Sneakily conservative filmmakers?

EVERYONE SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT OF SERGEI EISENSTEIN!

Christopher Nolan.

Damian Chazelle.

David Lynch, which is very disappointing.

John Hughes

David Goyer

Tarantino loves the boys will be boys era, you don't see him make a movie with a modern setting. Also gratuitous violence against women and use of the n word, there's historical accuracy and then there's being an entitled edgelord.

[quote] Tarantino loves the boys will be boys era, you don't see him make a movie with a modern setting. Also gratuitous violence against women and use of the n word, there's historical accuracy and then there's being an entitled edgelord.

You're probably right, but as a woman I love Kill Bill and especially Jackie Brown because they are stories about women protagonists. Also, both have modern settings.

I suspect Ron Howard after that hillbilly movie

Def Nolan

Whit Stillman was just trolling his dad (who was a notable Democrat funder or staffer or operative or something). I guess it turned into a lifestyle?

Anyone over 40

John Krasinski has made stuff that has a conservative white patriotism tinge to it. That Benghazi movie he made and released during the 2016 election, the Jack Ryan series, even A Quiet Place lowkey pandered to rural America.

Spielberg, even if he's not politically conservative.

What’s the deal with David Lynch?

OT or maybe not- his daughter Jen is a dreadlocks wearing nut, married to someone I was friends with back in college. My friend is a late in life mtf - on occasion.

I remember him saying in some interview many years ago that he was a conservative (Republican). Granted, what that meant 20-25 years ago is probably very different from today but I recall being quite disappointed when I read that interview. Same thing with Jon Malkovich, another guy whose political leanings surprised me and not in a good way.

[quote]My friend is a late in life mtf - on occasion.

How is this accomplished? Does the MTF have removable breast implants? Or do you mean, your friend is simply a cross dresser AKA a transvestite?

A cross dresser isn't a transexual. Most transexuals have sex re-assignment surgery.

The Silence Of The Lambs

Clarice Starling is a TERF who literally murders a trans womAn.

R16 It is his terminology. Lots of pronouns and mood swings.

Basically a bi guy who likes to dress up as a woman sometimes. And when he is in dress up mode, he IS a woman. According to him.

[quote][R16] It is his terminology. Lots of pronouns and mood swings. Basically a bi guy who likes to dress up as a woman sometimes. And when he is in dress up mode, he IS a woman. According to him.

This man is mentally ill. There are men and women, they can be straight, gay or bisexual. I also believe, most bisexuals actually are gay, yet cannot admit so.

Transexuals will never be biological women. Transvestites know they are not women, they just play dress up, for fun or profit.

The point is, this man you are describing who dresses like a woman is NOT a biological woman, neither are transsexuals. Adding fake tits implants on the male body and getting your cock chopped off does not make a man a woman.

These people need deep psychological help.

btw, I'm a gay man. I was born a man.

Ron Howard also made Gung Ho (1986) - which contains anti-union themes.

I know this is an old discussion, but some of the shit in this thread is so stupid. Neither Tarantino or Lynch are remotely conservatives, Tarantino marched with BLM, for fuck's sake. Lynch is a left leaning centrist. Nolan is totally apolitical, and Hughes' conservatism is very obvious.

Tarantino is an aging hipster/anarchist but he has been called out on his unconscious racism and sexism over the years.

(No, Quentin: you probably should avoid using the N-word. Really.)

[quote]Nolan is totally apolitical

The director of The Dark Knight is totally apolitical? Sure.

"Fascism" is a word thrown around rather loosely, especially by Hollywood progressive types.

In the case of Christopher Nolan's BATMAN trilogy (which he co-wrote as well as directed), it's entirely appropriate.

Long live billionaires and the police state. The little folks don't appreciate them nearly enough, apparently.

Robert Zemeckis. Forrest Gump was fascist as fuck.

Isn't Michael Bay conservative?

Marvel. The new Doctor Strange movie seems to ostensibly be liberal because it depicts the lead female character as having two moms. But the whole plot of the movie is about DOCTOR STRANGE basically taking on the role of absentee father to her to correct the balance of the universe. I don't disagree with this. Children need men and women in their lives. Not some male-hating lesbian parents.

Forrest Gump has conservative undertones

[quote]I suspect Ron Howard after that hillbilly movie

Ron Howard campaigned for Obama and even got Andy Griffith to do an ad together with him.

