Vulture reports on why Colin Trevorrow left Episode IX – per “speculation from a ranking Hollywood movie insider with direct knowledge of the productions on both The Book of Henry and Jurassic World” – that the director’s ego might have gotten in the way. Basically – do not mess with Kathleen Kennedy.
“When the reviews for Book of Henry came out, there was immediately conjecture that Kathy was going to dump him because they weren’t thrilled with working with him anyway,” the executive continues. “He’s a difficult guy. He’s really, really, really confident. Let’s call it that.”
Previous reports claimed script issues were at the source of the split.
Something that’s fascinated me about the whole “why can’t Kathleen Kennedy keep a man [director]???” discourse is how few people seem to realize that Kennedy’s behavior is, in fact, something we should see more of, not less. Because what she is reacting to is a widespread problem that has, until now, gone unchecked: the problem of asshole directors.
Kennedy is in an unprecedented position in Hollywood for a woman. She is in control of the entirety of the Star Wars franchise—what movies are made, what stories are told, what merchandise is sold—and she is the final authority. Disney will no doubt replace her the minute the franchise stumbles, but the past two movies have gotten good reviews and staggering box office numbers and The Last Jedi looks to be just as successful, so she is, for now, in one of the safest spots in Hollywood. The last female executive with that kind of power was probably Lucille Ball.
Which means that if you are part of the franchise, you answer to Kennedy and moreover you have to play by her rules. The stories have to get her buy-in, the actors have to get her approval, and the directors have to behave the way she expects them to. And it’s very apparent that Gareth Edwards, Josh, Trank, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and now Colin Treverrow have all fallen short of those expectations in one way or another. (You may say to yourself “wait a minute, Gareth Edwards wasn’t fired!” To which I will reply, “lol.”)
Now, nothing hugely out of the ordinary has been reported in re: Edwards or Trank or Lord & Miller or Trevorrow’s antics — mostly it’s been stuff like “ego” or unprofessional behavior or whatnot. But that’s exactly my point: white male directors are, for the first time, being fired over things that they should have been getting fired for years ago.
Hollywood is far too enamored of the genius auteur trope (and Kennedy is no exception, hence why she hired these dudes in the first place) and indulges the most horrifying behavior from the men it deems “visionary.” Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Mel Gibson, Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, David O. Russell: men with long and ugly histories are venerated without a second thought, so much so that the ones who are merely outrageous don’t even ping the radar. Rupert Sanders has an affair with Kristen Stewart and gets her booted out of the sequel to “Snow White” (when Stewart played the title character); Jennifer Lawrence tears her diaphragm hyperventilating while filming Darren Aronofsky’s latest whatever-the-fuck thing “mother” is gonna turn out to be; Lars Von Trier…continues to be himself. None of it raises an eyebrow (with the exception of the Sanders/Stewart fling, but that’s because people blamed Stewart, who was 21, for seducing Sanders, who was 40) and all of those men have very successful careers. Being an asshole is perfectly acceptable — everywhere else but Star Wars.
On Star Wars, Kennedy is holding the directors she hires to a very basic standard of professionalism and none of them are able to handle it; and for the first time in their lives, they’re actually suffering the consequences. Bad scripts are thrown out and writers replaced; bad dailies and reports of cast unhappiness get directors the boot. It’s astonishing — but it shouldn’t be. There’s no indication that Kennedy is too demanding or that her standards are too high; but there’s every indication that these dudes have been getting away with absolute murder on their other sets.
The real question then, the one that nobody’s asked yet and probably never will, isn’t “why is Kathleen Kennedy firing these guys,” but rather, “Why do any of these guys have a career in the first place?”
Plus, here’s the thing: This is motherfucking Star Wars.
That invisible line of people of people standing behind you waiting to do your job if you don’t want to say “how high” when your boss says “jump” that the rest of the planet’s been threatened with for its entire working life a) is present for the first time in a decade for some of these guys and b) includes literally the entire film industry.
A lot of them have been getting away with their bullshit for so long at least partially because they’d gotten to the point where if they walk, there very well may be no movie, or the movie may suffer dramatically for them having walked. There’s no one standing behind Luc Besson just aching to direct a weird bubble-gum scifi movie about military accountability and environmental rejuvenation. There was no one really standing behind Edgar Wright just dying to direct Ant-Man.
But this is Star Wars. Half the film industry would sell their souls in a pact with Satan to get your spot on the project, and the other half already has and their demon agents are desperately working on delivering. It’s the sort of property that’s universally beloved. People grew up loving it and want a chance to put their mark on it. People know half the planet will show up twice to see it in theaters. It can make people rich and famous beyond their previous dreams. If you’ve got a name to make or a message to send or you want your slice of the pie, this is the closest thing to a guaranteed ticket to that outcome.
Disney could be publicly wiping their asses with the last director’s dailies, and there would still be a line that would make ComicCon blush to fill their shoes. The real shocker* is that, having watched the number of directors getting let go ahead of them for failing to meet baseline standards of behavior or understanding that this is a franchise film and they can’t just do whatever the fuck they want, they’re still not moderating their own behavior on the project in an attempt to avoid the same fate.
*
Let’s not forget that Kennedy is in the enviable position of being in charge and the unenviable position of being a WOMAN in charge. I absolutely think some of the turnover is asshole directors expecting a woman to roll over for them (wording intended), and a fair amount of the conflict we hear about is arrogant men being challenged for the first time by a woman who outranks them.
