldiers, sailors, and civilians, camping, hunting, and posing for athletic team portraits. The ways men posed with each other changed markedly over the time my book surveys, and my interpretation of those changes leads me to an interpretation of drastic changes in the quality of men's various relationships with each other over a century of American history.

(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fpressblog.uchicago.edu%2Fimages%2Fibson_fig_xii.jpeg&hash=82b6f80ab8761f5d77be0cbde4079a983c182180)

As cultural evidence, photographs document certain things, yet are wholly silent about others. In looking at this photograph taken around 1915, we see two men doing something we rarely observe nowadays. I refer not simply to their pose, but to the fact that they had their portrait taken together in a photographer's studio, a ritual once widespread among American men but extremely rare today. Many observers may confidently think they see evidence of romance and a likely sexual relationship in this photograph, but that judgment reveals something only about the observer, not the subjects. Without an inscription, we can actually discern nothing from this image regarding a matter that has come to obsess us about relationships: whether the parties are having sex with each other.

What we do observe in this photograph—and in countless others—is male intimacy, two men who were clearly so comfortable with each other that they felt no need to clown around, to reassure themselves and anyone who would see their photograph that nothing culturally scorned was being displayed. Another of history's critical lessons is that change always brings both gain and loss. Picturing Men maintains that certain losses that American men have experienced in their relationships with each other have been severe. It is not simply fictional ranch hands, and not just men sexually drawn to each other, whose lives today are full of unrealized potential
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 25, 2006, 12:20 PM: A couple of old reviews. Don't know if already posted.

http://www.deep-focus.com/flicker/brokebac.html

http://noise.cinemalogue.com/2006/02/14/brokeback-retrospect/
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 25, 2006, 12:23 PM: Quote from: frances on Jun 25, 2006, 12:20 PM
A couple of old reviews. Don't know if already posted.

http://www.deep-focus.com/flicker/brokebac.html

http://noise.cinemalogue.com/2006/02/14/brokeback-retrospect/

Thanks Frances,more fodder for my folder ;)
J.x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 25, 2006, 12:57 PM: Folder...eh eh..I know what you mean...I've got one too!
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 25, 2006, 01:00 PM: Quote from: frances on Jun 25, 2006, 12:57 PM
Folder...eh eh..I know what you mean...I've got one too!

Yes,i confess i have several and the more articles that appear,the larger they get.The next U.K meet will be murder.I took them last time and the bags broke.The girls will tell you.I will be taking a suitcase if i get much more.LOL...I love it all though ;D
J.x
Sorry slightly o/t
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: aimi15 on Jun 25, 2006, 04:26 PM: Quote from: Jennis on Jun 25, 2006, 01:00 PM
Quote from: frances on Jun 25, 2006, 12:57 PM
Folder...eh eh..I know what you mean...I've got one too!

Yes,i confess i have several and the more articles that appear,the larger they get.The next U.K meet will be murder.I took them last time and the bags broke.The girls will tell you.I will be taking a suitcase if i get much more.LOL...I love it all though ;D
J.x
Sorry slightly o/t
LOL. Forget the suitcase get a mule. BTW - thanks for the reviews frances - i've missed lots of them :-*
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 26, 2006, 03:49 AM: Annual pride parade winds through downtown Santa Fe

SANTA FE Riders on horseback was a first for the annual Pride on the Plaza Parade through downtown Santa Fe.

The parade adopted a celebration of gay cowboys as its theme.

The New Mexico Gay Rodeo Association won first place yesterday for its parade entry -- an 8-foot cowboy boot with spur followed by a pair of men on horses.

Diana Ossana was among the judges.

She shared an Academy Award this year as co-writer of the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain, a film about two rugged cowboys who fall in love.

Mayor David Coss served as the parade's grand marshal.

He says he was honored to be a part of it.

********************************************************

Gay Pride Parade Celebrated for 36th Year in San Francisco

San Francisco's 36th Annual Pride Parade in San Francisco is among the largest events in California -- second only to the Rose Bowl. This year the parade is celebrated amid the controversy over same-sex marriage. The effort to legalize such unions was spearheaded by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom but remains in legal limbo.

At Sunday's parade, family and children were at the forefront. "People need to recognize we're a family. We have the same issues that other familes have and we want to be recognized, same as everybody else," said Kevin McCarthy, a gay parent who was at the parade.

There were also lots of people dressed as cowboys, perhaps a reflectin of the mainstream success of the gay-themed movie "Brokeback Mountain."

