CHRISTIAN groups led a furious campaign against Hollywood yesterday, accusing the Golden Globe Awards of promoting films with gay or “leftist” themes to serve a political agenda.
The criticism was made after Brokeback Mountain, a film about the forbidden love between gay Wyoming cowboys, won four awards. Other winners included Philip Seymour Hoffman, named Best Actor for his portrayal of the homosexual writer Truman Capote; and Felicity Huffman, the Desperate Housewives actress who played a transsexual with a gay prostitute son in Transamerica.
“Once again, the media elites are proving that their pet projects are more important than profit,” Janice Crouse, of Concerned Women for America, said. “None of the three movies — Capote, Transamerica or Brokeback Mountain — is a box office hit. Brokeback Mountain has barely topped $25 million (£14.2 million) in ticket sales. If America isn’t watching these films, why are they winning the awards?”
The criticism from the American heartland carried more weight than usual this year because Hollywood suffered the biggest decline in attendance in two decades last year. Some of the few box office hits of the year were films such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which appealed strongly to Christian audiences.
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Oscar pundits are now questioning whether the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will also reward Brokeback Mountain, potentially souring Hollywood’s relationship with the American ticketbuying public even further. Members of the Academy must hand in their nomination forms by Saturday. The shortlist will be announced on January 31 and the ceremony will be held on March 5.
Religious groups also pointed to the alleged political agenda of winners including George Clooney, who won for his supporting role in Syriana, a film about the ethical pitfalls of the oil business; and Mary Louise Parker, who was rewarded for her performance in Weeds, a television comedy about a suburban mother turned marijuana dealer.
Much of the anger was directed at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the group of 92 journalists from non-American publications who hand out the Golden Globe Awards. The Times, along with many other large overseas publications, is not represented at the HFPA.
The non-profit HFPA collects as much as $5.7 million from selling the broadcast rights to the ceremony, which is consistently one of the three highest-rated awards shows in the United States, along with the Academy Awards and the Grammys. However, reports alleging cronyism at the HFPA were thought to contribute to a 40 per cent decline in viewership last year.
Right-wing radio talk show hosts also took pot shots at the Globes yesterday. Stephen Bennett, of Straight Talk Radio, said: “When Hollywood is pumping out anti-family movies with sexually explicit, twisted and perverse themes that glorify homosexuality, transsexuality and every other kind of sexual immorality — then awarding itself for doing so — Middle America better take note.
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“Last night Hollywood exposed its own corrupt agenda. [It] is no doubt out on a mission to homosexualise America.” The British winners at the Globes were some of the most conventional, with Hugh Laurie, 47, winning Best Actor in a Television Series for House. The other big British winner of the night was Rachel Weisz, 35, who collected the award for Best Supporting Dramatic Actress for The Constant Gardener, an adaptation of the bestselling John le Carr é novel.
Britons who failed to win their categories included Polly Walker, 40, a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, who starred in the BBC/HBO joint venture Rome. She lost the Best Actress in a TV Drama award to Geena Davis, who played a female US president in Commander in Chief.
Reese Witherspoon’s performance as June Carter in Walk the Line won her the Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical award, for which Keira Knightley, 21, had been nominated for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in Pride & Prejudice.
AND THE WINNER IS...
Films
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Drama: Best picture Brokeback Mountain
Actress Felicity Huffman Transamerica
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman Capote
Musical or comedy: Picture Walk the Line
Actress Reese Witherspoon Walk the Line
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Actor Joaquin Phoenix Walk the Line
Best Supporting actress Rachel Weisz The Constant Gardener
Best supporting actor George Clooney Syriana
Best director Ang Lee Brokeback Mountain
Foreign language film Paradise Now (Palestinian)
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Screenplay Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana Brokeback Mountain
Original song A Love that will Never Grow Old, Brokeback Mountain
Original score John Williams Memoirs of a Geisha
Cecil B DeMille award Anthony Hopkins
Television
Drama: Best series Lost
Actress Geena Davis Commander and Chief
Actor Hugh Laurie House
Musicals and comedy: Best series Desperate Housewives
Actress Mary Louise Parker Weeds
Actor Steve Carrell The Office
Mini-series and made-for-TV films: Best picture or series: Empire Falls
Actress S Epatha Merkerson Lackawanna Blues
Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers Elvis
Supporting actress Sandra Oh Grey’s Anatomy
Supporting actor Paul Newman Empire Falls
www.timesonline.co.uk/film