After Begin Again director John Carney’s candid comments about Keira Knightley’s acting went viral, Hollywood has taken to Twitter to defend the British actress.
Update: John Carney has offered a heartfelt apology via Twitter. He writes that he has already apologized to Keira Knightley personally, but wanted to “publicly, and unreservedly apologize” for what he himself calls “arrogant and disrespectful” behavior.
Here is his apology in full:
From a director who feels like a complete idiot. pic.twitter.com/vfO8m4U2Hl
— John Carney (@jayceefactory) June 1, 2016
Original story
In case you’ve somehow not heard the story, here’s the sitch:
Over the weekend, The Independent released an interview with Irish director John Carney, in which he had some harsh words for former colleague Keira Knightley.
The pair worked together on the 2013 musical rom-com Begin Again, where Knightley starred opposite Mark Ruffalo as a promising young folk singer recovering from a broken heart.
Carney evidently wasn’t satisfied with Knightley’s performance, claiming she “always has an entourage that follow her everywhere so it’s very hard to get any real work done.”
Going on to praise both Ruffalo and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine’s performances, Carney said, “I think that that’s what you need as an actor; you need to not be afraid to find out who you really are when the camera’s rolling. Keira’s thing is to hide who you are and I don’t think you can be an actor and do that.”
“I like to work with curious, proper film actors as opposed to movie stars,” he continued. “I don’t want to rubbish Keira, but you know it’s hard being a film actor and it requires a certain level of honesty and self-analysis that I don’t think she’s ready for yet and I certainly don’t think she was ready for on that film.”
Carney concluded, “I learned that I’ll never make a film with supermodels again.”
Now, Carney clearly had a frustrating experience working with Knightley on this film, and his distinction between ‘proper film actors’ and ‘movie stars’ may be legitimate in theory. Begin Again certainly wasn’t the great critical hit that Carney’s Once had been, and at the time of the movie’s release, Keira Knightley herself admitted that she struggled with the material, not being a singer-songwriter herself and having no great appreciation for music.
“It’s terrible. I know nothing about music whatsoever,” she told The Guardian. “I was always more into reading and drama. I was such a geek. … There’s often a huge link between music and memory. And I’ve got such a bad memory.”
But the issue Hollywood professionals have with Carney’s comments seem to have less to do with Knightley’s specific performance, and more about the fact that Carney made these comments at all.
Ava DuVernay certainly makes a great point about why Carney should have stayed silent:
There are actors that directors won't call again for whatever reason. But don't disparage them in the press. C'mon. https://t.co/piMhqwyWIX
— Ava DuVernay (@AVAETC) May 29, 2016
Both industry professionals and notable journalists have joined DuVernay in speaking out against Carney. Here are some of their reactions:
Have never worked with Carney or Knightley,but I will say it's very difficult to bare your soul if you don't trust/feel safe w your director
— Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) May 29, 2016
John Carney has made three consecutive romantic comedy-dramas about musicians, but it's Keira Knightley who's afraid to take risks? Okay.
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) May 30, 2016
Michael Bay slagging Kate Beckinsale and John Carney slamming Keira Knightley, you're on notice, bros.
— R+L=Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis) May 29, 2016
Jesus. I'm sorry John Carney can't see how wonderful Keira Knightley was in his own movie, but play nice. pic.twitter.com/ulBvFr2TTP
— Guy Lodge (@GuyLodge) May 29, 2016
But John Carney's seen #BeginAgain right? And realizes that both Keira's voice & vulnerability perfectly complement the character & film?
— Meg Masters (@MegMasters) May 29, 2016
All the same, there are some that find Carney’s candidness refreshing.
Kinda gleefully shocked at a Hollywood type actually being honest, but also confused bc Keira is great in this film
— Kevin Fallon (@kpfallon) May 29, 2016
What do you think? Should John Carney have held back his criticism of Keira Knightley out of professional courtesy? Or was he right to share his negative experience?
John Carney rose to international fame with Once in 2007, and this year he’s coming out with a musical drama titled Sing Street.
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Write a comment below or submit an article to Hypable.