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Show "<R/OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2004 TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT... "All the news that causes fits." THE CANYON COUNTRY ZEPHYE P.O. BOX 327 MOAB, UT 84532 Jim Stiles, publisher (435) 259-7773 By Jim Stiles www.canyoncountryz Se Nemes i cczephyr@frontiernet.net moabzephyr@yahoo.com eo eee aL NAP g ag Cait) (ttn Robert Funkhouser Erica Walz CactusRat Scott Silver Wendell Berry Martin Murie Dan Rosen Bill Boyle Mark Steen Philip Hyde Chinle Miller Ric Cantrell Lance Christie Julie Cozby & the Heath Monitor Files the artist John Depuy historic photographs Herb Ringer (1913-1998) Zephyr pilot/aerial reconaissance J eeUV boy ericys oye] webmaster Gary Henderson RT ohorg)oT LOey OM UCHLIg] LATIN Tera etirsiet circulation WiUleleleam year ty rate torte Salt Lake City: Nancy Jacobsen Colorado: Tracy Murphy & Mark Anderson Arizona: Kathy Aldous _ THEZEPHYR. copyright 2004, allrights reserved. BUS) Niet ons best ae hts at Moab, Utah. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of its vendors, advertisers, or even, FY astilcomey eugene Allphotos andcartoonsare by the publisher unless otherwise noted. Politics has got SO expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat with. Will Rogers 1934 Utah mainstream, but I have no desire to impose them on 70% of Utah’s population. So no one can fault McLeod, as an elected official representing the best interests of all Grand County residents, for raising these issues. In fact, I find it curious that WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE— THE NOUVEAU WEST COMES TO SORREL RIVER RANCH This ain't the same old range. Everything seems to change. Where are the pals I used to ride with? Gone...to a land so strange. the most conservative-leaning members of the Council, Carmichael, McNeely and Rex Tanner, were the councilpersons who voted in favor of Levin's cabaret license. But I have a real problem with Levin’s assertion that he merely rented rooms to the “Hotel Erotica” production company and that he runs his lodge as a “completely familyoriented” business. If Levin had said, “Yeah...they shot a soft porn tv series here, and it made us a lot of money, and brought a lot of revenue to The Sons of the Pioneers If there is a doubt in anyone’s mind about the rapidly changing physical and cultural landscape in the once remote and lonesome Rural West, look no farther than the latest controversy to grip Grand County and Moab, Utah. It just doesn’t get any weirder than this. Several weeks ago, Robbie Levin, owner of Sorrel River Ranch, a luxury lodge on the Colorado River, north of Moab, applied fora cabaret license with the State of Utah. As part of the process, Levin requested a letter of support from the Grand County Council. But the Council refused its support when one of its members, Councilman Al McLeod accused Levin of operating a sexually oriented business. In 2003, thirteen episodes of an HBO-produced cable television series called “Hotel Erotica” were shot on Levin’s property along the Colorado River, north of Moab. An HBO web site says the series contains: “adult content, nudity, strong sexual content, and adult language.” Grand County, and this is the future of Grand County and if you don’t like it, you better step aside, because the future is here and it’s not wearing clothes,” I could respect his candor. But he didn’t. He raged that he’d been slandered and he threatened retribution in the form of law suits and I’m sick of that kind of attempted intimidation from someone who can act threateningly, simply because he has more money than the rest of us combined And besides, a five minute Google search pokes holes in his rhetoric. Levin claims that he served only as an innkeeper and that the relationship was purely business. That notion is a bit shaken by the fact that his wife, former Playmate of the Month Hope Levin, is listed as one of the “stars” of the series. At this web site: www.tvtome tut /servlet/CastGuide/showid-18041/Hotel_E rotica/ a page called the “Hotel Erotica—Cast Guide” lists the “stars” as: Councilman McLeod said it amounts to “soft core” pomcereny. and added, “That skates pretty close to state liquor ws,” which ban cabaret licenses to sexually oriented “Hope Levin, Lauren Hays, and Tina Leiu,” in that order. And on an accompanying “episode guide,” the same web site lists Hope Levin as playing maid supervisor “Agnes” in an episode foe The Council voted on Levin’s request and, on a 3-3 tie vote, denied Levin its support. In a telephone interview with called “Maid Service” and in the role of “Queen Theodosius” in another episode entitled “Bewitched and Bewildered.” reporter Lisa Church of the Moab Times-Independent, Levin conceded that rooms had been rented to the production company for the filming of “Hotel Erotica” but that it was a onetime occurrence. Levin, clearly furious with McLeod’s