I preferred The Producers when it was an outrageous cult classic by a first-time director who could still teach Woody Allen a thing or two about how to make people laugh out loud in a movie theater.

But Mel Brooks jumped the shark a loooong time ago -- basically when he stopped making movies with Gene Wilder. Now he has become the George Lucas of comedy. He endlessly recycles his old material, each time making it more generic, more obvious, and less challenging. A recipe for mainstream success perhaps, but not without its artistic price.

I can’t wait for the Blazing Saddles remake with Will Smith and Adam Sandler.

Now this is entertainment! Who needs Jerry Springer when you've got Broadsheet? You've come a long way, baby!

Why are the protagonists in Nora Ephron movies always female? How come Spike Lee's films are always about black people? Isn't it about time Woody Allen started making movies about evangelical mid-westerners?

Jeesh! If you're really bothered by the lack of female protagonists in Brad Bird/Pixar films then DON'T WATCH THEM! As long as these films are profitable they will keep being made. If that's not enough, make your own films (or support a filmmaker who can).

But for Chrissakes, stop complaining. Nobody cares.

Filmmakers can, do, and should create any kind of characters and stories they want. That is what they do. The very idea that they are under some sort of obligation to create characters that are just like you, or situations that are just like yours is as offensive as it is stupid.

If you don't like what you're looking at, get up and walk away and go find something better. But don't support these artists with your time and money and then expect them to start taking instructions from whiny audience members who can't be satisfied by stories that aren't all about themselves. That kind of obnoxious attitude deserves all the crappy sequels and unfunny comedies ever made.

I was starting to think I was losing my mind with all the insane comments in this thread. Nice to know there are other folks living in the real world.

Think about this...

Imagine someone goes to a four-star Italian restaurant and eats a delicious meal. And as that person gets up from the table to leave, (s)he asks the waiter to tell the chef that the meal was absolutely fabulous - worth every penny. But could he please consider putting eggrolls on the menu. Because, you know, eggrolls are tasty, easy to make, and a lot of people like eggrolls.

That would be a pretty dumb thing to do, wouldn't it?

If eggrolls are so important that you can't enjoy a good meal without one, you should probably stay away from restaurants that don't serve them.

Same thing goes for movies. If it's really that essential that the movies you watch have female protagonists, you shouldn't spend your time and money on films that don't (and then whine about it later). That kind of behavior is counter-productive and obnoxious.

There are a lot of restaurants out there. Take the time to study the menu before you choose where to eat.

I sort of understand what you're saying GL, but I think you (and the original post) are making the issue unecessarily complicated. As I see it, it is a simple matter of taking responsibilty for your own life and your own happiness. If someone or something is making me unhappy I remove them from my life and seek happiness elsewhere. I can see how in the past this might have been easier for men to do than for women, but I don't see why that should be the case now.

Generally speaking, we all have the freedom to do what we want, with whom we want. If people want to spend their lives obsessing over things that make them miserable (and I've known both men and women who do this) that is their choice to make. But in this day and age, they really only have themselves to blame for doing it.

Broadsheet is really tackling the tough issues today. You go, girl!

...for men to avoid getting married.

We men have no trouble getting the chores done when we live alone. I suspect the same thing goes for women. If you don't like how your partner does (or doesn't do) the housework, stop complaining and do it yourself. Nagging only makes the situation worse.

...with Brightstar and several other posters. It's very hard to view boys having sex with female teachers as victims when our justice system clearly does not. If this were not the case, women would be serving serious jail time for these offenses just as men do. Then again, how often do women get the death penalty for committing murder compared to men?

Always been a favorite of mine.

It's quite simple.

Since witches burn, they must be made of wood. Wood floats in water -- just like a duck (and very small rocks). So logically, if a woman weighs the same as a duck, she is made of wood, and therefore...

SHE'S A WITCH!

Tracy should continue doing the video blogs... but with a bag over her head. That way, no one will be distracted by her appearance and (all the baggage that comes with it) and will instead focus entirely on the message she is trying to communicate. I think John & Yoko (both feminists) called it "Bagism" about thirty years ago.

You're welcome.

George Carlin tackled this issue almost 20 years ago. When challenged to find a way to make rape funny, Carlin's response was the following:

"Just imagine Elmer Fudd raping Porky Pig."

If you can do the above without even the slightest chuckle, you need to get your funnybone checked, ASAP.

...Doppelganger's comment above would get a red star.