Controversial People in Films

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Cinema Discusso > Controversial People in Films

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

There are degrees and levels to me, both in crimes and in punishments

Bad Politics - Zahler, Gibson, Dinesh D'Souza-type grifters. Self-correcting issue. Alt-right folks making alt-right movies. Don't see 'em, don't recommend 'em.
Reckless and primadonna poo poo - Your Landises (John variety) and they guys who get stuntmen hurt/abuse PAs/have a drinking oopsie (Matthew Broderick comes to mind). These people are everywhere, I don't think there are people who are successful within the Hollywood system who aren't like this (or at least, not until very recently). I don't go out of my way to avoid their work, but definitely don't seek it out either. It's not an automatic DQ on a watch, but I definitely don't spend money on a ticket or rental.
Serial Rapists/Pedos - Salva, Polanski, Landises (Max variety) Don't watch, automatic turn off if they show up. I don't need to watch The Usual Suspects more than Spacey's victims need to not be raped and have their abuser win Oscars. It's super-hard with Weinstein because so much good 90s stuff has his name on it, but I'm committed to not watching any TWG media until he's dead.

Anyway that's my tier list.

If someone recommends something like Louie in a social gathering, I'll explain that Louis CK is a loving sex pest and recommend something else to the group that's in the same vein if I can. It's always better to have alternatives than just be a Debbie Downer.

I also think there's an element of redemption available. Like, Charles S Dutton straight-up killed a dude. Like, no poo poo, killed a man and went to prison for it. While in prison, he got clean, started acting and has made a career of it. But Alien� is still a movie I'll watch, because he's shown contrition and penance and has done the hard work of restorative justice.

Shrecknet fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Feb 6, 2021

# ¿ Feb 6, 2021 00:22

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 17, 2024 19:35

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

Narzack posted:

I don't know anything about Max Landis, apart from wasn't there some weird slapping video a while ago?

Max Landis is what you get when you have the ultimate helicopter parent

# ¿ Feb 6, 2021 01:25

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

Cacator posted:

I apply this to Mike Tyson. Did awful things, went to prison and served his time, then made a pleasant cartoon where he solves mysteries.

Tyson is kind of in that "victim AND abuser" category, like yes he's a broken person but you learn about him and it's like, there really wasn't any other way that story ends for them. Michael Jackson is similar in my mind, absolutely a terrible abuser but 100% didn't have a chance to be anything else.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2021 02:35

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

Simiain posted:

I'm absolutely open to being completely wrong about this as I am in most things, but/and my impression of the Louie CK poo poo was that he DID feel contrition, offered a pretty frank and understanding apology (not the face-saving PR apologies other sex-pests might have offered) and removed himself from circulation.

he is absolutely an unrepentant piece of poo poo and his new special is full "cancel culture put of control?" Bullshit. He just knew enough to stfu for (less than) a year

# ¿ Feb 8, 2021 14:05

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

Counterpoint: Hannah Gatsby never showed anyone her junk nonconsensually, I can just watch Nanette instead of Chewed Up. There's no shortage of content even if you blacklist every known sexpest.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2021 18:23

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

I mean if you wanna just watch a white straight dude Bo Burham and Dmitri Martin are right there, or even Jim Gaffigan if you need lovely my-wife-and-kids comedy. There's no shortage of non-sex pests. Why do you need to spend time/money/mindspace on someone who is lovely IRL?

Its like saying "I have to watch Annie Hall" like there arent a million comedies about trying to get laid in NYC not made by a guy who groomed and married his own daughter

# ¿ Feb 8, 2021 20:34

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

fr0id posted:

I think a few folks are getting at, from different points of view, one of my core questions that lead me to start this thread. Some folks have mentioned not watching films due to the impacts on their own viewing experiences from knowing or seeing controversial people involved. There�s also been talk about whether watching the film gives money to the artists and trying to avoid that. Some folks, however, have kind of implied that the act of restricting oneself from watching the movie is moral. What do folks think of that? I get the idea of wanting to show solidarity with victims/survivors of the artists involved. But is that solidarity of actual value, or just tooting your own horn, so to speak?

I posted upthread a bit, but it comes down to "there's already too much media to consume in a single lifetime, so let's just skip all the stuff made by pederasts, eh?"