Last fall, the state legislature approved a bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, to legalize same-sex marriages, but Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed it. Since then, attempts to put four initiatives aimed at amending the state's constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman have failed to get the needed signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 26, 2006, 08:01 AM: Very interesting, Thanks frances. If there is a sign of something good happening in the attitudes of yonger American males, we need not look any further than Jake Gyllenhaal himself. If he is a hint of new attitudes among young male lead stars, then nearly 40 years of open struggle have not been for nought.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 26, 2006, 09:54 AM: By ANA MARIA TRUJILLO | The New Mexican

June 25, 2006

Riders on horseback was a first for the annual Pride on the Plaza Parade through downtown Santa Fe on Saturday, which this year adopted a celebration of gay cowboys as its theme.

The New Mexico Gay Rodeo Association won a $500 first prize for its entry: an 8-foot cowboy boot with spur followed by a pair of men on horses.

Among the judges was Diana Ossana, who shared an Academy Award this year as co-writer of the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain, the film about two rugged cowboys who fall in love.

"It's incredible work that you're doing, and I'll do anything to support it," Ossana said before announcing the winners. "There are two things that I'm really proud of -- my daughter Sarah and this film, Brokeback Mountain."

The parade was a highlight of an 11-day arts-and-culture festival sponsored by the Human Rights Alliance.

"This is the day when we all get together in one place to really celebrate, have a good time and be out and be who we are," said Donald Stout, president of the alliance and one of the parade's organizers.

Read full article here:
http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/45494.html
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 26, 2006, 10:00 AM: 'Brokeback Mountain,' other films to appear on big outdoor screen

By: Rebecca Kaufman, Reporter Staff Writer 06/25/2006

I can't quit you, Movies Under the Stars!

'Brokeback Mountain,' other films to appear on big outdoor screen

This summer's "Movies Under the Stars" outdoor film series will include several of this year's Oscar-nominated films, including the controversial story of two cowboys in love, "Brokeback Mountain."

Movies Under the Stars will be presented by the City of Hoboken on a big screen every Wednesday night in June, July, and August at Pier A Park at First Street and Sinatra Drive.

Carmelo Garcia, the city's director of health and human services, said that movies are chosen based on several criteria.

"The movies are selected based on what, demographically, we think will be the most interesting to our audience," Garcia said.

"We like to diversify it because Hoboken is so diverse. We try to have two to three movies for children and some for all other type of individuals."

During June and July, movies will begin at 9 p.m. and during August, at 8:15 p.m. Admission to Movies Under the Stars is free, and it is suggested that one brings a blanket or chair.

Movies Under the Stars is sponsored by Mayor David Roberts, the City of Hoboken, Projected Images of HC, Hudson County Division of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, City Living by Toll Brothers, and 101.1 Jack FM.

CATCH A FILM - Movies Under the Stars will be held every Wednesday this summer.

Movies Under the Stars schedule

June 28: "The Producers" July 12: "Brokeback Mountain" July 19: "Walk the

Line" July 26: "Rent" August 2: "March of the Penguins" August 9: "Harry

Potter and the Goblet of Fire" August 16: "Wallace and Grommit: Curse of the

Were-Rabbit" August 23: "Curious George" August 30: "King Kong"

http://www.hudsonreporter.com/site/news.cfm?
newsid=16830261&BRD=1291&PAG=461&dept_id=523585&rfi=6
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 26, 2006, 07:31 PM: The Broken Back of Counterfeit Liberalism
By Karin S. Coddon

6-26-06,

Months after the event, an event that I concede is the quintessence of triviality, I am still pissed. I’m pissed that the Academy Awards snubbed Brokeback Mountain in favor of the “surprise” choice of Crash, a film described by Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan as a “feel-good movie about racism.”

It’s not that I am a rabid cinephile or that Brokeback, which I truly loved, was the best or boldest film I’ve ever seen. Nor is it simply that the Brokeback slight was clearly fueled by a combination of homophobia and cowardice. But several friends and I remained angry for the next couple of days after the Oscars. My sister and I remained angry for a good two weeks.

Here it is months later, and I’m still fuming. My spleen was jump-started by my coming across an old issue of Entertainment Weekly in which one of my literary heroes, Stephen King, also takes the Academy to task over bypassing Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture.

One of King’s comments particularly struck me, gesturing as it did toward the true basis for my umbrage in excess if not of the facts, then of the context. The Academy, observes King, is at heart “as conservative as the current U.S. House of Representatives” (EW 858, Mar 17, 06, 126).

