Hollywood Grapples with 'Gender Taliban'

Battle lines are being drawn between those that are pro male transexuals replacing women and those that see it as an afront against women's rights. Can transmen begin to replace women in movie and TV roles? Bad enough Hollywood is dealing with AI now the gender war is on. 

The question is, should men define who a woman is? Further, does this have anything to do with equality or simply the choice, by men, who desire to be women?

Everyone, I suppose, has the right to be who they want to be, so long as they don't hurt or infringe upon others' rights. That's the problem with the male transsexual issue - taking the place of women in traditional female activities. 

The most known and common example is transmen competing in women's athletics. Men have a physical advantage over women in sports, that's a given, so in competition the advantage goes to the man. In acting roles however, the issue becomes fuzzier. Men can, and will, substitute themselves for female actors - and why not. 

See, what's accepted in one arena (athletics) can be accepted in another (acting). So, Hollywood, should be careful how far they want to support male transexuals replacing women in female roles. There appears to be some cracks developing in the once solid support of transsexualism within the Hollywood community. The term being used is the 'Gender Taliban'. It appears that the sexual ideology foisted upon society by the pollical left is not only running out of steam, but women are beginning to understand the unfairness and are fighting back.

Men defining who a woman is - is, well, passe. Women are and should be speaking out for their rights. One thing is for sure: men and women are different physically, if for nothing else then the propagation of the species. 

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp.

Hollywood Steers-clear of Political Films

 

One movie U.S. audiences may never get to view

At the Cannes fest, a biopic on Donald Trump entitled "The Apprentice" was met with cheering crowds, and received distribution deals in virtually every territory except the U.S.

Dan Snyder, a pro-Trump billionaire, purchased the U.S. distribution rights and reportedly hates the film and has no plans to have the film released into the U.S. market. Scenes in the film have Trump abusing drugs, getting liposuction, and having scalp-reduction surgery (all of which are untrue).

But disregarding this film, Hollywood has been very reluctant to screen political films of any sort - as the financial risks are too high and box office very iffy. The last big American political biopic as "Vice", which grossed only $48 million and cost north of $60 million to produce sans marketing costs.

A good example of Hollywood's current distaste for political films was the demise of Participant Media, which shuttered its doors last year. They had produced Oscar winner "Spotlight" and docs like "An Inconvenient Truth." Or witness Disney's new policy for films as explained by Bob Iger, Disney CEO, "our films need to be to entertain, not be agenda-driven".

Hollywood's antipolitical stance regarding films is indicative of where the populace stands politically. You're either right or left, there is no common ground. So, instead of courting controversy, film distributors are staying away from politically based content altogether. This also includes the major content streamers.  

But, like most things, it comes down to the bottom line. The ability of any product to make money supersedes all and political films have never been big grossers. 

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp.

"Made In Ethiopia" - Clashing Cultures

 "Made In Ethiopia' a co-directed film by Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan explores the moral and cultural issues regarding the influence of China on the African continent. It was filmed in Dukem, a town southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. 

This is a film about clashing cultures. It presents real-life situations that are complex and explores the moral and social implications of one country trying to invest in another where customs and moral traditions collide.

The film explores how Chinese influence in Ethiopia impacts both the native people and the expatriate investors as they fail, to resolve even the simplest of cultural differences, impeding progress and leading to distrust and failure.

"Made in Ethiopia" will test your sense of what's good and what's bad - the political, social, and economic issues of what a country's development entails and the impact on traditions and customs for both parties.

This film will have limited distribution so you may have to go out of your way to view it; however, it will be worth the search.

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp.

Sony Acquires Alamo Chain: Bring Back Memories

 

Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas was a unique concept where the mixing of food, drink, and movies spelled magic. I remember newly hired Alamo staff making the trip to Buffalo to attend Cinema Training Central. Taking courses on cinema management, as well as technical training - this was circa 2001.

Alamo had a novel idea - a dine-in movie theater that served alcoholic beverages and ran first-run features. This concept has been replicated over and over since Alamo's inception in 1997.

It appears that Alamo, which currently has 35 locations throughout the U.S., had been soliciting offers for some time through Goldman Sachs as broker. Under its Sony ownership, Alamo will continue to operate as the Alamo Drafthouse brand. Sony also purchased as of the rights to Alamo's Fantastic Fest film festival.

To its credit, Alamo differentiated the movie experience and in doing so gained a very loyal fan base of movie goers. 

Moviegoers enjoying a movie at Alamo

The Sony/Alamo transaction is rare, in that the purchase of a movie exhibitor by a studio doesn't happen very often. Several years ago, Netflix purchased two theaters - the Egyptian in LA and the Paris in NYC. Amazon bought the Arclight in Culver City at about the same time.

Sony must believe that theatrical exhibition is worth the investment long term. I believe they're right.

By: Jim Lavorato, Entertainment Equipment Corp.