Stillman wrote for the American Spectator but has "disavowed" his time there and says he is apolitical. Having seen all his movies and loving them I tend to believe him. The best writers don't have political axes to grind, at least not in their creative life.

I knew Whit Stillman was a Con after seeing Metropolitan at its premiere. Same goes for Nolan and his Batman. R25 Zemeckis' Back to the Future was also sneakily Con.

Cecil B DeMille

Not sneakily--Walt Disney.

Tyler Perry

Sean Baker?

Tarantino is probably not a political conservative, but he is a super obnoxious, weirdo asshole dudebro who is also probably a misogynist and loves (and loves making) macho action movies with subtle and not-so-subtle right wing undertones. OUATIH was Tarantino at his worst.

[quote] I wonder if the actors/actresses who work with him realize he's a conservative?

Shock horror!!!

Tarantino was a low class wigger who hit the big time. His behavior isn’t that of a well educated liberal, but he’s by no means conservative.

I didn’t know that about Stillman but I did notice his films are boring AF.

WEHT Whit Stillman?

My mother was a big fan of his films - she grew up in that world, is around Stillman's age and thought he did an excellent job of capturing the type of people she grew up with.

He is often cited as someone who had an audience back in the 90s but who would struggle to find a home today with streaming and comic book IP franchises

Stillman's last big project, LOVE & FRIENDSHIP, was 6 years ago. I didn't love it, but it was far superior to DAMSELS IN DISTRESS (with Greta Gerwig!), which was twee and insufferable and just punishing.

Not sneakily - but Clint Eastwood - he lets it out there

Same with Sylvester Stallone

[quote] Tarantino loves the boys will be boys era,

Did someone mention boys?!

Ivan Reitman, (Animal House, Ghostbusters, Stripes, etc.)

DW Griffith

Lynch voted twice for Reagan, but later praised Obama and Sanders.

[quote] I wonder if the actors/actresses who work with him realize he's a conservative?

Yes dear. Because not everyone is as deranged as you are.

R46, Lynch has described himself as a “libertarian.” In a very maladroit moment, he lauded Trump.

He didn’t “laud” Trump. People have called Hitler and Mussolini “Great” in the sense that they commanded followings and power, not that they were great people. And I don’t think he voted for Reagan twice, he said he admired his image.

[quote]Did he vote for Reagan? "Oh yeah. People got very upset with me. I've met him, at the White House twice and then I went to see him at his office in Los Angeles."

Washington Post/ April 6 / 1990

The Moody Man of Twin Peaks / Tom Shales interview with David Lynch

He said he met him at the White House twice, not that he voted twice. Has this site lost its reading comprehension?

David Lynch is a brainwashed, new age cultist who believes that transcendental meditation makes you literally fly. His political affiliation is probably the least of our worries.

Oh the “transcendental meditation is a cult” troll has arrived to make an already stupid thread just flat out insane.

No, R53, I’m actually the “Lemax Christmas Village miniatures are hideously overpriced” troll, but you do you.

I didn't like OUATIH but I don't think it's QT at his worst. Django was a flaming bag of dogshit. Hateful 8 was much better so I think he learned some lessons from Django.

I think a sequel to “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” would be more interesting than the original. Power couple Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate would go on to have an incredible life together; Tate continuing her film career and Polanski not ever doing that photo shoot at Jack Nicholson’s house.

[quote]I suspect Ron Howard after that hillbilly movie

Nah, R9. I saw an interview last year with Ron when a book he and his brother Clint wrote about their Hollywood upbringing was being promoted. Ron said something about how writing the book was fun and spending so much time with his brother was nice even tho his brother has "different ideologies" than him. Clint's a Republican who supported Ted Cruz of all people.

Ron also said he was "surprised" by Hillbilly Elegy author JD Vance's far-right politics. He knew Vance was conservative but didn't realize he was so extreme. I wonder if he'd have directed the movie if he realized.

It's funny that Clint Howard is a "boot-strapping" Republican when his entire career has been dependent on hand-outs from his Liberal brother.

David Lynch is ALL OVER THE PLACE.

He supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 primaries and "thinks" he voted Libertarian in the General.

He seems like one of those people who thinks "disrupting" is good no matter the circumstances - probably because as a wealthy person he's not affected by political policies in general.

Strange as it may seem, there are still people in the world who don't filter everything through the lens of political party affiliation.

