Ron Howard: "Gay" Joke WILL Stay in "The Dilemma"

[Speeds]

http://www.afterelton.com/people/2010/10/ron-howard-gay-joke-the-dilemma-stays

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Academy Award winning director Ron Howard says he has no plans to remove the "electric cars are gay" joke from his upcoming Vince Vaughn movie The Dilemma.

"Our lead character of Ronny Valentine has a mouth that sometimes gets him into trouble and he definitely flirts with the line of what's okay to say. He tries to do what's right but sometimes falls short. Who can't relate to that? I am drawn to films that have a variety of characters with different points of view who clash, conflict and learn to live with each other. THE DILEMMA is a story full of flawed characters whose lives are complicated by the things they say to and hide from each other. Ronny is far from perfect and he does and says some outrageous things along the way. "


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Ron has always been a homophobe. In his OSCAR WINNING MOVIE "A Beautiful Mind", he didn't bring in ANY gay content from the books. He's one of the most conservative directors in hollywood.

 

[JaredPad]

http://www.afterelton.com/people/2010/10/ron-howard-gay-joke-the-dilemma-stays

Ron has always been a homophobe. In his OSCAR WINNING MOVIE "A Beautiful Mind", he didn't bring in ANY gay content from the books. He's one of the most conservative directors in hollywood.

I disagree with your take on the appropriateness of the quote. "Gay" is commonly used in this context by insensitive people, such as Vaughn's character. I hope we don't get so politically correct that we sterilize dialogue to make it unrealistic. In the context of its use here, I feel the term forwards the plot and should stay.

 

[Speeds]

They're using the word "Gay'" to mean "Stupid" and "dumb".

What if they replaced the word GAY with another insensitive word? All hell would break loose.

For example...

Electric Cars are so (makes face) Jewish.
or
Electric Cars are so (makes face) Muslim.
or
Electric Cars are so (makes face) Asian.
or
Electric Cars are so (makes face) Black.
or
Electric Cars are so (makes face) gay.

Get it?

 

[nattyschnauzer]

Ron Howard films are usually terrible. He peaked at Happy days

 

[Spiff]

I'm not terribly offended, but I'm not so thrilled about it either. But I doubt that Howard's insistence of having the character say "gay" in the context of "stupid" is really going to win this movie an Oscar. As if the word used as a derogatory joke really has that much artistic merit. If it is realism he was going for, I'm sure there are countless other less offensive ways he could have achieved the same point.

 

[laikaNYC]

Ron has always been a homophobe. In his OSCAR WINNING MOVIE "A Beautiful Mind", he didn't bring in ANY gay content from the books. He's one of the most conservative directors in hollywood.

Oh stop whining. All in a tizzy over something so stupid. And Howard is actually a liberal Democrat
who's given nearly 200k over the past few years to Democratic candidates and Democratic organizations.
Guess how much he's given to Republicans and/or Conservatives? ZERO.

So you're completely bullshiting when you say he's "one of the most conservative directors in hollywood". That's a complete lie.

http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Ron_Howard.php

 

[archfan13]

It is just a word. Don't understand how people can be so offended by something like this. It is a character in the movie. And the character is supposed to be an asshole isn't he? So it makes sense for him to say it. Just because the actor says it or a writer writes it does not mean that is how they feel. They are playing a role, and I am perfectly fine with it.

 

[tavares]

Ron has always been a homophobe. In his OSCAR WINNING MOVIE "A Beautiful Mind", he didn't bring in ANY gay content from the books. He's one of the most conservative directors in hollywood.

That's Hollywood studio censorship, pre-Brokeback Mountain. The studio wanted to ensure the movie would play to mainstream audiences across the board, so they, of course, removed the gay elements of the story. Even if Ron Howard wanted them in there (he could have, we don't know), the studio -- also known as the people who are paying Howard's salary and budgeting the entire film -- would've said NO! I really, lovingly, suggest you gain KNOWLEDGE about the things you want to bitch about before you actually bitch. Go to the library. Read "The Celluloid Closet" by Victor Russo. It gives you a lot of insight on how actors, writers and directors had to walk a fine line (and still do) when it came to any movies that have derived from previous material with unmistakenly gay content... As well as the way homosexuals were expected to be portrayed, if they were permitted to be portrayed at all.

I think the "gay joke" should stay in the movie if it's in keeping with the character. I think it's asinine to demand dialogue be taken out of a movie that hasn't even premiered yet without even knowing the context of the story and/or character the joke is being used in. Screenwriters and directors have a right to create any kind of character they want, which means the characters can use any kind of language they want if it's the story they want to tell.

However, using the "gay joke" to promote the movie is a different story. But that lays solely on the studio(s) involved. Not the director.

