a stranger among us

award winning screenwriter robert j avrech relates his life and times as a conservative jewish republican in hollywood.

I’m a Republican. A heretofore secret Hollywood Republican. I know men and women who are heavy drug addicts and they have no problem finding employment in Hollywood. I know men and women who are gambling addicts and they work pretty regularly. There’s even a director who was arrested for child molestation and yet was hired by Disney — yes, Disney — to helm a picture, and people defended this decision by saying even child molesters have a right to work. I would bet my bottom dollar that all these people are on the correct side of the political spectrum. They are liberal democrats.

avrech opens with his own reticence to publicize his religous beliefs, but the meaty part of the account deals with his experience as a republican. the high points include efforts to write screenplays for two projects met with utter disregard since they don't tow the company line:

When I confront these people with the truth they look at me as if I am some visitor from some foreign planet.
Which I guess I am.

avrech continues with disappointment/anger regarding hollywood's silence and politicaly correct based temerity:

Last year the Dutch film director Theo Van Gogh was murdered in Holland at the hands of Islamic extremists. It was a gruesome murder. There was not one word of protest from the Hollywood community. Because of liberal political correctness, the 2002 version of Tom Clancy’s “The Sum of All Fears” transformed Palestinian terrorists into European neo-Nazis.

it will be interesting to follow-up on this story

¶ - nitish @ 4:32 PM