In a
Towleroad interview, James Schamus responds to accusations that Focus Features played up the heterosexual aspects of
Brokeback Mountain as a publicity strategy:
"I think it's a measure of the film's success that there is this real sense of ownership (and examination) of everything we do. I think these kinds of discussions are legitimate. On the other hand, I gotta say, from day one, when we first started to make the movie we said we will never apologize for this movie. It's what it is. At its core it's a gay romance. From the moment the trailer's finished, you know what this movie's about. From the very first images of it. We never ever, ever wanted to step away from it or apologize for what this movie was. And I think we've stayed really true to that, every step of the way with this campaign.
"At the same
time, this movie is epic in its emotional scope, and part of that is that the relationships
encompass the entirety of these guys' lives. And their experiences include the characters that are played by Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway, who, by the way, deserve their Oscar nominations.
"I don't ever want to misrepresent the film as only being about the so-called controversy surrounding its central relationship. I want to represent the story's entirety. Ang always pays extra careful attention to every piece of the emotional dynamic, which includes these marriages and includes these children and includes their whole lives. Not to mention some things that really aren't discussed, which are in many ways revolutionary, which are class issues. You don't see working class characters portrayed in mainstream American cinema that often. So all these dynamics add into what is still absolutely the central dynamic -- their relationship.
"[There were] a few paragraphs of post-Globes coverage in the New York Times. [The writer] Sharon Waxman created this impression that because of some "resistance" we're meeting with the "broader public" we've started putting ads in the papers that emphasize the heterosexual relationships. Which is complete and utter bullsh*t. It's unbelievable.
"In fact, up till now, we've had two months, almost two months of advertising in main markets like New York and Los Angeles, and so when we started to refresh the campaign in just New York and L.A. and include a broader scope of imagery, just a couple of times, Waxman called that out as if we're going into Kansas and Wyoming and trying to fool people [as to] what the movie's about. In fact, from day one, we have said we are going to market this movie the same way in Little Rock as we do in New York City."
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntm1YfehK7U[/youtube]
=aside= stonebiscuitI was very happy to see your post.
Thanks for playing the ABCs game.
Topic: The "ABCs of BBM": Round 965! (Rules in first post) (Read 5488429 times)