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Clearing The Air
It's not just the right-wing spear carriers who are slamming me, incorrectly, for allegedly advocating a Sen. Joseph McCarthy-esque response to Jon Voight's 7.28 Washington Times op-ed piece trashing Barack Obama. A liberal friend has taken me to task for this also. Obviously the McCarthy thing has gotten some traction, so let's review the basics and examine what I actually said and meant.
The paragraph that led to the freak-out read as follows: "[Voight is] obviously entitled to say and write whatever he wants. But it's only natural that industry-based Obama supporters will henceforth regard him askance. Honestly? If I were a producer and I had to make a casting decision about hiring Voight or some older actor who hadn't pissed me off with an idiotic Washington Times op-ed piece, I might very well say to myself, 'Voight? Let him eat cake.'"
I was just being honest about how I might theoretically react if I was in a position to hire or not hire Voight -- big deal. That's several football fields away from suggesting or even implying that producers should band together and deny employment to Voight because he wrote an idiotic op-ed piece. I hope it's not a shock to anyone that people tend to hire according to whims and hunches, likes and dislikes, alliances and contretemps. Producers hire or don't hire people all the time because an actor is liked or disliked, because a friend thinks he's an asshole or a good guy, because the actor and the producer go to the same fitness club or their kids know each other, etc.
I was just indulging in a feeling that I might have -- a momentary "fuck Jon Voight" impulse that I might feel or give voice to -- if I were a producer. Admit it -- it feels good to stick it to people you don't like or strongly disagree with. (Again, I urge everyone to read Voight's op-ed article -- it's certifiable.) As I said to an HE reader on the same page, "I didn't say I had a shit list, or that I believe in the idea of one. I just said it feels good to think of shit-listing certain people. As a fun fantasy. Not that I think for a second that anyone would give a damn."
I also said that "my own view is that you always work with the best people you can, regardless of political affiliation. Stanley Kubrick was absolutely correct to hire Adolf Menjou as the cynical French general in Paths of Glory, despite Menjou's reprehensible right-wing views that included supporting the blacklist. Because Menjou was superb in the part. He wasn't just giving a performance as that guy -- he seemed to "be" him.
I also said "good for Cecil B. DeMille, that awful, sanctimonious, two-faced Bible-thumping vulgarian, for giving Edward G. Robinson a job on The Ten Commandments. Seriously -- that was a good and compassionate thing he did, even if he was a prick and a bully at heart."
It should always be about the work and the potential of this or that artist to be extra-sublime in the service of a movie, and not some political bullshit. At the same time we're all human and prey to certain vengeance impulses from time to time. My error was in admitting such impulses exist within me. But they exist within all of us.
All the right-wingers who wrote me this morning calling me "a left-wing faggot" and whatnot can blow me.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 31, 2008 at 9:48 AM
comment #1
Richardson says ...
I always think it's interesting that Jeff, who spends his life and makes his living as a writer, has to spend so much time re-explaining what he actually meant by what he wrote, and never once owns up to expressing an idea poorly.
If twenty people read what you write and infer something, it might just be that you wrote it so badly that it's actually implied (like saying "It would feel good to put him on a shitlist and I would expect producers to be less interested in hiring him" in the same breath).
And, on the other hand, if Jeff's sure something is implied, then no matter how uniform the response is that he is wrong, he will stick to his guns. (Like the Obama video.)
Posted by Richardson at July 31, 2008 11:07 AM
comment #2
George Prager says ...
The problem with the op-ed was that Voight sounded like a total dick. I could care less if Voight supports McCain.
Posted by George Prager at July 31, 2008 11:08 AM
comment #3
Michael says ...
I don't see what the big deal was...I read the magazine article you pdf'd right after that and thought it was really well done.
Posted by Michael at July 31, 2008 11:09 AM
comment #4
Glenn Kenny says ...
