Perhaps inevitably, James Cameron's feud with Glenn Beck has split the blogosphere. The spat began when Cameron slammed Beck for "denying" global warming and for calling the director the "Antichrist." In response, Beck mocked Cameron's eco-crusade on-air, dismissing Avatar as a "smurf" flick. Here's sampling of what the combatants' respective supporters have to say:
TEAM BECK
• "No-one does it like Beck," says Big Hollywood. His "brutal take down" of Cameron made a "complete fool" of the director. (See the video here)
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• Beck didn't just "nail Cameron and CNN in one fell swoop" in his televised response, says Patrick Goldstein at the LA Times. He also "gleefully" tore into his environmental rhetoric. This was "marvelous television."
• Let's be fair, says Drew Grant at Mediaite. "Half of America" probably concluded that Cameron was the Antichrist after being subjected to "that Celine Dion [from Titanic] song all through 1997."
TEAM CAMERON
• I can't imagine that the Fox execs who backed Avatar are thrilled that Cameron snubbed "a major personality on their own news network," says David Chen at Slashfilm.com. That said, when your last two feature films have made over $3 billion, perhaps you get to say "whatever...you want."
• "Fox News' sniveling Boy Prince" is no match for the "King of the World," says ST Vanairsdale at Movieline. Nice work, Jim. "Don't ever change."
• At least Cameron kept the focus "squarely on [Avatar's] environmental campaign," says Christopher Monfette at Ugo.com, rather than indulging in an "unnecessarily personal rant."
UNCOMMITTED
• Beck and Cameron have a lot in common, says Mark Asch at the L Magazine. "Both of them love guns and are complete megalomaniacs." Sounds like a "pretty even match-up."
• Enough, says Mike Byhoff at Gawker. Both of these gentlemen have Antichrist-like qualities. "If they're going to resolve this, they should do it publicly." May I suggest a "to-the-death bare-knuckle boxing match"?
