It was the gay slur…and it wasn’t just the gay slur.
Within a few days though, Brett Ratner was no longer co-Producer of the upcoming 84th Oscars. Brian Grazer is now his replacement. And Eddie Murphy, who was Ratner’s unexpected choice for Oscar show host, has also just withdrawn.
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner’s Off The Top Spot As Oscar Co-Producer
Ratner uttered the faux pas, at a recent screening of Ratner-directed TOWER HEIST at L.A.’s Arclight Theater. After the screening, there was a Q+A. An audience member asked Ratner about rehearsing, and Ratner replied:
“Rehearsing is for fags.”
It caused a stir, but the Academy’s Tom Sherak stood by Ratner. Then.
I think what ousted Ratner was a combination of, well, for one, we are a society that has evolved past the casual usability of that that term. Ratner’s not the first public figure who came under fire for publicly using it, and incidents which caused controversy elsewhere, as well, making media in a bigtime way. The usability-no-longer of that word has already been strongly established, in a big way. Which made Ratner’s usage the other night seem only more blundering. Or else, intentional.
Which is what, I think, makes people the most angry about Ratner. He acts with a kind of freedom which makes people suspect that he feels entitled to play out his hostility on others. Or that he’s exempt from acting with common civil grace, which not only takes him out of the level of elegance, and dignity that is a Academy-required type to head an Academy Awards; but when Ratner does what he does and says what he says, I think it gives off a psychic pugnacious poke at people who, then, want to poke back. Badly. Knock him off his perceived high horse. They think he’s an arrogant pr**k.
‘Fag’ is an insulting term to gays, because it is derogatory. That’s how that slang term was always used, by straights. When someone calls someone that, its understood meaning is that a ‘fag’ is a negative thing, a lesser thing. A weak, fearful thing. (I think that’s what Brett Ratner was trying to say, it was the meaning of his response: that rehearsals are for actors and film sets that don’t trust the work or process enough. Are too chicken to get up in front of the camera right away.)
But then there was the additional Howard Stern stuff, was it the next day? Stern’s show is always outrageous, in low to outrageously high degrees of outrageous conversation and topic. It’s almost always about sex, from a male perspective and not all that evolved. It’s often extremely sexist. People from the industry who guest on Stern can do so without anyone but Stern’s listeners to catch the convo. Then it goes away.
I don’t think a previous Oscar producer has been guest on Howard Stern. That’s a very different set of standards than a director or actor usually has to fulfill. The Academy Awards are more public, more mainstream, iconic, elegant. Flat out, there’s an Academy to answer to. There’s a kind of global spotlight on the Oscars, and those behind it, running it…that doesn’t shine regularly on a director’s life, quite the same.
That’s what toppled Brett Ratner. Because Brett Ratner has always acted this way, and talked this way. (At the bottom of this are some of Ratner’s verbal transgressions in audio excerpts from the Howard Stern show.) Overall, and for the most part, Ratner simply got away with it. Hollywood style: As a director, he’s the boss of whatever film or music video shoot he’s working on. So no one says boo to what he says; and like most successful Hollywood people, he surrounds himself with people who only kiss butt.
No one’s ever going to correct Brett Ratner on his film set. I’ll bet lotsa money, that no one ever did in the past.
Brett Ratner is actually a nice guy, he’s got a personality…and he can be comfortable to be around. The problem is, he’s got one of the biggest potty-mouths in town. Sexism may be his achilles heel, but more notably, is that he can be extremely sexist. As if he doesn’t know better, and maybe he doesn’t. Problem is, it gets confusing; Brett Ratner’s obviously too smart.
It gets more confusing because Ratner’s the opposite of a bigot when it comes to racial bias, he’s got more black friends than white. Not to diminish his usage of the gay f-word either, but Brett Ratner doesn’t have a track record of gaybashing or gay bias. Yet, with women he acts his chauvinism out, and has for years, and it’s pretty extreme. It just never caught up with him because of his stature in the Industry.
It’s his stature that kept his active chauvinism active. Enabled him. He’s someone who is naturally uncouth, and if he was in any other business, or wasn’t such a fast and huge success story; then life would’ve served Ratner’s out-of-this-world ego and potty mouth a lesson or two. Instead, this business has served up nothing but disposable woman after woman to him. Rather, they have served themselves up because he is a big director in the business.
My point is, although it may seem Ratner resigned for one thing, one slur, no matter how insulting that may have seemed to be; it’s more. It’s really a combo of a Hollywood ego gone out of touch; longterm uncouth behavior with notorious female disrespect, involving sex. I think the Academy actually would have kept him on, if it was, solely, about the gay slur. Sherak publicly said so. Though, when the Stern stuff came right on the tail of it, and the Munn stuff, both utterly distasteful; it suddenly became clear that they couldn’t keep him on. That he had so much reputational stuff that only was only a quiet buzz around Hollywood before. Buzz that could and probably would become big media blasts if Ratner stayed on as co-Producer. Not only because of an irrepressible press, but because of Ratner and his irrepressible mouth and ego.
It’s the behavior, and the ego, that makes most people angry at him and also makes him unacceptable for a type of role as co-producer of a show like the Oscars.
The whole deal with Olivia Munn was really wince-making. Hollywood likes Olivia Munn, it seems. On a trajectory, she’s now successful as a film actress, and is a regular correspondent on The Daily Show, which is a great political show. Munn recently had a book published where she shared her story about how she’s gotten where she is. In one part, she wrote about a director doing something Ratner-outrageous, without naming him specifically. Rumors buzzed that it might be him, but actually Ratner verified it by himself (which he didn’t have to) with a Ratner-outrageous response. For whatever reason (could he have been insulted by her recount?), Ratner answered with what seemed like a sullying, decimating, sexually-cheapening response, to Munn.
