From Deseret News archives:
Yanking film shows Miller's inconsistency
That's car-dealer/Jazz owner Larry Miller, of course.
A week or so ago, after being told by a radio talk-show host that one of his theaters was scheduled to open "Brokeback Mountain" last Friday, and then being apprised of the R-rated film's story about a pair of cowboys who enter into a gay relationship Miller decided to cancel his contract for the film.
Unfortunately, it was too late to cancel Friday's newspaper ads, so when people got wind of it, Miller was both vilified and called a hero.
Perhaps I'm alone in thinking this isn't much of a news story and judging from the ink it's generated, that seems to be the case but what's the big deal?
And why have people been dropping the c-word . . . "censorship"?
This is not censorship. This is a movie finding itself in three of the county's venues instead of four.
Last Friday, the movie was still playing in three other local theaters the Broadway downtown, the Century on 3300 South and State, and another multiplex that's right up the road from Jordan Commons, the Cinemark Theatres at Jordan Landing.
Turning away customers that can't be good for business.
And will someone in the mood to see "Brokeback Mountain" really want to settle for "Hostel" or "The Chronicles of Narnia"?
On the other hand, you can get from Jordan Commons to Jordan Landing before you can say, "The Jazz are winning again."
Anyway, let's not kid ourselves. Miller's quick decision was not a business decision. Does it make good business sense to pull "Brokeback Mountain" when it's already on its way to becoming a box-office blockbuster? Especially when you're still showing "The Work and the Glory: American Zion" to a virtually empty auditorium every night?
But, hey, it's his theater. And if he wants to show "The Work and the Glory" on every screen or sell Edsels in his auto dealerships that's his prerogative.
I'm not going to get into stone-throwing, as some people already have, about Miller's restaurants serving liquor or his theaters being open on Sunday. Judge not, I say.
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