Brokeback Got Them Good
Author and journalist Dave Cullen, who has written articles for the NY Times, Slate and Salon, has recently organized a campaign to raise funds to run a full-page advertisement in Daily Variety, praising and thanking the creators of “Brokeback Mountain” for their work. Cullen and his organizers raised over $15,000, more than enough to run the initial ad, and so there’s been talk they may run another.
I first read Annie Proulx’s short story, “Brokeback Mountain,” more than a year ago. Her prose was stark, simple and raw like its two protagonists, and infused with a loneliness and tragedy so profound, that it haunted me for days afterwards. It left me like an open wound; seeping with not only sadness, but anger against a world that would deny two souls the right to love each other. The constraints…
It’s been an insanely long road. Ultimately everything worked out in what I would consider the best-case scenario, so the wait was worth it. Back in 2000, when I gave up the rights to the script, and as a result gave up my guarantee of being the director, I felt like a sell-out. But who cares now? Not I. I mean, I got all the money for “selling out” and I still ended up being the director. And yes, you are not the first to point out how aptly titled the movie is to the…



