Hugh Grant leads the way in being absolutely sick of tonight’s Oscars
A pre-show interview between Hugh Grant and Ashley Graham produced the most watchably awful moment of the show so far
Aux News Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant has always been a trendsetter–never clearer than earlier tonight, when he made some bold strides to be Absolutely Sick Of This Shit at the 2023 Oscars well ahead of anybody else in attendance at tonight’s awards.
Grant was trotting along the red carpet earlier this evening, when he got roped into an interview with pre-show presenter Ashley Graham. Who, while just trying to do her damn job, was then subjected to 80 of the most uncomfortable seconds of TV we’ve seen in recent memory–at least, since last year’s Oscars–as it became rapidly, and abundantly, clear that Hugh Grant was not in the mood to field any questions, and honestly seemed kind of baffled that he was being asked to.
For instance: What does Hugh Grant enjoy about the Oscars? Very little, was the clear reply, as Grant paused for a long moment before expressing that it made for decent people watching. (He also made a comment about “the vanity fair,” which Graham seems to have interpreted as a reference to a party thrown by the publication of the same name.)
And so it went: Hugh Grant does not care who wins tonight. Hugh Grant does not care who he’s wearing. (“My suit,” he calmly replied, as provided by “my tailor.”) Hugh Grant does not seem to think it’s especially neat that he was in Glass Onion for “about three seconds,” shooting down Graham’s questions about the fun of the movie with a polite but curt, “I’m barely in it.” Graham, desperate, all but begs Grant to play along, but her “But you had fun?” on the Rian Johnson film was deflected masterfully with a very British “Almost.”
It was all very Simpsons meme, “You can actually pinpoint the second when her heart rips in half” stuff, as Graham, on-air, visibly gives up with a defeated “Okay, alright… Okay.” We’d call it cruel–because it genuinely kind of was–but it was also actually kind of impressive; some of the most brutal red-carpet-fu we’ve observed in some time.
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He seemed fine to me.
I think he correctly guesses that the person asking him questions barely knew he was or cared what he was doing. If I did the interview it would have just been all Paddington 2 related
Somebody should have explained to the interviewer that he’s an actor who was in a number of popular movies a long time ago, and he’s here because a lot of people in the movie industry attend the Oscars. That would have cleared things up.
He also has a new movie coming out soon so there’s that
Ashley Graham is 35. She absolutely knows who he is.
The honesty was refreshing, imo.
Could Ms. Graham been a little more thoughtful? Sure… although considering a Red Carpet you have to try to remember 4-5 thoughtful things about 300 people, a little slack can be given. (Given the chaotic nature, I can forgive the ‘thinking Vanity Fair is talking about Vanity Fair.’)
Mr. Grant has been in this business for decades. If an interview isn’t great, then YOU elevate it…. and if you can’t elevate it, and you want to be an asshole, then be a Harrison Ford-type and be charismatic while being a dick.
Mr. Grant came across as the type to send a glass of water back because there’s ‘too much ice’ in it.
Is it just me (don’t answer that) or is the AV Club really tactically reframing it’s coverage of, for want of a better word, “celebrities” in a way that feels insidious and like, pro-gossip rag?Hugh Grant does actually have a pretty justifiable scepticism towards the integrity of the entertainment press and it’s not wholly incorrect for me to suggest that the difference between red carpet candid journalism and tabloid muckraking is a kind of sliding scale that might cause him to be overcautious about who he engages with.There are commercial and career considerations that go into someone’s decision to attend the Oscars and Hugh Grant may very well just be trying to fulfill certain professional or personal obligations, and he might very well be hoping to do so while avoiding any meaningful engagement with seamy or superficial journalism.Honestly if you told me I was going to be interviewed by a fashion model on the red carpet I’d probably also go “well that’s not real journalism worth engaging with”.Likewise if I read AV Club coverage of such an incident really.
Look, I clicked and even commented on the red carpet post but that doesn’t mean it’s not super bizarre to see this site posting about, like, celebrity outfits??? It just didn’t used to be like this here.
