During a recent interview on Director's Roundtable by the Hollywood Reporter, Denzel Washington discussed the unrealistic perceptions of filmmaking held by some people in that industry. Mr. Washington gave a very frank, and refreshing, opinion on what a privilege it was to be a filmmaker and how it's nowhere near as difficult as sending your son to a war zone:
“People talk about the difficulty of making a movie and I’m like, send your son to Iraq, that’s difficult.”
This interview created large waves in the wake of Meryl Streep’s speech at the Golden Globes.
Mrs. Streep spoke about the legitimate dangers of a Trump presidency before going way too far and characterizing the popularity of NFL and martial arts as less valuable than the theater. Effectively, the actress displayed the exact reason why the majority of Hollywood is correctly perceived as out-of-touch with the majority of Americans.
Reason for Denzel's comments
For the record, Denzel's comments were from a few months ago, in regards to Tom Cruise’s ill-advised analogy for filmmaking: “In 2013, Tom Cruise likened his work on “Oblivion” which filmed in Louisiana, Iceland, New York, and California; to a tour to Afghanistan,” he said Yikes, Tom. I am no PR expert but I am positive that Mr. Cruise probably should have kept that one to himself.
Bottom-line
Of course, everyone is talking about what a relief it is to see a down-to-earth movie star willing to speak their mind. While I definitely agree with Denzel Washington, he is one of the best actors alive who has never gotten full of himself, the fact that he has to address this absurdity illustrates a larger problem.
Everything in the United States is being pushed to the extreme and there is no room for discussion about the middle. The back-and-forth usage of "filmmaking vs. WAR" comparisons is freaking nauseating. I am sure making films is terribly difficult. Fighting in the United States military is undoubtedly taxing & has no equal in terms of importance for our nation.
But don’t forget about the UPS guy that gets up and makes deliveries day after day either. Everybody has a part to play. Cut out the drama and in the words of Bill Belichick, a man that I absolutely despise, “Do your job”.
