Topic: News Coverage April 3 - April 9

[tpe]

From http://eurweb.com/story/eur25666.cfm

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PROTESTS FOLLOW ‘BROKEBACK’ BAN IN BAHAMAS: Gay rights groups calling on Control Board to reverse decision.
 
   
     *Folks in the Bahamas wanting to check out “Brokeback Mountain” must travel to another country to watch the film after the island’s government decided to ban it from theaters.       

      Gay rights groups are charging the Plays and Films Control Board with discrimination and censorship, and calling on the government body to reverse its decision to prohibit theaters from showing the film about a love affair between two gay cowboys.       

       "You have a group of people who are telling grown men and women what they can and cannot watch," Philip Burrows, a theater director in the island chain, told The Associated Press. "I cannot understand denying people the right to make their own choices."       

       Ads for the film were already hung at theaters in Nassau Friday when the board announced its ban at the request of the Bahamas Christian Council.       

       "The board chose to ban it because it shows extreme homosexuality, nudity and profanity, and we feel that it has no value for the Bahamian public," Chavasse Turnquest-Liriano, liaison officer for the control board, said Wednesday.       

       Mainland China has also banned the film, and Turkey has restricted viewing to those over 18. The long buzzed-about movie won three Oscars, including best director for Ang Lee.

[Italian_Dude]

Brokeback Mountain truck fetches teen $60,000

PINCHER CREEK -- A southern Alberta teenager can't believe that he could get more than $60,000 Cdn for an old pickup truck used in the filming of the Oscar-winning movie Brokeback Mountain.

Matthew Kennedy, a 16-year-old Grade 11 student in Pincher Creek, bought the 1950s GMC truck about a year ago after a friend who worked on the film tipped him it was to be sold at auction.

After the movie won several Oscars, Kennedy decided to put it up for sale on EBay and see how much he could get for it.

Final bidding on Thursday night reached $60,100.

"I wasn't expecting anything close to this," said Kennedy, who paid less than $8,000 for it. He said he plans to use the money to pay for his post-secondary education.

[tpe]

From http://www.moviecitynews.com/Notepad/2006/060403_pr.html

Fans Support Next Wave of Brokeback Mountain Ads
and announce campaign to put the DVD in 2,000 rural libraries

Hollywood, California -- Building on the international attention for its unprecedented ad in the March 10 Daily Variety, a website discussion board has launched an ambitious campaign to place the Brokeback Mountain DVD in 2,000 rural libraries in the United States and Canada. The campaign will also extend abroad, particularly targeting countries like the Bahamas, where the film has been banned. This is the first in a series of projects to be launched by The Ultimate Brokeback Forum. “The ad campaign ignited a wealth of enthusiasm to make a difference. It has been an incredible outpouring of Internet activism, and it is all due to Brokeback Mountain” said site organizer, Dave Cullen.

The group is calling the latest campaign: “2,000 DVDs to Libraries.” In the first few days of the campaign, prior to the DVD release, the group has already committed to donating the DVD to about 200 libraries in twelve states and Canada. Most libraries have been receptive--a dozen have refused, most citing general policy restrictions. Organizers hope that after the DVD is released that fans around the world will donate a DVD to a library or organization near them as part of the camapign.

The group has also moved to phase two of its advertising campaign. Over the next month, banner ads will run on at least eight Internet sites where organizers expect at least two million viewers will see the ads. The ads will proclaim Brokeback Mountain as the consensus choice for Best Picture in 2005 and will ask viewers to share the experience by linking them to the resources at The Ultimate Brokeback Guide and Forum at davecullen.com. Since the start of the campaign, the group has raised over $30,000 from some 800 contributors around the world.

As donations poured in from around the world--a contingent in Taiwan even ran their own ad in Mandarin--members of the forum expanded their vision beyond just a single ad in Variety. Contemplating print ads in national periodicals, members decided that broadly disseminated internet banner ads would allow the group to reach a wider audience, reflecting the forum’s diversity. “Members of our forum are an amazingly disparate group who simply want people to see the film and feel its power. Some of our most active members are grandmothers and over a third of forum members are women,” said Cullen.

