Everyone is talking about whether Sacha Baron Cohen's Brüno is bad for the gays today, and it's all thanks to one mystery source who's determined to advance an agenda against the film. Of this Brüno-bashing Deep Throat, Nikki Finke says, "This insider provides me with some not before now known behind-the-scenes details for me about why the film has had, and probably should have, problems with the gay community."
Yes, "not before now known" except that The Wrap ran the exact same quotes -- apparently from the same person -- in an article that went up late last night (and was well-nigh unreadable then; it's since been cleaned up). Here's the whole email that seems to have gone to both outlets:
"The film has not been screened for a large number of gays for a reason. Throughout the many private screenings [the filmmakers] have had, the reaction from gays has been almost uniformally one of alarm. It is not a scathing depiction of homophobia -- but a grotesque satire of homosexuality. Brüno is a sickening mixture of narcissism, fetishism and shallowness - and he is virtually the only gay representation in the movie. The 'homophobia' of the various straight men who he encounters and propositions, seems only natural when faced with such an odious sexual monster. Sacha, Jay and their writers did significant reshoots to try to temper the troubled reactions of the few gay people they invited to screenings. One 'out' comedy writer refused to help on the reshoots, because he found the content so disturbing. The reshoots did not do much other than manage to get Elton John and a few other music celebs to participate in an ending that seemed to promote gay marriage. However, these musicians - including Chris Martin - continue to be concerned as they have not been shown the finished film. Can you imagine a comedian going around in black face in a movie, doing a stereotype of black Americans without ever once using a black collaborator or showing the film to a black audience? Gay men continue to be the last easy targets of the fratboy comedies so prevalent these days. And while Brüno pretends to be subversive, it is no different."
Congratulations, mystery source: You got pickup!
· Criticism From Gay Insiders Led to 'Bruno' Reshoots [The Wrap]