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I came across this article & thought I'd share it with all here as it's an interesting point of view from someone who works within the "system" & it's about what the big studios & suits really stand for in his opinion.
Ben Hoyle | December 18, 2007
HOLLYWOOD has the moral compass of the Taliban or al-Qa'ida, British actor Rupert Everett has claimed.
Everett, who starred opposite Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding, cited the studios' attitudes towards women, gays, abortion and addiction.
"Hollywood is a place that pretends it's very liberal but it's not remotely. It's like al-Qa'ida," the actor said.
Everett, who is gay, believes he has been refused leading roles because of his sexuality. In his autobiography, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, he claimed the head of MGM once vetoed his casting as the male lead opposite Sharon Stone in a film, saying that "to all intents and purposes a homosexual was a pervert in the eyes of America and ... therefore the studio would never hire me".
He said his role as the voice of Prince Charming in the Shrek films was one that he would never get in a live-action film. In his latest film, St Trinian's, Everett is in drag to play the headmistress, Camilla Fritton.
This month, Jodie Foster thanked her partner, Cydney Bernard, at an awards breakfast, becoming one of the few openly homosexual Hollywood stars. But Everett said this did not mean the climate for gay actors was becoming easier: "She is 45 and couldn't be bothered any more. After a certain age, you can be gay.
"The treatment of women is quite extraordinary," he said. "If you compare being a 70-year-old woman to a 70-year-old man, the woman will maybe get to play a grandmother. The man will do a film with a 20-year-old girl."
On abortion, he said, studios are "for it in private because they don't want actresses to clog up their schedules (by taking time off to have babies).
"In films, if you get pregnant, you have to keep the baby and end up with the man.
"A 50-year-old male drug addict will be supported. Female alcoholics and drug addicts are absolutely rejected," he said.
The Times
Ben Hoyle | December 18, 2007
HOLLYWOOD has the moral compass of the Taliban or al-Qa'ida, British actor Rupert Everett has claimed.
Everett, who starred opposite Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding, cited the studios' attitudes towards women, gays, abortion and addiction.
"Hollywood is a place that pretends it's very liberal but it's not remotely. It's like al-Qa'ida," the actor said.
Everett, who is gay, believes he has been refused leading roles because of his sexuality. In his autobiography, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, he claimed the head of MGM once vetoed his casting as the male lead opposite Sharon Stone in a film, saying that "to all intents and purposes a homosexual was a pervert in the eyes of America and ... therefore the studio would never hire me".
He said his role as the voice of Prince Charming in the Shrek films was one that he would never get in a live-action film. In his latest film, St Trinian's, Everett is in drag to play the headmistress, Camilla Fritton.
This month, Jodie Foster thanked her partner, Cydney Bernard, at an awards breakfast, becoming one of the few openly homosexual Hollywood stars. But Everett said this did not mean the climate for gay actors was becoming easier: "She is 45 and couldn't be bothered any more. After a certain age, you can be gay.
"The treatment of women is quite extraordinary," he said. "If you compare being a 70-year-old woman to a 70-year-old man, the woman will maybe get to play a grandmother. The man will do a film with a 20-year-old girl."
On abortion, he said, studios are "for it in private because they don't want actresses to clog up their schedules (by taking time off to have babies).
"In films, if you get pregnant, you have to keep the baby and end up with the man.
"A 50-year-old male drug addict will be supported. Female alcoholics and drug addicts are absolutely rejected," he said.
The Times
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