It is no accident the group waited until the eve of the DVD release to start the second round of ads and to announce the campaign to place the DVD in 2,000 libraries. The group wanted to help bring the message of Brokeback Mountain to the millions of new fans who will see the film for the first time on DVD.

.....................




Nota Bene: I wish them all the best. 

[stephan]

It is a nice gesture. Does it mean lending libraries ? People will be able to borrow it from a library, instead of having to rent it ? If so, it is a very nice gesture.

[chameau]

It is a nice gesture. Does it mean lending libraries ? People will be able to borrow it from a library, instead of having to rent it ? If so, it is a very nice gesture.

That's it my friend, borrow from a library.

[tpe]

From http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-walmart4apr04,1,4108102.story?coll=la-headlines-business

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Wal-Mart Sells 'Brokeback' Amid Conservative Protest
Christian group accuses the retailer of 'pushing an agenda' by featuring the gay-themed film.
By Claire Hoffman, Times Staff Writer
April 4, 2006


Wal-Mart to the producers of "Brokeback Mountain": We won't quit you.

Today, the largest retailer in the U.S. starts selling DVDs of the film about a gay love affair between two ranchers, despite protests from a national Christian organization.

The 3-million-member American Family Assn. initiated a campaign last week encouraging Wal-Mart customers to ask the company to refuse to stock the Universal film, whose director won an Academy Award last month, in its 3,900 stores.

The Tupelo, Miss.-based group began its campaign last week, after Wal-Mart placed ads with images of the film's stars, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, at the front of stores to promote the DVD release.

"It wasn't even a blockbuster movie, so if Wal-Mart isn't trying to push an agenda, why would they put it at the front door?" said Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the association, which calls itself an organization for "people who are tired of cursing the darkness and who are ready to light a bonfire."

Sharp said Wal-Mart was "trying to help normalize homosexuality in society. But how many copies are they going to have to sell to recruit the losses of customers who they've offended and will no longer shop at Wal-Mart?"

A Wal-Mart spokeswoman said the company didn't advocate specific "lifestyles" and stocked films based on consumer demand. "Brokeback Mountain" has grossed $83 million in domestic ticket sales.

"The fact that we are offering the movie is not an endorsement of the content of the movie or any specific belief," said the spokeswoman, Jolanda Stewart. "We simply offer the latest titles that consumers want."

Still, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has a history of bowing to pressure from the American Family Assn. and other organizations on issues of decency.

After customer complaints in 2002, the store pulled a pregnant version of one of Barbie's friends, Midge, even though the doll wore a prominent wedding ring.

And in 2003, the family association led the charge to persuade Wal-Mart and other retailers to stop carrying magazines it considered crude. As a result, Wal-Mart discontinued FHM, Maxim and Stuff and placed plastic shields over Cosmopolitan, Glamour and others.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer is one of the nation's largest sellers of DVDs, with thousands of movie titles. Although Wal-Mart has long sold "amended" versions of popular recordings, it has not edited the films it sells. The company carries DVDs of R-rated movies, Stewart said, which are encoded to prompt cashiers to ask for identification. It does not sell films rated NC-17.

[Lost_Girl]

The 3-million-member American Family Assn. initiated a campaign last week encouraging Wal-Mart customers to ask the company to refuse to stock the Universal film, whose director won an Academy Award last month, in its 3,900 stores.

I'm gonna make a murder !! 

[Italian_Dude]

Brokeback, Crash just can't quit the rivalry
Apr. 4, 2006. 01:00 AM


ATLANTA—The Brokeback Mountain vs. Crash saga just won't seem to end. In the wake of their epic Oscar battle, Brokeback arrives on DVD today for the first time, and Best Picture winner Crash debuts a "director's cut" version on digital disc.