If it helps, I stopped thinking of this place as The AV Club a long time ago and now just trudge over here a few times a week to see if there have been any interesting blogs posted in between all the garbage. As a trashy pop-culture/gossip/news-aggregation website, it’s one of the less terrible ones. As a remnant of one of the jewels of the pre-social media internet, it’s an absolutely depressing travesty. Best not to think of it in those terms.
Genuinely the main value of this website for me at this point is that it still attracts a reasonably high standard of commenter. I glance over the articles on my way to the comments quite honestly.
Fuckin’ right? Hey, remember when there used to be long-form pieces on movies, and not just “Ellie Kemper attended a function that was founded ages ago by a racist and there we bet she has a fuckin’ Klan hood in her wardrobe” or “Gosh. How bad is it Florence Pugh is tooootally jealous of Olivia Wilde being the one who gets drain Harry Styles’ balls thrice a day on set”?
They’ve always done red-carpet looks newswires, even in the old days.
Hugh’s got a big budget movie coming out in a couple weeks. He may have been told he had to attend on the off chance the press asked about D&D(doubtful)
It’s quite likely he’s there for promotional purposes yeah. Even if they don’t ask him about the film, there can be a perceived return on investment in having him maintain a profile.I mostly put that part about “people have all kinds of reasons for attending the Oscars” just to head off the almost-inevitable “if he’s not going to get into it, he shouldn’t have gone” comments to he honest. Very few people are at the Oscars for the good times alone, haha.
Exactly. Actors go to the Golden Globes for a good time because they have an open bar
Can confirm. A friend in the industry (not someone famous, someone behind the scenes) says the only things worth going to are the ones that serve alcohol. And even those can get tedious.
He’s doing a Dumb & Dumber film?
I would absolutely pay to see that movie.
Seems there’s a lot of stuff here that should be on Jez
“Honestly if you told me I was going to be interviewed by a fashion model on the red carpet I’d probably also go ‘well that’s not real journalism worth engaging with’”Okay…but that’s super rude? She might be a “fashion model on the red carpet,” but she’s also a human person, so at the very least you could speak to her with some basic level of respect.
Do you think he was disrespectful? Do you think he owes her his unpaid time?This is not the same as when someone is rude to wait staff or whatever. This is a person on the red carpet grabbing peoples’ attention, bringing them on camera, and then trying to get them to generate content (which, admittedly, he did). To anyone who’s not already totally enthusiastic about participating in the glitz and glamour charade, these red carpet reporters are a bit closer to the foot in door harrassment journalism than I think some people are really acknowledging.You say it’s rude, and the article even calls it cruel, but I dunno: all he did was limit his participation to the bare minimum. He still participated, and once again, this is a person with some very good reasons to be sceptical about entertainment journalism, and who has very specific negative experiences from people who were, technically, just doing their job.
I don’t think he owed her unpaid time, but he gave her the time anyway. If he didn’t want to give her the time, he could have politely said, “Oh no thank you, I’m going to go on inside, have a nice night.” But he chose to stand there. So talk to her with some kind of kindness and/or normal human respect. The basic level of decency we owe anyone we’re talking to who isn’t harming us.For the record, I don’t agree with the article that it was “cruel.” Just a bit rude.
Well, the point I’m making is that he probably made the least-worst, most pragmatic choice available.Its been identified elsewhere that he very likely didn’t want to be at the Oscars at all and is probably there for some professional obligation, which invariably involves giving time to people you’d rather not (and I say again: this is a person who has had their life upended in very specific, intrusive and harmful ways by the press, so the whole environment may have felt more as though he was in the presence of potential abusers than simply a fun social exercise).He made the choice to give her some insubstantial content, and he’s only there to give content, even though he’d apparently rather not be there at all. I think that the polite declination you’re proposing would probably have seemed like a worse idea in the moment, in terms of giving the interviewer what she wanted and fulfilling his professional obligation. Maybe it was the wrong choice but I don’t think it’s necessarily the case that he was being rude. He may have determined this as the maximum amount of politeness he was able to give.
