Brokeback Pulled in Two US States

After receiving an "O" rating, for morally offensive, by the Conference of Catholic Bishops, theaters in Utah and Washington have removed the flick from their presentations.

The United States is not the only place making a ruckus about the film's controversial nature. Conservative protesters in Australia are also planning a boycott against the film.The film was scheduled to show at a Salt Lake City, Utah cinema, but was pulled two hours before its screening time once the owner, Larry Miller, of the theatre was informed of Brokeback's plot. Moviegoers were left with nothing but a sign stating: "There has been a change in booking and we will not be showing Brokeback Mountain. We apologize for any inconvenience."

It was noted by a local newspaper that movies such as grisly horror film Hostel, and Grandma's Boy whose main characters are gamers and tokers. Mike Thompson, the executive director of the state's leading gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah, says, "It's just a shame that such a beautiful and award-winning film, with so much buzz about it, is not being made available to a broad Utah audience because of personal bias." Not only is Utah missing out on the movie with leading nominations in almost all award shows Utah will also strike out on the enormous profits from the film.

Similarly, a Washington theater pulled the film shortly before its showing. Instead of showing the movie, the theater refunded customers tickets. These theaters are not alone, however. The Christian Democratic Party has stated that it will support any theater that decides to ban the film.