Once again, J.K. Rowling manages to shoot herself in the foot by amplifying transphobia ahead of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. You would think that Warner Bros. would follow Focus Features and keep Rowling on a short leash. After all, that’s what Focus did with filmmaker Paul Schrader ahead of The Card Counter‘s release last year. It didn’t stop the filmmaker from using racial slurs in interviews but the studio tried. Whereas with Rowling,…
"Fantastic Beasts: J.K. Rowling Amplifies Transphobia"Category: Opinion
Today is the Transgender Day of Visibility, or TDOV for short, in 2022 and the state of things in America could not be any worse. I am an Orthodox Jewish transgender woman and frequently use these pages to write about film and television. Sometimes, my words are on other outlets like Below the Line or elsewhere. But right now, I cannot stay silent even though I would prefer nothing more than to just discuss film…
"Transgender Day of Visibility – TDOV 2022"
Because of the Utah transgender athlete ban, I will have no choice but to boycott the future editions of the Sundance Film Festival. An increasing number of states have decided to ban transgender athletes from playing sports. This is certainly unacceptable. As a transgender American, I cannot in good conscience spend money in any of these states where anti-trans hate is on the books. Moreover, I cannot in good conscience cover film festivals within these…
"Sundance 2023: I’m Boycotting Due to Utah Trans Athlete Ban"
I am standing in solidarity with all of the Disney LGBTQ employees who are walking out in response to the recent comments from Bob Chapek. What this means is that I will certainly not be doing watching any of the following today: Anything owned by The Walt Disney Company Disney+ Hulu ABC ABC owned-and-operated stations Disney Channel Disney XD Freeform FX Networks Marvel Lucasfilm Pixar 20th Century Studios National Geographic ESPN The list goes on…
"Disney: I Stand In Solidarity With LGBTQ Walkout"
After being taken out of the film, it is being reported this morning that Pixar is restoring a same-sex kiss to the upcoming Lightyear. Variety reports that a female character. Hawthorne, is in a relationship with another woman. After last week’s events, a kiss between the two of them is now back in the film. This is not only huge for Pixar but animation in general. Such films are targeting families with younger children. If…
"Pixar And Why LGBTQ Representation Is Important"
Marvel Studios recently denounced the Florida Don’t Say Gay bill in a statement on social media but the studio needs to go further. I’m happy to see Marvel Studios denouncing the legislation. However, it isn’t enough for the studio to simply denounce the bill. No, they need to go further and make a principled effort in LGBTQ content appearing on the screen. We know that there are LGBTQ characters in the comics. In recent years,…
"Marvel Studios Denounces Don’t Say Gay Bill But…" Disney CEO Bob Chapek needs to be replaced as CEO of The Walt Disney Company for not doing enough to fight hatred in Florida. I’m not just speaking out as a transgender American and film/TV critic but as a shareholder of The Walt Disney Company. If this risks getting myself blacklisted as a critic, so be it. I cannot stay silent in the face of hatred. In a perfect world, I would be visiting Walt…
"Bob Chapek Needs To Be Replaced As Disney CEO"
One could suppose that it was always going to come to this as AMC Theatres announced that they would move to dynamic pricing. During their earnings webcast, AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron said: “Currently, our prices for The Batman are slightly higher than the prices we are charging for other movies playing in the same theaters at the same time.” In previous years, AMC has increased ticket prices during the weekend. This is why discount…
"AMC Theatres Experiment With Dynamic Pricing"
It’s too late for the upcoming Oscars telecast but ABC should give the Academy Awards a Super Bowl-esque pre- and post-show. ABC and the Academy need to stop messing with the main awards telecast. Let all the awards air and allow everyone to have the opportunity to deliver their acceptance speeches without getting cut off by the orchestra. The network isn’t going to get back their old viewership. One reason why is because audiences are…
"Oscars Should Have Super Bowl Treatment On ABC" Trans Rights Are Human Rights and that is reason #1 in why this film critic is not attending or covering this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Transgender rights. Voting rights. Women’s rights. Education. You name it and it’s under attack by the right-wing fascist Republicans in Texas. It’s because of this that I want nothing to do with supporting the Texas state economy. I love SXSW and the city of Austin but no, I cannot in…
"Trans Rights Are Human Rights – No SXSW 2022"