“This is their gift, OK. They’re built to be thrown like a lawn dart.”
That is what one of Jordan Belfort’s cohorts says in “The Wolf of Wall Street” trailer right before a little person is tossed at a target with a big ol’ money sign in the center.
That is what fueled a fire with the Little People of America organization. They rallied for members to write letters to everyone from director Martin Scorsese to star Leonardo DiCaprio asking for the dwarf-tossing scenes to be removed from the film.
“Little People of America is angry, disappointed and concerned that ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ … includes dwarf tossing scenes,” read a statement they released in January 2014.
In a condensed, two-and-a-half minute trailer of the three-hour film, yes, I, as a little person myself, could see how it’s offensive.
But in its entirety, “The Wolf of Wall Street” could actually be seen as beneficial for little people.
The prolonged banter and just absolute absurdity of their comments are so ridiculous no one could ever take them seriously.
“He’ll be wearing a helmet. Plus they’ve got, like, superhuman strength anyway.”
“I did hear you’re not supposed to make direct eye contact. If you look at them too long in their eyes they get freaked out — their wires cross.”
“What’s the liability on something like this?”
“That’s a whole different thing. I can get on the phone with some people. I can talk to the insurance company and tell them exactly what we’re going to do. But I think we go back to the same plan — loophole — if we don’t really consider them people I think we are in the clear.”
By the end of the scene, I was laughing. Yes, me, who wrote about “Game of Thrones” previously and people’s ignorance — please don’t tell me how great a guy Peter Dinklage is. I don’t know the man.
“The Wolf of Wall Street” might degrade women and promote a drug-induced lifestyle that rivals Hunter S. Thompson’s, but it isn’t a negative for little people, despite all the hoopla and uproar before.
Just as a book jacket or a splashy cover can’t tell everything that lies in the pages between, a movie trailer is just a hook. You gotta bite.