Exactly – yet mainstream political culture continues to label Hollywood “liberal” and thus out of sync with the values of the heartland, just as the right-wing punditocracy assails “tenured radicals” whose rarefied and indecipherable post-fill-in-the-blankism is cited as proof of a concerted leftist indoctrination project. Both targeted and demonized by the right-wing side of the “culture wars,” Hollywood and academia alike proudly wear the banner of contestation while remaining in essence as reactionary in membership and institutional practices as their adversaries on the right. The banner of contestation is in reality the emperor’s new clothes. These liberal bogeymen play the valuable role of lightning rod against which the right wing can rally the troops even while knowing that these threats are as counterfeit as the Red-under-every-bed of the 1950’s.

Thus for me the Brokeback Mountain incident embodies – and lays bare – the vacuity at the core of much of what passes as culturally subversive in this, the Bush era: the self-deceived complicity of those demonized as much as the facile demonization. I am left to ponder two questions. First, what are the available modes of leftist contestation if popular and academic culture offer only safe, sham versions? And second, with the rare acts of honest liberal/leftism – Fahrenheit 9/11, gay marriage legislation, even Randi Rhodes’s passionate anti-Bushism on Air America Radio – appropriated as mobilizing tools by the right no less effectively than the faux liberalism of Hollywood and the university, is a refusal to engage at all the only remaining option? Is it better to say nothing than to risk feeding the reactionary beast?

Let me address this latter point first. A friend of mine in the Bay Area, with whom I generally see eye-to-eye on political matters, is bitter to this day over San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s attempts to legalize gay marriage. For her, all Newsom’s doomed gesture did was play into Republican hands in 2004, providing sure impetus for a big evangelical Christian turnout. But consider the alternative, I counter. Should our various elected leaders affect either indifference or acquiescence to oppressive social policies for fear of galvanizing the opposition? This, sadly, is the strategy of most Democrats in Washington: keep quiet and wait for the bastards to hang themselves. It is a strategy that played a key role in inflicting two terms of Bush upon the nation, and one whose continued practice bodes ill indeed for 2008.

The same friend of mine, though she was just as outraged by the Brokeback snub, argues that the film industry merely blinked in the face of a guaranteed right-wing backlash had it given its top honor to Ang Lee’s controversial movie. But I think it’s perilous to downplay the role of homophobia. After all, isn’t cowardice precisely what allows us both to obfuscate and rationalize bigotry? Moreover – and I admit this may be erroneous and indicative of my own prejudices – does anyone really think Jack Nicholson cast his vote for the gay cowboy movie?

Or maybe Jack is one of the good guys, for all I know. Honest liberalism, though often chastised by many of us on the hard left for its timidity and accommodationism, can serve a progressive function; while it may not provoke sudden, radical epiphanies leading to structural intervention, it can help nudge the undecided, or provoke reflection from those who might not have given much thought to an issue theretofore. It’s probably true that most of the people who went to see Brokeback Mountain or Fahrenheit 9/11, for that matter, were at least not predisposed against these films’ respective themes. (To be fair, you couldn’t have paid me to see The Passion of the Christ.) But nearly impossible to quantify are the subtle shifts in social and political attitudes these works of popular art might have germinated. Coincidence or not, two years after Fahrenheit 9/11, the highest-grossing documentary to date, most people oppose the war in Iraq and believe Bush lied in making his case for the invasion. Might Brokeback Mountain yield similar, incremental changes in attitude? Perhaps, but how much stronger a chance the movie would have had to foster such a shift had it received the Best Picture award, a proven catalyst for increased box-office and DVD revenues.

Obviously, then, fear of rocking the right-wing boat is as unacceptable as outright prejudice. But, to return to my first question, is authentic contestation even possible in the current political climate? I write this in the immediate aftermath of the May Day boycott by immigrant workers and those in solidarity with them. Already the mainstream media is dismissing the notion of any tangible effects of the nationwide one-day strike, but this perspective is as short-sighted as it is self-serving. The boycott was a costly wakeup call to those who both exploit and denigrate immigrant labor. Moreover, there is good reason to hope that it will spark similar collective activism against the war, the epidemics of poverty and racism exposed by Katrina, the institutionalized inequities of our economic system. Given the importance of collective activism, the boycott is a reminder that radicals and honest liberals can, and should, work together.

My sister, who really is a film aficionado, told me that the Oscar results tempted her to boycott all Hollywood movies. While not even I think the Academy’s shameful decision merits mass protest, the point was well made. Each of us has the powerful right of refusal – to work, to purchase, to remain silent in the face of injustice. It is a right rendered all the more potent when exercised en masse. And it is a right abdicated every time the “safe” choice is made, whether in the faux-liberalism of Hollywood, the confusion of teaching Deleuze and Guattari with active radicalism, or worst of all, the conviction that protest is futile.