For what it's worth, Jeff, I got your back. Not that I'd be so tasteless and self-promoting as to post a link. And not that I don't tweak you just a little. But in a certain sense you should be flattered, because these guys are trying to put forth a narrative wherein if you tell Hollywood to jump, Hollywood asks, "How high?" Revel in your new found power, my friend!
Posted by Glenn Kenny at July 31, 2008 11:12 AM
comment #5
Mgmax says ...
"The problem with the op-ed was that Voight sounded like a total dick. I could care less if Voight supports McCain."
From the other side, I'm inclined to agree. It is not really progress if the right also gets celebrities to pen totally deranged editorials against the other side. We don't need our own Tim Robbins.
Posted by Mgmax at July 31, 2008 11:14 AM
comment #6
gruver1 says ...
Wells to Richardson: I try like hell to be as articulate and well-phrased as possible within the pounding pressure of banging out eight to ten stories/items per day. If I failed to say what I meant to say in the best way, then I'm sorry and I'll try harder next time. But I think the righties just seized on that one paragraph because that's what they do -- they seize on anything they can beat you over the head with, and to hell with context and intent on the writer's part. The righties are animals. They're hit you with anything they can. On the other hand, you can never accuse them of sitting on their hands. They're fighters to the death.
Posted by gruver1 at July 31, 2008 11:15 AM
comment #7
arturobandini says ...
I've known about Friends of Abe for several years now because a colleague's a secret member. But I never believed his tales of Voight's fence-hopping until this Op-Ed.
This is the same guy who volunteered for Tom Hayden and begged Jane Fonda to let him play Luke in "Coming Home"? (She thought he'd be better as the Marine.) This is the same guy who was Hal Ashby's best friend for 5 years? This is the same guy who made "Conrack"????? Voight's a great actor but a political jellyfish, sucking up to whoever he thinks can help his career -- for a minute, that included his own daughter. People who play dangerous games in this town should expect to be graylisted, if not blacklisted.
Posted by arturobandini at July 31, 2008 11:27 AM
comment #8
Walter Sobchak says ...
The question remains- Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Republican party?
Posted by Walter Sobchak at July 31, 2008 11:29 AM
comment #9
mjn says ...
Speaking of Jon Voight, Poltico has an article about David Zucker's new movie, which Voight and other Hollywood Republican actors (Grammer and Hopper) are starring in.
It's a comedy called "An American Carol", in which a Michael Moore type is taught a lesson by three ghosts of great Americans. The "Moore" character has his epiphany when he is taken by George Washington (played by Voight) to the WTC on 09-11-01. Read the article for a more complete synopsis.
Posted by mjn at July 31, 2008 11:31 AM
comment #10
Mgmax says ...
Arturo, you just confirmed everything the rightwing commentators suspected.
Posted by Mgmax at July 31, 2008 11:31 AM
comment #11
mjn says ...
Here's link to the Zucker story:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11959.html
Posted by mjn at July 31, 2008 11:35 AM
comment #12
Yves says ...
Spot on: "Voight's a great actor but a political jellyfish, sucking up to whoever he thinks can help his career"
From the op-ed:
"I was caught up in the hysteria during the Vietnam era, which was brought about through Marxist propaganda underlying the so-called peace movement."
You've got to wonder how much they are paying him.
Posted by Yves at July 31, 2008 11:41 AM
comment #13
arturobandini says ...
Mgmax, I'm glad I could make your day, you great ass.
Posted by arturobandini at July 31, 2008 11:41 AM
comment #14
cjKennedy says ...
The thing is Jeff, you're a classic one for reading too much into other people's writings...everything is a hit piece or a hatchet job, everyone has an agenda...so you shouldn't be too shocked people are lining up to throw the same attitude right back at you.
You generate plenty of smoke around here by taking a black and white stance on things and I think you're just getting a taste of your own medicine. People need headlines.
Posted by cjKennedy at July 31, 2008 11:41 AM
comment #15
munson says ...
I actually don't know why Mr. Wells bothered explaining himself again in this second post. If people didn't have the basic reading comprehension ability to understand the first post, they aren't going to understand this time either.
