LESSON #1: SADNESS AND DISAPPOINTMENT SHOULD BE AMONG THE FIRST EMOTIONS EMERGING FROM UNEARTHED SECRETS— Let me just start this whirlwind week to state what will be my universal stance. I choose to stand on a shorter and calmer soapbox than others on the topic of revealed allegations of sexual misconduct that are popping up all over. I choose to speak to something different than the immediate damning outrage and knee-jerk reactions that are becoming the norm with these headlines. When these headlines arrive, from Kevin Spacey to George Takei, my first emotions are not anger. They are sadness and disappointment. I am sad that a person whose talent I recognize and work I admire and respect is now being torn down by their potential mistakes. Even larger than the sadness is my disappointment in common people and their uninformed hot-takes that pile on top of allegations and not facts. More on that comes in Lesson #2.
LESSON #2: WHERE ARE THE LIMITS?— A great deal of Lesson #1 echoes a fantastic Facebook discussion thread started by Feelin’ Film co-founder Aaron White this week. It asked the essential question: “…at what point do we require more than just an allegation to ruin someone’s life forever?” I will always be an “innocent until proven guilty” believer. I don’t condone the content of the claims, but I refuse to label people until the label is proven to be proper. However, I fear we have a majority society that reverses it to “guilty until proven innocent” with no basis, conscience, or respect. I’m beginning to hate that lack of empathy and patience in people, from the clickbait press on down to trolls on Twitter. When someone is found to be innocent, how willing will a public be to move on and let that previous hate and disdain go?
LESSON #3: THERE MAY NOT BE A BOTTOM TO THIS PIT— This might sound overly obtuse, but sexual harassment and misconduct is nothing new. Expect more names and confessions for years. That’s how alarmingly pervasive the behaviors have been. For example (forgive the Fox News link) actress Maureen O’Hara was brave enough 70 years ago to try and get her story and voice heard on potential crimes committed and it created career consequences. If you talked, even in truth, you lost your standing. What is new is the ability of the public to listen and the landscape becoming more progressive to seek the proper justice, and that remains a very good global change. The guilty deserve the consequences coming to them, but, again, let’s establish that guilt first.
LESSON #4: RESPECT AND SEEK CONTRITION— Circle back to Lesson #2 for a seed in this next lesson. Is there ever a good way to admit or reveal these mistakes? What would happen if an actor or actress came forward on their own and admitted past mistakes before a story of allegations broke? How much of a career suicide would that be? More importantly, would you respect such honesty? That’s where my sadness and disappointment and patience for innocence becomes a heart that respects those that seek contrition. I think that’s huge and a step to a level of forgiveness that other folks aren’t willing to seek while they tweet and judge. Of all people, Louis C.K.’s admissions this week were really something. Again, I can’t condone the behavior he admits, but I can respect his honesty and attempt at contrition. I call that more positive than most of the ways these stories are spiraling out of control and temperament.
LESSON #5: THE BOTTOM LINE STILL MATTERS MORE THAN IT SHOULD— Social media can have their flag-waving moments of championing this entire cause of stomping out the atmosphere where harassment and misconduct are no longer accepted. But make no mistake, the studios and corporations care about that flag-waving unity a distant second to the almighty bottom line. They can say replacing Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer in Ridley Scott’s All the Money in the World is for the right reasons, but what they are really trying to do is save a costly project from getting a bloodbath haircut from box office protests. They’re willing to spend millions in order to renew attention, save face, and, more selfishly important, save more millions.
LESSON #6: DISNEY IS NOT AFRAID TO THROW MONEY AND CLOUT AROUND— Disney has spent billions in the past to buy the worlds of Marvel and LucasFilm and has banked even more billions because of those properties. With an air of “if you can’t beat them, buy them,” Disney has engaged business talks to flat out buy the majority of 21st Century Fox. Fanboys go straight the dream of seeing the worlds of X-Men and The Fantastic Four welcomed into the MCU. They miss what could lead to the erasure of 80+ years of proud studio history. Put caution with the coolness of this.
LESSON #7: IN ADDITION, DISNEY IS GREEDY— As mentioned in this column earlier this year, theater companies are reeling. AMC is losing a fortune and Regal is desperate to raise prices to cover box office bombs. Yet, here comes Disney with an unprecedented profit grab focused on securing their take of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Read the details here. Sure, Disney has the product everyone wants, but it’s the theaters that bring them in and sell the tickets. This should be a partnership, not a dictatorship.
LESSON #8: DON’T F–K WITH JOURNALISTS— Speaking of studio bullying and big-wig hubris, even the supposedly unstoppable and untouchable Walt Disney Company can lose a staring contest with the First Amendment and public pressure. After blacking out L.A. Weekly from screenings in retaliation to some previous bad press, several critics groups united to disqualify Disney properties from their upcoming year-end awards to back their fellow journalists. The display of justified critical brotherhood drummed up the right public support. Disney blinked and lifted its sanctions. I guess like Midas, they can’t resist the urge for gold. Let that be a lesson to the big-wigs. You can’t silence the newsmakers.
LESSON #9: DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED— Universal Studios threw a whole of bunch of money and hullabaloo at their “Dark Universe.” They secured high-end talent and made big plans, but forgot one thing we mentioned earlier: the almighty bottom line. These plans and projects have to sell. Tom Cruise’s The Mummy vehicle bombed at the box office and was ravaged with bad reviews. Now, mutiple levels of sunk costs are lost and Universal has pulled the plug. Studios, take your time and let connections grow organically. Start small and pace yourself.
LESSON #10: LUCKILY, RIAN JOHNSON MADE OUR WEEK— This week has seen plenty of hate sent in Disney’s direction and endless scandal. One really nice story of good news to come out of Disney, especially considering their recent string of disposable directors, was to hear that they are empowering Star War: The Last Jedi and Looper director Rian Johnson to create a new Star Wars series trilogy with original stories and characters away from the Skywalker/Solo universe. In a day and age where many of us call out all of the sequels and remakes, something fresh applied to a big property is an exciting step.
DON SHANAHAN is a Chicago-based film critic writing on his website Every Movie Has a Lesson. As an elementary educator by day, Don writes his movie reviews with life lessons in mind, from the serious to the farcical. As a contributor here on Feelin’ Film, he’s going to expand those lessons to current movie news and trends. Find “Every Movie Has a Lesson” on Facebook, Twitter, Medium, and Creators Media.
