Dems vs. GOP's: Stars they Won’t Pay to See

[otohara]

An exclusive THR/Penn Schoen Berland study reveals why Dems and Republicans like different films -- and which actors each side absolutely refuses to pay to see.

On Sept. 23, Morgan Freeman went on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight to proclaim that Tea Party opposition to President Obama "is a racist thing." The timing wasn't ideal, considering Dolphin Tale had opened that day and the film was tracking particularly well among conservatives, many of whom the star had suddenly maligned.

While only 627,000 people saw Freeman on CNN that night, millions soon viewed the clip as Drudge Report, Twitter, Facebook and other digital outlets turned it into a viral sensation -- not difficult given how partisan and personal politics have become in this run-up to the 2012 presidential election. "He belongs on my 'no pay, no watch' list after his latest, nearly hallucinatory raving," wrote one commenter on a conservative media site.

With Dolphin Tale opening with a strong $19.2 million that first weekend and finishing No. 1 with $13.9 million in its second, the financial impact of Freeman's comments is hard to quantify. But they did have an effect. In a far-ranging poll Penn Schoen Berland conducted for The Hollywood Reporter of 1,000 registered voters to gauge moviegoing tendencies of Democrats vs. Republicans, it's clear political allegiances have shifted entertainment viewing habits. Jon Penn, the firm's president of media and entertainment research, says that before Freeman's words, interest in Dolphin Tale was considerably higher among conservatives and religious moviegoers than among liberals. After the remarks, 34 percent of the conservatives who were aware of them, and 37 percent of Tea Partiers, said they were less likely to see the film -- but 42 percent of liberals said they were more likely. (Five days after Freeman's remarks, 24 percent of all moviegoers were aware of them.)

In fact, overall, 35 percent of Republicans and 45 percent of Tea Partiers consider a celebrity's political position before paying to see their films, compared with 20 percent of Democrats.




http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-box-office-democrats-republicans-244741

[Dawson Leery]

1. Democrats and liberals are more tolerant (overall) than Republicans and Teabaggers.

"In fact, overall, 35 percent of Republicans and 45 percent of Tea Partiers consider a celebrity's political position before paying to see their films, compared with 20 percent of Democrats."

[BulletproofLandshark]

2. Damn good thing I'm not as shallow as they are.

Where would American cinematic history be without Clint Eastwood? And I wouldn't have wanted to give up seeing the Die Hard movies either.

[NBachers]

3. I even enjoyed Jon Voight in Anaconda

I expect more flames for liking Anaconda than for Jon Voight

[mazzarro]

4. If timing is adherred to then no celebrity will speak up until they are

no longer in demand in whatever profession they belong. I admire those who speak up for their convictions - especially the progressive ones. I have no regard for the rethug-celebrities and I make no bones to say that I no longer see movies or tv shows of Chuck Norris.

[Warpy]

5. I'd pay to hear Morgan Freeman read the phone book

and I really wouldn't care what his politics are. Robert Duvall's politics are awful, but he's one of the finest character actors in the business. I don't "hire" artists for their politics, I hire them for their art.

Morgan Freeman just made the same mistake Rev. Wright did: he held up a mirror in front of a bunch of bigots and they didn't like what they saw in it.

I'll leave the spite to the right wingers, they've turned it into their art. In the meantime, I sincerely doubt Freeman's statements made much of a financial blip since kids are going to pitch fits to see it and even right wing parents will want to stop the whining at some point.