Los Angeles Times - 08.09.2019

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color at work on sets and in

production offices. One

example is “Atlanta,” where

men and women of color are

being integrated into all

aspects of the industry, a

terrific development for

Georgia and the industry.

Jeff Denker

Malibu

::

Go back to a simpler

time, the ’70s, oh, yes, those

were the days when Norman

Lear produced wonderful

shows that dealt with sub-

jects no one wanted to talk

about. His inclusion was not

contrived, just the opposite.

It made sense, and it was

important at the time as it

still is today. Hollywood

should take a page from his

book and bring back shows

like “The Golden Girls,” a

much-needed group of

women who are highly ex-

cluded in Hollywood today.

Sherry Davis

Playa Vista

::

As I glanced at the

moody lead photo in Thurs-

day’s Calendar on the new

feature “Ad Astra,” I said to

myself, wow, cool, a movie

about a black astronaut.

Then I looked closer and

saw it was just an underlit

Brad Pitt. I then read Mary

McNamara’s adjacent piece

on under-representation in

Hollywood, and it summed

up my feelings perfectly.

R.C. Price

San Clemente

::

McNamara seems to

think Hollywood has some

moral obligation to right the

wrongs of society. Her naiv-

ety would be charming if she

weren’t a Hollywood Critic.

It’s “Show Business,” not

“Show Art” or “Show Moral-

ity.” As an artist who strug-

gled to make a living for 30

years in “Show Business” I

survived because I under-

stood that the bottom line

drives Hollywood. Always

has. Always will.

Tony Blake

Woodland Hills

::

Mary McNamara posits

that Hollywood should

produce more films and TV

shows that center on minor-

ities, women and LGBTQ

people, even if that shift

doesn’t immediately prove

financially successful.

She’s right: Art should

imitate life, to include por-

trayals of lives of untold

millions who seem ignored

if not disdained by bigoted

political leaders. And with

more minority, female and

LGBTQ roles in films and

TV shows, we can hope that

life will imitate art, so as to

eradicate invidious dis-

crimination.

Rona Dolgin

Los Angeles

Defending

Brando on Jacko

Regarding Christie

D’Zurilla’s online story

“Marlon Brando Made

Michael Jackson Cry. The

Topic: Sexuality” [Aug. 29]:

I was friends with Michael

Jackson for over 27 years

and my father adored him. I

don’t appreciate my father’s

words being twisted to

imply that Michael hurt

anyone. This is just some-

one’s cheap publicity stunt

to promote their paid pod-

cast. My father would never

have been friends with

Michael if he thought he was

capable of doing harm to

kids, and he would never

imply anything negative

about Michael.

Miko Brando

Beverly Hills

Stereotyping

Shelley

Regarding Philip Bran-

des’ theater review [“Hu-

manity Pulses Through

‘Frankenstein’” Aug. 28]: In

claiming that A Noise With-

in’s production of “Franken-

stein” “rescues Mary Shel-

ley’s creation from the ste-

reotype of innumerable

grunting, lumbering movie

monsters,” Brandes is him-

self guilty of stereotyping,

particularly if among his

“innumerable” monsters he

includes the most famous of

all.

Boris Karloff became an

overnight star in James

Whale’s 1931 “Frankenstein”

because actor and director,

with powerful sensitivity,

revealed the humanity in

Mary Shelley’s inarticulate,

tormented creature. If, as

Brandes says, A Noise With-

in’s play “illuminates” Mary

Shelley’s vision, it is not

because it rescues her work

from the first “Franken-

stein” films but because it

carries on the tradition they

started.

Preston Neal Jones

Hollywood

Hollywood is

getting real

Regarding Mary McNa-

mara’s column [“They Do

Not Reflect the Real U.S.,”

Aug. 29]: I could not agree

more about the misuse of

the term “real Americans,”

[but] your judgments may

be a bit harsh. There’s a

reasonable (and growing)

population of programming

featuring people of color as

well as strong female char-

acters. Showtime’s “On

Becoming a God in Central

Florida” is one example.

Certain groups are under-

represented but significant

strides have been made.

From my behind-the-

camera perspective, I’m

seeing an increasing num-

ber of women and people of

FEEDBACK

CBS via Getty Images

VALERIEHarper, left, and Mary Tyler Moore are reunited on CBS’ “Rhoda.”

Valerie Harper was everyone’s friend

Regarding Valerie Harper appreciations by Mary McNamara [“Rhoda? Always Coolest

Person in Room,” Sept. 2] and Robert Lloyd [“Valerie Harper Made Sidekick a Star,” Sept.

3]: In the television history of sisterhood, Lucy had Ethel, Laverne had Shirley, Cagney had

Lacey and Mary had Rhoda.

This select group of wonderful and creative actresses were always able to convey to all

of us the meaning of genuine friendship, kindness and, most important, love. Valerie

Harper was Rhoda and Rhoda was Valerie Harper. She was the kind of funny and genuine

girlfriend we all got to share and cherish and hoped we would be in return to our

girlfriends, in the real world.
Frances Terrell Lippman,Sherman Oaks

Fall movies:The Sept. 1

Fall Movie Preview had the

release date for the Screen

Gems crime drama “Black

and Blue” as Sept. 20; the

film opens Oct. 25. Also, the

distributor for the music bi-

ography “Judy” was listed as

LD Entertainment/Bleecker

Street; it is distributed by

LD Entertainment and

Roadside Attractions. The

action crime thriller “Pri-

mal” was credited to Saban

Films; it will be released by

Lionsgate.

Constance Wu:A Sept. 1

article about actress Con-

stance Wu misspelled the

last name of her “Hustlers”

costar Lili Reinhart as Rein-

hardt.

Snapchat:A Sept. 1 arti-

cle about artist Christian

Marclay said Snapchat

users publish 3.5 billion vide-

os daily. They publish 3.5 bil-

lion Snaps daily — which in-

cludes still photographs.

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