| Saying
Thanks For Brokeback Mountain |
| Heath & Jake |
| Ang Lee |
| Larry & Diana |
| Annie Proulx |
| The Variety Ad |
| On The Web |
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SAYING THANKS TO HEATH & JAKE |
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| Brokeback Mountain screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana spoke
briefly and answered audience questions after a late-January American
Film Institute screening of the film in Hollywood. Diana noted the
difficulty they had getting the film produced. Everybody loved the
screenplay, they had relatively little trouble securing financing and
directors, but they could never get two young actors to commit to
playing the roles of Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist. They'd send the
screenplay to a promising young actor, the actor would read it and
contact them immediately, excited about the project, and then slowly
drift away, never to be heard from again. Maybe the actors worried they
weren't up to the task. Maybe they had second thoughts about playing a
man in love with another man. Maybe their agents or handlers talked them
out of it. Whatever the case, this went on for the better part of a
decade. Larry & Diana never could get two actors to commit to the
project at the same time. Financing and directors came and went,
while the film remained unmade.
It might have stayed that way too, if it hadn't been for Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. With a screenplay so detailed, so vivid and so moving, it was as though the film was already complete and ready to be projected, only the projector didn't have a bulb. By accepting the roles of Jack Twist and Ennis del Mar, these two actors gave light to a film which had been lingering in darkness. And their courage lit up more than just this film. Thousands of men – and a startling number of women – have taken the time to express online and in print how much seeing this film has impacted them, how much it's meant to them, how deeply it mirrors the landscape of their own lives. As one man put it, Brokeback Mountain was the first time he's seen a love story in a theater where the projector was doing all the projecting, instead of relying on him to do half of it. For the hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of gay men living a closeted existence, passing as straight in cities and towns across America, Brokeback Mountain has done more than illuminate their world. It also represents the first mirror Hollywood has ever provided to reflect their love. The film has also stirred up a storm of indignation from both extremes of the culture wars. Elite religious fundamentalists are horrified by the film's vivid portrayal of the lead characters as human beings – instead of easily-vilified stereotypes – coping with the corrosive culture of hate these same fundamentalist leaders actively promote. Meanwhile, Hollywood gossip mongers and vicious media queens have taken to dissecting every statement, every gesture Ledger & Gyllenhaal have made in public, as part of a ridiculous, holier-than-thou crusade to condemn any perceived homophobia on the part of the two actors. I'm sure there must be times when the two of them wonder what they ever did to merit the shrill braying of so many asses. Like many pioneers before them, they seem to be amassing quite the collection of arrows in their backs. These two young men didn't have to make this film. It was an enormously risky move on their parts. Many prior dramas featuring positive, frank depictions of gay romance and sexuality - such as 1982's Making Love or the more recent Alexander - have tanked at the box office and arguably damaged the careers of the actors involved. Had it turned out Ledger and Gyllenhaal weren't capable of pulling off realistic performances as lovers, had the direction or editing rendered their work melodramatic or camp, the film - and these two actors - could easily have been laughed out of theaters by gay and straight audiences alike. Instead of an incredible $100 million (and counting) in global box office, the film could have failed to recoup its $14 million budget. Instead of Oscar nominations, Ledger and Gyllenhaal could have been staring at Razzie nominations and ruined careers. If Brokeback Mountain told some part of your own story or the story of someone you love, if it made you look at your own experiences and choices anew, if the performances impressed you or connected with you in a way you hadn't experienced before, let the actors who gave life to these characters know that. Let them know that their work has a meaning to you beyond the Hollywood hype machine, beyond the media manipulators and their manufactured controversies, beyond the box office and the awards. Send them a postcard. Just a simple postcard, perhaps featuring a photograph of some local landscape or a favorite landmark, maybe your own Brokeback Mountain. You can pick up a couple of cards at a gas station along a highway, or at a shop near your local tourist haunts. Some US post offices even have plain postcards, like the ones Ennis sent in the film, sporting the new 24-cent postcard rate. Simply write "Thank you" on each card – the same way Ennis wrote "You bet" on his reply to Jack – sign your name, then address one to Heath Ledger and one to Jake Gyllenhaal care of their agency: c/o CAA Heath and Jake seem like a couple of thoughtful, perceptive guys. They had to be, in order to portray their roles in Brokeback Mountain with such force and conviction. If they receive a bunch of "Thank you" postcards from folks scattered around the globe they should get the message loud and clear, and appreciate it the way so many have appreciated this film and their enlightening work in it. |
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Saying Thanks To . . . Page Created: February 14, 2006 |
