BS: Fund the Movie Hollywood Afraid to Make

Subject: RE: BS: Fund the Movie Hollywood Afraid to Make
From: flattop
Date: 03 Apr 04 - 11:38 PM

The plot might have some potential if you rewrote it with the Prosecuting Attorney as the hero. He seems to be more motivated to action than the rest of these characters. Of course, it would have to be a tragedy if he got caught in the end.

Subject: RE: BS: Fund the Movie Hollywood Afraid to Make
From: flattop
Date: 03 Apr 04 - 11:31 PM

True stories don't always make good movies, even if you like the politics.

Most likely, Hollywood wouldn't fund this story because it lacks visual action. Having video tapes sitting on a shelf is not very exciting. Picketing is no more interesting. Where is the visual action, the combat between protagonists?

In the good ole days, true christians would kill each other over finer points of theology, drown 'em in ponds, burn 'em at the stake, stick swords in each others bowels if they disagreed on scriptures. Much superior material for the wide screen.

Subject: RE: BS: Fund the Movie Hollywood Afraid to Make
From: GUEST,Alice
Date: 03 Apr 04 - 07:09 PM

Anyone come up with a theme song for the movie yet? The producers of the movie say they are looking for talent that isn't afraid of the religious right. Step up to the plate, songwriters!

alice

Subject: RE: BS: Fund the Movie Hollywood Afraid to Make
From: Amergin
Date: 03 Apr 04 - 06:43 PM

wow...

Subject: RE: BS: Fund the Movie Hollywood Afraid to Make
From: Peace
Date: 03 Apr 04 - 06:20 PM

Don't want this thread to get lost.

Subject: BS: Fund the Movie Hollywood Afraid to Make
From: Alice
Date: 03 Apr 04 - 01:20 PM

The makers of "Heart of the Beholder" call it the "movie Hollywood is afraid to make". This is a true story about how a family was ruined because they were a target of a radical religious organization called Citizens for Decency. Heart of the Beholder has a web site, http://www.beholder.com which explains the events behind the film and asks for help in funding it. Here's the basic background. Also, they are asking for submissions from songwriters for the movie soundtrack.

Heart of the Beholder
LOGLINE - Rocky versus the Religious Right
Synopsis (Based on a True Story - Names Have Been Changed)
Mike and Diane Howard were a typical young couple with dreams of raising a family and starting a business of their own.  They open the first videocassette rental store in St. Louis in 1981.  It was a tremendous risk trying to balance a new baby and a new business, but they believed in the American Dream.  With hard work, their company grew into a multi-million dollar chain of stores.
During the growth of the company, the Howards were visited many times by a group of religious people called the Citizens For Decency.  The CFD insisted the Howards remove movies from their stores that they felt were "...obscene or a detriment to the community and its children."  Films such as Taxi Driver, Agnes of God, Blazing Saddles, Animal House, Mr. Mom, and many more were targeted.  The CFD also asked for the removal of the movie Splash, claiming the movie promoted sex with animals (bestiality) because Tom Hanks makes love to a mermaid.
When Martin Scorsese's controversial film, The Last Temptation of Christ, was released on video, the Howards were the only video stores in St. Louis unafraid to offer the film for rent.  The CFD declared war with pickets and boycotts.  They harassed the Howards and their employees with vandalized stores and cars.  The situation worsened when the couple received death threats to their little daughter saying she would be "... sent back to God to be reborn to parents who worship the Lord."
When the Howards refused to buckle, the CFD blackmailed the Prosecuting Attorney with information about the prosecutor's secret sex life.  The prosecutor had no choice but to ruin the Howards anyway he could.  He filed obscenity charges against the Howards and, misusing the RICO racketeering laws, he confiscated every movie from every store.  The prosecutor fed the media vague details about investigations concerning the Howards ties to organized crime.  The Howards friends distanced themselves and they were shunned as social outcasts.  The Howards won their court case, but the negative publicity and legal fees bankrupted the business and family.
Unemployable and in the deepest of depressions, Mike's thoughts were of suicide.  After an aborted attempt, he pulled himself together with renewed strength.  An unexpected meeting with a former prostitute made everything clear.  The woman had fallen into the religious group after leaving the sex business.  She found the emotional acceptance she needed by picketing gay funerals, abortion clinics, and anything else the CFD decided to target, which included the Howard's video stores.
The Prosecuting Attorney had been a regular customer of the woman and she had told the religious group about the Prosecutor's hidden sex life.  She felt terrible about what had happened to the Howards and agreed to help setup up a sting to expose the corrupt prosecutor.  Everything that could go wrong did, but revenge is not for the timid.

It's rare that the powerless can beat the odds, but this film is Rocky versus the Religious Right, and the fight isn't over till it's over.

Here again is the link to the movie site:
http://www.beholder.com
Go to the link "songwriter showcase" to submit your songs.