Actor Paul Dano has finally spoken out after Quentin Tarantino criticized his performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s seminal 2007 film “There Will Be Blood.” Tarantino also called Dano – himself an Emmy, Golden Globe and Indie Spirit Award nominee – “the weakest actor at SAG”.
Before the 20th anniversary screening of “Little Miss Sunshine” at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Dano was asked about Tarantino’s comment, but was sharply rebuked by co-star Toni Collette, who said: “Are we really going there? Fuck that guy! He must have been drunk… It was just confusing. Who does that?”
Dano never publicly commented on Tarantino’s disagreement and said that all the tributes to his work on social media speak for themselves.
“It was really cool,” Dano said. Diversity. “I’m incredibly grateful that the world spoke up for me, so I didn’t have to do that.”
“Little Miss Sunshine” directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris were also involved in the Tarantino controversy. Dayton called Tarantino’s comments an “embarrassment”, adding: “I can only imagine that the rawness of his performance made Tarantino uncomfortable. He could not be easily filed away.”
Faris said, “You know what was interesting was people coming forward to defend Paul. Right away… he’s loved by a lot of people. He’s very smart.”
Tarantino caused a stir about two months ago by appearing on Bret Easton Ellis’ podcast to discuss his ranking of the best films of the 21st century. The director revealed that he would have chosen “There Will Be Blood” as his first or second choice, but in his opinion Dano’s performance moved it to fifth place on his list.
“Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander. But it’s also obviously not a two-hander,” Tarantino told Ellis, referencing Deno and the film’s lead actor Daniel Day Lewis. “[Dano]is weak sauce, man. He’s the weak sister. (Daniel) is eating him (alive). Austin Butler would have been amazing in that role. He’s not this weak, vulnerable, interesting guy. Daniel Day-Lewis shows he doesn’t need a strong foil. The movie needs it. He doesn’t need anything. It’s supposed to be a two-hander and it’s not! … You put him with the weakest actor at SAG? The world’s weakest. Limp dick?”
Tarantino then dismissed Shedd and the two other cast members, saying “I don’t care” about Owen Wilson or Matthew Lillard as actors. Lillard responded to the controversy at GalaxyCon in December, saying, “It hurts your feelings. It sucks. And you wouldn’t say that to Tom Cruise. You wouldn’t say that to someone who is a top-tier actor in Hollywood.”
Tarantino’s candor immediately backfired, resulting in increased industry and fan support for Dano and his talents – including a knock from George Clooney, who accepted an award from AARP earlier this year and said he would be “honored to work with Dano” and Tarantino disagreed with other actors.
“Little Miss Sunshine” will host a 20th anniversary screening Wednesday night here in Park City, a remarkable performance as the box office hit and Oscar winner that redefined indie film success. stay tuned Diversity For more coverage of the event.
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