David Carr‘s N.Y. Times profile of Mo’Nique (up today but dated 1.10) oozes admiration for her stand-offish attitude about making the rounds and doing the Oscar dance. “I got my talk show to take care of,” “My performance is my campaign,” etc. She stands her ground, he down wit dat.
If Carr was a tad more squinty-eyed he might ask Mo’Nique about (a) those stories that she’s demanded to be paid for showing up at Precious promotional events, or (b) that “what does it mean financially?” question she asked Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson on her BET talk show, or (c) why she’s blowing off the N.Y. Film Critics Circle awards event next Monday. (Nobody believes that she can’t make it due to her taping schedule or a family vacation.)
At the very least you’d think he’d raise an eyebrow about why, during his interview with her, she was “accessorized by a bathrobe, a headband and the Precious director Lee Daniels.” Trust me — Daniels sat in because this was an important interview, and he and the Lionsgate publicists don’t trust what Mo’Nique might say on her own. He was there to positively augment and steer her comments in the right direction. You’d think that Carr would at least take note of this, but no.
“Mo’Nique and Mr. Daniels are a pair,” he notes, “cracking each other up into near helpless laughter at the smallest provocation, and are particularly amused by the keening of the Oscar press because she hasn’t paid proper tribute to the needs of the Oscar-industrial complex. ‘Deny her a nomination and teach her a lesson,’ harrumphed Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere.” I wasn’t harrumphing. Not in my head, at least. I was saying “Yo, why not? Smack her down for the fun of it. Give like you get.”
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