“He may have determined this as the maximum amount of politeness he was able to give”I mean yeah…but if the maximum amount of politeness is basically zero, that’s what we call rude. lol I’m not trying to split hairs here, and I get that it didn’t appear rude to everybody and that’s fine, but I mean if I can be rude and just say “that was the maximum amount of politeness I was able to give in that moment” that doesn’t make it not rude just because I said that. I just don’t think I understand the hesitance to just call it rude. I’m not saying he’s Caligula. He’s not the worst person in the world (though other commenters have mentioned that he’s known for being a dick generally). I’m saying that in the moment he behaved rudely. It’s not calling for the death penalty to call a spade a spade.But it’s days later now and I’ve already given this too much attention. It wasn’t that big of a deal, so I’m not sure why it’s turned into one. Society just seems to have a really hard time calling things what they are these days.
I dunno, to me it’s like calling someone rude because they don’t give their ex more than a polite smile at a party. That’s not rude, it’s just… not being generous. Lack of generosity is not rudeness. It’s not rude not to be forthcoming if you’re uncomfortable.Hugh Grant had his phone bugged by tabloid celebrity journalists, he had his medical records leaked by tabloid celebrity journalists, he had his flat broken into by people hired by tabloid celebrity journalists, and he had his car tracked by tabloid celebrity journalists.I just don’t think it’s rude if he decides not to be generous to entertainment industry journalists who he’s uncertain about.
“Honestly if you told me I was going to be interviewed by a fashion model on the red carpet I’d probably also go “well that’s not real journalism worth engaging with”.”
And then a reasonable person would say “You’re being paid to present a fucking award, how about not being a cunt all your fucking life?”
I think that is one of the advantages that AVClub had when it was out of Chicago: The writers were not part of Hollywood. But now that they are run out of LA, they all want to be part of the scene.
It’s not just you. The AV Club pretty consistently sides that way.
The club has become click-bait and spon-con. There are a few folks who remain and try to paricipate in meaningul dialogue, but most have justifiably moved on. I see more and more people who just come here to insult members and start shit. Sign of the times.
“UGH we’re so SICK of the Oscars!” They whine as they post endless articles and try to manufacture drama for clicks for the next 4 days.
I am conflicted because A) Red-carpet interviews (like post-Super Bowl “how are you feeling right now?” journalism) are some of the most pointless, topicless frippery in existence and I applaud anyone taking the piss out of them, butB) I just recently found out that Hugh Grant is well known as an incredible dickbag who goes Christian Bale scream-fest on extras who wander into his sightline, and was banned from The Daily Show for abusing staffers in the green room. I’m surprised it took me decades to discover this.
Yeah the interview didnt go the way it did because he is some old-hat jaded industry vet tired of the song and dance. It went how it did because he is a selfish prick that felt his time was being wasted so the only possible reaction was to waste everyone elses while also making them feel bad for doing their own job.
That’s a bummer to hear.
General rule in Hollywood: if they usually play creeps, they’re probably extremely nice. (E.g., Christopher Walken, Steve Buscemi, Willem Dafoe.) If they’re usually playing charming and nice (and they’re not Tom Hanks or Paul Rudd), there’s a good chance they’re creeps. Grant is a prime example of the latter. (See also: James Corden.)
Grant has a reputation for playing charming befuddled Englishmen, but he also plays a lot of self-centered jerks. Those are my favourite roles of his About A Boy, Bridget Jones Diary, Nine Months, The Gentlemen (which sucked but it was great seeing him play such a slimy creep).
“Why am I so good at playing bitches? I think it’s because I’m not a bitch. Maybe that’s why Miss Crawford always plays ladies.” – Bette Davis
One of the funniest moments of my life was back in grad school watching Archer with some classmates. One of them started saying that Jessica Walter must be a “real bitch” (his words) in real life, because she was good at playing one in both that and Arrested Development. I responded that she was actually incredibly sweet and kind and the complete opposite of her characters. When he questioned how I’d know that, I pointed out that she was my cousin.To this day, every time I think of the look of abject horror on his face after he realized I was telling the truth makes me crack up. (“hahaha, yeah right…. OH MY GOD YOU’RE SERIOUS”)[And no, this is not intended to be a “humblebrag” that we were related – I just genuinely thought it was really funny]
Also see: Ellen Degeneres
One more to add to your list based on personal experience: Ben Stiller.