--Karin S. Coddon is a freelance writer living in Southern California. Send your letters to the editor to pa-letters@politicalaffairs.net

http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/3700/1/195/
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: frances on Jun 27, 2006, 02:38 AM: Quote from: Jennis on Jun 26, 2006, 07:31 PM

The Broken Back of Counterfeit Liberalism
By Karin S. Coddon

Truth is....THAT night most of us thought that the vote for the other film was truly a vote against BBM.

Never tired of articles about BBM's impact on our society.

Thanks, Jennis
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 27, 2006, 07:41 AM: Quote from: frances on Jun 27, 2006, 02:38 AM
Quote from: Jennis on Jun 26, 2006, 07:31 PM

The Broken Back of Counterfeit Liberalism
By Karin S. Coddon

Truth is....THAT night most of us thought that the vote for the other film was truly a vote against BBM.

Never tired of articles about BBM's impact on our society.

Thanks, Jennis

I sent the following short note to Karin:

I appreciated very much your article entitled "The Broken Back of Counterfeit Liberalism". You echoed my sentiments precisely. I thank you.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: carlton5 on Jun 27, 2006, 03:27 PM: I too am still so pissed that BBM was snubbed for BP-and it cant be laid at the feet of conservatives that it didnt win- Sure some people didnt wnt to see it - will never see it -and never would have voted for it in the Aademy regardless of their political beliefs -Whether they were liberal,conservative,or middle of the road poliically -the voters just couldnt bear to see a gay film win- Oprah sure beat the drum incessantly for TRASH to win and I assume coerced quite a few of her felow voters into voting Trash over BBM- and u cant call OPRAH a conservative- She has stated she wanted Trash to win so more peopl would see it- She was voting her agenda just like a lot of other voters - Itwas an easy out for them- They sure didnt want a gay movie to win so lets set it up where a movie on Racism wins and who would dare question us voting that way as being against racism certainly cant be argued with and its cool and liberal too. We will never ever find out the actual voting tally for BP or who voted for what-Did BBM lose by 20votes or 200? Did all the liberal Jews vote for Munich because they wanted more people to see it? Did some vote for Capote because Truman Capote is the way gay peopleare supposed to be -lisping and effiminate? Did all the friends of George Clooney vote for his liberal picture just because they like him? I know I am rambling but basically liberal voters out number conservative voters in the Academy by a wide margin- If all the so-called liberals really wanted BBM to win BP to make some sort of statement_BBM would have won BP in a landslide but it didnt win at all- They just didnt want a gay pictre to win-There is no conservative/liberal vote about it-
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: carlton5 on Jun 27, 2006, 03:44 PM: Just another thought- I just wonder who Jake and Heath would have voted for in the BP race if they could have voted and they WERENT in BBM- I know Jake is very liberal but could he have voted for a "gay cowboy movie" or would he have figured TRASH needed to win because it was shot in LA, and he knew some of the actors in it and Oprah wanted him to- same for Heath- I really cant see him voting for a gay cowboy film either -He might not have voted for Trash but ............... well he is so outside the Hollywood stream ,he probably wouldnt have voted at all lol
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 27, 2006, 04:15 PM: Quote from: carlton5 on Jun 27, 2006, 03:44 PM
Just another thought- I just wonder who Jake and Heath would have voted for in the BP race if they could have voted and they WERENT in BBM- I know Jake is very liberal but could he have voted for a "gay cowboy movie" or would he have figured TRASH needed to win because it was shot in LA, and he knew some of the actors in it and Oprah wanted him to- same for Heath- I really cant see him voting for a gay cowboy film either -He might not have voted for Trash but ............... well he is so outside the Hollywood stream ,he probably wouldnt have voted at all lol

It is hard to speculate on this aspect: what would they have voted for if they had not been in BBM.

For Jake, the journey towards making BBM was clearly a matter of conversion. He started out years ago not wanting to do it, and ended up doing it years later. Did he prefer Jarhead to BBM? Would he have not voted at all?

I think what matters is that he agreed to do this film. That "vote" is there for all of us to see and appreciate. How many of his liberal Hollywood actor friends would have done the same?

For doing this film and giving their all to their roles, he and Heath have cast their votes. Those votes are more important than any AMPAS votes for BP.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: carlton5 on Jun 28, 2006, 09:27 AM: Your response has great insight and merit- I think they both took the parts initially as both their careers wernt exactly what u would call very successful in terms of box office and praise -Both had been in a string of bombs and I figure they took the opportunity to do the film beween jobs as it was a short shoot compared to other films and also maybe most importantly , would give them a chance to work with Ang Lee. Also we all know BBM was supposed to be just an art house film that proabbly would not be seen by many and exit from theatres very quickly and I figure that also might have figured into them taking the roles -It would have been another bomb but at least they would have developed their craft more with Ang Lee since they are still such young actors- I really think the success and universal praise of the film might have truely caught them offguard- Am sure they were just curious to see how it would do while preparing for/shooting other roles in other films and thats about it- after such success of BBM I think they really didnt know how to handle it- Am sure with all the press, jokes,controversy,interview after interview answering the same dumb questions,award shows etc etc etc- They would have wished it would all go away especially Heath- Hopefully within the last couple ofl months they have finally had some rest and peace and can reflect back on what a true masterpiece that they helped to create and are indeed thankful that they dared accept the roles that are so indelibly etched in countless minds and hearts around the world
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 28, 2006, 11:11 AM: Published 06.28.06