Then, Ratner backpedaled. Apologized, publicly? (Possibly, were there strong words from Munn’s attorney?)
Do I think Ratner would have created an entertaining, somewhat original, Oscar show? Probably.
Letter From The Academy® Regarding Ratner ‘Resignation’
MEDIA CONTACTNovember 8, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAcademy Statement Regarding Brett RatnerBeverly Hills, CA – This morning, Brett Ratner submitted his resignation as a producer of the 84th annual Academy Awards to Academy President Tom Sherak. Ratner then issued an open letter to the entertainment industry in which he explained his decision."He did the right thing for the Academy and for himself," Sherak said. "Words have meaning, and they have consequences. Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable. We all hope this will be an opportunity to raise awareness about the harm that is caused by reckless and insensitive remarks, regardless of the intent."Brian Grazer, Film Producer, will take over for Brett Ratner.
Brett Ratner’s Own Statement
An Open Letter to the Entertainment Industry from Brett Ratner
Dear Colleagues,
Over the last few days, I’ve gotten a well-deserved earful from many of the people I admire most in this industry expressing their outrage and disappointment over the hurtful and stupid things I said in a number of recent media appearances. To them, and to everyone I’ve hurt and offended, I’d like to apologize publicly and unreservedly.
As difficult as the last few days have been for me, they cannot compare to the experience of any young man or woman who has been the target of offensive slurs or derogatory comments. And they pale in comparison to what any gay, lesbian, or transgender individual must deal with as they confront the many inequalities that continue to plague our world.
So many artists and craftspeople in our business are members of the LGBT community, and it pains me deeply that I may have hurt them. I should have known this all along, but at least I know it now: words do matter. Having love in your heart doesn’t count for much if what comes out of your mouth is ugly and bigoted. With this in mind, and to all those who understandably feel that apologies are not enough, please know that I will be taking real action over the coming weeks and months in an effort to do everything I can both professionally and personally to help stamp out the kind of thoughtless bigotry I’ve so foolishly perpetuated.
As a first step, I called Tom Sherak this morning and resigned as a producer of the 84th Academy Awards telecast. Being asked to help put on the Oscar show was the proudest moment of my career. But as painful as this may be for me, it would be worse if my association with the show were to be a distraction from the Academy and the high ideals it represents.
I am grateful to GLAAD for engaging me in a dialogue about what we can do together to increase awareness of the important and troubling issues this episode has raised and I look forward to working with them. I am incredibly lucky to have a career in this business that I love with all of my heart and to be able to work alongside so many of my heroes. I deeply regret my actions and I am determined to learn from this experience.
Sincerely,
Brett RatnerBrian Grazer, Film Producer. Also, 84th Oscars.
Academy Head Tom Sherak
[About] Grazer, Sherak said. “He said, ‘I want to help.’ So I said, ‘What if I asked you to become the producer.’ He said, ‘Ask me.’ I did, and he said, ‘I’m in.’ “
Sherak said he completely understood Murphy’s exit, likening it to an actor leaving a picture in development after the director exits. “We had heard very early after Brett resigned that Eddie already felt uncomfortable without Brett being there,” Sherak said. “We completely understood. Nobody is mad at Eddie or anything like that. This is a creative process and Eddie is an artist, you have to remember that. The fact that Eddie left early was good for us. In everything that has happened, there has been a spirit of things that were done for the good of the Academy, I believe.”
…It was obvious that Ratner made things easier by stepping out. “He did the right thing,” Sherak said. “He didn’t want to put me in that position. When bad things happen, sometimes good things come out of them. I hope that Brett will continue with the outreach he has said he’s going to do with the community, and deal with all the other things that went on. He’s got a whole life ahead of him.”
And Sherak, Grazer and Mischer have a little more than three months to pull together an Oscarcast. Sherak wasn’t sure if any of the writers Ratner lined up will stay on. Those decisions, and the host selection, fall to Grazer and Mischer.
What will happen next for Brett Ratner?
I think he’ll continue with his directing career. Certainly, he’ll be out and public with a very heavy-duty spin campaign… and within a year he’ll be the biggest heterosexual gay-activist that Hollywood has ever seen. As I said before, I don’t think Brett Ratner is a homophobic, nor is he biased against gays. But he and his people are going to make sure that the world knows that. He will eat some humble pie, in the media, to eat his words that contained a (irresponsibly,callously uttered) gay slur.
As far as his flagrant misogyny, there’s no outright uproar about that. Unfortunately, misogyny is still acceptable in the Industry. Even amongst women of power, in the Industry. Ratner will probably continue on with his same behaviors, when it comes to the “girls”. He may just refrain from publicly yapping about it. Maybe.
Ratner’s film directing career will survive. He may work harder on his next film, and this may force him to work harder and come up either with a film that is either a bigger success, or he’ll turn out a movie that’s more artistic.
If successful at changing his image, and reviving his box office cred in the business…Ratner could possibly be producing an Oscar show in the future.
Hollywood can forgive and forget. We’ll see.
Just don’t be surprised if you see him on Entertainment Tonight showing off his new boyfriend.
UPDATE: Billy Crystal Announced As 84th Oscars® Host
Nov. 10, 2011
It’s just been announced that Billy Crystal will be hosting the Oscars, filling the shoes that Eddie Murphy stepped out of.
(Not an original choice. A safe one, and was probably made due to time pressures. They needed somebody reliable who had done it before, and successfully. Billy Crystal knows how to host an Oscar show, that’s certain. Whether it’ll be much better than a snoozefest, we’ll have to wait.)