Michel Franco

Leni Riefenstahl

I think R61 is joking, as Riefenstahl was Hitler's propagandist (OLYMPIAD, TRIUMPH OF THE WILL, etc.) Nothing "sneaky" about her Nazi/fascist/racist allegiances.

But I've always been unnerved by Jodie Foster's fascination with Riefenstahl. She's been at work on a biopic about her for decades now--it's her passion project and she's spoken publicly about it. Her original plan was to write, direct, and star it as Riefenstahl; she's now too old to play her during her Third Reich fame. How much exactly does Foster identify with this woman, who also started as an actress before directing films?

It reminds me a little of Madonna and her obsessive love for Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, and how "history got it wrong" about her and "the greatest love story ever told," blah, blah, blah. Speaking of Nazis...

I feel like few in this thread have made a distinction between how these directors vote, and the political underpinnings of their films. Those are two different things. Spielberg is the best example, and a previous poster did mention this. He obviously votes Democrat, but there’s also something classically conservative about his worldview. Lynch may have flirted with voting Republican, but his work portrays a chaotic world ungoverned by discernible rules or benevolent institutions.

r63 is the ghost of Pauline Kael

Matthew Vaughn.

Well Lynch’s Twin Peaks the Return pretty much predicted at the fucked up world that was coming post-Trump’s election.

OP = McCarthy

R67= Kim Carnes

bump for (an unusually) intelligent and civilized thread

Whit Stillman is a WASP uber alles, which people seem to misread as conservative.

Vinshente Minnelli! I like to yell dadsh name out when anyone talksh about directorsh!

Ron Howard is like Spielberg. Votes Democrat, but has made his fair share of vaguely conservative movies (Gung Ho and Hillbilly Elegy are slightly more overt). Even Willow could be read as a pro-life metaphor movie.

When I said OUATIH was Tarantino at his worst, I mean in terms of his sensibilities. Death Proof is his worst in terms of overall quality.

John Hughes is like the opposite of Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard. A lot of overt bashing of rich snobs, corporate culture and materialism for someone who is supposed to be a Republican (especially during a time when that stuff was still largely associated with them).

"Her original plan was to write, direct, and star it as Riefenstahl; she's now too old to play her during her Third Reich fame. "

Jodie could still play her in her wildlife, environmentalist, deep sea diving phase. Riefenstahl is indeed a fascinating subject.

[quote]Stillman's last big project, LOVE & FRIENDSHIP, was 6 years ago. I didn't love it, but it was far superior to DAMSELS IN DISTRESS (with Greta Gerwig!), which was twee and insufferable and just punishing.

I found L&F very amusing, with its whip-cracking pace and dramatic near-weightlessness...like a literary costume picture for people who don't usually like those.

Damsels is the only Stillman I haven't seen, and it seems to have the universal seal as his worst. But I like the other four to varying degrees, so I'll have to complete the set eventually.

I was on the fence about Gillian Flynn, but after "Utopia", I'm convinced she probably is a right-winger.

Even pre-pandemic, "Utopia" would read as right-wing.

There are certain character lines in Gillian Flynn's books that are just too pointed and specific for me not to believe that Flynn is a conservative or at the very least a contrarian provocateur. In interviews for "Utopia", she talks about what she was going for and sounds very wishy-washy and trying to have it both ways (she even admitted it). She just comes across as a (non-lunatic) conservative in Hollywood walking on eggshells.

Woody Allen

Andrew Dominik.

Peter Weir

R55 is a flaming, right wing racist conservative, that's for sure. And every film is Tarantino at his worst. His entire career is a detestable hoax - a bunch of recycled and stolen ideas from better directors and better films. His fanboys are a bunch of incel white boy dude bro racist trash who get off on his use of the N word. Makes them feel like the men they're not and never could be.

Judd Apatow doesn't vote Republican, but makes movies with conservative messages for some reason. Especially "Trainwreck."

Judd Apatow fancies himself an enlightened feminist, for a rich straight white guy. But it's a very conventional bourgeois feminism that reveres fairly traditional notions of "family" and "parenthood." You can see it all over his later films. (For all his gross-out, outrageous humor, I find him pretty prudish about sex.)

And his world view is hyper-entitled. And privileged. He is one of the powers that be behind Lena Dunham and GIRLS.

Stanley Kubrick. Especially "A Clockwork Orange."

Christopher Nolan

Denis Villeneuve

"Nocturnal Animals" is very misogynistic. I think Tom Ford included that anti-right wing rant scene to throw you off the scent.