Plays a creep, not a creep.
It depends on the film – I’ve seen him in a lot of non-creep (or at least “straight-man”) roles too. Glad to hear he’s a decent guy in real life though! It’s not an exhaustive list – I’m told Chris Evans (a friend knew him growing up) is basically Captain America in reality too, and Anne Hathaway (from my hometown) is really sweet in reality, among others.
Speaking of the decline of the AV Club, having a commenter call a Hollywood personality an incredible dickbag in these comments doesn’t have the cachet it once did.
Hugh Grant is a lot like how Alec Baldwin used to be: kind of a known crank, occasional jerk, who built up enough goodwill being charming/affable to occasionally get away with being a crank. I once heard a comedian refer to it as “Asshole Credits,” wherein some celebrities build up goodwill by being charming, and then occasionally expend some of that goodwill (asshole credits) by being jerks. But so long as the charming outweighs the jerky behavior, they’re OK. You can get by in Hollywood for a while carefully doling out your asshole credits and then retreating to build up more goodwill. But eventually it just wears thin (ala Alec Baldwin for the last several years, even before Rust).Grant also at least has the self awareness to admit that he’s a jerk, but after a while you’re kind of like, “OK, we get it. You know you’re a jerk. But rather than apologizing all the time for it, why can’t you just grow up and stop being a dick to people?” Owning his assholery doesn’t make it any better, after a point.
He’s been pretty accountable and apologetic, it does happen more than it ought to and I’m not proposing he be granted a licence to be endlessly forgiven but it’s a stretch to say it’s a regular occurrence. He made the Christian Bale comparison himself, and he publicly owned up, without a hint of PR spin apology or non-apology to both that incident and the John Stewart one.
Apologies for being an asshole only count on the long run if you actually try to stop being an asshole.
Hugh Grant wasn’t forced to be there. He was there to present. These interviews are vapid, but the entire show is a vapid vanity exercise. If he doesn’t want to participate in it, why participate in it? And if he does want to participate in it, is he unable to summon up enough energy to appear enthusiastic about the awards show he is, again, voluntarily appearing at? It is not a surprise he engaged in A) given B).
Same. I 100% get that those interviews are absolutely stupid and complete nonsense. But I also 100% wouldn’t go to the ceremony unless I was nominated, so, like…if he hates all of it so much, why was he there? Some stuff it’s just like if you’re going to be there, at least minimally participate in what’s going on.
it said he’s a presenter, so he’s paid to be there
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Fair enough. Reading is FUNdamental. They should let presenters come in the back door so they don’t have to do this if they don’t want to.
Certainly be could have declined he offer, an survived fine without the pay.
Even if you hate it, if you’re an actor of his level, you kinda have to go to the Oscars, if anything, just to be able to get in the same parties and rooms with the people who would hire you later on. It’s more of a networking event at that point.
I don’t think that’s true. Actors skip the Oscars all the time, even if they’re nominated. If you’re an actor “at this level,” I think you have even less need to schmooze. People write roles specifically with people like Grant in mind.
Not for nothing, but I’ve personally attended the Emmy’s multiple times, and you see a lot of people there who have nothing to do with TV, but still go. It’s much more of a social thing and it’s highly likely that it’s just seen as a good move to be there and have your picture taken and talk to folks to keep up appearances, even if you’re high up in the pool. It’s like if you don’t go, that gets talked about and that becomes a “thing” for some of these people. The whole industry is essentially middle school (I won’t even give it the grace of calling it high school, that’s actually giving it more credit). The way to become someone who people write roles for in mind is to be seen and to talk to those people in person.
