From the Orlando Sentinel about longtime bad-ass James Caan:
A Caan game
For the first 20 minutes of his question-and-answer session Saturday at the Florida Film Festival, James Caan was humble and soft-spoken.
When someone asked how he prepared for the role of Sonny Corleone in The Godfather—it was the kind of question that folks at film festivals love to ask—Caan replied that most folks don’t care. There are many means, he said, “but only one end.”
But then someone said they had heard that Caan didn’t care much for fellow actors who speak out on political issues.
That was when Sonny’s temper was unleashed.
“Most of them are idiots,” he said, proceeding to call Alec Baldwin, Barbra Streisand and Richard Gere “morons.”
“I put her head on the scale,” he said of Streisand. “The needle didn’t move an inch.”
Apparently, Caan doesn’t have a problem with actors speaking out as much as he has a problem with liberal actors speaking.
“I hate getting lumped into that liberal Hollywood contingency,” he said.
6 responses so far ↓
1 scotty the body // Mar 18, 2003 at 8:51 am
actors have just as many brains as the next person and just as much right as any of us do to spout off at the mouth.
they have a better platform (fame) in some cases, but I have some non-famous actor friends and they are thoughtful, intelligent people.
2 nic // Mar 18, 2003 at 9:10 am
My objection is to the (arrogant) notion that they have a BETTER understanding of policy that the rest of us, especially those of us who wrestle with policy for a living. And to be completely bitchy, I’m not convinced that most of them have the education, background, and access to information to formulate a reasoned and well-informed opinions. Yet, often their views are accepted as more insightful than actual trained policy analysts.
Additionally, I seriously object to celebs actively interfering with on-going US policies. As citizens, they have avenues for voicing their objections. These avenues do not include holding private summits with foreign leaders, making personal donations to NGOs, etc. I’ll admit they have the technical right. But I find it unethical to do so, as it jeopardizes the policies developed by our ELECTED leadership.
And my objections go for interfering celebs on both ends of the political spectrum.
3 tone // Mar 18, 2003 at 10:00 am
I don’t mind if celebreties want to bring up their politics with the public. I do mind when they whine about reactions to their views.
4 Tripp // Mar 18, 2003 at 12:07 pm
As a follow up to Nicole, it is always distressing to hear the uninformed lay out their uninformed opinions.
There are some things upon which any fool feels he can pontificate. For example, in the companies in which I have worked, everyone has an opinion about marketing. The tech guys, the buyers, the customer service people, everybody. They all know how it REALLY should be done. Would they appreciate it, if I, as a marketing person, told them “Gee that code looks a little off, why don’t use X or Y” or “hmmm, do we really want to buy that many TVs?”
Similarly, why should we care what someone who has no training or background thinks about policy?
Now, I accept that someone like Bono has actually learned and spent time understanding debt issues, so his opinion has some weight. But Susan Sarandon on diplomacy and military issues? No thanks.
5 Tikihead // Mar 18, 2003 at 5:16 pm
Scotty, the post isn’t about non-famous actors it is about Hollywood and how some celebrities have elevated themselves to a position that is somewhere just under the near-Royalty status some politicians seem to be in. To hear Skunk Baxter talk about missiles is fine, he has done his homework. To hear a lot of the others, particularly Hollywood actors, is terrible. To hear some of the comments they make is appalling, some really do believe it is their duty to inform the rest of us what to think. They apparently aren’t content with their role as “mere” entertainers. That is what is so great about Christopher Walken. I don’t know what his political views are and I don’t care. I just want to see him act creepy in films. Basically, some of these Hollywood types need to be knocked down a notch.
Coincidentally, I saw today in a Reuters news photo scrawled on a U.S. soldier’s helmet: “who the fuck died and made Hollywood acting President?”
6 scotty the body // Mar 19, 2003 at 6:03 am
haha! did you really see that on some guys helmet? that’s GREAT!
and uninformed policy analysis is what I’m all about!
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