Yanking film shows Miller's inconsistency

Hey, you know this guy. You know him well enough, anyway, to know that his yanking "Brokeback Mountain" from his Jordan Commons theaters was a knee-jerk reaction.

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.

Oh, it was probably a dumb thing for Miller to do, especially the way he did it. At the last minute, after the ad was already in the paper, so that people showed up at Jordan Commons to see the film and were turned away.

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.

But I do find it curious that he pulled "Brokeback Mountain" — a film that has won many awards and is well on its way to being the Oscar front-runner — while allowing others to continue to run, including such indefensible sleaze as "Hostel" and "Grandma's Boy."