ZERO DARK THIRTY thread: Serving realness since 2001

[RRA]

Bret Easton Ellis: Bigelow overrated because "she's very hot"

"Kathryn Bigelow would be considered a mildly interesting filmmaker if she was a man but since she's a very hot woman she's really overrated," he added, listing her films: "Strange Days, K-19 The Widowmaker, Blue Steel, The Hurt Locker. Are we talking about visionary filmmaking or just OK junk?"

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column...ot-woman-68121

I have a question for Mr. Ellis: Who is calling her visionary? Who?!? I'm a fan, she's generally been a pretty good filmmaker (I wouldn't say "great") that maybe is hitting her peak as a director right now after starting out with making exploitation fare and action movies.

I'm reminded of that essay which came out around the time she won her Oscar, I can't remember where it was published (Slate?) which more or less was mad at Bigelow a girl for not making "women's movies" or whatever instead. Of course they ignored BLUE STEEL, but nevermind. (And what, black directors should only make movies about black people? Ang Lee should only make movies about Chinese? ) I should look for it and post that nonsense here.

Seriously, Bigelow has to be the only Best Director winner ever to be criticized for being too attractive.

[flibber]

Bret Easton Ellis is a troll. No feeding.

[ladylurks]

Bigelow also made The Weight of Water, very much a "'women's movie."

[Hatshepsutely]

Obviously Robert Redford is constantly overrated because he's too handsome. Oh wait...

[Mmelissa]

Bret Easton Ellis is a troll. No feeding.

Yeah, he always says crap like this. He has a long history of openly hating women directors, even ones whose movies he enjoys (go figure).

I think, to a degree, all the women I named aren't particularly visual directors. You could argue that Lost in Translation is beautiful, but is that [cinematographer Lance Acord]? I don't know. Regardless of the business aspect of things, is there a reason that there isn't a female Hitchcock or a female Scorsese or a female Spielberg? I don't know. I think it's a medium that really is built for the male gaze and for a male sensibility. I mean, the best art is made under not an indifference to, but a neutrality [toward] the kind of emotionalism that I think can be a trap for women directors.

[RRA]

Bigelow also made The Weight of Water, very much a "'women's movie."

You know I've never seen that, so I didn't know.

"Pioneers get all the arrows."

[Brazilianmovies]

Ellen Barkin dragged him to the pits later.

[Brazilianmovies]

Ellen Barkin ‏@EllenBarkin
@BretEastonEllis & if u were a "very hot woman" youd still be a shit writer.Say TY to Mary Harron.That MOVIE was the best book u ever wrote

[Mamma Roma]

Ellis is a monster.

OMG I love Barkin's tweet!

[jeanne_dielman]

Yeah, he always says crap like this. He has a long history of openly hating women directors, even ones whose movies he enjoys (go figure).

I think, to a degree, all the women I named aren't particularly visual directors. You could argue that Lost in Translation is beautiful, but is that [cinematographer Lance Acord]? I don't know. Regardless of the business aspect of things, is there a reason that there isn't a female Hitchcock or a female Scorsese or a female Spielberg? I don't know. I think it's a medium that really is built for the male gaze and for a male sensibility. I mean, the best art is made under not an indifference to, but a neutrality [toward] the kind of emotionalism that I think can be a trap for women directors.

There are a bunch of assumptions embedded in that passage. But oddly enough, the one that gets me is the whole "maybe the DP is solely responsible for the great visuals" argument.

Lance Acord aside, Sofia Coppola also has worked with the late Harris Savides. And although you could argue that, Somewhere was inferior to Lost in Translation (as well as her prior collaborations with Acord, Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette), the aesthetics were still purely Sofia Coppola in its wistful etherealness.

The same could be said for another very visually driven female director: Jane Campion. It doesn't matter if she's working with distinctive DPs such as Stuart Dryburgh (The Piano, An Angel at My Table), Dion Beebe (Holy Smoke!, In the Cut), or Greig Fraser (Bright Star). You could tell it's Jane Campion.

Either a director has a great eye for aesthetics, or a director doesn't. Doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman. A DP can prettify it, but even that has its limitations.

You don't see a lot of people blatantly attributing Michael Mann's signature aesthetics to Beebe (Collateral, Miami Vice) or Dante Spinotti (Heat, The Insider, Public Enemies).

Or lavishing all praise of WKW's visuals to Chris Doyle.

[Hatshepsutely]

Ellen Barkin ‏@EllenBarkin
@BretEastonEllis & if u were a "very hot woman" youd still be a shit writer.Say TY to Mary Harron.That MOVIE was the best book u ever wrote

This is the best thing I have ever seen.

[Stéphane]

Bret Easton Ellis: Bigelow overrated because "she's very hot"



http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column...ot-woman-68121

I have a question for Mr. Ellis: Who is calling her visionary? Who?!? I'm a fan, she's generally been a pretty good filmmaker (I wouldn't say "great") that maybe is hitting her peak as a director right now after starting out with making exploitation fare and action movies.

I'm reminded of that essay which came out around the time she won her Oscar, I can't remember where it was published (Slate?) which more or less was mad at Bigelow a girl for not making "women's movies" or whatever instead. Of course they ignored BLUE STEEL, but nevermind. (And what, black directors should only make movies about black people? Ang Lee should only make movies about Chinese? ) I should look for it and post that nonsense here.

Seriously, Bigelow has to be the only Best Director winner ever to be criticized for being too attractive.

I can't wait for his film to suck...the tweets will be epic.

[Bremen]

This is the best thing I have ever seen.

Seconded.

[DirkDiggler]

Shame on us doubting this film earlier in the year.

[ladylurks]

Speak for yourself, Dirk. I never doubted.

[AllAboutOscar]

Obviously Robert Redford is constantly overrated because he's too handsome. Oh wait...

Exactly! Just what I thought. Or Mel Gibson. I don't remember any criticism about Gibson's hotness back then... or I'm pretty sure Warren Beatty didn't get any negative reviews either when he won his Oscar. This is just sexist. Not like we should be surprised about that...

[Moviefreak]

Speak for yourself, Dirk. I never doubted.

Me neither. I've had this film in my Best Picture lineup ever since I made my first predictions in like April or May.

[Sage]

It's funny, I have a feeling this will end with Bigelow having two of my three favorite BP wins of my lifetime. (The other being No Country.)

[DirkDiggler]

Speak for yourself, Dirk. I never doubted.

Weird. I checked the the past poll threads, and I've been predicting it since July yet have no memory of this. Hmmmmm....

[erikdean]

Weird. I checked the the past poll threads, and I've been predicting it since July yet have no memory of this. Hmmmmm....

July poll:

Untitled Kathryn Bigelow/Zero Dark Thirty

• boondoggle,
• clocks,
• Codh_,
• coldmess,
• DirkDiggler,
• dyedred19,
• Habsburg,
• ladylurks,
• Moviefreak,
• mulcaho,
• NoirJo,
• Onifled,
• robsal