UPDATED: Disability Advocates Call For 'Tropic Thunder' Protest, Stiller Responds

Access Hollywood - August 12, 2008 12:26 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- There may be picket signs on the red carpet tonight as disability advocates gather for a protest at the Westwood premiere of "Tropic Thunder."

The planned meeting will be "the start of a nationwide protest," Peter Wheeler, spokesman for the Special Olympics, told Reuters.

The Special Olympics and 21 other disability groups are up in arms over the Ben Stiller-directed DreamWorks film, which is slated to open on Wednesday. The groups are calling for a nationwide boycott of "Thunder" over what they consider a "negative portrayal" of the developmentally disabled.

[ Ben Stiller On Directing Robert Downey Jr. - Play it Now ]

"We are asking people not to go to the movie and hope to bring a consciousness to people about using derogatory words about this population," Wheeler said.

The satiric film-within-a-film follows the cast of an action movie who are thrown into a real-life war zone. Much of the controversy stems from a subplot involving Stiller's character, Tugg Speedman, who stars in a bid for acting legitimacy called "Simple Jack" prior to filming "Tropic Thunder." As developmentally disabled farmhand Simple Jack, Stiller dons buckteeth and speaks with a stutter.

Viral promotion materials for the film - which have since been removed - portrayed him in a mock poster for the film with the tagline, "Once upon a time There was a retard." The offending word is also used frequently in a particular exchange between Stiller and co-star Robert Downey Jr., who himself is playing an edgy part - a blond-haired, blue-eyed Method actor who undergoes a skin treatment to play a black soldier.

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The advocacy groups, which reportedly include the Arc of the United States, the National Down Syndrome Congress and the American Association of People with Disabilities, met with studio executives last week, but DreamWorks apparently has no plans to alter the film.

"We have had productive discussions with representatives of disability advocacy organizations and look forward to working with them closely in the future. However, no changes or cuts to the film will be made," DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan told Reuters. "'Tropic Thunder' is an R-rated comedy that satirizes Hollywood and its excesses, and makes its point by featuring inappropriate and over-the top characters in ridiculous situations. The film is in no way meant to disparage or harm the image of individuals with disabilities."

Sullivan admitted that "Simple Jack" promotional materials from "Thunder" that the studio felt could be perceived as offensive out of the context of the film had been taken down.

Stiller himself defended the film, telling MTV News that the jokes were really aimed at actors.

"It's sort of edgy territory, but we felt that as long as the focus was on the actors who were trying to do something to be taken seriously that's going too far or wrong, that was where the humor would come from," Stiller said. "[The joke is on] actors reaching for roles in terms of hopefully winning awards."

And Etan Cohen, who scripted the film with Stiller and Justin Theroux, felt similarly.

"Some people have taken this as making fun of handicapped people, but we're really trying to make fun of the actors who use this material as fodder for acclaim," he told MTV News. "The last thing you want is for people to think you're making fun of the victims in this who are having their lives turned into fodder for people to win Oscars."

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  • BBBOOO
    Who is the retard now?..... you ? me? someone? everyone? HUH?!!!!!!! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!!!!!!! LMAO
    report abuseposted August 15, 2008 8:37 PM PDT
  • Eggbox
    Ok, let's put this in perspective, there is a war going on in Iraq where over 3000 soldiers and countless civilians have been killed. There is war in Georgia. There are people starving in Africa. AIDS is rampant with people dying all over the world. People are losing their homes because of scum who sold them mortgages they couldn't afford. The word Retard seems unoffensive in
    report abuseposted August 13, 2008 2:55 PM PDT
  • Jennifer O
    Oh and km, my child came home from school for two months straight crying because a girl was calling her a lesbian, when she isn't.... To me, that is just as bad as a child coming home from school asking if they are the R-word. Our local schools teach the word "special needs" to replace the R-word. At least we have that.. I don't see anything being done about stud
    report abuseposted August 13, 2008 4:55 AM PDT
  • Jennifer O
    As for you km, there are alot of people who aren't disabled living in poverty in this country right now, so get over it!!!!!!!
    report abuseposted August 13, 2008 4:44 AM PDT
  • Jennifer O
    In addition, I agree with Kay J. Don't like the movie, then don't see it. Gay and Lesbian Activists don't care about the feelings of our Youth/Parents of our Youth and the example they are setting!!!!!! Give me a break people!!!!!
    report abuseposted August 13, 2008 4:35 AM PDT
  • Jennifer O
    I'm sorry, but as a parent, I can't believe that there are protesters for the R-Word focusing on peoples feelings and at the same time we have States allowing Gay Marraige!! I am so outraged!! When my daughter was at the age of only 8, we were watching TV around 7:00pm and while flipping through channels, we came across two men kissing which exposed her and put me on the spot of
    report abuseposted August 13, 2008 4:09 AM PDT
  • jazzy g
    movies are only suppose to do one thing and that is too make money........ and now this one will ! thank you very much !!
    report abuseposted August 12, 2008 8:38 PM PDT
  • km
    Lavender-you don't know what you are talking about! SSI pays right at $600.00 a month for an adult who is disabled. The grocery stores pay them a lot less than minimum wage.Their SSI is reduced when they work.Try living on $600.00 a month-rent,utilitiesgroceries,etc. and see how it is. And by your statement I guess the world does not belong to you!
    report abuseposted August 12, 2008 4:28 PM PDT
  • Deena
    why would you waste money on this movie anyway? ben stiller and jack black are both about as funny as a jab in the eye with a sharp object, tom cruise is an arrogant @$$,and Robert Downey Jr. only rarely taps into his genius and potential as an actor.
    report abuseposted August 12, 2008 9:40 AM PDT
  • Evilynn
    Institutionalized, lobotomized, abused, raped, molested, assaulted, dehumanized...this is how people with disabilities were treated less than 60 years ago. These are the people we find it okay to make fun of?? Slavery is acknowledged as a dark period and we dare not use the "N" word. We need not to use the "R" word. What 's next? Making fun of holoc
    report abuseposted August 12, 2008 7:51 AM PDT
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