Goodbye Mr. Ebert

[TOoP/Bruce]

Westboro Baptist Church to Picket Outside Roger Ebert's Funeral

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20130407/downtown/westboro-baptist-church-picket-outside-roger-eberts-funeral

April 7, 2013 2:41pm | By Alex Parker , DNAinfo News Editor

CHICAGO — The Westboro Baptist Church, whose members regularly picket near the funerals of fallen soldiers brandishing signs denouncing servicemembers, announced Sunday it will protest outside Roger Ebert's funeral.

The Topeka, Kan.-based group, led by Fred Phelps, said it will picket outside Holy Name Cathedral, 730 N. State St., from 9:15 to 10 a.m. Monday before funeral services for the beloved Sun-Times movie critic, who died Thursday after battling cancer.

The church has drawn criticism for its actions directed at everyone from gays and soldiers to priests and entertainment figures.
While community groups, such as the Patriot Guard Riders, have staged counterprotests, the Supreme Court ruled that the church's actions are not illegal and are protected by the First Amendment.

Several members of the church have left and denounced it in recent months, including two granddaughters of Phelps, the church's founder.

Last year, a church member ran to serve on the Kansas Board of Education, but lost.

Ebert tweeted occasionally about the church, mocking it, calling it "odious," and linking to unflattering articles. When the Supreme Court ruled the church's activities were protected under the First Amendment, Ebert tweeted, "The Supreme Court rules correctly about the odious Westboro Baptist Church. A cheap price to pay for freedom of speech."

[TOoP/Bruce]

Remembering Roger Ebert and Gene Siskal on David Letterman, as they go door to door in New Jersey:

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oavKjS5MfmA[/youtube]

[serious crayons]

Roger Ebert, the pre-eminent movie critic who predicted that Crash would beat out Brokeback Mountain as Best (Oscar) Picture in 2006 died today. He was vilified by most Brokies for 'leading' the anti-Brokeback push for best picture of 2006. Here, in an AfterElton interview, post awards show he explains/justifies his opinions.

I'd like to think that his explanation serves only to totally confirm the invalid decision that was made that year by Hollywood's royalty.

http://www.afterelton.com/archive/elton/movies/2006/3/ebert.html

AfterElton.com: Let's cut to the chase. Do you think homophobia played a part in Brokeback Mountain's upset loss to Crash?
Roger Ebert: Okay, here's my position. First of all, I believe Crash was the best picture of the year. And I believe that Brokeback is a great picture. And so was Munich. All three were in my top five. Did some people vote against Brokeback Mountain because of homophobia? Yes. Was the Academy homophobic and that was why they didn't make it best Picture? I don't think so. I don't think that was the deciding factor. I think that it was probably third among the motives.

I think a lot of people voted for [Crash] because they thought it was the best picture. Some people voted for it because [unlike Brokeback Mountain] it was a Los Angeles production, and in the business, that actually does control votes. And there were probably some people who voted against it because they don't like gay people.

AE: So you don't think Hollywood is terribly homophobic?
RE: The membership of the Academy, and the working population of the Hollywood branch of the industry, is less homophobic than almost any other group you could name. But they are xenophobic. And given the choice of a movie that has dozens of actors in it and was shot in Los Angeles with union crews, and what is perceived as a runaway production [Brokeback Mountain], [that] didn't even shoot in Wyoming, but Canada, there are people who might have voted for the local picture because they are thinking of their own paychecks and [wondering] why should all that money go in Canadian pockets?

AE: But that has been the case for a long time. Lord of the Rings was all shot in New Zealand, but that didn't stop the Academy from rewarding it. There have been plenty of other films shot overseas.
RE: But the third one won [Lord of the Rings], the other two didn't.

AE: So for you, those reasons explain away all of the historical precedents that predicted Brokeback Mountain should have won? I'm talking about the fact that Brokeback Mountain had a combination of factors—awards, box office, critical acclaim, Oscars nods—that no other movie has had and then not won Best Picture.
RE: Here is the thing that confuses me: All of the awards that Brokeback won would seem to indicate that those people were not homophobic. Did they become homophobic when it came to the top category for the Oscars ? They were able to vote for Best Director, but then they became homophobic when they got to the next category? I don't know. My two primary positions are Crash was the best movie, and you are not a homophobe if you think Crash is the best movie. Because that is the sort of email I've been getting.
...

P.S. I still haven't seen 'Crash'.

I have seen Crash. It isn't terrible. In fact, it's well worth watching. It's just not as good as Good Night and Good Luck, even, let alone Brokeback Mountain. So I definitely disagreed with Ebert's preference for it.

But I don't think of Ebert as "leading" an anti-Brokeback push; he gave BBM a great review. Nor do I fault him for anything he says here -- that would be killing the messenger.

It was his "Fury of the Crash-lash" article that I found offensive. 

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/OSCARS/603070301

Bruce, I read this fast, so maybe I missed it, but I didn't get what you found offensive about it.

Are there homophobes in Hollywood? Of course. And at least a few of them -- Tony Curtis, Ernest Borgnine, Mark Wahlberg -- have been quoted saying offensive things about BBM, and I do hold that against them. And some of those homophobes probably voted against BBM for that reason.

But I think Ebert makes a good point, that many voters probably voted for Crash because it was filmed in their city and employed many of their colleagues. And that the entertainment industry, while hardly free of homophobia, is probably far less homophobic as a whole than most of the rest of the country. And that any number of awards have gone out, including to BBM and including Oscars, to movies with gay characters.