Director Ang Lee
said Saturday he thinks Asian audiences are generally
more accepting of gay subject matter than Americans, after a
movie theater in Utah owned by a Mormon abruptly
pulled his new film, the gay cowboy romance
Brokeback Mountain.
Lee noted that one of his previous movies about
a gay couple, The Wedding Banquet, received a less
restrictive categorization in his native Taiwan than
in the United States. "Actually, if you compare the
two, I think Asian society is more open," he said at
an event promoting Brokeback Mountain in Hong
Kong. "I saw for myself after the showing of The Wedding
Banquet, Taiwan has become more open on this topic
[of homosexuality] than the U.S.," Lee said. "I think
there's pressure to condemn [homosexuality] in their
[Americans'] religion, which causes their homophobia."
The movie theater that canceled Brokeback
Mountain in Utah is owned by Larry Miller, a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more
commonly known as the Mormon Church. The church has
spent millions of dollars campaigning against same-sex
marriage and considers homosexual acts grounds for
excommunication. Miller, who also owns the NBA team Utah
Jazz, has not explained the decision to pull the movie.
However, Brokeback Mountain has also
faced resistance in Asia. Its Malaysian distributor
has said it won't release the film in the
predominantly Muslim country. Lee said he didn't consider
possible backlash against Brokeback Mountain in
the U.S. a big loss. "If Americans don't watch the movie,
then they don't watch the movie. It's not a big deal.
It's their problem, not mine," Lee said with laughter.
"I feel sorry for them because they missed a good
film. It's their loss. It's a small movie, so we don't
need to make that much money."
Lee said acceptance of gays needs to happen over
time. "It takes education, gradually getting used to
it [homosexuality], for us to become more civilized. I
got used to it slowly too," he said.
Brokeback Mountain has won Lee numerous
accolades going into the Oscar season, including the top
award at the Venice Film Festival last year and Best
Picture, Best Drama, Best Screenplay, and Best
Director honors at the recent Golden Globe awards.
(AP)