Yes, much about NOCTURNAL ANIMALS really creeped me out. And made me rethink Tom Ford a bit, after he'd directed A SINGLE MAN, a lovely and intriguing film.

I have no idea about his politics, but it wouldn't surprise me if he were a stealth conservative. So much about fashion is about kissing up to the wealthy and powerful.

Lars von Trier owns this thread.

Terry Zwigoff.

[quote] I feel like few in this thread have made a distinction between how these directors vote, and the political underpinnings of their films.

Only 3 posts here make that distinction.

Filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick, Lars von Trier and Harmony Korine are a mix of conservatism, misogyny and nihilism.

Walt Disney

[Quote] I wonder if the actors/actresses who work with him realize he's a conservative?

I wonder if they care. OP

Why are directors who depict women going through fucked up things automatically conservative? One of my best (female) friends thinks LVT makes the best female centric movies of the modern day because he allows actresses to explore the dark and ugly aspects of womanhood. Is honesty conservative?

Ruben Ostlund.

david lynch been on the payroll of transdental mediation for ages.... ..he also is a chain smoker.....there is a fab expose documentary bout TM and his involvement in it. ..... its called DAVID WANTS TO FLY.

I don't see how Whit Stillman is conservative. His works remind me of JD Salinger, Jane Austen and F. Scott Fitzgerald. He just makes movies about his social class and but seemed quite critical of it. He doesn't seem to even imply that WASPs dying out is a negative thing. Just how things naturally end up when you had a class that was snobbish, isolationist and couldn't adapt to the times. The Last Days of Disco has a very melancholy feeling. He lampoons both the conservatives and bleeding heart liberals in the WASP strata for their hypocrisy. I can't imagine a true conservative could make films that can connect with all types of people on an emotional level.

David Lynch is only conservative in the fact that he loves the Reagans and he gets pissed off if someone speaks badly about them.

Lynch doesn't seem right wing or of the MAGAt variety. I don't see him being against helping the poor. He isn't racist. He doesn't seem religious either. He's more into Eastern spirituality and homeopathic stuff. I think his admiration for Reagan was superficial. Reagan did represent Americana and looked like something out of a Rockwell painting. Lynch probably knew Reagan personally being the California and Hollywood connection. Reagan was more liberal in private. Doesn't excuse his administration and his campaigning to rightwing religious zealots.

People really use "libertarian" as a shield, don't they. It's such bullshit. They never really explain what exactly makes them a libertarian. A few will say they "don't like either party" - which isn't remarkable since many voters who vote for one of those parties say the same thing. Others will say that they "believe in small government" but that's hardly ever the case. They only believe in a lack of government presence in very specific areas that affect them. There's a reason libertarian jag-offs skew rich.

A lot of these directors are just white rich people writing about rich white people. People write what they know. How is Peter Weir conservative? Dead Poets Society was critical of toxic masculinity and patriarchy and there's heavily implied homophobia in regards to Neil.

Some filmmakers I feel are conservative are Christopher Nolan, Michael Bay, Tyler Perry and John Hughes (though he mocked the rich with misfortune and slapstick, ultimately the white rich people were still the most highly evolved and you look up to them).

Trey Parker and Matt Stone

R103 I agree and it's a shame. When younger they were progressive but I feel after the Movie in 1999, they got used to the wealth and became more arrogant.

R19 Most bisexuals aren't actually gay. They are bisexuals. And if anything, most bisexuals are closer to the straight side of the sexuality than to the gay one.

Speaking of Lynch and his love for Reagan, Neil Young is also a big time liberal hippie, but praised Reagan in the 80s. Weird.

Gay leaning bisexuals are pushed to identify as gay. Many bisexuals aren't straight leaning but the only ones who are allowed to identify as bisexual are. Many men identified as bisexual but because they had mainly male partners and showed preference for men. People just called them gay.

Not sneakily, perhaps, but Clint Eastwood comes to mind immediately when speaking of conservative directors.

R107 Yeah, still...most bisexuals prefer the opposite sex and ends up with the opposite sex.

Ron Howard is a liberal. It’s his brother Clint who is the conservative.

R110, well, at least Clint looks the part.

LOL.

Seriously, grinning with those nasty teeth is just NASTY.

Lars von Tier films has an issue with women by his own admission. He rarely works with the same actress twice. Bjork hates him.