Maybe he could use Charades to get his point across. You know, in a little YouTube clip. Exaggerated hand motions and grunts might be the best way to get through to anyone who "inferred" the wrong idea from the first post.
Either that, or try screaming some half-truths and outright lies at the top of your lungs. It works for Limbaugh, Savage, Coulter, Hannity, Beck, et al.
Posted by munson at July 31, 2008 11:45 AM
comment #16
quitstaringatme says ...
For one brief, shining moment, despite the constant cynicism that defines me and my generation, I thought maybe, just maybe, Obama really would inspire change, and that Americans, or at least the man's fervent supporters, would put aside childish name calling and closed minded partisanship and try to reach across the proverbial aisle and attempt to fix this country, instead of constantly bickering and demonizing those with differing opinions.
Sure, these are heavy issues, and passionate arguments might follow, but perhaps we could all finally recognize that yes, despite the inherit flaws that plague the human condition, everyone involved in politics really does have the best interests for America at heart, and we should respect dissenting voices because, at worse, they would test and strengthen our own arguments.
For too long the only thing politicians and the glib, sensationalist media has inspired is apathy, through smug talking heads splitting hairs over pointless soundbites and empty rhetoric. There are real issues that can, should, and must be discussed as thoughtful adults that can try and objectively see both sides of each argument, and know there are no perfect answers.
For one stupid, fleeting second, I hoped Obama could inspire this.
"The righties are animals"
lololololololllollololllooololol
Posted by quitstaringatme at July 31, 2008 11:48 AM
comment #17
Gaydos says ...
Jeff: Not to sound like your wise Step Brother, but I cautioned you here last week about putting your foot into political cowpies. You tend to sound like the enemy and I know that's not your intent.
Last week you were essentially justifying waterboarding and this week it's McCarthyism. Neither of which you intend to justify.
That's why, last week, before this brouhaha, I suggested you stick to movie talk.
I DON'T REALLY MEAN THAT...(ha!)
(I dig your passion and you were prescient on Obama as Damned Fine Candidate), BUT I'M JUST SAYIN'.....there's a pattern here, dude.
Also, this judgemental thing ("Don't laugh at movies I don't find funny damnit!!!!!" "Don't hire actors who I disagree with politically!!!") that blogging kicks up ain't the roost for better angels I know you're always lookin' for. Resist the impulse to preach, especially if it involves denying people civil liberties.
William Burroughs once suggested that we all be implanted with small but deadly explosive devices that will be detonated the moment we utter the words "I AM RIGHT!!!"
Posted by Gaydos at July 31, 2008 11:48 AM
comment #18
George Prager says ...
"It's a comedy called "An American Carol", in which a Michael Moore type is taught a lesson by three ghosts of great Americans. The "Moore" character has his epiphany when he is taken by George Washington (played by Voight) to the WTC on 09-11-01. Read the article for a more complete synopsis."
Wow. I'm in awe. It reminds me of Frank Capra's screenplay for Gore Vidal's THE BEST MAN:
"For one thing Capra wanted to add a climatic scene where Henry Fonda's character, who is losing the vote at the Democratic convention, makes an appearance on the delegate floor dressed as Abraham Lincoln and makes an inspiring speech."
Posted by George Prager at July 31, 2008 11:49 AM
comment #19
Michael says ...
A political jellyfish? To come out with this op-ed...in the time of our Lord Savior Barack Obama (who will, I'll say it again, win in a walk)? In Hollywood??????
Call him crazy, tone-deaf, stupid, oblivious, tilting against windmills...but not a jellyfish. Sorry, but that doesn't compute.
Posted by Michael at July 31, 2008 12:00 PM
comment #20
T. S. Idiot says ...
If Wells wasn't so reckless, this site wouldn't be so much fun.
Posted by T. S. Idiot at July 31, 2008 12:01 PM
comment #21
SpinDozer says ...
'everyone involved in politics really does have the best interests for America at heart'
Really?
lololololololllollololllooololol
Posted by SpinDozer at July 31, 2008 12:08 PM
comment #22
Jerome says ...
