Tom’s Guide, a consumer website, had a Disney scoop the other day that somehow escaped the corporate media. Rory Mellon, the site’s eagle-eyed UK-based deals editor, noticed that R-rated “Kiss of the Dragon” was among the films that Disney will begin streaming later this month. According to Mellon, “Kiss of the Dragon” is the first R-rated film slated for viewing on Disney Plus, which Tom’ Guide has previously criticized for lacking adult-oriented content.
“This is huge,” screamed a portion of the headline on Mellon’s story. “Disney Plus isn’t just for families anymore.”
I’ve never seen “Kiss of the Dragon,” so I’ll let Mellon provide the synopsis.
Kiss of the Dragon is an action thriller which follows an intelligence officer who enlists the help of a prostitute to prove his innocence after he’s betrayed and accused of a crime he didn’t commit. It’s definitely not the type of content you’d expect to find on Disney Plus, which is why its addition is such a big deal.
Reading Mellon’s story I immediately thought why doesn’t Disney Plus go whole hog and start streaming X-rated movies? That got me to thinking about “Midnight Cowboy,” often cited as one of the best movies of all time and the only X-rated film to win an Oscar. I can think of no movie whose airing would underscore Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s revulsion of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, which prevents “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity” in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Critics prefer to call the legislation the “Don’t Say Gay Bill.”
“Midnight Cowboy” was a pioneering but controversial film in its time for various reasons, including its depiction of homosexuality and insinuation of gay sex. John Schlesinger, the film’s openly gay director, had difficulty attracting an A-list screenwriter to adapt James Herlihy’s “Midnight Cowboy” book for the big screen. Gore Vidal dismissed Herlihy’s book as “garbage.” Herlihy’s mother dismissed the book as “pornographic.”
Although some critics dismiss “Midnight Cowboy” as homophobic, the film has its share of gay supporters. Ryan Gibey, an openly gay UK film critic, gave the film high praise in 2019 when the film was re-released in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
“My feelings toward the film were formed by seeing it in my early teens, when I already knew I was gay and hankered after images of other gay men on screen without caring whether they were problematic or toxic, words, incidentally, that would never have been used in that context when I first saw (the film) in the mid-1980s,” Gibey said in a Guardian column.
Paul Reese, a Cincinnati filmaker, asked in a 2016 column headlined, “Can We Stop Pretending That ‘Midnight Cowboy'” Isn’t a Queer Love Story? and made his case why it was.
The issue for Disney isn’t the content of “Midnight Cowboy,” but rather the stars of the film, who are persona non grata in Hollywood. Jon Voight is known for supporting Republican causes, including Donald Trump. He also allegedly slapped actor Frank Whaley in the face while filming a scene for the television series “Ray Donovan.” Hoffman has faced multiple sexual assault and harassment allegations, which his lawyer dismissed as “defamatory falsehoods.”
The allegations against Hoffman were reported by the trade publication Variety, which in an April 2 headline characterized Disney chief Bob Chapek’s battle with Florida governor Ron DeSantis as a “debacle.” I was surprised Variety, a Hollywood media sycophant, questioned the wisdom of Chapek picking a fight with a governor about legislation that a majority of Floridians support.
Silly me. The debacle Variety was referring to was Chapek’s delay in not picking the fight earlier.
“Don’t wait until you’re in the hot seat,” warned GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate at her media monitoring awards dinner this past weekend. “There’s no time to sit on the sidelines. We need Hollywood on the front lines, fighting for our rights and telling our stories.” Kate said she will call on Hollywood “to take meaningful action and will soon convene the biggest brands, agencies, studios and streamers together with two goals: one, to commit to improving the quantity, quality and diversity of LGBTQ images, especially in kids and family programming.”
What I wonder about is why Netflix’s co-CEOs Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos and Big Tech chief executives are allowed to remain silent about Florida’s bill. Netflix has previously come under fire from GLADD for the network’s controversial airing of a Dave Chappelle special, which prompted a walkout of the company’s transgender employees and their supporters. Some tech and other companies have signed a petition protesting Florida’s legislation, but the move has received little notice.
Meanwhile, Chapek is also under fire from shareholders. Ray Keating, an economist and editor of DisneyBizJournal.com, has protested Chapek sticking his nose in Florida politics.
“Here’s a suggestion for Disney CEO Bob Chapek: Get back to business, that is, excellence in storytelling, and stop wasting shareholder’s money on political crusades that have nothing to do with Disney’s business,” Keating said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “We all have the right to have our voices heard on issues, but not on the shareholders’ dime.”
In Florida, some legislators are looking to leverage Disney’s political activism as an opportunity to revoke some sweetheart tax breaks the company enjoys.
Finally, I came across this ESG analyst’s December report downgrading Disney’s social responsibility rating. “We are not fully convinced that Disney’s net positive effects on society significantly outweigh its net negative effects,” wrote analyst Sara Rodriguez.
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