Paramount blames conservatives for movie's poor showing

(Yes, I'm supposed to be gone, but I couldn't let this one get by)

Hollywood is drawing some interesting lessons from the presidential election. The New York Times relates that Paramount may have had an epiphany of sorts:

Paramount's "Alfie," a remake of a romantic comedy about a roguish womanizer starring Jude Law, opened to a dismal $6.5 million in more than 2,000 theaters, far below expectations. The tepid response was the latest blow to Sherry Lansing, the chairwoman of Paramount who last week announced her plans to leave the job when her contract expires in 2005, and whose movies have performed poorly this summer and fall.

Wayne Llewellyn, the president of distribution at Paramount, said that the conservative ethos reflected in last week's election results might have hurt the film.

"It could be the mood of the country right now," he said. "It seems to be the result of the election. Maybe they didn't want to see a guy that slept around."

Don't hold your breath waiting for Paramount to stop making movies about guys who sleep around.