I was pointed to an interview with latest Hollywood darling, Chris Pratt, recently where he talks about his love of hunting. My feeling on hunting is very clear. Taking an unsuspecting elk (or any other creature for that matter) down with a high powered rifle is, in a word, disgusting. I was asked if this was going to stop me going to see Jurassic World (haven't seen it yet) to which I laughed uproariously. What Chris Pratt does in his own time is his own fucking business. I don't have to like it, in fact the only thing I do have to like about an actor is what he or she does on the screen. That is all and I genuinely worry about people who feel they know an actor based on the interviews they give and/or the movies they make. So yes I hate that Chris Pratt hunts elk but I've enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy. I've adored Her. I laughed at The Lego Movie. I squeed at Moneyball but I did not care for Zero Dark Thirty and thought Wanted was only okay. This is all I know about Pratt and to the folks who now see him as some kind of hate figure, ask yourself: "have you watched a Woody Allen movie in the past few years? How about Roman Polanski? I'll get to them soon but let's start with the A lister:
Tom Cruise
I'd be cheating if I didn't talk about the excellent documentary doing the rounds right now, "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief". If you've seen this (and you really should) you'll know Tom isn't painted in the best light with talk of phone tapping among other troubling accusations. We've all seen interviews with him displaying an odd "know it all" attitude and we know he thinks depression is bullshit. All of this makes him pretty unpleasant. My own opinion is that he has been brainwashed by this religion but because he is a person of means and stature, he is treated like a god among minions. As a direct result of his belief in this religion he gets absolutely slated by the general public. There's been rumour after rumour about Cruise and with each one his popularity takes a hit. And yet we can't actually substantiate all of these rumours. What is provable is his work ethic (which many of his co actors are on record saying is second to none) and his desire to entertain. On this level the man is untouchable. You just have to decide if his private life is any of your business. I've decided it's none of mine and will continue to enjoy his movies. But, let's look a little closer at how he's perceived.
I've had a few jobs in my time and in all of those places, movies were a strong topic of conversation. "The Cruiser" obviously came up a time or two. Now, try to pay attention because this is about to get complicated: In all the places I've worked Tom initially splits groups into two sections 1. those who enjoy his work and 2. those who "can't fucking stand him". The first group are fans of the actor and have enjoyed most of his movies. The second group are made up of jealous men (no redeeming them, I'm afraid) as well as people who just don't enjoy him or his movies (fair enough taste is taste) Out of the second group though, two more groups emerge.
Let's call them group 2a. and 2b. Still with me? Good. 2a are people who initially said they hated him and everything he's ever been in. Then you start listing off his amazing movies and rock solid performances and they realise that they not only like the movies but accept that he is excellent in them. It always happens!! 2b however are the judge an actor by his private life brigade. "Sure he's into that scientology shite, he must be a nutter". Fair enough, you're Catholic, equally insane, doesn't stop you doing your job does it? Then there's the classic, "Remember he jumped on the couch on Oprah, fucking weird". Again, fair enough, admit it though, you've done a lot worse! Doesn't stop you doing your job.
But people like to kill their idols and the moment he jumped on that couch he lost a lot of his clout and A list power. War of the Worlds came out and, while it did good business $591m on a $132m budget, a lot of people stayed away from it and everything he's done since, the latest being the excellent "Edge of Tomorrow" which made $369m on a $178m budget. What has helped him though is his insatiable appetite to entertain an audience, oftentimes putting himself in real danger to do so. This has endeared him back into the hearts of many with Mission Impossible 4 deservedly making a fuckload of money. I expect MI5 will bring a similar amount of success.
Verdict: Crazy.
Mel Gibson
I think it's fair to say that Mel Gibson had it all and completely blew it. I also think it's fair to say he was and remains a very talented actor/director and his transgressions pale in comparison to others on this list who have since been welcomed back into the Hollywood fold. Mel is by no means perfect but he really should have been forgiven by now. Here's what happened: Mel got drunk one night and got pulled over by police for DUI. As disappointing as this was, you could forgive it. However, he then went on a rant against Jews and in that town, well that's pretty fucking hard to come back from. What he said was deplorable but he apologised and paid his dues (that's dues people) and he seemed to be coming back. He made a few a decent movies, The Beaver which nobody went to see. The Edge of Darkness which was a pretty decent thriller and Get the Gringo which is excellent but again, nobody has seen it. Somewhere in there though the wheels came off and not even Mad Max could save himself. He began a relationship with Oksana Grigorieva and they had a child. Soon after she got a restraining order against Mel claiming he assaulted her. Interestingly, she dropped all charges of domestic abuse but she also leaked phone conversations with Mel where he was screaming obscenities down the phone, some of them racist others very threatening. Some experts have come out and claimed these conversations to be fake and severly tampered with. Maybe that's true, maybe it isn't but it was one scandal too many for Mel and he's been on his ass ever since showing up in garbage like Machete Kills and The Expendables 3. Whatever you think about the man, the actor deserves better, much better.