I mean that’s completely fair enough, but then…play the game. If you’re choosing to go for whatever reason, go and participate and don’t be rude. Though another commenter informed me that he was a presenter and therefore had to be there, but even still, he said yes to being a presenter so he said yes to participating. Long story short, all I’m saying is be polite. Don’t be a dick when it’s possible to not be a dick, especially to someone just trying to do their job, even if you think their job is stupid (and yes I agree that red-carpet interviews are stupid and I would hate to have to do one).
He was polite, considering the absolutely inanity of the “interview”.
Nah. The interview was exactly the same as all the other red carpet interviews. They’re always inane and always have been. And he was rude. Both things can be true.
Then good on him for finally making it interesting (and getting everyone talking about how bullshit they are). He wasn’t rude.
Oh please. People who think the interviews are stupid already think they’re stupid, including me. But just because I think they’re stupid doesn’t mean I would treat her like that. Plus there are lots of people who enjoy them. They organize whole parties around watching the red carpet. He didn’t shed light on anything, and you aren’t subversive or edgy for thinking the interviews are dumb, but the fact that you don’t think he was rude tells me that you talk to people like that regularly, which is shitty. And no, I don’t expect you to agree.
Now who’s being rude? but the fact that you don’t think he was rude tells me that you talk to people like that regularly, which is shitty. The fact that you both a) think Grant was rude and b) think you can some how glean how I speak to people “regularly” based off one post despite the fact that you interpersonal skills are clearly non-existent means you’re in no position to judge others. But I do understand the cultural difference: you’re American, you invented the Walmart greeter, and think anything less than “Idiotic, prescription-medicated grin and constant praise” is “rude”. It’s not. I do understand you’re probably driven by a deep-seated desire to have everyone like you even at your own expense, for which I’m sorry. And no, I don’t expect you to agree.Did you type that out for your own benefit?
“Now who’s being rude?”Me. The difference is I know when I’m being rude and don’t try to pretend I’m not.“ you invented the Walmart greeter,”
I don’t now nor have I ever worked for Walmart, and I’m too young to have invented the position of store greeter.“and think anything less than ‘Idiotic, prescription-medicated grin and constant praise’ is ‘rude’”This…is just stupid. “Did you type that out for your own benefit?”Yes, the benefit being hoping to save myself from your false protestations that you aren’t rude and shitty on the regular. A pipe dream, I now see. I don’t want to have this conversation anymore. You’re a rude person who defends rude behavior, and that’s entirely your prerogative. You may have the last word. I entirely deserve this conversation for having made the mistake of taking you out of the grays.
Rude person is angry that celebrity was also rude.That’s some seriously internetting you’re doing right there buddy.
Oh, go fuck yourself with this aggressively presumptuous, holier-than-you bullshit. It’s fucking embarrassing to even read this comment; i cant even imagine being self-important enough to actually write it. “You dont think this interview was particularly rude and diagreed with my subjective opinion therefore I know that you’re an asshole in real” is an aggressively stupid and obnoxious take.
For sure, don’t disagree with you there about “don’t be a dick”. Personally, I didn’t find his comments to be as rude or dickish as others are crying out about, to me, they just are truthful and blunt and not the normal fluff. But to each their own. But yeah, it’s good to just not be a dick to anyone who is simply doing their job, as Ashley Graham was there to do.
Yeah I mean I’m not saying he’s Piers Morgan levels of asshole or anything. Just he could have chosen to not make the girl feel like an idiot and answer three softball questions, and he didn’t. I always say you don’t have to make people’s jobs easier, but if you can help it, don’t make them harder. But it’s fine. I’ve already expended more energy on this than it warrants. lol
I like that idea about “don’t make anyone’s jobs harder”. That’s a pretty good advice for life.
Indeed. He could have turned the gig down.
“I don’t think that’s true. Actors skip the Oscars all the time, even if they’re nominated.”
That’s not remotely true.
What’s the conflict? He was paid to be there and he was a dick to someone else who was ALSO paid to be there.
