utah Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Director Peter Greenstreet's documentary This Divided State, which covered the controversial plan to bring Michael Moore to the ultra-conservative Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah, has raised the ire of Sean Hannity, who was brought to the college in response to Moore's scheduled appearance. Hannity says he plans to sue the filmmakers due to this footage, which, quite frankly, makes him look like a complete jerk (actually, "jerk" isn't the right word, but I'm trying to keep this family friendly). You can also watch the first 26 minutes of the documentary on the official web site. While the clip shows Hannity being cheered by huge numbers of conservative students and being asked questions by the handful of liberals in attendance (who are often shouted down by the crowd), there's nothing especially "political" about it. Its intent seems to be an indictment of Hannity himself, but what it really reveals, to me anyway, is the sorry state of political discourse and what happens when emotions take over and people begin to block out differing opinions entirely. And, needless to say, that happens at both ends of the political spectrum.

Brokeback Mountain star Heath Ledger thinks it's great that some theaters in Utah and West Virgina are banning his gay cowboy sheepherder flick, because people who want to see it will just catch it at a rival chain, and the theater bosses will lose money for making "dumb decisions".  Ledger reportedly said, "I heard, at one point, that West Virginia was going to ban it, but that's a state that was still lynching people until about 20 years ago." Geez, Heath, keep up with your American history. That was Mississippi, not West Virginia.

Brokeback Mountain picked up three Critics Choice Awards, including one for Best Picture, which makes it the odds-on fave for a golden statuette come Oscar night. Heck, even Gene Shalit apologized for calling Jake Gyllenhaal's character a sexual predator. But if Ledger keeps making comments like the those, he may have to reconsider signing on to any film that shoots in Utah or West Virginia. I hear they're fond of the second amendment around those parts, too.