IME there are very few men who can handle a situation like that without an escalation of their volatile and abusive behaviour.
don’t know if this is as ~deep~ as i think it is, but by all of gaston’s own personal standards of identity/values, the beast is a better man than he is: brawnier, bigger, fightier, & of course every last inch of him’s covered in hair
ohmigod, it’s true though! the beast was basically gaston, and the ticked off fairy turned him into the purest manifestation of his toxic ideals to make him learn to be less of an ass
…..now I really wanna see the version of the movie where instead of dying, the curse passes from the beast to gaston!
except gaston doesn’t have a swag ass castle to sulk in, so he’s out running around the countryside, hiding in forests and stuff, alternately terrorizing the populace and being hunted. it’s a turnabout of his “peerless hunter” backstory– he is now both the monster and the prey.
untillllll he, idk, meets some humble woodcutter(?) that takes him in when he’s wounded or offers him shelter in a storm? and etc, etc, LIFE LESSONS, toxic masculinity slowly vanquished. (ooh, or maybe it should be like–a flower seller or herbalist or some feminine-coded profession he would have devalued to really set up a foil.)
also the gaston-beast needs antlers. terrifying claw-hooked sprawling antlers. antlers for all of his decorating.
Adaptable girls find socially acceptable ways to internalize or channel their discomfort and ire, sometimes at great personal cost. Passive aggressive behavior, anxiety, and depression are common effects. Sarcasm, apathy, and meanness have all been linked to suppressed rage. Troublesome behaviors, such as lying, skipping school, bullying other people, even being socially awkward are often signs that a teenager is dealing with anger that they are unable to name as anger.
Girls, taught to ignore their anger, become disassociated from themselves.
Anger is so successfully sublimated that girls lose the ability to understand what it feels and looks like. Is her heart racing? Does she feel flushed or shaky? Does she clench her jaws at night? Is she breaking out in hives? Does she cry for no reason? Laugh inappropriately during difficult conversations? Fly off the handle over something that seems inconsequential? You can see where I’m going here…those crazy girl hormones, right? Better to just think of it as a phase.
For too many women, however, the phase never ends. It’s lives spent never expressing anger at all and believing that they don’t have the right or ability to do so without great risk.
H.R. 620 would completely change the way in which a business is required to comply with the ADA. Instead of requiring that a business comply proactively, the bill would place the burden on the individual who is being denied access. This bill proposes that after an individual with a disability is denied access she must first notify the business owner, with exacting specificity, that her civil rights were violated, and then wait for six months to see if the business will make “substantial progress” toward access, before going to a court to order compliance.
Business owners can spend years out of compliance and face no penalty even after they receive notice, so long as the owners claim “substantial progress.” By allowing a business an endless amount of time to become compliant with the ADA’s reasonable requirements, H.R. 620 removes any incentive for a business to proactively ensure that people with disabilities have access. Instead, the bill encourages businesses to just wait until an individual’s civil rights are violated before making any changes.
And ya’ll wonder why I scream at people who try and tell me about how expensive and complicated the ADA is to comply with / enforce.
It’s that shit that gives bill like this their strength. Call your representatives. Use Resist Bot. Disabled folk AND OUR ABLE-BODIED ALLIES need to FLOOD the offices of our representatives and let them know that this bill will should not even be debated much less made law.
Do what you can from where you are and demand that those who can do more step up. I know we’re tired and I know it’s hard but don’t give up. Save yourself one last spoon and make sure the edges are good and sharp.
If you need someone to talk to, feel free to reach out. I’ll listen; I’ll empathize. You are not alone in this.
Resist Bot only works for your senators. This is a House bill.
They updated it! You can choose which one you need now. It’s super cool.
Waaaaait whoa. Guys. He’s also changing the texture of his skin, along with attempting to match the tone of the ship’s(?) floor.
HE’S TRYING TO BLEND IN.
HE KNOWS HE’S IN DANGER AND HE’S SCARED AND DOESN’T WANT TO BE SEEN.
SHHHHH NO BABY OCTOPUS COME HERE IT’S OKAY ❤
We literally have a shape shifting animal with the best camouflage mechanism in nature and nobody thinks that’s the coolest shit like what the fuck we could learn so much from it’s biology everyone needs to get outta my face cause this creature is metal as fuck
There’s one better than this. It’s the cuttlefish. (I watch a lot of animal documentaries, okay?)
No but you have to post a gif of the cuttlefish now. Animal shows are the best shows because nature
the ninjas of the sea
y’all see this motherfucker right here?
this is the Indonesian Mimic Octopus.
This cool little guy can mimic a crab, lionfish, sea snake, flatfish, and jellyfish. He uses these amazing disguise techniques to avoid and deter predators, and also to attract possible meals.
he is the sneakiest ninja of the sea
what the fuck is happening underwater to create these fucking things
Time and space is happening.
Animals lived on ground for only 550,000,000 years, while underwater life existed for billions of years. Also the ground is only 30% of the Earth and height wise it’s only as tall as some tall trees unless you’re flying. Also many places on the ground are deserts and thus don’t have water to support much life.
The ocean on the other hand is 70% of the Earth’s surface, has depths of down to 10+ kms, and most of those depths can support life, so there’s a lot more variety in the types of animals you can see while on the ground most animals stick to 20-30 different basic survival strategies.
The Paradox Machine 