He’s the fucking fuck who cheated on Liz Hurley.LIZ FUCKING HURLEYyou know everything you need to know about the guy right there
If he cheated on Liz Hurley, the only thing I can assume is that he has bloody poor eyesight.
The fact that he cheated on this gorgeous woman, pretty much confirms that he is an idiot and a dickbag.
I agree haha, it’s the most vapid nothing chit chat banter interviews, only really used to clip for memes in long form youtube movie reviews, and i would crack up at him taking the piss in a sarcastic way, but yeah if he’s actually a giant douche it just seems meanBut hey, in Bales defense they’d been filming for like 8-10 hours and that wasn’t an extra it was the DP who kept fiddling with the lights in the middle of the scene and messing him up. But he genuinely apologized for that, said he was way out of line and is normally pretty professional and not a prick like that.
The season finale of the last of us is on tonight, and Bob’s burgers, so have fun with that
He was incredibly rude.
The answers were at least as good as the questions.
At least he didn’t hate-fuck her.
Well, not on the red carpet, anyway.
I thought it was beige.
As the saying goes, play stupid games…
Sorry, who was playing the stupid game? The person who was doing their job, covering the event for their employer?
Yeah, what an asshole, they definitely deserved to be treated like trash by Mr Dates a Supermodel but Still Pays for a Blowjob Grant.
I really do wonder if it’s happened before, and I hope that I’d have the presence of mind if I randomly met him on the street to introduce myself as a correspondent from Horse & Hound Magazine and ask if he mightn’t have time for a few questions.
Then I saw in my dream, that when they were got out of the wilderness, they presently saw a town before them, and the name of that town is “Vanity”; and at the town there is a fair kept, called “Vanity Fair”; it is kept all the year long. It bears the name of Vanity Fair, because the town where ‘tis kept is lighter than vanity; and also because all that is there sold, or that comes thither is vanity. As is the saying of the wise, “All that comes is vanity.”
Seriously, that’s exactly what all the Yanks are forgetting. Him dropping “Vanity Fair” and her going “Oh, that’s where we all like to relax” is just so fucking perfect.
If that bit had been in a movie, I would have said it was a little much. Reality can do whatever it wants, though.I wonder if anyone has since informed that lady of Thackeray?
Oh, it’s not from Thackeray – it’s from where Thackeray got the title from: John Bunyan’s (“Oh, the guy with the big blue cow!” – Ashley Graham, probably) Pilgrim’s Progress.(Well, Fever-Dog’s quote is from Bunyan, though Grant could have very well been referring to either, I suppose.)But yeah: it’s the sort of shit you’d kill off in the first script rewrite because it’s too perfect.
That whole part was perfect. Just completely flew over her head that he essentially was shitting on the Oscars as being pointless vanity crap and her thinking he means a party.
People seem genuinely angry that Hugh isn’t one hundred and seventy percent losing his shit an awards show he’s been to probably a dozen times before. So of course, they’re playing it up as a “stuffy old Brit was rude to hot girl”. Honestly, watching it, I give him credit for staying as long as he did fielding those questions, given how clearly he was frustrated by them. He wasn’t rude. Grant was very, very patient with someone who’s out of her depth in a kiddie a pool.
He was rude.It’s what I expect from Hugh Grant, but at the same time, he had the ability to just not be interviewed. A lot of people weren’t interviewed. If he’d taken two seconds to highlight one thing he liked about the night or one performance he enjoyed – which surely he is capable of discussing acting as an actor – he wouldn’t have been asked so many questions. She kept asking questions because he kept not answering them.
He was exceptionally polite to an obvious moron.Maybe America should spend more time reading books than banning them – although you’d think Pilgrim’s Progress would enforced reading in most states.
America should absolutely not ban books.But pretending like being well-read would have changed the outcome of this is silly. She asked him several reasonable questions – What are you looking forward to at this even you’re currently at? How was the experience making your film? He repeatedly didn’t answer. Maybe he needs to learn how to carry a conversation or forego an interview.