"They're going to kick our butts," Paul Haggis, double Oscar winner for Crash, says of Ang Lee's cowboys-in-love story.

Haggis is right, at least so far. Brokeback sits atop Amazon.com's bestseller DVD list, followed by Disney's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which also debuts on DVD today.

The first, almost bare-bones Crash DVD, released last fall, is still on Amazon.com's top 10 bestseller list (it ranks No. 7). The new director's cut is No. 61. Haggis has restored about three minutes of footage he trimmed after an early test screening.

It's been a month since the Academy Awards and Haggis says he's still stunned by his film's best picture upset win over Brokeback. (If you saw the show, you'll recall seeing Haggis mouth the words "Oh my God" after Jack Nicholson proclaimed his film the winner.)

That night, he took home Oscar twins: for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

The statuettes sat on his kitchen counter for two weeks before his wife, Deborah, told him they had to go somewhere else.

He says Lee, who won Best Director, gave him a huge hug after the ceremony. And then, Haggis adds, the Brokeback gang did "a very classy thing." Lee and producer and co-writer Diana Ossana joined Haggis and his cast and crew at a post-Oscars party thrown by Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, the Atlanta rapper who co-starred in Crash.

New York Times News Service

[ethan]

The movie speaks for itself. Even an Oscar can buy people's money and hearts. Sorry Crash ..."if you can't fix it, you gotta stand it."

[frances]

The movie speaks for itself. Even an Oscar can buy people's money and hearts. Sorry Crash ..."if you can't fix it, you gotta stand it."

March, 5, 2006 - April, 5, 2006 : one month later.

And now I can say this : who cares about the Oscar, who REALLY cares?

That night (early morning in Italy, actually), that moment, the best picture moment was such a shock for me.
But now I am so over the Oscar . Crash means anything to me, anything to us, anything to most of the people who saw it. It's a fact Oscar can't change.

A little bit off topic, sorry!

[Mars]

"Crash" means nothing for me too

[stephan]

Thanks for all the news articles, brokies. Even when they incite us to murder (  ) it's nice to read about BBM !

[tpe]

From http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid28866.asp


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Utah theater owner speaks out on canceling Brokeback Mountain


After months of silence, Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller has explained his decision to pull Brokeback Mountain from one of his movie theaters. He took the action because he was worried about the breakup of the traditional American family, he told Salt Lake City's KTVX-TV in an interview. "Getting away from the traditional families, which I look at as the fundamental building block of our society, is a very dangerous thing," he said.

In January, Miller canceled showings of the R-rated Western gay romance story at the Megaplex at Jordan Commons in Sandy. That had been the only one of Miller's theaters scheduled to show the movie. It was shown at other theaters in the area.

Miller's decision on January 5 came just two hours after he was told about the movie's subject matter by a KCPW-FM reporter. During the KCPW interview, he said booking a movie like Brokeback Mountain was a business decision, adding, "It's something that I have to let the market speak to some degree. I don't think I'm qualified to be the community censor."

Miller drew both support and criticism within Utah after he decided to cancel the film. The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center of Utah has urged people to boycott Miller's businesses.

Miller said many Utahns responded by buying cars from him. "I had 12 people call and say, 'I bought a car from you today because,' and then 27 the next day, and then 12 the third day," Miller told KTVX.

Miller said he stands by his decision to pull the movie. "I clearly hurt some individuals' feelings, and for that I regret it. But I don't think it should change my opinions and views," he said.

Miller is to deliver a speech at the University of Utah on April 21, over opposition from some on campus. (AP)

[ethan]

Getting away from the traditional families, which I look at as the fundamental building block of our society, is a very dangerous thing," he said.

Gee...this makes me laugh so hard. Sorry, Mr. Miller. I don't buy it and you can't stop the DVD. tpe, thanks for posting the article.

[tpe]

Getting away from the traditional families, which I look at as the fundamental building block of our society, is a very dangerous thing," he said.

Gee...this makes me laugh so hard. Sorry, Mr. Miller. I don't buy it and you can't stop the DVD. tpe, thanks for posting the article.

