[dd74]

Empty headed? Vapid? Not really. There are some brilliant minds in H'wood. But they're the writers, directors and in some cases the actors.

"Monster" is a good example of this. I haven't seen it, but that movie evidentally is so spot on, it shakes you to the core.

One has to put Hollywood in context of what it's there for - to tell stories, and in most cases, you have to pick and choose from who you want your story told. Independent film is mostly very good, while big name studios put out fluffier stuff.

"Passions" by no means is ground breaking. About ten years ago, Miramax put out "Priest," which was about homosexuality in the Catholic church. The movie was intense . Talk about raw, edgy stuff and really well done. Well, guess who caught all the Vatican flack because of "Priest:" Disney, who owns Miramax.

"Passions" will be a success is my bet. Probably a very large success. Bad publicity is good publicity. And by many accounts, it is said Gibson is nuts-on accurate in the movie's portrayal.

Does that mean Hollywood damages society? Not exactly. Fact is fact. But it sure will give a lot of power to the industry when they want to do another movie like "Schindler's List" or "The Killing Fields."