 

[hayden777]

Ron has always been a homophobe. In his OSCAR WINNING MOVIE "A Beautiful Mind", he didn't bring in ANY gay content from the books. He's one of the most conservative directors in hollywood.
__________________
Here's the problem with that. Ron Howard explained the dilema he was facing in that movie. The man they were doing that movie about was still very much alive and the real guy flatly denied he was gay. As Ron Howard said "What do you do in that situation?" He was dealing with a real person who was still alive at the time and denied being gay. To cover his ass legally, he went along with what the real man said and said content was not in the film. For me, anyway, once he explained that, I understood where he was coming from and I don't hold it against him. As for the movie "The Dilema", I'm glad he at least took it out of the trailer because we are all forced to sit through trailers. But we can pick and choose what movies to watch. I think his point about the film is that Vince Vaughn's character is a stupid, narrow minded ignoramous and that is how such a person would talk. It is not necessarily an endorcement of the character's views. He's sort of like Archie Bunker, a character meant to make fun of ignorant bigots, not endorce their ideology. Although, I don't think this was an acting stretch for Vince Vaughn.

 

[nbluth]

Ron Howard films are usually terrible. He peaked at Happy days

Wrong. He peaked when he was the was the executive producer and narrator of the greatest television show of all time, Arrested Development.

And as far as the line in the movie, I don't even think about something like that. It's a movie. The character, as people have mentioned, is probably narrow-minded. We all know there are people who say things like that. If characters in movies were all completely open-minded people with no flaws, not only would movies become WAY more unrealistic, but they would never be interesting.

 

[bsdfrisco]

But people actually do say that: something is "gay." This is just like racists using derogatory terms to describe people of other races. I think he's just saying that this character is insensitive in that regard. If people do it in real life, you can't just take it out of every movie because some people don't like to hear it. It's unrealistic.

 

[Nomenclature]

So, the movie isn't making a homophobic statement; it's simply depicting a character who uses the word that way.

If you're offended by this, you might as well be offended when you see a character do drugs, or ANYTHING that's wrong to say or do in real life.

 

[braex27]

Why take offense at that particular line when there are so many other possible things at which to take offense with "The Dilemma".

 

[tamk13]

I don't see the big deal. "Gay" being used in this way is now different from any other culture or "life style" choice mentioned in films.

for example, in films where a black man plans to marry a whitle girl, the mans family always refer to her as a white girl and he shouldn't marry her because of this. would you take this to heart if your white?

its just stupid.

in reality, they are saying its stopping the movement to make it ok to be gay and not ashamed to be so and that people will be more accepting. i think by now people are going to be as cool with it as they can be. There is always going to be a population of people who think its wrong(relgious groups etc) so we will never win but the majority of sane minded people would never use the term "gay" in a disrespectful way

 

[quasar]

We've become way too sensitive and way too serious nowadays. Every word or phrase is over analysed to find the slightest hint of offence and we've allowed it to take control of our culture and entertainment.

People say these things in real life, if you remove them from scripts, you lose the reality.

It's time we all started focusing on the positive instead of constantly looking for the negative.

 

[NineOfClubs]

So, the movie isn't making a homophobic statement; it's simply depicting a character who uses the word that way.

If you're offended by this, you might as well be offended when you see a character do drugs, or ANYTHING that's wrong to say or do in real life.

^What he said!

 

[tavares]

in reality, they are saying its stopping the movement to make it ok to be gay and not ashamed to be so and that people will be more accepting. i think by now people are going to be as cool with it as they can be. There is always going to be a population of people who think its wrong(relgious groups etc) so we will never win but the majority of sane minded people would never use the term "gay" in a disrespectful way

Exactly. Blacks aren't going to win over the hearts of the KKK. Jews aren't going to win over every anti-Semite. Women aren't going to soften the hearts of every sexist/misogynist... and gays aren't going to win over every ignorant homophobe. If anything, make an example of the Vince Vaughn character's ignorance, rather than censor him.

Speaking of censor, every self-appointed gay activist that wants gay jokes and such removed from Hollywood movie scripts are, in essence, asking for the same censorship and code to be used that disguised or even eliminated gay references in movies to begin with... You gotta be very careful with exactly what it is you're asking for. If you're saying it's okay for gays to expect to have things removed or cut from scripts because it offends them, then you're saying it's okay for homophobes to have gay references removed from scripts because it offends them.

 

[connermt]

Oh stop whining. All in a tizzy over something so stupid.

Thank you! People need to grow up
Those people need to be concerned about bigger things these days....

 

[bigdaddyhorse]

Ron Howard and a lot of mainstream Hollywood directors seem to jump on the bandwagon late with using terms and sayings that have already become cliche.

It's not so much offensive to me as a gay person as it is dumb and unfunny to hear a grown man speak like a 13-year-old.

I've never liked Ron Howard's movies.

 

[Houseboy]

Just boycott the movie..or better yet..establish a "kick a ginger director day"