Hi Ethan, I'm posting a related article next, with a vidio link.  I will also post the picture of this son of infamy.

 

[tpe]

From http://www.abc4.com/local_news/local_headlines/story.aspx?content_id=D53A5035-6A9A-4B00-B97B-300766DA6879

There is a vidio link if you go to the above.

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


ABC 4 Exclusive: Larry H. Miller Speaks About "Brokeback Mountain" Controversy
LAST UPDATE: 4/4/2006 3:43:03 PM




For the first time, Larry H. Miller is talking publicly and extensively about his controversial decision to pull Brokeback Mountain from his movie theaters.

Three months ago, Miller decided not to show the movie at his movie theaters, igniting a firestorm of controversy.

In an exclusive interview with ABC 4's Chris Vanocur, Miller says he stands by his decision.

Miller is supposed to give a big business speech at the University of Utah on Friday, April 21st, but some students are protesting Miller's speech because he wouldn't show Brokeback Mountain.

Miller says he knew he'd catch some flak for pulling the film about homosexual cowboys from his theaters,  but did so because he's very worried about the break-up of the traditional American family.

In his words, he wanted to draw a line in the sand by not showing the film.

Miller said, "Getting away from the traditional families, which I look at as the fundamental building block of our society, is a very dangerous thing."

Among the criticism Miller received was a call to boycott his businesses, but, in fact, many Utahns came to his defense by making it a point to buy his cars.

"I had 12 people call and say I bought a car from you today, 'because', and then 27 the next day and then 12 the 3rd day," said Miller.

3 months after not showing the movie, Miller says he would welcome learning more from those who disagree with him, but as for not showing Brokeback Mountain at his theaters, he still stands by that decision.

"I clearly hurt some individuals feelings and for that I regret it but I don't think it should change my opinions and views," said Miller.

As for that controversial appearance at the University of Utah, Miller is offering to meet with concerned students beforehand to help clear the air.

You can watch the entire interview with Larry H. Milller this Saturday at 3:00 p.m. on ABC 4's "On the Record" with Chris Vanocur.

Reported by: Chris Vanocur
chris@abc4.tv

[ennisandjack]

Here's what Andy Towle had to say about the Larry Miller controversy on his blog

http://towleroad.typepad.com/towleroad/2006/04/larry_miller_pr.html#comments

Larry Miller Proud He Made Money Off Bigotry

For the first time since he refused to screen Brokeback Mountain at his Utah theater chain, Larry Miller is speaking about his controversial decision, but before he apologizes to anyone, he needs to brag about all the people that bought cars from him because of it:

"I had 12 people call and say I bought a car from you today, 'because', and then 27 the next day and then 12 the 3rd day."

Wow. It must have been the right decision then. Good for the greedy bastard.

He offers this reason for pulling the film:

"Getting away from the traditional families, which I look at as the fundamental building block of our society, is a very dangerous thing."

Perhaps if Miller had seen the film he might have realized that the same bigotry he practices is what drove the characters of Jack and Ennis into "traditional" marriages that were ultimately far more damaging to the families involved than what might have taken their place in a tolerant and accepting society.

My note: I agree Larry Miller so needs to see Brokeback Mountain 

[ennisandjack]

Wal-Mart Won't Quit Brokeback (54 comments )

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ron-galloway/walmart-wont-quit-br_b_18444.html

Standing up to protests from a prominent Christian organization, Wal-Mart is not only carrying the DVD of Brokeback Mountain in its over 3,600 American stores, it is featuring ads for the film in the front of its stores. 138 million Americans pass through the front of these stores every week.

According to the L.A. Times, the American Family Association accuses Wal-Mart of pushing a gay agenda and is encouraging its purported 3 million members to boycott the store.

So why is Wal-Mart risking alienating part of its red-state base?