OH god, the *glint* in his eye when he says, ‘It’s vanity fair’ and he just waits to see if she catches what he said is GOLDEN.
That is where she lost him.
My only regret is him not dropping more references that flew over her head:“Well, I’m sure Nike is looking down favourably on the victors tonight.”“Oh, yaaaasss! I’m sure they’re looking forward to a sneaker deal with an Oscar winner! That’d be great for them!”
I agree with Hugh, it’s bullshit.
This actually makes me like Hugh Grant a wee bit more. This seems like a reasonable reaction to being asked unsolicited questions on camera at an event I don’t really want to be attending, but am attending anyway because of press or reputation or some other obligation (i.e. my tailor needed the money).
“This actually makes me like Hugh Grant a wee bit more.”
Yeah, what a wonderful guy. Paid to be there, speaking to someone else who’s being paid to be there and treats them like shit.
What a swell fucking guy.
“This seems like a reasonable reaction to being asked unsolicited questions on camera”
There are no unsolicited questions on a red carpet, asshole.
Never hurts to be gracious and helpful, at an industry function that you’re attending, to help others also in your industry who are just out doing their jobs. ‘You’re’ in the damn business. So what if the questions are puerile, improvise as the pro you’re supposed to be and help her get a good bit of video; smile, be charming. Are we all so far up our own a**es that simple courtesy to others when out at a company function is now a major inconvenience?
He’s old. He’s tired. I get it.
so go sit with Harrison Ford.
Actor acts like an a-hole while on camera with a peer. No wonder it’s a thirty-second cameo.
She quite clearly demonstrated she is in no way his peer.
I don’t think she’s his peer, except by the very loosest definition. His peers are the ones also being interviewed.
He’s a famously grumpy asshole and I adore it. For every hundred striving, grinning fame-thirsty academy members, we need at least one grumpy dick who knows it doesn’t really matter. He’s our Katharine Hepburn for now and I’ll take it.
I usually enjoy it, but he seemed a little unnecessarily antagonistic to Ashley Graham. He’s more than a big enough star to just decline being interviewed full stop. She was doing her best to get him to answer literally any question. It went past being prickly. Hepburn was snippy with costars and fans, but if she was doing a red carpet interview, she would have at least mentioned something she liked about any movie or performance from the year. She spoke very well about her craft.
She should have asked him about the Dungeons and Dragons movie instead.
Just watched this and I don’t see anything “cruel” about it. He answered all her questions, they just were not the typical bullshit fluff answers is all. In a way, it was probably one of the few honest and real life things to happen that entire night.
It’s a frivolous exercise, he’s got a zillion good reasons to loathe the press (they hacked his phone and email), and the person he was talking to didn’t know anything about him. I mean, if you own your tux, what else are you going to say? If you were in a movie for three minutes and you’re still kind of a star, is that what you’re going to talk up?This is so clearly an effort to make something out of nothing.
Left out of the ABC clip is the look of utter disdain Grant gives when he thinks the cameras have cut away. For someone who was only watching the Oscar pre-game because the NCAA selection show was over, it was the highlight of that hour.
He’s miserable because he’s no longer getting the roles handed to him for being “a charming likeable Brit”, now he’s just a cranky older actor not getting calls for work.
Oh nooo hanging out with Ashley Graham for a few minutes…poor Hugh 🙁
I had no idea who she was until this interview.
This is who he is. I saw him treat Harvey Weinstein in just the same way many years ago. If the price we must pay as a society for his performance in Paddington 2 is having him be an asshole in real life then I say we turn a blind eye to it.
She seemed… unprepared for the conversation she initiated. Sure, she arrived equipped with banal boilerplate statements and questions, but is it possible that she received uninteresting answers because she asked unprovocative questions?
It’s a minute and a half red carpet interview. It’s not 60 Minutes.
Right. And she seemed unprepared for a 90 second interview… that she initiated. What’s your point?
