Money as motive
EARL Ofari Hutchinson can be an astute political observer but when it comes to Hollywood, he’s out of his element (“The Curious Case of the Star Who Isn’t There,” Sept. 15). Movie marketing campaigns are never built around unknowns. Ironically, it’s only because Miramax was smart enough to exploit the popularity of “Amelie” star Audrey Tautou that a lot of people (and American producers) got to see Chiwetel Ejiofor’s terrific performance in “Dirty Pretty Things.”
When “The Pianist” was first released, all the paid advertising stressed director Roman Polanski -- not its then unknown star, Adrien Brody.
Right now billboards for the new UPN sitcom “All of Us” ignore the names of the African American cast in favor of its high-profile executive producers, the popular Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
That’s how the game is played. Show business is far from color blind but its bottom line is not black or white -- it’s green.
Michael O’Hara
Malibu
Only good movies
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