Remember, Wal-Mart is a business committed to delivering products its customers want at prices they can afford. BoxOfficeMojo reports Brokeback has grossed $82 million domestically. King Kong has grossed $218 million domestically. King Kong moved 6 million DVD units in its first week of release. We can infer that Brokeback will sell around 2.4 million DVD units initially. Wal-Mart is 40-45% of the domestic retail DVD market, so Wal-Mart will probably sell at a minimum 1 million copies of the Brokeback DVD.

Brokeback Mountain is a movie the public clearly wants to see. Wal-Mart will offer it to them at the lowest price possible. In fact Wal-Mart will offer it at such a low price, many video rental stores will buy their copies from there. Imagine the howls of protest from liberal activists had Wal-Mart decided not to carry the film, even though these activists claim not to shop there. Will the progressive community applaud Wal-Mart’s smart business decision to carry and promote the film?

[ethan]

Perhaps if Miller had seen the film he might have realized that the same bigotry he practices is what drove the characters of Jack and Ennis into "traditional" marriages that were ultimately far more damaging to the families involved than what might have taken their place in a tolerant and accepting society.

Exactly. Thanks, ennisandjack for posting this article.

[tpe]

Thanks ennisandjack for the blog link.

Indeed, he so needs to see it.  But like all those who need to see it most, they will not -- at least not willingly.

[glacier1]

The first paragraph from Universal's press release today:

    UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- "Brokeback Mountain," the
most powerful and poignant drama of 2005, continued its phenomenal critical
box-office success by selling approximately 1.4 million (DVD/VHS) units on its April 4,
2006 street date.

[ethan]

Thanks, glacier1.

GO BBM. More DVD and more sales.

[tpe]

The first paragraph from Universal's press release today:

    UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- "Brokeback Mountain," the
most powerful and poignant drama of 2005, continued its phenomenal critical
box-office success by selling approximately 1.4 million (DVD/VHS) units on its April 4,
2006 street date.

There is a thing called justice.

Thank God there is still justice in this world...

Thanks!

[chameau]

The first paragraph from Universal's press release today:

    UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- "Brokeback Mountain," the
most powerful and poignant drama of 2005, continued its phenomenal critical
box-office success by selling approximately 1.4 million (DVD/VHS) units on its April 4,
2006 street date.

There is a thing called justice.

Thank God there is still justice in this world...

Thanks!

 :'( :'( :'(

Tears of joy here!

[Italian_Dude]

The first paragraph from Universal's press release today:

    UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- "Brokeback Mountain," the
most powerful and poignant drama of 2005, continued its phenomenal critical
box-office success by selling approximately 1.4 million (DVD/VHS) units on its April 4,
2006 street date.

YAY!! OMG!! JUSTICE!!

[pierralex]

The first paragraph from Universal's press release today:

    UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- "Brokeback Mountain," the
most powerful and poignant drama of 2005, continued its phenomenal critical
box-office success by selling approximately 1.4 million (DVD/VHS) units on its April 4,
2006 street date.

There is a thing called justice.

Thank God there is still justice in this world...

Thanks!

YEEEEEE-HAWWWWW  :D :D

[scruffy]

Postcards From Brokeback Mountain Reunited With Famous Shirts
Wednesday April 5, 3:04 pm ET 
Actor and Activist Tom Gregory Completes The Set

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060405/law124.html?.v=21

LOS ANGELES, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Tom Gregory, the actor and activist who bought the Brokeback Mountain shirts in a charity auction for more than $100,000 recently, has acquired the postcards featured with the shirts in the film's final scene. The shirts and the postcards are being mounted on wood, exactly as they were seen in the film, and will have their public debut at The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Awards in Los Angeles on April 8.
ADVERTISEMENT
 
 
"The shirts and the postcards are together again," said Gregory. "They are more than simply props, they are symbolic of a great love and a remarkable film."

Gregory purchased the postcards from Ken Wills the prop master on the film for an undisclosed sum. As part of the purchase price, Gregory made an additional $10,000 donation to Variety Children's' Charity. The original shirts were sold on eBay in late February with all the proceeds going to the same charity.