If you want to call it a moral decision and paint me as a woke-scold, go ahead. But it's not like there's a shortage of Jackie Chan movies that I gotta watch Brett Ratner's Rush Hour, and if you're trying to pick between two things, "the one not made by the guy who followed Olivia Munn into the bathroom" is as valid a criteria as any. Obviously the purchasing/viewing decisions of one person don't matter, but like I said earlier, if I'm at a friend's house and we're browsing NetFlix, it's not that hard to go "ah gently caress, no Louis CK, dude's a perv, put on Hasan Minhaj's new special."

Ultimately it's three things:

1) severity - did he just cheat on his wife (everyone in Hollywood cheats, that's between spouses anyway) or assault women or chase after kids or (in the case of Armie Hammer) maybe possibly eat someone?

2) Involvement - Ferris Beuller's Day Off is a fantastic litmus, because Jeffrey Jones is a convicted kiddy-diddler in hiding, but Principal Rooney isn't even in the top ten of things people remember and like about that movie.

3) contrition - Like Dan Harmon and Mike Tyson, have they done the real, hard work of restorative justice or have they doubled-down or given a "sorry you're offended" non-apology

Edit: This whole story is WILD, watch to the end:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3jBQfdfopY

Weinstein is a monster and I hope he dies soon. Manipulative and evil to the fuckin' end.

Shrecknet fucked around with this message at 03:20 on Feb 9, 2021

# ¿ Feb 9, 2021 03:14

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

I specifically noted "rear end in a top hat bosses" like James Cameron in my tiers, its on the lowest tier because literally everyone in every artistic field that involves other people is an rear end in a top hat boss

# ¿ Feb 9, 2021 20:54

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

TheOmegaWalrus posted:

When listening to a choir;

Do you run off to do meticulous background checks on every single singer until you're able to have an informed opinion?

-or-

Do you enjoy the music in a quest for personal enlightenment?

Boy it sure would be embarrassing if someone specifically noted the distinction between a production where some below-the-line talent turned out to be a wife-beater and the top creative decision maker was a monster

Shrecknet posted:

2) Involvement - Ferris Beuller's Day Off is a fantastic litmus, because Jeffrey Jones is a convicted kiddy-diddler in hiding, but Principal Rooney isn't even in the top ten of things people remember and like about that movie.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2021 18:37

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

Franchescanado posted:

It's hosed up that Herzog's Nosferatu involved spray painting and setting fire to rodents, and it makes me uneasy watching it, but I can watch it, I guess. But I can't watch Cannibal Holocaust. There's never a need to actually kill an animal for a film, but there's a lot of films from the 60's and 70's that I really like or respect that include it.

Serious question: How do you feel about The Island or Deadpool 2 which have stuntmen that died as part of their creation, and in the case of Bay, the shot they die in is in the movie, and was re-used in future films?

Shrecknet fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Feb 11, 2021

# ¿ Feb 11, 2021 16:58

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

Here's a topic to shift away from the #metoo name-and-shame handwringing: who here automatically dismisses as a potential thing to watch any media where cops are the good guys (especially cops-on-the-edge a la Dirty Harry) in the wake of Ferguson, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Emmitt Till, etc etc etc?

I'm kind of over any cop-centric media since I know that cops are a racist, evil institution. Like I love Kristen Stewart but oh no baby what is you doing?

# ¿ Feb 11, 2021 19:43

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

This gets even more hosed up when you hear how he treated the actor for Danny - he was the sweetest carebear ever and made sure Danny was comfortable and completely removed from all the evil in the films themes. The actor didn't even know it was a horror movie until the premier, so it's obvious Kubrick knew exactly what he was doing to Crothers and Duvall.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2021 22:42

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

well here's a timely thread!

https://twitter.com/clairewillett/status/1360277527135019008
https://twitter.com/clairewillett/status/1360278657072197632
https://twitter.com/clairewillett/status/1360280967240273921

# ¿ Feb 13, 2021 00:31

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 17, 2024 19:35

Shrecknet: Jan 2, 2005

Seems like as good a time as any to mention I met David Morrell at a conference and mentioned how further iterations of Rambo continue to stray from his vision, to which he replied "it's their Rambo now, but my checks still clear"

# ¿ Feb 17, 2021 22:37

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Cinema Discusso > Controversial People in Films