I don’t care if it’s a red carpet or 60 Minutes or a longform article in Rolling Stone. She was not prepared. I’m not a journalist (anymore), but I’ve been unprepared for interviews and I’ve been prepared for interviews. This is what unprepared looks like, and there’s no reason to pin Hugh Grant’s reaction on anything other than the superficiality of her banal questions. That was my point.
I’ve seen Glass Onion and I know that if I got 90 seconds to talk with Hugh Grant, I wouldn’t be asking him about a movie he’s literally barely in. I wouldn’t ask Wynton Marsalis about the time he spent playing recorder in 2nd grade. I wouldn’t ask Gordon Ramsay about his favorite type of salt packet. I wouldn’t ask Barack Obama about his 7th grade student council race. Not on 60 Minutes. Not on a “red” carpet where I only had 90 seconds.
What was your point again?
You’re way too emotionally invested in this dude.
You’re way too emotionally invested in shitposting. Dude.
I haven’t watched the red carpet arrivals but didn’t they use to have movie critics doing some of the interviews. I think attendees would like to actually talk about their craft then answer inane questions.
Oof, that Vanity Fair moment hurt. To be fair, I’m not sure how many people have read the book or seen an onscreen version of it. Probably too niche a comment for the red carpet.
Grumpy old English man, for the win!
Hugh Grant behaved like a total dick. Ashley Graham did not deserve to be treated that way. By the way Hugh, Maybe try a little moisturizer when you are out in public. You look old and haggard!
Ask stupid questions, get stupid answers.
Who exactly is forcing these movie stars to attend the Oscars anyways? If he hated it so much, why would he even go to the event?
Who Grant?
What was painful was watching the interviewer not ‘get’ the vanity fair comment. I’m surprised there wasn’t a “woosh” sound as it flew right over her head. After that, Grant correctly understood the person who had somehow landed a gig that requires wit, intellectual dexterity, self-awareness, etc. had none of those things.
“Absolutely sick” just reads as a click-bait version of what really happened—supremely uninterested.
When has he not been a jerk?
To be fair, he did admit that he looked like a scrotum. And true or truer, it was the best goddamned moment of the night.
He didn’t even TRY to help her out at all. Kind of a crank if you ask me.
Look, I clicked and even commented on the red carpet post but that doesn’t mean it’s not super bizarre to see this site posting about, like, celebrity outfits??? It just didn’t used to be like this here.
https://capmod.org/capcut-plus-plus/
Not for nothing and she seems like a sweet gal, but she’s a model right? Maybe they should get some Journalists up there who can hold their own. For instance I might have asked what he has coming up, if anything, to give him a chance to promote himself/it
What’s the problem? The show is full of phonies and the questions are mind-numbingly stupid. I’d have probably felt the same way. I appreciated his honesty.
I mean… it’s an amazingly stupid and pointless interview consisting of amazingly stupid and pointless questions asked by someone who doesnt seem very bright (the Vanity Fair thing is embarrassing) and has nothing of interest to say or ask. Why are we acting as if he’s the bad guy for treating these cliched and boring questions as being, well…. cliched and boring?
The first mistake she made was calling him an Oscar veteran, when he’s never been nominated, which might come off as a dig.Then she asked him how much fun he had working with everyone on Glass Onion, when he only had a cameo and probably only shot for a day and was out by lunch, indicating that she hadn’t actually seen the movie.
A cameo that did not involve the ensemble. And she didn’t get his Vanity Fair joke, which is where she lost him in my opinion. He was a bit rude, but she was also very bad at her job tbh.
Excellent points. I’m not mad at him for declining to humor her as though she were better at interviewing than she evidently was.
That was such a Zoolander moment when Ashley Graham thought he was talking about the Vanity Fair after party instead of using a literary reference to express his thoughts on the Oscars.
Having watched it finally, I didn’t think it was as bad as I thought. Yes, the Vanity Fair reference went over her head but that’s okay. A little painful. But he answered her questions honestly… he’s not the red carpet kind of dude. Why anyone thought it was a good idea to sacrifice her, idk, but it made for a semi-juicy 1.5 minute of TV. 🙂