Film Critic Insults Award-Winning Actors, Makes Annette Bening Cry
New York Press film critic Armond White isn't exactly beloved in Hollywood -- in fact, he's quite the opposite -- and things
came to a head last night during the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, with 'Black Swan' director Darren Aronofsky chastising White from the stage and a teary-eyed Annette Bening pleading for everyone to "just get along."
According to the
Village Voice, things were tense from the get-go after White, chairman of the Critics Circle, brought Aronofsky onstage to present an award to his 'Swan' cinematographer, Matthew Libatique. In an obvious wink to White's negative 'Swan' review, the director said, "Keep it up, because you give us all another reason not to read New York Press."
"Aronofsky was saying this stuff with a smile,"
Gawker reports. "He was riffing." White, however, wasn't laughing, and took his next turn at the mic to stir the pot, saying, "That's all right. Darren reads me. That's all I want. And because he reads me, he knows the truth."
White is notorious for, well, being deliberately antagonistic. Gawker perhaps puts it best: "[White] is a
very angry critic who feels
very passionately about movies and tends to hate what everyone else likes and like what everyone else hates." To wit: White wrote a favorable review of Jonah Hex, last summer's 80-minute debacle currently ranked 13 percent fresh on
RottenTomatoes, and he gave 'Toy Story 3,' 2010's
best-reviewed film at 99 percent, one of only three negative reviews.
The atmosphere at last night's event appears to have been volatile, to say the least. "Armond broke the bank on insulting award winners he didn't agree with," an attendee told Gawker.
When 'Blue Valentine' actress
Michelle Williams was presented with a prize, White introduced her by praising her performance in the 2004 film 'Land of Plenty,' leading the Oscar-nominated actress (for 'Brokeback Mountain') to say, "I made that movie almost 10 years ago. I can't imagine what you've said about me since then if you had to go back that far to say something nice."
Later, when White brought 'Angels in America' playwright Tony Kushner to the stage to award director David Fincher's universally acclaimed 'The Social Network' with the Best Picture prize, he said, "Maybe he can explain why it won best picture."
White also made sure to thank his peers for not awarding any honors to director Noah Baumbach's well-reviewed indie hit 'Greenberg.' Baumbach's continued success has long been a thorn in the critic's side; in his review of Baumbach's 1997 film 'Mr. Jealousy,' White said the director's mother should have had a "
retroactive abortion." How tasteful and professional of him.
The tone of the evening, however, was apparently set in stone when Annette Bening took to the stage to accept the Best Actress prize for her turn in 'The Kids Are Alright.' "Bening, tearfully, came close to lecturing critics for being mean little s**ts," an attendee told
Gawker, while another reported, "She said something like, 'Can't we all just get along?'"
►'Toy Story 3' Narrowly Misses Perfect Trilogy Marks (Thanks, Armond White)
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I find the critic refreshing. These actors turn upon each other as quickly as the viewer.
The sad truth, these psychopaths in hollywood hate you more that themselves. I'm the Voltare of blogs, please read my others.
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Writing a review of a film is one thing. He can and should write whatever he thinks and feels. However, in public, manners count. Isn't there already enough ugliness and lack of civility in the world as it is? Must supposedly enlightened men and women have to behave this way? It just smacks of immaturity and lack of self esteem to me. The guy sounds like a loser. Bring down the big guys to make himself feel better.
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Can`t believe anyone would pay attention to a stupid film critic. Go see the movie for yourself and decide if you like it or not.Don`t let some idiot tell you if you should see it or not.
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Anyone who brings the lovely Miss Annette Benning to tears ought to be slapped silly. The only tears I wish Miss Benning are tears of joy.
Pooh on nasty critics.
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What the hell is a "CRITIC"? Just another word for a no talent DOUCHEBAG. We can ALL agree on that.
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