Jane Campion

In this op-ed, Natasha Mulenga explores the white feminist implications of Jane Campion's comment about the Williams sisters at the 2022 Critics Choice ...

Where did Jane Campion find the audacity? “And Serena and Venus you are such marvels. However, you do not play against the guys."

Jane Campion has "challenged" Sam Elliott to a "shootout" over his "Power of the Dog" comments.

In a far gentler rebuttal last week, Benedict Cumberbatch dubbed the “Ghost Rider” actor’s remarks “very odd.” Campion found “The Big Lebowski” actor’s comments on her New Zealand background hypocritical given the popularity of spaghetti Westerns in the US, explaining: “You know, like, if you think about Sergio Leone movies, where were they shot? “We’re dealing in a fictional world, we’re dealing in a mythic universe.”

Jane Campion addressed Sam Elliott's comments about her film while speaking with awards analyst Scott Feinberg on THR's Awards Chatter podcast.

Cumberbatch — who is nominated for an Oscar for his role in the film — alluded to Elliott’s comments during a recent BAFTA Film Sessions panel. So I think to deconstruct that through Phil, to look at that, it’s not a history lesson.” The West is a myth, it doesn’t exist — Annie Proulx said that — and there’s a lot of room on the range to explore that myth. In recent days, Power of the Dog stars Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons have also given their take on Elliott’s criticism. Elliott’s criticism extended to Campion, whom he called a “brilliant director,” but questioned “what a woman from New Zealand would know about the American West.” Elliott also questioned why the film was shot in New Zealand but set in Montana, and presented like “this is the way it was.” He continued, “That fucking rubbed me the wrong way, pal. The myth is that they were these macho men out there with the cattle.

"I probably won't know what to think about this for another five years," the writer-director of the noir western says of all the attention her film has ...

But when the film shut down at the beginning of the pandemic, Campion rewrote the scene to emphasize the rope and the bond it symbolized between the two men. Addressing Venus and Serena Williams while accepting her award, Campion said it was “an honor to be in the room with the Williams sisters,” before adding, “and you know, Serena and Venus, you are such marvels. “We’re just filmmakers and artists, and I don’t think the gender aspect is the most important aspect of what we do. “That was the case with ‘The Piano.’ It took me five years to realize, ‘Oh, that’s pretty unusual to get that reception for a film.’” She laughs. Campion, then, has relished moviegoers’ questions about “The Power of the Dog” and its place in her career. “To me, that’s the real truth of it. “It feels like a long time ago, and, of course, it is, so all the attention feels meaningful,” Campion says. “She provides the tools so you feel like you’re connecting to the character in body and spirit,” Cumberbatch tells me. “And then she patiently waits for you to do the work. “It’s my nature to keep honing what I love, and here it has come to something — or I’m just lucky this time.” She laughs. You invest in the story so much more deeply when you have that trust in them.” Technique is fine, but Campion wants her actors to feel relaxed and confident in inhabiting their characters so audiences can sink into the story alongside them and believe every moment.

"Venus and Serena, you're such marvels. However, you don't play against the guys, like I have to," The Kiwi director said while accepting an award.

"Their accomplishments are titanic and inspiring. The last thing I would ever want to do is minimise remarkable women," Campion said. I did not intend to devalue these two legendary Black women and world class athletes," Campion said in a statement on Tuesday.

New Zealand award-winning director, Jane Campion, has issued an apology to tennis star sisters Venus and Serena Williams for a "thoughtless comment" made in ...

I did not intend to devalue these two legendary Black women and world-class athletes." She said: "I'd also just like to give my love out to my fellow – the guys. Campion has issued a statement apologising for the comment: "I made a thoughtless comment equating what I do in the film world with all that Serena Williams and Venus Williams have achieved.