Brandon Young

With the aftermath of the Utah Entertainment and Choice Awards, an event that took place last friday at the Salt Palace, I have done my best to separate myself from what actually happened which has proven difficult as my thoughts on the subject are unanimous with other attendees. Its been something I’ve wanted to escape but instead I can’t get the feeling of being trapped within the Twilight Zone and reading up on other’s thoughts I’m happy to report that it wasn’t just my internal analyzation.

Even before the event started, the entire ordeal had seemed odd. By the time friday rolled around and it was time to make the appearance, it was quite obvious that there was an elephant in the room. Thankfully I wasn’t the only one thinking it. It was just a matter of time before the elephant finally revealed itself.

Touted as being the Golden Globes of Utah, the event was organized as such in which the casual Utah occupant could nominate and eventually vote for winners in specific categories centered around the entertainment industry, from Choice in Media to Choice in Film. I was happy to report that Solar Shock Studios had received such a nomination and this explains why I even attended the event in the first place. Imagine my surprise when I am nominated alongside such Utah’s talented film artists like Richard Dutcher who is one of the top leading inspirations for me in this industry statewide.

As the night unfolded, starting out with the Red Carpet which was as unorganized as they come, the feeling of a strange oddity was certainly palpable. Standing in line with fellow nominees, our discussions were that of ‘Nice to see you,’ ‘Congratulations on the nomination,’ ‘Good luck,’ and of course ‘What the hell is going on around here?’

People in the film industry of Utah have gone to great lengths to ensure that our fine state is recognized as an alternative to Hollywood- that Utah has just about everything a filmmaker needs to complete their vision. This is true. The problem with this is it doesn’t stop there. These people are making efforts to declare that Utah is the New Hollywood, a claim that quite honestly, cannot ever be achieved. California is Hollywood. It is what it is and it will continue to be the dominant King of the motion picture industry. The survival of certain film communities rests in the forming of a niche, which has spawned the likes of India with the their successful films that focus on their visual elements, certain styles, and genre’s that have since been dubbed ‘Bollywood.’

Utah has done the same thing.

While Richard Dutcher may have fathered the sudden boom of LDS inspired film material, others have capitalized on the doors Dutcher has opened and they’ve followed the road he paved. This has created the niche for Utah which has been called “Mollywood”, and this is a good thing. Utah has already made a name for itself with this and the person to really thank for such a success in our state is Kurt Hale, owner of Halestorm Entertainment who wrote, directed, and or produced such films as ‘The Single’s Ward’ and ‘The RM’ among many others. The debate can be raised as to whether or not this niche of the Utah filmmaking scene may or may not have crippled any chance Utah had to rise to the top. This has yet to be seen.

It came as no surprise that Kurt Hale would take home the award for Choice in Film. He has made an impact with his films in our community. He brings revenue to our state. More importantly, he brings recognition to the filmmakers here and has helped in the campaign of the “Hollywood Builders.” More importantly, I was happy he won. He deserved it. I walked in with nothing and expected to walk out with nothing. I was merely wanting the experience, and a shocking train wreck was what I received.

My other fellow nominees have openly discussed this event with their fans and other industry insiders and outsiders, expressing their discontent over the event. One issue that has been brought up on numerous occasions was the voting. Many felt it wasn’t fair. They claimed the voting system itself was faulty and raises many questions and alarming concerns. I have to respectfully disagree. The voting system was no different than other voting systems that are currently being used, such as on American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, etc. I don’t recall much scrutiny and controversy over their voting procedures. So it can’t be the voting.

Or can it?

The nominees and awards were advertised as being a People’s Choice. The more votes you get, the bigger the chances of you winning. Sadly, this wasn’t the case. Another nominee and I had received several emails from the event organizers regarding the voting. From statements of “Your killing it in the polls,” to “No one else has received as many votes as you.” The people with these emails are the ones who walked away empty-handed. It’s not the voting or the execution, the problem lies with the fact that votes were not counted.

I over heard an organizer and a future award recipient (who had yet to receive his award) discuss the voting, how many votes certain nominees received, and who the real winners were.

It then became abundantly clear. This wasn’t a people’s choice at all. Instead it was friends playing favorites. It was political. It was financial. It was centered around the people who were building the New Hollywood for all the wrong reasons and in doing so building up our states niche market that we will never be able to overcome or recover. Thus, their wishes of New Hollywood will never reach completion. They will continue shooting themselves, and our state in the foot.

As the awards progressed, another startling discovery was revealed to me. I had finally discovered what the elephant was. The entire event from start to finish, it’s organizers, producers, financial investors, marketers, and even sponsors were part of the Osmond clan (family, friends, benefactors). I sat and watched in horror as the Osmond family f*&ked each other on stage.

How can an event like this better itself should they decide to do it again next year? What other pitfalls should they avoid? The voting is clearly an issue. The communal incest and a jerk circle being performed in front of the attendees was an issue. What other things made the evening such a cataclysmic disaster and resulting in a backlash and negative press?

The issue itself is as clear as crystal. The event organizers were not organizers at all and nothing worked from the moment the event was announced. Taking into consideration is the fact that this was the first annual of a potentially ongoing train wreck, but everything that had been promised to the nominees were not delivered. Dates for the nomination announcements were changed almost daily. The Official Nomination letter we received didn’t match up with information on their website. Some of the nominees didn’t get a nomination letter at all, and weren’t notified of their nomination until half way through voting when they found out via Facebook. Press interviews, news coverage, etc., was promised and had no follow thru. I emailed the organizers for clarification on many of these issues, only to get a returned message stating that the email address was no longer in service. There was no one to talk to. The website was cheap and full of flaws and was of no help. The ordeal was already shaping up to be one disaster after another and my expectations were fully achieved.

I don’t want my negativity on the subject matter to be viewed as a backlash over losing the award. It’s not that in the slightest. The event had potential to be a really engaging and fun experience but fell flat on it’s face and is fastly becoming one of the biggest jokes for Utah 2011. Truthfully, I am glad I didn’t win the award because I felt I didn’t deserve it, but at the same time I wouldn’t want to be embarrassed to claim I had won. Sad but true. Some good has come out of it; I was able to finally meet people whom I had yet to meet in my years of filmmaking, and most importantly I got to shake hands with my Utah inspiration and fellow nominee Richard Dutcher.

What angers me most about everything surrounding this night was not only the fact I watched incest on stage, but that the campaigns for wanting Utah to become the next Hollywood. It is only tarnishing the good names of countless filmmakers in our fine state who are actually doing some good and making quality material that rivals the works of Hollywood (adjusted for the size of budgets and manpower), and surpasses the works of Mollywood. Let’s focus on what makes us Utah and not what Utah will never become. Otherwise, Utah will only be the destination for Hollywood has-beens and the filming location for the Lifetime Movie of the Week.