The Power of the Dog director Jane Campion has hit back at recent criticism of the film by actor Sam Elliott. Variety reports that while speaking at the DGA awards, Campion was asked about Elliott’s recent comments and let’s just say she didn’t hold back.
“I’m sorry, he was being a little bit of a B-I-T-C-H. He’s not a cowboy; he’s an actor,” Campion said. “The West is a mythic space, and there’s a lot of room on the range. I think it’s a little bit sexist.” Elliott made his criticism of Campion’s film while appearing on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast. The 1883 star called the Netflix movie a “piece of shit”, criticising Campion’s decision to film in New Zealand, and he also took issue with Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance.
“Cumberbatch never got out of his fucking chaps. He had two pairs of chaps — a woolly pair and a leather pair,” he said. “And every fucking time he would walk in from somewhere — he never was on a horse, maybe once — he’d walk into the fucking house, storm up the fucking stairs, go lay in his bed in his chaps, and play his banjo. It’s like, what the fuck?”
Elliott also took issue with the film’s homosexual themes. “That’s what all these f*cking cowboys in that movie looked like,” he continued. “They’re all running around in chaps and no shirts. There’s all these allusions to homosexuality throughout the f*cking movie.”
Elliott has come under fire for these particular remarks, with some labelling his comments homophobic. The film’s stars have taken turns defending the drama movie, with Jesse Plemmons being the latest to come forward.
“I know there are different layers to that,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “Not everyone has to like it, I’ll say that. That’s fine.” Unfortunately for Elliott, one group who do like the film quite a bit, is the various awards panels, and The Power of the Dog triumphed at the BAFTAs.