British filmmaker Terry Gilliam did a revealing interview with The Independent that was supposed to be about his new film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote that took nearly a decade to make, but instead diverted to a conversation about the #MeToo movement and “Offensive Culture”.
“People work so hard to be offended now,” Gilliam said in the interview. “I don’t know why I’m doing it. It’s not fun anymore.”
Reluctant to talk about his film, Gilliam attempted to breakdown the female character Angelica, played by Joana Ribeiro. Angelica was promised movie stardom at the age of 15 by an advertising director named Toby (Adam Driver) who made a student film, but several years later ends up an escort.
“In the age of #MeToo, here’s a girl who takes responsibility for her state,” says Gilliam. “Whatever happened in this character’s life, she’s not accusing anybody. We’re living in a time where there’s always somebody responsible for your failures, and I don’t like this. I want people to take responsibility and not just constantly point a finger at somebody else, saying, ‘You’ve ruined my life.’”
The Harvey Weinstein case is the pinnacle of the #MeToo movement in Hollywood and Gilliam had a strong opinion on that.
“Yeah, I said #MeToo is a witch hunt,” Gilliam said. “I really feel there were a lot of people, decent people, or mildly irritating people who were getting hammered. That’s wrong. I don’t like mob mentality. These were ambitious adults.”
Gilliam implies that some of the women involved in the accusations of sexual assault against Weinstein were aware of the choices they were making and used those choices to gain an advantage in Hollywood.
“There are many victims in Harvey’s life and I feel sympathy for them, but then, Hollywood is full of very ambitious people who are adults and they make choices,” he said. “We all make choices, and I could tell you who did make the choice and who didn’t. I hate Harvey… It was about the position of power and how people use it.”
Interestingly, Gilliam’s rhetoric suggests that he believes that white men are being victimized with the new wave of allegations from women.
“The point is you make choices,” he continued. “I understand that men have had more power longer, but I’m tired, as a white male, of being blamed for everything that is wrong with the world.”
Gilliam is known for directing films such as, The Brothers Grimm, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, and 12 Monkeys. He was also one of the members of the comedian troupe Monty Python and directed the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
What do you think, do white men have it harder than everyone with the recent changes in American culture?
Read the original interview HERE
Many people had something to say on social media about Gilliam’s position.