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN ***** (PG)

Ang Lee's heart-wrenching Western one-ups the male tenderness and isolation of the traditional oater by basing this film on Annie Proulx's short story of two cowboys (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) who fall in love in 1963 Wyoming. Lee's film is lovely to look at and profoundly moving, touching on both the economic and spiritual isolation of the ranch hand's life and also the more universal isolation of being a man. Ledger is superb as an archetype of male interiority, an emotionally contained man who finds his slim fragments of happiness in short, infrequent meetings with Gyllenhaal's character, who dreams of an impossible future for their doomed love affair. Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival. Thurs., June 29, 8 p.m. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. $7-$10. 404-881-2100. www.foxtheatre.org. -- Felicia Feaster

http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A90501
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: ennisandjack on Jun 29, 2006, 06:06 PM: Quote
The Broken Back of Counterfeit Liberalism
By Karin S. Coddon

Thanks so much for this article Jennis. It was very insightful...and its good to read about someone else who is also still bothered by the oscar debacle. I still get upset when something reminds me of what happened or what should have happened that night. I also hold quite a grudge towards Haggis. Immature I know, but nonetheless how I feel.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: ennisandjack on Jun 29, 2006, 06:08 PM: Brokeback Pride
Gay people, art and the recovery of passion
BY CLIFF BOSTOCK
Published 06.28.06

By the time you read this, Atlanta's gay pride celebration will have come and gone. The annual event, which bears more resemblance to a gigantic party than a political action, nonetheless remains controversial with just about everyone.

A lot of gay people complain that the event is a poor representation of the gay community because its parade in particular promotes an "outrageous" image. Drag queens, men in leather and dykes on bikes capture the media's attention, the argument goes, and then the whole image of homosexuality goes down the toilet. By that reasoning, gay pride should be a public relations event that promotes as wholesome an image of sodomy as possible.

That tired argument is, interestingly, more promoted by gay people themselves than by straight people. I'm reminded of Baton Bob, the picturesque dude who marches about town in drum major drag, twirling a baton. The owner of a Midtown business told me that his straight clients love Bob, while gay men tend to dis him. It's undeniable that a lot of straight people are more accepting of the diversity of gender expression in gay life than many gay men are.

When I came out of the closet after a brief marriage to a woman in my 20s, it was precisely the diversity of expression that most appealed to me in gay life. Even my status as an outlaw -- sodomy was very illegal -- was appealing. The outlaw's exclusion from the dominant culture gives him a unique perspective, especially useful to anyone with a literary or other artistic bent.

Well-meaning friends urged me to keep silent about my sexual orientation in print. I refused and I only know of one instance where my being gay inhibited my career. Usually, it enhanced it. If you accept something taboo about yourself and cultivate it rather than try to hide it, you create a solid foundation for independent thinking. The braying of bigots doesn't mean much if you're feeling true to yourself.

The unexpected box-office success of the movie Brokeback Mountain demonstrates, I think, how the gay person's choice of self-acceptance or rejection is a metaphor for everyone's dilemma in that respect. The movie has acquired a huge fan base, including my partner of nearly 14 years, Wayne.

In fact, skipping Atlanta's gay pride weekend, Wayne traveled to a small town in Wyoming to gather for nearly a week with a few other fans he has met on the Internet, where he has posted more than 3,000 comments on the film. I'm sure I've heard at least twice that many in our own conversations. Fond of non sequiturs, he frequently utters lines from the movie that seem to bear no relation to what's under discussion. "Brokeback moments," I call them.

Although I found the movie appealing, I did not share the enthralled response of people like Wayne. I have asked him repeatedly to explain to me what has so captivated his imagination. He just stammers and usually makes a joke. Of course, gay men are infamous for their attachment to some movies -- usually campy ones like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane and Sunset Boulevard. Those films don't have much in common with Brokeback, except, perhaps, the tragic depiction of love.

