Ok, so I know this state helped lose the election for the rest of you, but we are already being punished. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, which was shown on the local ABC affilate in Orlando in 2001 and 2002 has been pre-empted this Veteran's Day.
Why? Local station WFTV is concerned with FCC regulations. The film will air in it's unedited entirity on other ABC stations with parental warnings. But not here in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
ABC wouldn't let them air it later in the evening (duh? remeber how long that film is?) and Mr. Speilberg will not let them edit it. Not one second. I love that. If directors as powerful as Spielberg (not that there are many, or any) refused to let public television edit their films, this country might loosen up a bit. The violence and language in Private Ryan is disturbing, but without it, do we really grasp even a fraction of the reality of war?
So this Veteran's Day, in addition to remembering my Grandfather for his gallant efforts in WWII, I salute Mr. Speilberg for not letting anyone else forget what my Granfather and thousands like him lived through. Even though it won't air in Orlando...
"We are appalled at Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hollywood's support of Proposition 71 and expect you to do something about it.
If you don't, we fully intend to boycott your movies, television and music and spend our hard earned dollars elsewhere."
Such was the content of more than 50 emails we received over the past 36 hours. As the day wore on, the subject lines changed to things like BOYCOTT and APPALLED.
I am all for free speech and campaigns and boycotts. But really, what was the possibility that Jane Doe from Louisiana or John Doe from South Dakota are going to come to a movie at Enzian anyway? (Besides which, I am not quite sure Enzian has ever (or will ever) show an Arnold movie in the first place.)
And just what exactly do these people expect a non-partisan, nonprofit independent art house cinema in Orlando, Florida to do about Proposition 71 in California? I'm dialing Sacramento right now...
