@NeoLosman said:

I seem to recall Man On Fire having been popular with audiences at the time

Yes, it was a good movie. But it lost money, paying a paltry $1.86.

I heard there are a few perverted scenes, such as a guy having something shoved in his rear end, and a person being urinated on while having sex. Despite that , I love period films, and might check it out. I wish more movies were made about Hollywood or Broadway during the early 1900's-20's. In addition to biopics about the pioneering stars. Especially the minority actors like Anna Mae Wong and Ramon Navarro.

@Butterflygal said:

I heard there are a few perverted scenes, such as a guy having something shoved in his rear end, and a person being urinated on while having sex.

There were indeed some perverted scenes, but they weren't the story - just part of the story.

That said, you've got to wonder how we came to a place in society in which we can glorify violence, destruction of human bodies and the dignity of life, but clutch our pearls seeing people consensually enjoying their bodies together.

Despite that , I love period films, and might check it out.

Please do circle back if/once you've seen it - figuring out "what the heck we just watched" can benefit comparing notes with each other!

In addition to biopics about the pioneering stars. Especially the minority actors like Anna Mae Wong and Ramon Navarro.

Wouldn't that be nice?!

What is fascinating about this movie is they show a lot of myths or exaggerations about Hollywood stories back then. Fatty Arbuckle had nothing to do with the woman he was partying with dying... but he was cancelled for many years. In this movie, the fat guy getting urinated on is doing tons of drugs and eventually she dies under him. Same with characters similar to Anna May Wong and so on... It might be based on Hollywood Babylon which was a non-fiction book that exploited and exaggerated many Hollywood stories.

Once I realized this is a fiction -- pumped up to 11 -- then I began enjoying it. When they make they guy try to negotiate with the extras trying to unionize. Only to have the extras -- hundreds of scary guys from skid row -- attack him I was hooked. There's some very silly stuff here. There's probably plenty of folks that will complain that this is a bunch of lies misses the point. Still waiting for someone to complain how woke it is as per usual here.

@felixxx999 said:

What is fascinating about this movie is they show a lot of myths or exaggerations about Hollywood stories back then.

Yep, exaggerations, hyperbole of Hollywood stories, indeed. However, it's not a stretch to imagine it was also an attempt to try and capture the madness of what went on in some of those private parties, especially since actors talk about how crazy Hollywood is all the time but we, on the outside, just can't imagine what they're really talking about.

Fatty Arbuckle had nothing to do with the woman he was partying with dying...

Well, he was acquitted, but that's not saying much, given the times. Heck, in recent times, OJ was acquitted, too, but that surely doesn't stop people from believing what they want to believe, verdict be damned.

but he was cancelled for many years.

Interesting use of that term, showing us that "cancelling" isn't new; and would appear to have been born back at the rise of the new Republican conservatism of the 1920s.

Once I realized this is a fiction -- pumped up to 11 -- then I began enjoying it.

Well, that closing montage made up of real scenes from some of Hollywood's most beloved and revered productions, does - to me, anyway - suggest the makers of this movie were indeed trying to connect the madness to the reality, that the reality came out of the madness; or, perhaps simply, there was madness in the mix while en route to creating the industry and the great movies that came from it.

When they make they guy try to negotiate with the extras trying to unionize. Only to have the extras -- hundreds of scary guys from skid row -- attack him I was hooked. There's some very silly stuff here.

Yes, we agree, hyperbole was most certainly employed to tell this story.

There's probably plenty of folks that will complain that this is a bunch of lies misses the point.

In part because there was a lot of truth in amongst the hyperbole. Think of that scene when they can't get the audio and the mark right. The transition from silent to talkies was traumatic on the industry. A lot of things changed. Silent era actors didn't need to hit blocks because there were no mikes they had to be close to. And acting had to become much more subtle because they weren't just communicating through exaggerated physical movement to carry to the back rows and mikes could now pick up their voices so they didn't have to project like they did in the theatre. It was truly different, and they were creating it in real time, making mistakes along the way as they tried to bring together so many new and different elements.

We should not, I'm arguing, allow hyperbole to distract us from the essential core reality at the heart of this movie.

Still waiting for someone to complain how woke it is as per usual here.

Ha ha! Right? Several white lead characters with no family to centre them were lost to Hollywood, while the people of color found their centering in family and culture...but, because this movie is so layered with symbol and hyperbole, there appears to be too many distractions preventing them from seeing one of the main messages of the film!

Agree on all points! Well, except Fatty was innocent. But it IS a great example of people's rush to judgement even back then. The problem with this phrase Cancel Culture today is that it's a one sided thing. If someone is "cancelled" today the right wing will argue how horrible it is if they don't agree with why someone's being ostracized. It's like only one side thinks their side is right all the time. See also folks whining about woke shows because they don't agree with certain lifestyles and so on.

But back to the movie. Babylon did remind me of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. And not just because Brad Pitt and Margo Robbie are in it. Remember the scene where they have Bruce Lee lose a fight? That's the kind of stuff they do here. Kind of loving and breaking the Hollywood myths.

Another thing this one reminded me of is The Offer. The show on Paramount + about the making of The Godfather. At first I resisted because surviving makers of the Godfather stated that the show is pure fiction. Well it probably is but it's also damned entertaining!

And Elvis! The movie is all about the myth and tall tales about Elvis. Not for everyone