Don't worry Jeff, he'll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes. Maybe his own daughter will smack him down. I hope so.
Posted by Jerome at July 31, 2008 12:29 PM
comment #23
roanokemaroon says ...
Wells said: "But I think the righties just seized on that one paragraph because that's what they do -- they seize on anything they can beat you over the head with, and to hell with context and intent on the writer's part."
As opposed to the lefties? Yeah, they never use the "100 years" quote out of context or intent. Both sides do the EXACT SAME THING, Jeff.
Posted by roanokemaroon at July 31, 2008 12:31 PM
comment #24
bb says ...
Jeff, I suggest you simply update the post explaining that what you said may have been "inartful". I'm sure everybody will be fine with that.
In any event, your visitor count has to have spiked a great deal. To go from a typical 20-30 to 110 comments has to help in some way.
Posted by bb at July 31, 2008 12:35 PM
comment #25
Joshua Mooney says ...
Man, who fucking cares if Jeff wants Voight to be blacklisted? Me, I got right away that this wasn't a call to action, but merely Jeff expressing a personal opinion, and so I find his explanation/expansion on the matter entirely unecessary, but in any case, Jeff's not a producer, director, studio exec or Walter fucking Winchell. I mean, is the idea that Jeff's post is going to somehow damage Voight's career propects? Give me a fucking break. Poor Jon Voight. Wells has signed his death warrant now, boy! He'll never work again. The guy's fucking history anyway, who cares? I personally get a kick out of Jeff's passion, even when I disagree with him, which is often, and I'd hardly call him "reckless," by the way. That's way too extreme. He's a cat with opinons and a shit-list ("in theory"). Just like everyone else in this world. I have a shit-list, but it's limited to those people who've done me wrong personally. It isn't as long as many might imagine, and I suspect that there may come a day when I'm able to forgive the fucking lot of them. Or not. P.S., Jeff: Nice backhanded "compliment" to Adolph Menjou. I'm kidding. It wasn't very subtle. What a lot of people don't know is that Menjou was from Pittsburgh. His father was a restaurant owner who catered to the steel-oil-and-coke men, AKA the "robber barons."
Posted by Joshua Mooney at July 31, 2008 12:36 PM
comment #26
T. S. Idiot says ...
Glenn Kenny was too modest to prove link to his kinder, gentler tweaking of Wells, but HEites may be amused by the accompanying comments and be thankful "bill" boycotts this site: http://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some_came_running/2008/07/jeffrey-wells-l.html
Posted by T. S. Idiot at July 31, 2008 12:41 PM
comment #27
Geoff says ...
I'd also like to say that his original post on this issue was perfectly fine.
Some people who post here need to be blacklisted.
Posted by Geoff at July 31, 2008 12:42 PM
comment #28
SpinDozer says ...
'Both sides do the EXACT SAME THING, Jeff.'
And one side does it considerably more often than the other. Say 33% to 10%.
Posted by SpinDozer at July 31, 2008 12:54 PM
comment #29
D.Z. says ...
quit: >"The righties are animals" >lololololololllollololllooololol
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080731/ap_on_re_us/california_budget
roanoke: "Yeah, they never use the "100 years" quote out of context or intent."
So it's out of context, even though McCain keeps flip-flopping on Maliki's request?
Posted by D.Z. at July 31, 2008 1:15 PM
comment #30
Richardson says ...
"But I think the righties just seized on that one paragraph because that's what they do"
That's all well and good, but half the leftists who post here, or the ones who responded in that thread, thought that your language seemed to suggest the blacklist as well. You even mentioned your left-leaning friend who thought it was a poorly written expression of what you actually meant.
I'm not disagreeing with you about folks on the right (nor with people pointing out folks on the left are capable of the same thing), but you didn't exactly make it hard for them. It's not like bending "I was part of the original coalition which funded the Internet" into "AL GORE CLAIMS HE INVENTED INTERNET! LOL WHAT A LUNE!"
