'Philadelphia' Tackled the AIDS Taboo 25 Years Ago - Hollywood Reporter

-
MOVIES

11:00 AM PST 11/29/2018 by Bill Higgins

Hollywood's previous attempts to portray HIV/AIDS hadn't gone well, but this time was different: "It had to be a movie about the human spirit, a survival movie."

Director Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia had some major forces going both for and against it a quarter-century ago. On the downside, the TriStar production was about a gay man with HIV/AIDS. On the plus side, Tom Hanks starred as that man.

The Hollywood Reporter was impressed by the film that opened Dec. 23, 1993, but said "it will take an exceptionally inspired marketing campaign to bring Philadelphia home everywhere." Hollywood's previous attempts to tackle AIDS hadn't gone well. (The first was NBC's 1985 movie An Early Frost, which had been a critical success and the most-watched broadcast of the night — but lost $600,000 in ad revenue from skittish sponsors. It then lost another $1 million with a second airing.)

"We couldn't make a movie that was just a piece of propaganda about AIDS," says TriStar's then-chairman Mike Medavoy. "It had to be a movie about the human spirit, a survival movie."

Philadelphia's plot centers on a successful, closeted attorney fired from his white-shoe Philadelphia firm when it's revealed he's HIV-positive. The only lawyer he can find to represent him is an ambulance chaser played by Denzel Washington. The timing was perfect: Hanks, then 37, was coming off mega-success with Sleepless in Seattle, and Demme's previous film, The Silence of the Lambs, had grossed $273 million and won five Oscars, including best picture. Plus, Philadelphia featured Bruce Springsteen's massive hit song "Streets of Philadelphia," written for the soundtrack at Demme's request.

"Talent follows material," says producer Ed Saxon. "We had an excellent script about a subject that was urgent to everyone. People wanted to be involved with this film."

The movie did find a home everywhere: The $24 million production raked in $207 million worldwide ($362 million today) and earned four Oscar nominations, with wins for Hanks and Springsteen.

This story first appeared in the Nov. 28 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.



https://ift.tt/2TYhWft

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Manual on meat inspection for developing countries

-
Image
sinusitis treatment :: Article Creator My 'sinus Infection' Turned Out To Be A One In A Million Nasal Cancer At Just 28 - And Doctors Had To Cut My Eye Out To Save Me By Emily Joshu Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com Published: 06:33 EDT, 20 April 2024Updated: 06:35 EDT, 20 April 2024 A 28 year-old California woman has described the shock of being diagnosed with a deadly sinus cancer that affects fewer than one in a million people - and led to the removal of her right eye. The 'golf ball-sized tumor', which had spread throughout her face, was first mistaken for a sinus infection by the woman's doctors.  Annika, who posts about her condition on TikTok, woke up one morning in 2023 and noticed that the inner corner of her right eye was sore.  While she at first thought nothing of it, by the time the evening rolled around, 'my face started to really, really hurt on the right side,' she said in a video.  The next day, her
Read more

Rash behind ear: Causes, other symptoms, and treatment - Medical News Today

-
Image
A rash behind the ear may occur due to a variety of different medical conditions. Certain viral infections and autoimmune diseases may cause a rash behind the ear in both children and adults. While some causes, such as contact dermatitis, are not concerning, other causes, including rubella, may be more serious. In this article, we look at some of the causes of a rash behind the ear, as well as the other symptoms that they may produce and how to treat them. Contact dermatitis is an allergic reaction to a particular substance. If an allergy-inducing substance comes into contact with the skin behind the ear, a rash can form. Allergens that may cause contact dermatitis behind the ears include: shampoos soaps other hair care products For example, hair dye products contain an ingredient called paraphenylenediamine (PPD), which is a common contact allergen. Symptoms Contact dermatitis causes itchiness, dryness, and flaking of the skin that came into contact with the allergen. Diagnosis A doc
Read more

Having This One Particular Blood Type Can Help Protect You From Severe Malaria - ScienceAlert

-
Image
Nearly  half the world's population is at risk of malaria, one of the most deadly diseases known to humankind. Each year it claims  over 400,000 lives, most of whom are children younger than age five. While it's possible to vaccinate against malaria, virtually all of these cases are in the African region, where protection is often nothing more than a roll of the dice. Now, a recent  analysis  of 23 papers suggests those with blood type O have the genetic odds stacked in their favour. In sub-Saharan Africa, where severe malaria - caused by the  Plasmodium falciparum  parasite  - is endemic, there are far more individuals with blood type O than anywhere in Europe or the US. In Nigeria alone, where 97 percent of the country is at risk of malaria, more than half the population belongs to this blood group. In Ethiopia and many others, the numbers are similar. Rather than a coincidence, co-author and epidemiologist Abraham Degarege Mengist from Robert Stempel College of Publi
Read more