Is Hollywood really the devil’s playground?: A Mormon screenwriter weighs in
A guest post by Cinco Paul
I can almost always tell when the question’s coming, whether it’s in an interview, a Q&A session, or just casual conversation. The person asking is generally religious, and more often than not a fellow member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It’s usually some version of this:
“What’s it like working in Hollywood as a Mormon?”
In other words, how do you survive as a person of faith in a business as amoral and degrading and evil as the entertainment industry?
It’s a question that I’m always happy to answer, because it gives me an opportunity to tell the truth about my experience in Hollywood.
And here it is: my experience as a religious person has been almost unequivocally positive. I can’t speak to the experiences of others, but neither I nor my writing partner Ken have been subjected to any sort of discrimination because of our beliefs. Or been pressured to do something contrary to the teachings of our religion.
The truth is, the movie industry is just like any other industry, filled with a lot of people, some good and some bad.
Have I occasionally been lied to? Sure. Treated poorly? Of course. But I’ve had similar experiences at my other jobs, at school, and yes, even at church.
It’s true the movie and TV business has its share of Harvey Weinsteins. But thankfully my industry is finally leading the way in outing and condemning these sexual harassers and the horrible things they’ve done. And I hope that this sea change will spread to every other industry. Because this sort of behavior, sadly, is everywhere. Again, even at church.
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