Friday, October 22, 2010

This Is Why I Hate Hollywood

Mel Gibson was supposed to have a cameo in The Hangover 2, but was cut after director Todd Phillips’ said that he “did not have the full support of my entire cast and crew".  Specifically, Zach Galifianakis said, "I’m in a deep protest right now with a movie I’m working on, up in arms about something".  Regardless of how much influence Galifianakis alone has on production, this incident is a perfect example of Hollywood activism.

While those involved with The Hangover 2 apparently had major issues with Gibson's history of prejudice, no one had any qualms about working with a convicted rapist in the first film.  Say what you will about Tyson having did his time and paid his dues and all that, but you can bet that the only reason his cameo wasn't rejected was because the rape occurred so long ago that most people don't automatically associate Tyson and rape.  For Gibson, that isn't the case.  His controversies are still fresh in the public's mind.  I'm not condoning either of their actions, I just want to point out the hypocrisy of the whole thing.

I've read some people also saying that the cast and crew of the first Hangover didn't have enough control over the first film to demand Tyson be fired.  First of all, there is no record of anyone associated with the film having a problem working with Tyson.  In fact, Cooper said in one interview, "He was awesome. I was intimidated at the prospect, because when I grew up, he was it. But he wound up being fantastic." (Driven Magazine).  Even if some did have an issue working with a convicted rapist, why would it be acceptable for them to ignore their moral objections in that case but not when it involves Gibson?  Again, it's only because Gibson's problems are still fairly recent. 

I'm not here to say whether rape or prejudice is worse, I just wish Hollywood would stick to making movies and stop "protesting" whatever happens to be the cool thing to protest that week.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Feedback is appreciated.