At this point, too, a community has actually developed around the film, and that's also true of the broader gay experience. Works of the imagination -- from grand opera to the campy films of John Waters -- develop fanatical gay followings.
Some friends think it's strange that I don't object to Wayne's weeklong fugue. I remind them that a few years ago, I was running away to Spain for a month at a time to watch flamenco performances twice a day, every day. I've never been a whole lot more articulate about my obsession with this gender-bending, melancholic form of dance and song than Wayne is about his fixation on a movie.

Honestly, I don't think, after the initial seduction, it has much to do with the content of a work of art. I first saw flamenco as a somatic psychology. But the more I observed it, the more I felt drawn into its pure feverish passion, its oscillation between the spiritual and the hellish.

Of course, it's precisely passion that the dominant culture has tried to squelch in gay people. I wonder if our attachment to passion-filled works of art isn't part of our struggle to reclaim our hearts. And I think that may likewise be behind much of the spontaneous, outrageous theater of gay pride events. I hope it never changes.

Cliff Bostock holds a Ph.D. in depth psychology.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 29, 2006, 06:12 PM: Quote from: ennisandjack on Jun 29, 2006, 06:06 PM
Quote
The Broken Back of Counterfeit Liberalism
By Karin S. Coddon

Thanks so much for this article Jennis. It was very insightful...and its good to read about someone else who is also still bothered by the oscar debacle. I still get upset when something reminds me of what happened or what should have happened that night. I also hold quite a grudge towards Haggis. Immature I know, but nonetheless how I feel.
I understand.I don't think we will ever forget it.I know how you feel.
Hugs
J.x
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: Jennis on Jun 29, 2006, 06:12 PM: QUEERING THE MEDIA by Megan Carrigy

Sydney Star Observer - Issue 822 - Published 29/06/2006

IN THE AFTERMATH OF BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, SAN FRANCISCO'S PERSISTENT VISION CONFERENCE LOOKED AT CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDS IN QUEER MEDIA.

With global Pride Weekends done and dusted for the year, it’s an ideal time to take stock of where things are at. An excellent place to start is the Persistent Vision conference held in San Francisco in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the San Francisco’s International LGBT Film Festival.

The conference was an attempt to refocus the gains and losses of the last five years in the US, some predictable, others unforseen.

It was a chance to ask questions: What kind of political, social and media landscape is queer media arts inhabiting now? What kinds of emergences have taken place?

What kinds of class, urban and other constraints still control what constitutes queerness? What makes a work of art queer? Is there such thing as a queer sensibility or is the queerness in the audience reception? Are we queering the mainstream?

John Cameron Mitchell (famous for his film Hedwig And The Angry Inch) offered one of the most twisted takes on these last few questions.

In his keynote address, he insisted that at the opening of his new film Shortbus (which takes a “we’re all in this together approach” to the sexual spectrum) the auto-fellatio sequence did not in fact constitute a gay sex scene.

Film scholar B. Ruby Rich added another question to the list. How do we position this eternally male-orientated queer culture?

This question was addressed by a panel titled “We Want Our Dykeback Mountain” with Jamie Babbit (director of But I’m A Cheerleader), Angela Robinson (D.E.B.S.) and Guinevere Turner (Go Fish and The L Word) discussing the dearth of well-funded lesbian features crossing over.

Babbit declared that it was “leadership in the studio” that saw Brokeback Mountain through its breathless reception.

Homophobia in the studio system constitutes a lack of leadership that is directly responsible for the small number of queer feature films able to crossover or even be produced in the first place, she said.

This was supported by Angela Robinson’s comments about her experience making D.E.B.S. (a kind of lesbian Charlie’s Angels that played Mardi Gras Film Festival 2005), a film that, like Brokeback Mountain, opened up some of the most popular genres to being queered outright.

Produced and distributed by Sony, D.E.B.S. was banned by the distributor from the majority of the North American LGBT film festival circuit.

Robinson told us that marketing screening tests suggested that the target audience for the film was straight black men, despite it being the first lesbian film to get a PG 13 rating. In spite of identifying this target audience, the film got an art-house cinema release in the US. What’s more it opened on the Dinah Shaw weekend, the largest US lesbian party event of the year.

There was an ongoing emphasis during the four days on the fact that “we have Brokeback now” is not a sign that the war on representation has been won.

Rich was quick to outline the mainstream market’s ongoing “call to disarm”. Accepting the mantra that “the marketplace takes care of everything”, she reminded us, will not necessarily reward us with the product we want to see.

At the Emerging Voices Panel, many of the panellists, who included representatives from the Hispanic, black, women of colour, transgender and intersex filmmaking communities, asked why they were still considered emerging voices when the majority of them had been making films for decades.

The consensus was that these voices are continually being marginalised rather than being allowed to emerge.

