Film Twitter Tear Down
The other day on Twitter (it’s always something on Twitter, isn’t it?) I saw a screenwriter bash a new indie film coming out; a film I’m almost positive they haven’t seen. There seems to be a lot of this going on — all over. And I’m not talking about regular everyday consumers but specifically about people who work in Hollywood (or want to work in Hollywood).
Whether its bashing writers and directors or trashing films, there seems to be this compulsion to share overtly negative responses to movie — not “here’s my critique of the film and where it failed” but “this is just garbage and the worst movie I’ve ever seen.” We’re just out there, saying horrible things about people’s work. Dismissing years of energy and focus and time in a single sentence.
Obviously, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But social media has tricked us into thinking that our opinion has any relevance beyond ourselves. “We have a mega-phone now, dammit, people want to hear from me, I must tell them whatever is on my mind!”
So, why do we do that? Why do we feel compelled to shout into a megaphone that such-and-such movie sucked? Or this director isn’t any good? What good does that do you — someone who is either in this industry or wants to be?
I think it’s jealousy.
It’s jealously over the fact that something got made (that you think isn’t very good) while your “brilliant, money making” project is languishing at the bottom of a pile. Why do I think it’s jealousy?
Cause I’ve been there — I’ve had those feelings. In some ways, I’m still there, I’ve just decided not to share negative opinions about other people’s work online. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”, right?
So it really surprises me to see people Hollywood peers bashing and bad-mouthing films and filmmakers online.
And it made me think of this exchange I heard about (I think everyone heard about) between Paul Thomas Anderson and John Krasinski:
The two men were at Krasinski’s house for his 30th birthday party discussing a movie Krasinski had just seen. Krasinski told Anderson, “It’s not a good movie,” to which the “Phantom Thread” director nicely chastised him.
“He so sweetly took me aside and said very quietly, ‘Don’t say that. Don’t say that it’s not a good movie. If it wasn’t for you, that’s fine, but in our business, we’ve all got to support each other,’” Krasinski said. “The movie was very artsy, and he said, ‘You’ve got to support the big swing. If you put it out there that the movie’s not good, they won’t let us make more movies like that.’”
“If it wasn’t for you, that’s fine.” Let it go. No one really needs to know that you didn’t like something or even, frankly, that you did like it. I’m almost never on Twitter anymore and I can tell you that I have yet to have anyone reach out by another means and say they missed me voicing my opinions about stuff on Twitter. Taking it even further, no one really cares what you have to say and no one cares what you thought of Spielberg’s latest film.
Why do we feel compelled to tear each other down when we should be building each other up? We all know how much work it takes to make a film, how adulterated the process can be, how the final result being even close to good ends up being some kind of miracle.
Again…jealously. They made something — you didn’t. So let’s tear down the thing that got made. Let’s turn this whole process into a zero sum game where no one wins.
In addition to that, for those who want to work in the industry at some level, what good is it going to do you to be so negative? You think that filmmaker will ever want to work with you when all you did was viciously teardown his work? Why would they? I wouldn’t. Not that I’m only interested in yes-people but I’m not all that interested in perpetual negativity about my work either. At the very least, critics will attempt some kind of actual feedback — a critique that may lend itself to seeing your work differently, in a way you hadn’t considered, and could make you a better filmmaker.
But “this sucks” doesn’t help anyone. It’s just feeding negativity into a world that frankly could use a lot more positivity. I’ve been trying to be more supportive of the work I see people doing, even if the work isn’t for me.
As for the stuff I don’t like, I really only have an audience of one for that opinion — and frankly, I don’t really care to hear it.
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Joshua Caldwell is a director, writer, producer, and MTV Movie Award Winner. His debut feature film LAYOVER was made for $6000 and had its World Premiere to sold out crowds at the 2014 Seattle International Film Festival where it was nominated for the prestigious FIPRESCI New American Cinema Award. He wrote and directed INFAMOUS, starring Bella Thorne which was the #1 New Movie in America the week of its debut. Indiewire called the film “nihilistic and uncomfortably believable” with “an appropriately nutso performance from Bella Thorne.” Screenrant wrote “A thrilling crime drama and compelling character study” while Variety called it “perversely fascinating” and “infused with kinetic verve.” His latest film MENDING THE LINE, stars Brian Cox, Sinqua Walls, Perry Mattfeld and Wes Studi. The story of a marine injured in Afghanistan who meets a Vietnam Vet who teaches him how to fly fish as a way of dealing with his trauma, the film will have it’s World Premiere at the 2022 Woodstock Film Festival.
For more visit Joshua-Caldwell.com!
