Included in Anderson Cooper‘s bullying chat with Ellen DeGeneres the other day was the CNN anchor’s revelation that, just like us, he goes to the movies! That’s how he heard, during the trailer for the stupid new adult comedy The Dilemma, Vince Vaughn utter the line “Ladies and Gentlemen, electric cars are so gay” in the first scene. Now Universal Pictures is feeling the heat, or whatever, to edit out that part of the trailer that’s now showing in theaters. But sure, leave it in the film!
Best part: Universal claims it performed its due diligence by screening “the trailer to gay groups like GLAAD and gay executives here and gays in our marketing department and no one was offended and everyone had a positive response.” It’s like when a white guy asks his your black friend whether he takes offense to you singing along to Nas lyrics and he shrugs his shoulders.
We checked GLAAD.org, that there’s nothing there about the film positive or negative. Give ’em five seconds to issue a posthumous action alert.
UPDATE: GLAAD insists they did see the trailer and “expressed these concerns directly to Universal Pictures prior to the trailer’s release.” The studio has “now assured us that the offensive joke will be removed from TV and Media campaigns promoting the film from this point forward, including the trailer currently playing in movie theaters.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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(Okay, I lied: The best part is in the trailer, immediately after Vaughn utters his line, is Queen Latifah nodding along. All you need to sanitize a gay joke is a gay celebrity!)
rodca
From GLAAD website:
Universal Pictures decided to open the trailer for their new Ron Howard-directed feature The Dilemma with the phrase “Electric cars are gay” in an attempt at humor, but it’s hardly a joke for LGBT audiences growing increasingly frustrated by use of the word “gay” as a pejorative. GLAAD expressed these concerns directly to Universal Pictures prior to the trailer’s release, who have now assured us that the offensive joke will be removed from TV and Media campaigns promoting the film from this point forward, including the trailer currently playing in movie theaters.
http://glaadblog.org/2010/10/08/after-consultations-with-glaad-universal-pulls-trailer-for-vince-vaughns-latest-film/
RomanHans
And that, kids, is the way to get cheap publicity for your film.
Cam
This is one of the same companies that had phony movie reviewers giving great reviews to their movies. So this isn’t a surprise.
As far as GLAAD goes, this is why they are so weak. They expressed “PRIVATELY” to Universal (Who pays GLAAD a fee) that the line might be a problem. And what happened? Universal ignored them knowing that GLAAD would never say anything about it. The ONLY reason GLAAD has finally stepped up and said anything about it is because the story went national.
Yet Another
Actually, Latifah was not shown immediately after he said that line and appears to be nodding her head to the stuff he said afterwards.
Doesn’t change what was said, just wanted to correct your usual mischaracterization of the things your report on. Again.
Ted
“Ladies and Gentlemen, electric cars are so gay”…This line is suppose to be offensive??? Sorry, I don’t see it.
Fitz
Maybe they should have rewritten it to “Electric cars are so black” and seen how well it went.
jason
Universal is not a gay-friendly organization. In fact, many of the things it promotes are homophobic in my view.
I wonder how Universal would have reacted if the line was “Electric cars are so Jewish”?
jason
Ron Howard is yet again acting in a homphobic fashion. Remember when he contributed to the de-gaying of “A Beautiful Mind”? It was the movie he directed starring Russell Crowe.
Ben S
In my mind I always replace ‘gay’ slurs or any slurs with ‘black’ in situations like this and it would never fly. Looks like another white trash, straight comedy with 2 ugly, fat guys improbably married to ‘beautiful’ women. That’s reality America. Sad.
Black Jack44
went to see social network today and that line was still in the trailer for that movie. guess its too soon?
Joe
A Ron Howard movie. A Vince Vaughn movie. These two realities should keep anyone away.
Yellow Bone
No. GLAAD didn’t comment on the issue until smaller gay rights groups started attacking Universal.
Shofixti
I don’t get what the problem is – VV clarifies in character that he’s not talking about homosexual gay – but “my (heterosexual?) parents are chaperoning the dance – gay”. The only people who should be offended are heterosexual parents who don’t want to be compared to elecric cars.
Jonn
@rodca: Hey I accidentally down voted your comment.
JoeyO'H
It’s not even a funny scene. If Universal Picures had decided to use “electric cars are so black/Jewish” instead of gay, you can bet your last unpopped kernel in your over priced movie bucket it would cause so much more of controversey than it already has. Queen L. in the scene nodding her head and the comment alone is enough for me to pass on this flick.
I understand it’s acting, but come on. And to Queen L., come out already. Everyone knows you’re a big bull dike, own it and live it, sister!