Concern was expressed throughout the conference about the ways in which new queer TV channels in the US police queerness. Alarmingly, these TV channels have already censored a lot of queer filmmakers’ work and many voices are still missing.

This reflected anxiety around how queers can utilise new modes of delivery, including video on demand and peer-to-peer networks.

The worry is that corporates are already attempting to colonise these new technologies before we’ve all had a chance to work out what we could possibly do with them.

Clearly, some progress has already been made on this front as the majority of conference sessions will be podcast from the Persistent Vision website as of next week.

This means those who were not in the room in San Francisco can now enter these discussions at the Persistent Vision 2006 website.

http://www.ssonet.com.au/display.asp?ArticleID=5506
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: *Froggy* on Jun 29, 2006, 06:17 PM: On Thursday 29th around 7pm EST...Cham aka Lacham reached 10000 posts on ennisjack.com
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: ethan on Jun 30, 2006, 12:56 AM: It is a great news.

1/18th of posts in the forum is from LaCham. Unbelievable. What can we do without LaCham?
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: tpe on Jun 30, 2006, 12:41 PM: Quote from: carlton5 on Jun 28, 2006, 09:27 AM
Your response has great insight and merit- I think they both took the parts initially as both their careers wernt exactly what u would call very successful in terms of box office and praise -Both had been in a string of bombs and I figure they took the opportunity to do the film beween jobs as it was a short shoot compared to other films and also maybe most importantly , would give them a chance to work with Ang Lee. Also we all know BBM was supposed to be just an art house film that proabbly would not be seen by many and exit from theatres very quickly and I figure that also might have figured into them taking the roles -It would have been another bomb but at least they would have developed their craft more with Ang Lee since they are still such young actors- I really think the success and universal praise of the film might have truely caught them offguard- Am sure they were just curious to see how it would do while preparing for/shooting other roles in other films and thats about it- after such success of BBM I think they really didnt know how to handle it- Am sure with all the press, jokes,controversy,interview after interview answering the same dumb questions,award shows etc etc etc- They would have wished it would all go away especially Heath- Hopefully within the last couple ofl months they have finally had some rest and peace and can reflect back on what a true masterpiece that they helped to create and are indeed thankful that they dared accept the roles that are so indelibly etched in countless minds and hearts around the world

Yes, they seemed humbled by the enormous response to BBM, whether the response was for or against it. They are very young, and it was good that this added an element of freshness into their portrayals. BUt I do think they trusted Ang Lee to a certain extent, although Gyllenhaal had some difficulty with how they were left to their own devices. Jake probably did realize later on the merit in this approach, as I attribute his reshaping the character of Jack to this very ambivalence of Ang Lee's directives.
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: stephan on Jun 30, 2006, 02:50 PM: Donnaread has asked me to post this article.
It isn't about BBM any more than Gay Pride is, but it is relatively recent.
Stephan

_____________

FASCINATING MAGAZINE ARTICLE: "The effeminate sheep," by Jonah Lehrer in SEED:Science is culture, June/July, 2006, pages 52-57.
'Long disparaged as a quirk of human culture, homosexuality, now documented in 450 vertebrate species, may be a normal and necessary fact of animal life.' The article is also a review of the book EVOLUTION'S RAINBOW, by Joan Roughgarden, a professor of biology at Stanford University. From the book blurb: "In this innovative celebration of diversity and affirmation of individuality in animals and humans, Joan Roughgarden challenges accepted wisdom about gender identity and sexual orientation. A distinguished evolutionary biologist, Roughgarden takes on the medical establishment, the Bible, social science -- and even Darwin himself. She leads the reader through a fascinating discussion of diversity in gender and sexuality among fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, including primates. EVOLUTION'S RAINBOW explains how this diversity develops from the action of genes and hormones and how people come to differ from each other in all aspects of body and behavior. Roughgarden reconstructs primary science in light of feminist, gay, and transgender criticism and redefines our understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality. Witty, playful, and daring, this book will revolutionize our understanding of sexuality.
"Roughgarden argues that principal elements of Darwinian sexual selection theory are false and suggests a new theory that emphasizes social inclusion and control of access to resources and mating opportunity. She disputes a range of scientific and medical concepts, including Wilson's genetic determinism of behavior, evolutionary psychology, the existence of a gay gene, the role of parenting in determining gender identity, and Dawkin's "selfish gene" as the driver of natural selection. She dares social science to respect the agency and rationality of diverse people; shows that many cultures across the world and throughout history accomodate people that we label today as lesbian, gay, and transgendered;[note: Roughgarden is transgendered] and calls on the Christian religion to acknowledge the Bible's many passages endorsing diversity in gender and sexuality..."

The book is very technical, but also very interesting.