What I really miss though, is his directing. Mel Gibson behind a camera is a genuine force to be reckoned with. The Man Without a Face is an interesting debut, think Dead Poets Society but with some subtlety. He followed that up with the magnificent Braveheart which picked up 5 Oscars including best director. Apocalypto was next and that was an adrenaline filled masterpiece with shot after shot of pure brilliance. Lastly, The Passion of the Christ. Now, anyone who knows me knows I'm not a religious sort but I know good movies and Passion is a good movie. It's absolutely gorgeous to look at and taken as a story, it's extremely watchable. It also made a fucking fortune at the box office. I'd love it if he started funding his own low budget movies because he has a fantastic eye. He could act to save costs too. This is all wishful thinking though. Here's some more: There was once talk of him directing Iron Man 4 which would reunite him with his good friend Robert Downey Jr. Would the director of Braveheart and Apocalypto do a decent job with the material? I believe he would.
Verdict: Crazy.
Woody Allen
There's no getting around this, Woody Allen is disgusting. If ever there was a guy to test the "what they do in their own time" arguement, it's Woody Allen. We all know he has made some staggering movies. In his so-called prime he churned out classics like: Sleeper, Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex, Manhattan, Annie Hall, Hannah And Her Sisters. That's literally just a few. The early 90's saw him continue his brilliant run with Husbands and Wives, Manhattan Murder Mystery and Bullet Over Broadway again this is just a taste of his work. There were missteps, of course, but his hit rate versus his output rate is impressive. More recently he's had as much success as failures with Midnight In Paris and Blue Jasmine reminding us of just how great this man can be.
HOWEVER!!!!!! It doesn't matter which way you cut it. Woody Allen married his ex wife's adopted daughter (Soon-Yi). The fact that he never adopted her doesn't really uncreepify this. He and Mia Farrow started their relationship in 1980 and Soon Yi would have been about 8 years old. 12 years later he divorced Farrow (after she found nude photos of her 20 year old daughter that Woody had taken) and married Son-Yi. He was 57. Again, this is fucking gross. Look, I don't pretend to understand the inner workings of us humans but, for me at least, there's just something really messed up here. For all that though, I don't see why this should stop anyone enjoying the man's work. He is a super writer full of wit, intelligence and he too has an eye for a shot. So, sick or crazy? When asked about his scandalous marriage, Allen has stated that "there is no scandal" and "the heart wants what the heart wants". Riiiiight.
Verdict: Sick.
Roman Polanski
Back in 2002 or 2003 I sat in front of a movie called The Pianist. It blew my mind. I cried, a lot. I laughed, occasionally. It is a stunning piece of cinema. Afterwards I found out Roman Polanski directed it and I was, for want of a better phrase, weirded out. Oh I still love the movie, it is and will ever be a masterpiece but Roman Polanski has a past. In 1978 he fled America never to return. If he does he will be arrested. Why? Polanski was arrested for raping a 13 year old child (Samantha Geimer) in 1977. He apparently drugged her, raped her and on his arrest there were five charges placed against him. I don't want to go into the details as it is terrifying and anger inducing but it is readily available online if you're curious. Anyway, he immediately stated he was innocent of all charges, however after a plea bargain he accepted guilt to unlawful sexual intercourse. Soon after, he fled to France fearing jail time and has been a fugitive on the run from the USA ever since.
“I believe that Mr. Polanski and his film should be honored according to the quality of the work. What he does for a living and how good he is at it have nothing to do with me or what he did to me. I don’t think it would be fair to take past events into consideration. I think that the academy members should vote for the movies they feel deserve it.”
Verdict: Sick.
So there it is folks. Roman Polanski's victim doesn't think you should avoid his work. That being the case, the next time you decide any movie involving Mel or Tom or Chris Pratt isn't for you because you don't like them as people, maybe take Samantha Geimer's words into consideration and judge the movie on its own merits. Hollywood must also forgive Mel Gibson and they need to do it yesterday. If Polanski can still be hailed as a genius and his movies be considered for awards, Gibson should be afforded the same treatment.
Cheers,
G.
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