To expand on the AMC special on Republican hollywood-types, from
The New York Times:
September 14, 2004
TV REVIEW | 'RATED R: REPUBLICANS IN HOLLYWOOD'
In Search of Hollywood's Anti-Republican Conspiracy
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Rated R: Republicans in Hollywood," a documentary tonight on AMC, examines politics in the entertainment industry at a time when the White House and Congress are in Republican hands, conservatives dominate the Supreme Court, Arnold Schwarzenegger is governor of California and Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" triumphed at the box office. Now it turns out that even the avant-garde filmmaker Vincent Gallo supports George W. Bush.
If there is a blacklist, where is the sign-up sheet?
There is no studio ban on Republicans, of course, but certain conservatives have been dining out for decades on what they describe as a Hollywood witch hunt. The film's director and narrator, Jesse Moss, once a Democratic aide in Washington, interviews all the usual suspects, like Michael Medved, a former film reviewer who parlayed his pariah status into a nationally syndicated radio talk show, and John Milius, the director of "Red Dawn" and "Conan the Barbarian" and a sought after screenwriter who says that his right-wing views have hindered his directing career. "I should have made 20 more films," he says. (Is there a filmmaker in Hollywood who wouldn't say the same?)
Mr. Milius may not get the opportunity to direct many more big-budget films, but it is probable that the director of "Day After Tomorrow," a global warming disaster movie that flopped at the box office, will not either. Mr. Gibson, on the other hand, certainly has a shot.
Market forces, not Marx, rule the studio system.
Still, it is always enjoyable to hear conservatives bemoaning discrimination in Hollywood - they sound like the beautiful blonde who complains that her looks intimidate men. It is true, of course, that in the more rarefied show business communities, Republicans are a despised minority. So are fat people, older actresses and first-time novelists.
What the film raises, but underplays, is the evolution in political fashions over the last 20 years. Conservatives have a cachet now that they did not in the pre-Reagan days, when Charleton Heston was a lone gun spokesman.
It is true that more Hollywood celebrities embrace the liberal causes of the environment, abortion rights and gun control than speak out in favor of tax cuts. But the best-known Hollywood liberals, people like Barbra Streisand and Susan Sarandon, belong to an older generation.
The conservative revolution that swept in with Ronald Reagan (and helped impeach Bill Clinton) has made inroads even in Malibu. People like Mr. Milius and Mr. Medved are reliving old slights. There are younger celebrities who do not really know what it is like to be dismissed as ridiculous.
Patricia Heaton of "Everybody Loves Raymond" describes a dinner party at which other guests were appalled when she said she voted for George W. Bush. That kind of creaky Hollywood elitism has not prevented her from winning Emmys or starting an antiabortion advocacy group, "Feminists for Life."
The documentary is most interesting when it looks at the evangelical movement in Hollywood, particularly young actors and writers who belong to "Act I," a kind of support group for Hollywood Christians. One young woman explains that in the aftermath of Sept. 11 it is now acceptable to talk about "God" in Hollywood but that the word "Jesus" causes people to back off.
Dean Batali, a writer on the sitcom "That 70's Show," discusses his efforts to sneak Christian values into a show that is basically a spoof on sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.
But perhaps the most obvious sign that things have changed in Hollywood is the confession of Mr. Gallo. "My fantasy is not that the Republican Party would look more like me," the shaggy young director says. "I wish I looked more like George Will."
THE AMC PROJECT
Rated R: Republicans in Hollywood
AMC, tonight at 10, Eastern and Pacific times; 9, Central time.
Directed, written and produced by Jesse Moss of Mile End Films.