Donna
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: lamusica on Jun 30, 2006, 05:49 PM: While I like to think about and read opinions about why BBM didn't win the Oscar, I think the reason is very simple. Those who are allowed ( invited) to vote do not take any pride in their vote. Right after the Oscars were given, two well-known actors on talk shows proudly admitted that they had been sent all the videos of the nominated movies, but they hadn't really seen BBM. They had heard about it. On that basis, they voted. Does this show any commitment to the honor of being a voter? I was shocked that they both admitted doing this. To me, I lost respect for the award, as well as those two actors. Also, when the song of the year was announced, I knew the politics and lack of responsibility of the voters was at work again. While Hoffman did a creditable job in Capote, did he really make the stretch that Ledger did in bringing Ennis to life? I, for one, am disgusted with Hollywood's bubbleheads who have the right to vote on the Oscars, but do not care enough about their craft or us, the public ( who pay their salaries through our support of their movies, DVD's, etc.) to view all Oscar nominated offerings and make an honest attempt at awarding the most deserving contender in each category. This is just my opinion, but I don't give Hollywood enough credit to think through all the political angles some people think are behind their irresponsible voting. Am I jaded? Just IMO......Lamusica
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: ragtimecowboy on Jul 06, 2006, 07:19 PM: Quote from: Koka on Jun 08, 2006, 08:52 AM
Quote from: frances on Jun 04, 2006, 11:52 AM
Thank you Melisande, very interesting one.

I don't agree entirely with Dennis Grunes's review though.

Two examples :

Brokeback Mountain does nothing to get in the way of our giving serious thought to a serious issue. Lee, who is Taiwanese-born, more often has highlighted the oppression of women in various societies; here, he has shifted his attention to another oppressed group. But he has proceeded with more sensitivity than intellectual acumen or artistic purpose. Instead, he has gone the route of pop propaganda. By imposing straight stereotypes on gay characters, he hopes to expand the comfort level of non-gays toward their gay brethren. He has made a tearjerker in a good cause - but he has made a tearjerker
[/b]
On the other hand, Jake Gyllenhaal is not nearly so credible as Jack. Early on, he is at his best; but he ages unconvincingly, and his performance strikes many more sentimental notes than authentic ones. (He could be acting in the television series Dallas.) Ledger strikes chords of great tenderness in his scenes with Gyllenhaal, but Gyllenhaal’s Jack never seems to love Ledger’s Ennis as much as Ennis seems to love Jack. This is ironic, given that Ennis is the character who is more conflicted about his homosexuality, and it is quite possible that this is a deliberate choice on Lee’s part and on Gyllenhaal’s. But the discrepancy between the love that Jack professes and the love that is apparent - at least to my eye - eventually defeated my understanding.[/b]

WHUT?

(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi77.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj66%2Ffranny19%2Fnit.jpg&hash=f58d1fdcfa195d7a7e0c6f2c7a7210f8fc11bd5e)

(https://ennisjack.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi77.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj66%2Ffranny19%2Fbbm0903.jpg&hash=7142c12f61adb8db53aab5f4ab0023efc8dc4599)

okay, WHAT?!?! the whole second paragraph is such utter crap. 'On the other hand, Jake Gyllenhaal is not nearly so credible as Jack' and 'but Gyllenhaal’s Jack never seems to love Ledger’s Ennis as much as Ennis seems to love Jack' is this guys kidding me? jake landed the role of his LIFE with BBM playing Jack f****** Twist. he was absolutelly remarkable. I FELT Jack's love for Ennis in every word that came out of his mouth, in every gesture he made....in everything unspoken.
I don't know what movie Dennis Grune was watching, but Jake was the perfect incarnation of Jack Twist in this movie, you couldn't help but feel the love he was radiating for Heath's Ennis. He must of been watching Trash, I mean Crash :)
Title: Re: News Coverage: June 2006
Post by: lamusica on Jul 07, 2006, 06:58 PM: I'm with you on your comments, ragtimecowboy. While I dodn't think the make-up department did a very good job on aging Jack, when it comes to Jack's character, Jake did a great job. Jack did not age mentally. Up until the end, he was the same Jake. He was a bit immature all his life, but, to question his love of Ennis is nonsense. Perhaps some of his looks were moon-eyed, but that's how he felt about Ennis. To doubt that Jake loved Ennis changes the entire meaning of the story/film. Was their love the same? I don't know. They certainly were different kinds of men, and I think the way in which they expressed their love for one another was different. That's what makes them so convincing. We are all different. Some of us wear our hearts on our sleeves like Jack; others of us keep it hidden, like Ennis did. I think Grune saw a different movie than I saw, so I wish he would quit commenting upon our BBM. lamusica