Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson are promoting the faith-based drama Ordinary Angels.
The stars regularly chat with journalists about their latest projects. That’s marketing 101.
Swank and Ritchson also stopped by The View, perhaps the most far-left platform in media. Even though the hosts denounced some people of faith as “Christian nationalists,” their appearance allowed them to reach the story’s female audience.
So where is the Daily Wire interview with Swank and Ritchson? Outkick.com? Nationwide review? Breitbart News? Timcast IRL? Blaze? Townhall.com? PJ Media? Fox News? Washington Times?
Toto’s Hollywood?
You won’t find it.
The stars chatted with MovieWeb, ScreenRant, and a number of smaller media outlets. There’s nothing wrong with casting a wide net. These sites also speak to avid movie fans. But why didn’t that net include right-leaning platforms?
Conservative news sites have very strong ties to faith-based communities. In theory, marketers want to capitalize on that connection, knowing that stars speak to people looking for “ordinary angel” stories.
Additionally, some conservatives support Ritchson’s Amazon series “Reacher.” This is one of his biggest hits on the platform, featuring an unconventional hero from the Reagan era.
Stallone. Schwarzenegger. Ritchson?
Ritchson is a Christian and probably wouldn’t mind chatting with right-wing journalists. Swank has two Oscars under his mantle. She knows that her fame is based on reaching both red state and blue state audiences.
They still weren’t talking to openly conservative news outlets, according to a Google News search on the subject. The Christian Post caught up with Swank at the film’s red carpet premiere, a press opportunity that rarely allows for more than one or two questions.
(Note: This reporter unsuccessfully called Ritchson at two large right-leaning news organizations.)
Hollywood and Conservative Media – Like Garlic to Vampires
“Ordinary Angels” was underwhelming at the box office in its first weekend, earning $6.5 million in a market looking for faith-friendly films. “Jesus Revolution,” also from Kingdom Story Company, grossed a whopping $15.8 million last year without Oscar-winning stars like Swank.
Angels performed well in its second weekend, but still only made $3.8 million.
Did Hollywood’s conservative media blacklisting reduce the film’s box office revenue?
Ordinary Angels, directed by Jon Gunn of The Case for Christ fame, tells the story of Ed Schmidt (Ritchson), a man desperately trying to secure a liver transplant for his sick young daughter. I’m drawing. A local woman (Swank) steps in and uses her charisma to raise money for the girl, doing everything possible to find her an organ transplant before it’s too late.
This plot is a big hit for Red State audiences. faith. family. Sacrifice. Complex protagonists.
Have they even heard about it in our tribal media world? There’s little chance, if any, that conservatives will catch Swank and Ritchson having a ruckus with Whoopi, Joy and the other “The View” hosts.
None of this is shocking. Right-wing news organizations rarely have access to big stars when promoting new movies or TV shows. Several openly conservative actors, like Kevin Sorbo and Jon Voight, will appear on Blaze and Breitbart News.
rest? That’s very rare.
Need an example of why this is important?
The 2019 drama “Richard Jewell” seemed to be a perfect fit for conservative viewers. The film, directed by Clint Eastwood, recalled how the FBI and the media teamed up to demonize the hero Jewel, who was made into a monster for planting a bomb at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
The themes of these duels are like Actinidia for Red State USA, but the film’s marketers ignored its rich connections, not to mention the director’s right-leaning nature. The film grossed only $22 million at the box office, despite an all-star cast and Eastwood’s panache.
Right-wing talk show host Greg Gutfeld alluded to the issue during a 2023 chat with podcaster Adam Carolla. The “Gutfeld!” host said that Hollywood PR gurus won’t allow their clients to appear on right-leaning shows, even if they’re hugely successful.
“There are countless examples of this…’I love your show. You can’t do that,'” Gutfeld said. “There’s also interference by the team… it’s always from the public relations people. “We’re just looking for [the talent]”
Carolla agreed, but he’s not overtly conservative.
“Gutfeld!” has achieved the highest ratings in the late night time slot. Apparently that’s not enough.
This is not happening in a vacuum.
Stars know that even talking to conservative journalists can be detrimental to their careers. Actor and producer Mark Duplass had kind words to say about Daily Wire co-founder and author Ben Shapiro in 2018. Duplass quickly retreated after receiving a wave of hatred from his progressive allies.
There’s a second factor here, which leads to a bigger problem. Hollywood actively discriminates against conservatives. That can’t be denied.
Alec Baldwin acknowledged the unfortunate situation, calling it “unfortunate.” Podcast giant Joe Rogan explained how it works on a recent podcast, saying that ideological uniformity behind the scenes in Hollywood is enforced “with an iron fist.”
Various entertainment outlets have acknowledged this from time to time, but have not pursued the issue.
result?
Movies like “Ordinary Angels” receive less attention and less box office revenue than they otherwise would.
I found the same thing with Peacock’s “In the Know.” This limited comedy series makes a lot of fun of NPR and its far-left talent. Conservative viewers will probably find that perspective more appealing than liberal viewers. The streamer hasn’t reached out to right-leaning news outlets to spread the word, at least considering his Google News searches on the topic.
This reporter requested an interview with “In the Know” star and co-creator Zach Woods. No luck.
“Ricky Stanicki,” the brainchild of director Peter Farrelly, premieres this week on Amazon Prime. He’s the go-to guy for pre-wake-up comedy hits like All About Mary, Dumb and Dumber, and Kingpin.
Farrelly has said that part of the reason he made his latest film was to oppose the new, restrictive world of comedy. The movie’s poster features a fake trigger warning indicating that the movie is an unabashedly R-rated comedy.
Conservatives, tired of the handcuffs of woke comedy, want to know more about it. However, the film appears to have been held back by some critics (including this reporter). Farrelly’s interviews are not available, even in the right-wing media.
This reporter requested a conversation with Farrelly several weeks ago. No luck.
This clip of Farrelly and Ricky co-star William H. Macy is the only recent interview related to the project, according to a March 4 Google search. The film will be released just three days after his release (March 7th).
what are they waiting for?
The overall picture is sad but true. Hollywood would rather leave money on the table than interact with conservative media and, by extension, its audience.
