It's safe to say Sam Elliott won't be voting for The Power of the Dog for Best Picture.
The 1883 star on the WTF podcast went off on the Netflix Western that's expected to win Best Picture at the Oscars, declaring it a "piece of s--t." Elliott told host Marc Maron he "didn't like it anyway" but was especially bothered after seeing a review that described the movie as an "evisceration of the American myth," saying that as a star of Westerns, he thought, "What the f--k?" He also complained that the characters in the film looked like Chippendales dancers.
"That's what all these f---ing cowboys in that movie looked like," Elliot claimed. "They're all running around in chaps and no shirts. There's all these allusions of homosexuality throughout the f---ing movie." Later, he bemoaned that "[Benedict] Cumberbatch never got out of his f---ing chaps," asking, "Where's the Western in this Western?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Maron pointed out "that's what the movie is about," as the film explores toxic masculinity and repressed homosexuality. But Elliott continued to rail against the film, asking of its director, Jane Campion, "What the f--k does this woman from New Zealand know about the American West? And why in the f--k did she shoot this movie in New Zealand and call it Montana and say this is the way it was? So that f---ing rubbed me the wrong way."
Elliott's comments quickly sparked criticism, and critics particularly dismissed his complaint about the film being shot in New Zealand. Fangoria editor-in-chief Phil Nobile Jr. tweeted, "I hope no one asks Sam Elliott — a brilliant actor, by the way, I love his work — about all those Westerns the Italians made."
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate brandingIn the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
