“The Power of the Dog” director Jane Campion is weighing in on “1883” actor Sam Elliott’s viral criticism of her Netflix Western film.
Speaking Saturday to Variety at the Directors Guild Awards, Campion, 67, was asked whether she was surprised by 77-year-old Elliott’s comments.
“I think Sam – look, what can I say?” Campion began, spelling out a choice word to describe Elliott. “I’m sorry to say it, but he’s not a cowboy. He’s an actor. The West is a mythic space and there’s a lot of room on the range.”
She continued: “I think it’s a little bit sexist, because if you think about the number of amazing Westerns made in Spain by (Spaghetti Western creator) Sergio Leone, it’s – I mean, I consider myself a creator. And I think he sees me as a woman or something lesser first and I don’t appreciate that.”
Later that night, Campion won the top honor from the DGAs, just the third – and second consecutive – woman in the awards’ history to take home the prize for best theatrical feature film director.
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Elliott went viral earlier this month over expletive-filled comments he made about the movie’s portrayal of the West on a Feb. 28 episode of the film podcast “WTF with Marc Maron.”
The actor said he watched the film in Texas while shooting “1883,” the spinoff of “Yellowstone.”
He compared the movie’s ranchers to Chippendales dancers who “wear bowties and not much else,” saying that was what all the cowboys, including Cumberbatch, looked like. “All running around in chaps and no shirts. There’s all these allusions of homosexuality … It was like, where’s the Western in this Western?”
The actor praised Campion as a “brilliant director,” adding “I love her work, her previous work.”
But he asked how a “woman from down there (New Zealand)” can “know about the American West” and questioned how she could film the movie in New Zealand and “call it Montana” and “say ‘This is the way it was .’ “
Previous story:‘Power of the Dog’ star Benedict Cumberbatch responds to ‘very odd’ criticism of the movie
“Dog” star benedict cumberbatch previously responded to the criticism against Campion’s work and his own Oscar-nominated portrayal of rancher Phil Burbank.
Speaking as part of BAFTA’s Film Sessions on March 4, Cumberbatch did not give specific names, but alluded to Elliott’s criticism.
“I’m trying very hard not to say anything about a very odd reaction that happened the other day on a radio podcast over here, without meaning to stir over the ashes of that,” said Cumberbatch, who added it was “unfair” to get into details since he had not listened to the podcast but read news reports.
“Someone really took offense to the West being portrayed in this way,” Cumberbatch said.
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Cumberbatch said it was important to portray the complex Burbank in the 21st century, with his toxic masculinity stemming from his repressed sexuality, “because there are many of him still in the world.”
“If we are to understand what poisons the well in men, what creates toxic masculinity, we need to look (under) the hood of characters like Phil Burbank to see what their struggle is and why that’s there in the first place,” said Cumberbatch . “Otherwise it will continue to repeat itself.”
Cumberbatch said it was important to explore “what is expected of a man” through the “Western archetype mold of masculinity” and “deconstruct that through Phil.”
“It’s not a history lesson,” said Cumberbatch. “These people still exist in our world. Whether it’s on our doorstep or whether it’s down the road or whether it’s someone we meet in a bar or pub or on the sports field, there is aggression and anger and frustration and an inability to control or know who you are in that moment that causes damage to that person and, as we know, damage to others around them.”
“The Power of the Dog” leads the pack with 12 Oscar nominationsincluding best picture and best director for Campion.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism