Jane Campion called Sam Elliot a “bitch” after he criticized her Oscar-nominated film The Power of the Dog for its portrayal of cowboys and the Wild West.
Elliot, whose cinematic legacy is inextricably linked to Westerns, said he took the film’s portrayal of the American West as “fucking personal”.
He called it “a piece of shit” and compared the cowboys in Campion’s film to Chippendales dancers who “wear bow ties and nothing else”, adding, “They run around with pants and no shirts on. There are all these hints of homosexuality throughout the film.”
Elliot said of Campion, “What the hell is that woman doing out there? [New Zealand] know about the American West?
Speaking to Variety ahead of the Directors Guild of America Awards, where she won the Feature Film Award, Campion said, “I’m sorry, he was a bit B-*-*-*-*. He’s not a cowboy; he is an actor.
“The West is a mythical space, and there is a lot of space in the range. I think it’s a bit sexist… I consider myself a creator and I think he first sees me as a woman or something less. And I don’t appreciate it.”
Benedict Cumberbatch in the movie Power of the Dog
(AP)
The film’s protagonist Benedict Cumberbatch and his distributor Netflix have also previously responded to Elliott’s criticism.
Dog Power was nominated for 12 Oscars, including Best Picture and Directing for Jane Campion.
Read The Independent’s four-star review here.