The ONE Thing Conservatives Need in Today’s Hollywood
Anonymous screenwriter shares sorry state of industry's 'diversity' efforts
I’m a straight, white Christian male writer/director in Los Angeles County. I just disqualified myself for 97 percent of the writing and directing jobs in Hollywood.
You can call me cowardly for writing this anonymously, and that’s fair. I should stand by my words because I’m an American who values his freedom of speech. Why hide what so many brave men and women have fought for?
Here’s why…
- I have two screenplays in preproduction with two separate studios based in the L.A. area. Contracts haven’t been signed yet, so things could fall apart at any moment. And considering the entertainment industry is in flames right now, I don’t want “this writer’s MAGAin’ me feel uncomfortable,” to be the reason anyone pulls the plug on either project.
- It’s simple: I. Never. Wanted. To. Be. Political. I just wanted to be a good storyteller. I want to tell stories of the working man, spectacle over boredom, preserving life over seeking death, persistence over victimhood and comedies that roast everyone over comedies that mock Democrat-approved targets. That used to just be “normal.” Now, it’s apparently far Right.
Maybe down the road when I have money and influence, I’ll be more open about being a non-Left storyteller, but it helps no one at this time.
Recently, Deadline announced that Tyler Perry launched The Dream Collective for Aspiring Filmmakers. Let me give you the gist: producer and billionaire Tyler Perry just announced he’s going to give five budding filmmakers $30,000 to make short films in Atlanta with Perry’s crew and resources.
EXCLUSIVE: Tyler Perry Studios is set to kick off the Dream Collective, a program designed to identify and cultivate the next wave of filmmakers, particularly with under-recognized and under-represented voices https://t.co/vSZv0GuwwO pic.twitter.com/mjRIXJjdjp
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 27, 2025
And that’s a great thing! Giving developing filmmakers an opportunity to shoot their stories is a noble way for Perry to share his wealth and expertise. Here’s the problem: the aspiring filmmakers that The Dream Collective want in question? “Underrecognized (sic) and underrepresented voices.”
Oh, the diversity!
Here’s what diversity actually looks like in a Hollywood or Sundance room: the female Democrat, the black Democrat, the Latinx Democrat and Hamas. If you’re a multi-hyphenate Democrat, your chances of program entry go up.
And if (a BIG if) there’s a white guy, he’s waving the flag at the Pride parade.
I’ll eat my words if The Dream Collective actually gives filmmakers a shot based on their merit and hard work, but we all know exactly what they mean by “underrepresented voices.” I’ve been laughed out of every filmmaking fellowship, lab and opportunity since 2015 because I don’t come from an underrepresented demographic.
But okay, I’m misleading you a bit.
You CAN absolutely get into a Wokedance Lab or Kathleen Kennedy’s TV Writing Incubator if you’re a straight white guy. But your STORY must be about “underrepresented voices.”
The Oscars has “inclusivity rules” in order to qualify for Best Picture 2024
Films must make “underrepresented” groups 30% of the cast, the main actors, or the plot of the entire storyline pic.twitter.com/00FtFeJ7fU
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 18, 2023
After strenuously apologizing for your privilege in the application, your story has to be about a transgender illegal immigrant who crosses the U.S. border to get an abortion while fleeing from white mothers who want to burn porn in school libraries.
Also, throw in an Elon Musk or Ben Shapiro caricature somewhere.
RELATED: FOUR TIMES CONSERVATIVE ART GOT UN-CANCELED
Conservatives are the champions of complaining about (il)liberal movies, documentaries, television, award shows and art. But do you know what liberals do that we don’t?
FUND art.
They support the next generation of artists and storytellers. Who cares if the content they/them make is garbage? Liberals help out other liberals.
While you’re reading this, Netflix has already greenlit a live-action “Pokémon: Rings of Power.” And do you know who’s writing and directing it? The same progressives who made the 2027 $250 million-budgeted “Dirty Harry” reboot flop (star Chloë Grace Moretz refused to hold a gun).
Where’s our Tyler Perry? Where’s our Dream Collective? Where’s our non-woke Sundance Lab?
Who does the Right have? Mel Gibson? He’s just one man, and no one should bother him while he’s making “The Resurrection of the Christ.”
Zachary Levi? He’s a cool dude, and I want him to succeed, but he’s not a billionaire producer.
The Daily Wire? They’re just one company and most of their stuff is behind a paywall (side note: put your movies up for rent on Amazon; people will pay to see “Run Hide Fight” and “Terror on the Prairie” if made available to them).
The only thing that comes close to a conservative cultivation program is the Palladium Pictures Incubator, but it’s for short documentaries, not narrative film.
Also… have you even heard of this program before I told you? Has a single conservative influencer promoted it?
As a filmmaker who wants to tell traditional stories with heartland people, I feel s*** out of luck.
There are so many talented people who are passed over because we don’t want to tell tacky and exhausting Lefty stories. We don’t want to make crap like “Velma” or “Snow Shite” or “Shout Your Abortion: Electric Boogaloo.”
We want to entertain and enlighten.