GLAAD will host its annual awards ceremony at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, where the Academy Awards are held. The awards honor positive portrayals of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered people in a variety of categories. Gregory and his partner, David Bohnett, have donated more than $1 million to GLAAD over the years.

"The GLAAD Awards are the natural place to debut the vignette of the shirts and the postcard," explained Gregory. "The recent GLAAD Awards in New York honored Brokeback Mountain as the best film of the year and the movie has touched our community more than any other film in history."

[tpe]

I love this guy.

[ennisandjack]

I love him too. I'm a little confused though about the GLAAD awards - I didn't realize there was two ceremonies. I wonder what the difference is? Does anyone know?

[Jennis]

BBM article
From Jennis.x


WAL-MART WON'T QUIT "BROKEBACK"

By Josh Grossberg

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN just rode into Red State terrority.

Wal-Mart has begun selling the DVD of Ang Lee's gay cowboy flick
this week, despite vehement protests from the ultraconservative
American Family Association.

The world's largest retailer announced it will not only carry the
Academy Award-winning film in all 3,900 U.S. locations, but the
chain will also prominently display posters of BROKEBACK stars Jake
Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in its storefronts.

Such a decision has prompted the Tupelo, Mississippi-based AFA to
launch a campaign accusing Wal-Mart of backing a pro-gay agenda. The
organization posted a message on its Website asking "concerned
Christians to let their local Wal-Mart managers know how they feel
and that they are not pleased over the chain's decision to promote
and carry the pro-homosexual movie."

"It wasn't even a blockbuster movie, so if Wal-Mart isn't trying to
push an agenda, why would they put it at the front door?" Randy
Sharp, director of special projects for the association, told the
Los Angeles Times.

Apparently Sharp didn't get the memo that BROKEBACK was the most
critically lauded film of 2005, won three Oscars, lassoed $83
million at the box office and became a cultural touchstone.

"Wal-Mart is trying to help normalize homosexuality in society,"
Sharp said. "But how many copies are they going to have to sell to
recruit the losses of customers who they've offended and will no
longer shop at Wal-Mart?"

But Wal-Mart rejects that characterization. A rep for the company
argued that stocking BROKEBACK is good business.

"Wal-Mart provides movie selections in our stores and online,
recognizing that a broad segment of our customer base wants to buy
the latest titles," company spokeswoman Jolanda Stewart said in a
statement. "We serve a broad customer base and therefore offer an
expansive assortment of movie titles to meet the needs of the
diverse consumers that shop our stores."

The American Family Association, which claims a membership of 3
million and is one of the leading conservative Christian watchdogs,
has a history of pressuring Wal-Mart.

And the retail chain has often been more than accommodating,
refusing to carry funnyman George Carlin's bestseller "When Will
Jesus Bring the Porkchops?" and canceling orders of Daily Show host
Jon Stewart's "America" because both included supposedly offensive
images that weren't in line with the chain's family-friendly
policies. Wal-Mart has also pulled numerous magazines from its racks
deemed too racy by the AFA and doesn't stock CDs and videogames that
feature "mature" content.

Last month, the AFA issued an action alert against Ford, urging its
members to boycott the car company because the car maker wanted to
advertise in gay publications such as The Advocate.

Fighting against the American Family Association's anti-BROKEBACK
initiative, the pro-gay Ultimate BROKEBACK Forum recently announced
a Web-based campaign to place the BROKEBACK DVDs in 2,000 rural
libraries in the U.S. and Canada, and has called on fans around the
world to donate copies of the DVD to libraries in their area.
Members of the online forum also ran an ad in the Mar. 10 edition of
Daily Variety, hailing BROKEBACK as a work that's "transforming
people's lives."

They can now add Wal-Mart to their thank-you list.

In keeping with its founder's vision of offering quality products at
great prices, Wal-Mart--one of America's largest DVD retailers--is
offering BROKEBACK at the bargain rate of $16.87.