‘Pride’ director defends removal of gay references from DVD cover
The director of the film ‘Pride’ has said he “understands” why all gay references were removed from the DVD cover for its US release.
The film, about a group of gay and lesbian activists who rallied in support of striking miners in the 1980s, was released in the UK to acclaim last year.
However, the US DVD cover makes a number of changes, entirely removing homosexuality from the story.
The film’s director, Matthew Warchus said he “understands”, that it was a “clumsy”, but a “valid” marketing strategy.
“Changing the cover is kind of clumsy and a bit foolish,” he told BBC Radio 5’s Phil Williams.
“But this is a film that is loved by people of all political persuasions and sexual orientations.
“I’m just keen for as many people who have yet to see the film to see it.”
Continuing, he said he “didn’t want to preach to the converted” and that he wanted the film “to find a mainstream audience [and] broaden people’s minds.
“I think someone in the marketing department in the US used their marketing judgement to try to remove any barrier to the widest possible audience.”.
“It’s clumsily done but I understand it and it’s a valid instinct,” he continued, describing “the nature of marketing” as “over-simplification [and] reductive”.
The film’s synopsis was changed from mentioning “a London-based group of gay and lesbian activists” to “a group of London-based activists”.
PinkNews also discovered that a picture on the back cover has been digitally altered from a widely-circulated promotional image – removing a sign stating ‘Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners’.