Posted by Richardson at July 31, 2008 1:18 PM
comment #31
D.Z. says ...
Oh, and that young apathetic voter who wants marijuana legalized can sign https://secure2.convio.net/dpa/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=209
and urge their rep to show their support for Barney Frank's new bill, assuming they don't still believe participation matters...
Posted by D.Z. at July 31, 2008 1:20 PM
comment #32
SaveFarris says ...
"And one side does it considerably more often than the other. "
"Greeted as Liberators"
"I don't think much about Bin Ladin"
"Mission Accomplished"
"You don't introduce new products in August"
"Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran"
"Macacca!"
"Falafel!"
You're absolutely right ... but not in the way you think.
Posted by SaveFarris at July 31, 2008 1:22 PM
comment #33
Richardson says ...
Are you suggesting there's a context where "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" wasn't a monumentally stupid thing for a presidential candidate to say?
Posted by Richardson at July 31, 2008 1:27 PM
comment #34
D.Z. says ...
Farris: "You're absolutely right ... but not in the way you think."
Kerry didn't get hurt that badly; Cleland is a Saddam sympathizer; a crippled vet's the reason we lost the war; feminazis and black football players; I did not have sex with that woman; Hillary-care; autism isn't real; Michael J. Fox is faking, etc.
Posted by D.Z. at July 31, 2008 1:27 PM
comment #35
SpinDozer says ...
"You're absolutely right ... but not in the way you think."
50% is a huge improvement over your average.
Posted by SpinDozer at July 31, 2008 1:33 PM
comment #36
bildeaux says ...
I'm as lefty as most in the entertainment business, but how is what Jeff is suggesting any different than the whole Monica Goodling scandal and the hiring practice at the Justice Department?
Posted by bildeaux at July 31, 2008 1:34 PM
comment #37
RDP says ...
Clearly what Wells meant was: '''Jon Voight is free to speak his mind, but he shouldn't have his feelings hurt just because some people don't want to see him in a film or put him in a film when he speaks out. You know, freedom is a two-way street.'
Posted by RDP at July 31, 2008 1:46 PM
comment #38
Mgmax says ...
I wore my red crocs all day, just to defy the Stalinist rule of Wells.
Posted by Mgmax at July 31, 2008 1:59 PM
comment #39
econeywaaa says ...
I'd consider it a badge of honor to be criticized by those morons at Powerline.
Posted by econeywaaa at July 31, 2008 6:52 PM
comment #40
Mgmax says ...
You and Dan Rather.
Posted by Mgmax at July 31, 2008 8:10 PM
comment #41
poe says ...
"My error was in admitting such impulses exist within me. But they exist within all of us."
Don't drag the rest of us down into the swamp with you, Jeff. Not everyone is driven by vengeance to bankrupt--at a minimum--those who disagree with us politically--whether in reality or vicariously through "fun" fictional speculation.
This whole episode has said a lot more about you than about Jon Voight or any fictional producer in Hollywood. It's not a pretty picture.
Posted by poe at July 31, 2008 9:43 PM
comment #42
poe says ...
"Jerome says ...
Don't worry Jeff, he'll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes. Maybe his own daughter will smack him down. I hope so."
Your admirers are not as clumsy as you are in saying what they mean, Jeff. You keep good company. Wouldn't your grandmother be proud?
Posted by poe at July 31, 2008 9:53 PM
comment #43
Cassy2008 says ...
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Posted by Cassy2008 at August 1, 2008 2:49 AM
comment #44
dizzledawg says ...
Jeff: Your suggestion is absolutely McCarthyism. You say Hollywood directors should not hire Voigt because of his political views. The Hollywood Ten were not hired because of their political views.
You cannot rationalize a difference. Liberals astonishingly do not see the irony in their hatred of conservatives, and their blacklisting of them in Hollywood, and the hatred and blacklisting against leftists in the '50s.
Posted by dizzledawg at August 2, 2008 1:08 PM
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