When movie stars attack: Russell Crowe’s reaction to criticism may set a trend | Movie

OOne of the most surprising new paths that formed for celebrities during the pandemic was Cameo. For the uninitiated, Cameo is a service where celebrities can create personalized messages for their fans. For £ 75, Hodor from Game of Thrones wishes you a happy birthday or – if you have £ 750 out there – Richard Dreyfuss will put on a Jaws shirt and fight to pronounce his name.

But that may not be enough for you. Maybe you want to find a direct involvement, with a star much bigger than what Cameo offers, and for free. If so, I can strongly endorse not liking a Russell Crowe film. Because, even if it takes a while, Crowe will do his best to respond to your criticisms. And if you’re very lucky, he’ll sound like a bus stop freak out of reach in the process. Here’s what happened.

On January 9, Ian McNabb, frontman of The Icicle Works, wrote the following about the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World: “A lot of people complained about lack of sleep during the pandemic. I recommend Master And Commander, starring the generally captivating and flashy Russel Crowe. I never got past the ten minute mark. You’re welcome. And thanks, Russell. The tweet started to gain momentum and, just nine days later, reached Crowe himself.

Now Russell Crowe is a very famous man who has almost three million followers. However, despite this, he failed to let the criticism pass. Instead, he replied sharply, “That is the problem with children today. Without focus. Peter Weirs’ film is brilliant. An epic, precise, detail-oriented tale of fidelity to the Empire and service, regardless of cost. Incredible cinematography by Russell Boyd and a majestic soundtrack. Definitely a movie for adults. “

It turns out that both parties are wrong here. Master and Commander was a perfectly adequate film, although I was surprised if anyone thought about it in any significant way since the credits ended, but the important thing is that Crowe reacted.

Again, there is not much news there. He responded to Bafta by editing a poem from an acceptance speech, pinning a television executive to the wall and calling him a “son of a bitch.” He responded to the hotel’s poor phone coverage by throwing the phone in the face of an employee. This time it is different, because he did it on Twitter through a rant “children today”.

And that is brilliant. This is confirmation that Crowe is willing to share his widespread prejudices with the world, and all you need to do is have an opinion on one of his films. Perhaps you can write that the Cinderella Man felt like such a deliberate bait from the Oscars that he failed to be emotionally endearing, or that A Good Year seemed superficial and redundant compared to his previous television adaptation, or that the Unhinged promotional campaign it was more fun than the movie itself. Anyway, now there is a good chance that Crowe will respond by saying, “In my day, children were taught to be seen but not heard” or “We never used to wash our hands after going to the bathroom when I was a child, and never it hurt me, “or” Is it just me or are the Wagon wheels getting smaller? “

This can have major repercussions. After all, Crowe is so influential that dozens of stars can begin to come together. It is the Twitter equivalent of the Law of Attraction. Tell the universe that you didn’t entirely love a film made 18 years ago, and the universe will tell the star to inform you that you are wrong. Maybe rolling your eyes at Bruce Almighty will bring Jim Carrey to your door. Maybe frowning at Hulk will make Eric Bana say hello to you. Perhaps, if you really mean Maid in Manhattan, Ralph Fiennes will create a Twitter account specifically to call you an idiot.

And anyway, Crowe is right. Children today are to blame for everything. Children do not have periods of attention. Children only like superhero movies. Children cannot watch a film that is too slow about boats because they prefer to watch an unpacking video on YouTube. Children will not watch a movie that has no sequels, even if it was deliberately titled to make it look like the first part of a new and exciting maritime franchise. Children eat sweets. Children make a lot of noise. Children are responsible for everything bad in the world.

Ian McNabb is 60 years old.