This year seemed destined to be a big awards year for writer-director Paul Schrader. After decades of fantastic movies, the filmmaker might have made his best one yet with 2018’s “First Reformed.” The film, which debuted earlier this year to rave reviews, has been steadily gaining Oscar momentum as it wins numerous awards over the fall. However, with one post on Facebook, there’s the chance that Schrader might have sabotaged his own chances for the coveted gold trophy in 2019.
In a now-deleted post on Facebook, the filmmaker discussed how he was approached to direct a new film. He was sent a script, which he said is “very very very good.” But as he read the script, he says that it was clear that the film needed to star Kevin Spacey as the lead. However, as you might imagine given Spacey’s recent controversies, the producer of the film was not so open to that idea, telling Schrader that hiring the actor “is not possible.”
That’s when the writer-director decided to address the recent #MeToo controversy surrounding the actor, as well as a general statement regarding others in Spacey’s predicament. Schrader said, “I believe there are crimes in life but no crimes in art. Spacey should be punished for any crimes his actual person created. But not for art. All art is a crime. Punishing him as an artist only diminishes art. Put Celine in jail, put Pound in jail, punish Wilde and Bruce if you must, but do not censor their art.”
READ MORE: Script For Kevin Spacey’s ‘Gore’ Biopic Shows Why Netflix Abandoned The Just-Wrapped Film
Regardless of whether or not you agree or disagree with the filmmaker’s sentiments, the truth is that Schrader’s comment is definitely going to jeopardize his immediate future as he campaigns for an Oscar. This is the time of year when filmmakers like Schrader parade around at various events, give interviews, and generally shake hands and kiss babies as they attempt to remind every Academy member how great they are, before voting begins.
Unfortunately for the filmmaker, this type of comment is exactly the type of thing that those campaigning for Oscars would normally like to avoid. However, we’ll just have to see how/if the comments about Spacey affect Schrader’s awards season. Either way, “First Reformed” is great and should probably be a film everyone should check out.
Here’s the full FB post (via Will Mavity on Twitter):
“I was sent a script yesterday. A very very very good script which screamed Kevin Spacey for the lead. I told the producer I’d direct it if they would make it with Kevin. The producer responded that that was not possible. I believe there are crimes in life but no crimes in art. Spacey should be punished for any crimes his actual person created. But not for art. All art is a crime. Punishing him as an artist only diminishes art. Put Celine in jail, put Pound in jail, punish Wilde and Bruce if you must, but do not censor their art.”
Paul Schrader doing his very best to shoot his Oscar campaign in the foot pic.twitter.com/M2wBXPU8tv
— Will Mavity (@mavericksmovies) November 30, 2018