accusations, told reporter Church, “How do you respond to something so stupid and ignorant? We are completely family-oriented here...Our property has nothing to do with sex or a sexually-oriented business. It’s silly to be labeled that. Al (McLeod) should get his facts straight.” Rumors that Levin plans to sue the Council and its members continue to circulate in the community; his friends and employees fired off angry letters to the Times-Independent in defense of Levin. Sorrel River Ranch Assistant Manager Sara Snider criticized McLeod and Councilperson Joette Langianese when she wrote, “The recklessly unfounded remarks made by this uninformed duo are personally offensive and morally appalling...Whether compelled by malice, ignorance or other motives, you have intentionally caused harm with your unsubstantiated and viciously inaccurate statements.” Local developer Tom Shellenberger observed, “Never have we seen any hint of impropriety at the ranch. The filming that took place at the ranch was conducted in private...” And he added, “Robbie and Hope Levin have created a four diamond resort in our community, the level of which has never been seen before in Grand County. Meanwhile stories of these alleged soft-porn shenanigans have fueled our town’s love of gossip and innuendo. Already, some Moab citizens are even referring to Levin’s plush lodge as “Oral River Ranch.” Personally, I don’t really care what goes on behind closed doors, by consenting adults, whether it’s across the street or 20 miles up the Colorado River. And I don’t care whether those activities are for fun or for profit. Or both. Applying for a liquor license, a simple procedure practically anywhere else in America, can be an ordeal here and I can understand Levin’s frustration at times. On the other hand, I long ago accepted the reality of my situation. Utah is perhaps the most conservative state in America, a state where even buying a mixed drink is a challenge. It is a state that is heavily influenced by the dominance of the Mormon Church, whose doctrines also frown upon the consumption of coffee and Coca-Cola. But I chose to live here. No one held a gun to my head. I loved the red rocks and I moved to Utah and I have no one to blame but myself. My values may be a bit different from the I have no idea what kind of part Ms. Levin plays in either episode—she may be cast as the only virtuous visitor to Hotel Erotica, for all 1 know. And if she performs in a more “tradiitional” role, I’m sure Hope looks fantastic. But clearly the Levins had a greater commitment to the film than just renting rooms. To rant otherwise smacks of hypocrisy. And not to belabor the point, but on yet another web site, www.tinaleiu.com/pages/1/index.htm, Hope Levin’s fellow star, Tina Leiu, offers special salutations from her home page to Hope and Robbie. “Thanks...for making me feel at home on the RANCH. I miss YOU with lots of LOVE!” she said. I stayed at a Motel 6 in Salt Lake recently and I never received so much as a complimentary tube of body oil. Finally, I found some images from the “Hotel Erotica” cable tv series on a web site called “nitrovideo.com.” Fora few bucks, I could have downloaded the streaming video of some pretty steamy-looking lesbian love scenes on the banks of the Colorado River in the middle of the day, in broad daylight and in clear view of anyone who happened to be paddling downstream from the Hittle Bottom put-in. I’m unaware of any efforts by Sorrel River Ranch or the production - company to stop river traffic during the shooting of these..revealing images (I'd like to meet the girl on the left). In any case, referring to the “bottomland” along the Colorado River has an entirely new meaning in 2004. I can still recall my first journey down the old river road, decades ago, when it was dirt and gravel and when the most exciting part of the 40 mile drive was the hazardous crossing of the old one-lane Dewey Bridge. Most of the bottomland then was owned by real ranchers, who grew alfalfa and raised cattle and later came to be targets of the environmental community. As the “amenities economy,” the economic solution supported by most urban environmentalists, continues to generate a demand for rural property, the Old Westerners will be unable to resist the staggering sums offered for that land. The wideopen lonesome West isn’t nearly as lonesome as it used to be. The New West is here in all its naked glory. As for “Hotel Erotica” and Sorrel River Ranch, Hollywood had discovered this land, long before Hope Levin's stunning performance in “Bewitched & Bewildered.” Going as far back as the 1940s, directors like John Ford were producing classic films like “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon”—all shot on location, right here in God’ country. Perhaps some day we'll see something of a re-make. I can almost see the title on the DVD... “She ONLY Wore a Yellow Ribbon.” John Ford would not be amused. PAGE2 |