Skip to content

Sharon Stone Offers Hilariously Blunt Reaction To Planned Reboot Of 'Basic Instinct'

Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

Benedict Cumberbatch Offers Thoughtful Response To Sam Elliott's 'Power Of The Dog' Criticism

Benedict Cumberbatch Offers Thoughtful Response To Sam Elliott's 'Power Of The Dog' Criticism
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images; Greg Doherty/Getty Images for Wynn Las Vegas
John Curtis
By John CurtisMar 08, 2022
John Curtis
A novelist, picture book writer and native New Yorker, John is a graduate of Syracuse University and the children's media graduate program at Centennial College. When not staring at his computer monitor, you'll most likely find John sipping tea watching British comedies, or in the kitchen, taking a stab at the technical challenge on the most recent episode of 'The Great British Baking Show'.
See Full Bio

The Power of the Dog is nominated for 11 Academy Awards—the most nominations of any film this year.

Included among its 11 nominations are Best Picture, Best Director for Jane Campion and Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch.

The critically acclaimed film tells the story of unruly cowboy Phil Burbank who finds himself forced to face his toxic masculinity and repressed homosexuality after his brother's new wife and stepson begin to live with them on their ranch.

As reported previously, not among the film's fans is Academy Award nominated actor Sam Elliott.

Elliott, a veteran of several Western films, openly criticized the film in an appearance on the podcast WTF with Marc Maron. Elliott derided The Power of the Dog, calling it a “piece of sh*t" and took particular exception to any "allusions of homosexuality" being in a Western.

Cumberbatch addressed Elliott's criticisms as part of The British Academy of Film And Television Awards (BAFTA) Film Sessions.

While never mentioning Elliott by name, the two-time Oscar nominee brought up all the criticisms unleashed upon the film.

"I’m trying very hard not to say anything about a very odd reaction that happened the other day on a radio podcast over here."
"Someone really took offense to—I haven’t heard it so it’s unfair for me to comment in detail on it—to the West being portrayed in this way.”

Cumberbatch emphasized how important it was to tell Phil Burbank's story, as there were definitely men who struggled with those issues during the period the film was set and who face the same struggles today.

"There's also a massive intolerance within the world at large towards homosexuality still, towards the acceptance to any kind of difference."
"These people still exist in our world."
" Whether it’s on our doorstep or whether it’s down the road or whether it’s someone we meet in a bar or pub or on the sports field, there is aggression and anger and frustration and an inability to control or know who you are in that moment that causes damage to that person and, as we know, damage to those around them."

Cumberbatch was hopeful that the lessons taught in the film might have an effect on the way we look at repression and toxic masculinity.

"There’s no harm in looking at a character to get to the root causes of that."
"This is a very specific case of repression, but also due to an intolerance for that true identity that Phil is that he can’t fully be."
“The more we look under the hood of toxic masculinity and try to discover the root causes of it, the bigger chances we have of dealing with it when it arises with our children.”

Cumberbatch's eloquent response received praise on Twitter.







While other's took the opportunity to call out Sam Elliott.




This wasn't the first time Cumberbatch addressed criticism directed towards the multi Oscar-nominated film.

Cumberbatch addressed blowback he received for agreeing to play a gay character.

"I feel very sensitive about representation, diversity and inclusion."
“One of the appeals of the job was the idea that in this world, with this specific character, there was a lot that was private, hidden from view."
"It wasn’t done without thought."
"I also feel slightly like, is this a thing where our dance card has to be public."

Latest News

Mariannette Miller-Meeks
Political News

GOP Rep. Who Championed 'No Tax On Tips' Slams Critics After Being Ripped For Leaving Small Tip

Stephen Miller
Political News

Stephen Miller Rails Against 'Elderly White Hippies' Protesting In DC In Unhinged Rant

Jeff Van Drew
Political News

MAGA Rep. Mocked After Claiming He 'Spoke' To 'Large Numbers' Of Dead Voters

A parking payment machine with a car parallel parked in the background.
Trending

People Reveal Which Loopholes They Exploited Until They Were Closed

More from News/lgbtq

Park ranger Shannon “SJ” Joslin was fired after hanging a Trans Pride flag on Yosemite Park’s El Capitan mountain.
@shannonekj/Instagram; Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

Trans Flag Firing at Yosemite

A Transgender Pride flag raised over Yosemite’s El Capitan in May has now become the hill the National Park Service chose to die on—costing one ranger their job and igniting a national uproar about free speech, visibility, and hypocrisy on America’s public lands.

Dr. Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a ranger who is trans and uses they/them pronouns, was joined by activists including drag queen Pattie Gonia in what was described as “a celebration of trans belonging in nature, in community and everywhere.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Open dictionary; Tweet by @aixarizzo
Douglas Sacha/Getty Images; @aixarizzo/Twitter (X)

Cambridge Dictionary Just Added Over 6,000 New Words Including 'Skibidi'—And People Are Not OK

Every year, the Cambridge Dictionary rolls out new additions to its catalogue of accepted terms, and just as the English language is always changing, so is that catalogue.

But admittedly in recent years, the Cambridge Dictionary and Merriam-Webster have both had some validating and interesting additions, like updating their definitions of "woman" and "race," as well as adding "first husband" while Vice President Kamala Harris was in office.

Keep ReadingShow less
Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce, & Hugo Weaving
Roadshow Film Distributors

Guy Pearce Pays Sweet Tribute To 'Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert' Costar After His Death At 87

The great and now late actor Terence Stamp passed away recently at age 87, and actors who shared roles big and small with him throughout his nearly 60-year career paid tribute to him in memory.

Notably, one of Stamp's co-stars, Guy Pearce, who alongside Hugo Weaving made up the trio of stars in 1994 cult LGBTQ+ classic The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, shared a touching post about their time together making the film.

Keep ReadingShow less
Justin Bieber impersonator Dylan Desclos performing in Vegas
@isaagonzalezz_/TikTok; @gryffin/TikTok; @jay_0614/TikTok

Fake Justin Bieber Tricks Vegas Nightclub Into Letting Him Perform Before Getting Busted

Fans went wild when Justin Bieber did an impromptu performance during a DJ set at Las Vegas' XS Nightclub. Or so they thought, anyway.

Because it turned out it wasn't Bieber at all but an impersonator, Dylan Desclos, who tricked the entire staff, including the DJ who let him onstage.

Keep ReadingShow less
Aubrey Plaza; Aubrey Plaza and Jeff Baena
Good Hang/YouTube; George Pimentel/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival

Aubrey Plaza's Insightful Analogy About Grief After Her Husband's Death Is Hitting Home For People

*The following article contains discussion of suicide/self-harm.

In January, actor Aubrey Plaza lost her partner of 14 years and husband of four years, writer and director Jeff Baena, to suicide. The actor has maintained her privacy since then, but opened up about her grief with her former Parks and Recreation costar Amy Poehler.

Keep ReadingShow less