But we need you conservative and moderate higher-ups to support the true underrepresented voices. We need non-diversity contingent fellowships, labs, film festivals and opportunities for traditional storytellers.
Liberal billionaires feel satisfied when they know they’ve made a difference in the world for their like-minded artists, I’ll bet you folks will, too.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m on my way to get turned down to write “The Screwtape Letters” adaptation for Peacock.
If you go to the websites that give you feedback, you will see the Formula. The ideas are almost laughable. And that’s why we get the product we get.
Today, US entertainment is so bad that Americans, especially kids are turning to Korea and Japan. Over there, the storytellers have control. Japanese comics are called Manga and cartoons are Anime. The themes are good – they talk about friendship, family, and confidence. Listen to English translations of the theme songs. The latest hit, Demon Slayer, is about a boy whose younger sister has been attacked and transformed into a ‘demon’. He spends the show looking for a cure to reverse the ‘spell’. AND Leftists don’t like it because it shows toxic masculinity – the male has to protect his younger sister. In Asian cultures, the older brother has a responsibility of looking out for his younger siblings – interesting that Americans like that theme.
Korean comics are called Manna. And many are read as Webtoons. Many of those comics get live adaptations. The latest hit is Weak Hero. It’s about school bullying where the bullies receive payback.
Politically, in both countries, the Right is not afraid to come out and protest. They are not afraid to be cancelled like in the US and Europe.
An important thing to learn from Leftists is to attack on all fronts. Although legacy media is struggling, the Left still use it.
The few Korean and Japanese movies that have gotten US adaptations have been ruined by unnecessary violence and sex scenes.
I see a fellow Demon Slayer fan in the house, I grin from ear to ear. The “Mugen Train” film grossed half a billion dollars. I don’t see most manga/anime as right or left, just entertaining for all as it connects with the Hero’s Journey.
Tanjiro is a wonderful pure-of-heart character, yet willing to endure intense grueling training so that he can defeat the monsters that destroyed his family. Yet my favorite is Insouke, who’d also be cancelled for “toxic masculinity”. But Inosuke punches up, not down, so if he challenges you to a fight it’s because he sees you as a worthy opponent in combat. Even cowardly Zenitsu becomes a bad@ss after overcoming his fears. (I’m also rewatching “Yu Yu Hakusho” starring Yusuke Urameshi, the Rocky Balboa of shounen action/adventure stories).
I’ve also recently gotten into the Korean comics, especially stories where the heroine ends up in the body of a villain. Rather than justify their circumstances, these heroines devote themselves to redeeming the antagonist at the cost of personal comfort or gratification. “Not Sew Wicked Stepmom” is a breath of fresh air after Disney’s “Snow White” fiasco where a Koren woman is transported into the Evil Queen’s body, yet chooses to become a loving mother to the kind yet timid Princess Blanche while protecting her from others out to steal the crown.
This is a excellent point and it’s really frustrating. I am so tired of seeing right wingers complain and rip the latest Hollywood or streaming flop but we have absolutely no bullpen of our own. The right fundamentally doesn’t seem to get art/storytelling. They’re looking for a return on investment and it’s just not going to work that way. You don’t get to complain if you’re not building the replacement imo.
Thanks for posting this, Christian.
There are plenty of right-wing billionaires out there. They need to start recognizing the importance of the culture and start to pony up.
As Mark Steyn said after Mitt Romney lost to Obama in 2012, Republicans spent a billion dollars on a lost presidential campaign. They could have had a bigger impact making four blockbuster movies promoting conservative values.
Liberal media gets funded, but fewer are watching. The major studios will be lucky to earn back their budgets and marketing. Why should Conservatives take part in this high stakes lottery? Mel Gibson still gets work. He wants to do a sequel to Passion of the Christ. I get my Conservative media from YouTube. Free content is great despite censorship in comments and demonetization for content creators. Try short form content funded by contributors or patrons.
It is nowhere near the same
Angel studios has been putting out some good Christian content lately, but they’ve mostly avoided straight-up politics. Chris Pratt started producing his own projects, and has made some good conservative-themed stuff like The Terminal List and The Tomorrow War, but the pandemic theater shutdowns forced him to sign a distribution deal with Amazon Prime rather than getting his stuff in the theaters.
Personally, I’d rather go back to all Hollywood products being non-political and just focus on storytelling, and 20 years ago that might have been possible, but at this point that ship has sailed.
Agreed. While I’m pleased that Angel Studios is addressing real-life stories that Hollywood has shunned, some of us want fun yet inspirational escapism/idealism. When’s the last time we got a witty mainstream romantic comedy like “Clueless” or “While You Sleeping?” Or an entertaining action blockbuster, spy thriller, or film noir that was all about character and story and not about injected social politics? I’d pay to see those movies but can’t find them, so am just revisiting the classics. Perhaps independent studios can’t afford a $200 million budget for an epic movie but if “Firefly” can grow a fanbase, I’m sure we can get some good entertainment even on a budget. Closest I can find anticipating is Tom Konkle’s “Island in the Stars”. Wouldn’t mind seeing a new 80’s-inspired sword-and-sorcery film either.