The problem is so widespread that directors like Judd Apatow have spoken out about how major studios are so afraid of losing access to profitable markets overseas that they are unwilling to tackle topics that may paint China in a negative light.
Now, actor and director Nick Searcy has announced that he plans to launch a new Hollywood alternative streaming platform that will not feature any anti-American content or censor on behalf of China.
The actor is best known for his portrayal of Chief Deputy United States Marshal Art Mullen on the FX series Justified, and he has also appeared in feature films such as Fried Green Tomatoes and The Fugitive. Searcy has never been shy about being a conservative Christian, even though he knows it's an unpopular opinion in Hollywood. He has said he is unwilling to stifle his beliefs in hopes of greater fame and popularity like so many others in Hollywood do.
Searcy and his partners are behind a new venture called CE studios, branded Creádo. This U.S. media and entertainment company supports traditional American values and artistic freedom and will offer an alternative to Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
The first stage of the project, Creádo Cinema, is slated to launch in March and will be a streaming service that distributes general family entertainment and pro-American films. This will be followed by the subscription-based Creádo Media platform in May, which will be a platform for influencers and artists. Finally, Creádo Studios will produce original films and series.
In a statement, Searcy said: “For decades the Hollywood studios, the mainstream media and Silicon Valley have held the keys to the content kingdom with unfettered power over what content gets written, produced, distributed and consumed.”
And because China owns stakes in most Hollywood studios these days, the lack of pro American content being produced in Hollywood “has created a massively underserved audience of 100 million or more Americans eager for access to content that doesn't insult their faith, family or country.”
Past conservative film projects were censored
Searcy also recently released a documentary entitled, America, America, God Shed His Grace on Thee. The film, which features interviews with many figures in the conservative and religious community, discusses the impact of God on the country's founding and why those values must be retained as we move into the future. Not surprisingly, the film's initial trailer was flagged by YouTube for "inappropriate content.” Searcy said he isn’t sure whether it’s the multiple references to the Bible that they find so offense or four seconds of riot footage.
Searcy also directed the film Gosnell: America’s Biggest Serial Killer, which was based on the 30-year abortion practice of Philadelphia abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who was convicted on multiple counts of first-degree murder for killing babies born alive at his clinic by severing their spinal cords. Predictably, Facebook and NPR refused to allow the film to be advertised there, while Kickstarter also turned the filmmakers down.
As more and more people learn about the way Hollywood appeases its Chinese sponsors by glossing over its human rights abuses, one can only hope that there will be greater interest in more America-friendly alternatives. A report by the freedom of speech nonprofit organization PEN America showed that as the second-biggest market on the planet for movie releases behind the U.S., Hollywood has been “increasingly normalizing” censorship to access the huge film audiences in China.
Hollywood has the reach and power to expose China’s wrongdoings, but instead they do the opposite so they can rake in even more profits. It’s time for people to take their money to alternatives like Creádo and show Hollywood they won’t stand for their irresponsible behavior.
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