Benedict Cumberbatch News

[Bendydoodle Cantaloupe]

Here's more TIFF stuff with some good shots of His Cumberbatchness in the middle ... just keep scrolling along ! 

 

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2014/09/10/tiff-red-carpet-diary-day-6-photos-of-benedict-cumberbatch-lesser-stars/

 

Debbie

 

Aaaahhh, I just scrolled to the Benedict pics in the middle. He looks like such a dork with those glasses on. An adorable, nerdy dork. 

[by the sea]

LOL !    I'm just glad he shaved.

 

Debbie

[Arcadia]

Oh god. I have no idea what she meant by 'yumminess' but I'm still cringing. Must be one of those obsessive fans who give us fangirls/boys a bad name, eh?

Yes. I am making a valiant effort not to think about it too hard.

[sfmpco]

oh that yumminess comment was abhorrent.  Cringing.  Like Magnussen licking Lady Smallwood's face.  Eeeeeewwww!  But there was another video posted this morning from an interviewer remarking that he had taken his jacket off because the room was so stuffy...and she asked him if he wanted to take anything else off.  I mean, SERIOUSLY!!!!  How crude and rude!

[Convict13]

And then there was the interviewer that asked why there wasn't any sex scenes in TIG, it wasn't that she asked once, it was that she  kept asking the same question over and over just in a different way.  I really wondered what she was hoping for when she saw the movie. 

 

I for one cannot wait to see the movie, it's getting some wonderful reviews from everyone.

 

I am really sad the beard and moustache are gone,  I thought he was growing it for Richard III, but perhaps not.

[sfmpco]

Oh yes, and why didn't you cast a gay man to play a gay man?  Uh, seriously????  Does that question get asked when a gay man plays a straight role?  Why didn't you cast a straight man to play a straight man?  I swear, the idiocy of some of the questions asked by the media and supposed journalists was astounding.

[Arcadia]

They're just trying to provoke something to stoke their own careers, imo. People sometimes get weird when they get competitive.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Here's more TIFF stuff with some good shots of His Cumberbatchness in the middle ... just keep scrolling along ! 

 

http://arts.nationalpost.com/2014/09/10/tiff-red-carpet-diary-day-6-photos-of-benedict-cumberbatch-lesser-stars/

 

 

Thanks, Debbie -- I especially like the mass photobomb:

 

[T.o.b.y]

Oh yes, and why didn't you cast a gay man to play a gay man? 

 

Excuse me? Was that really one of the questions asked by journalists? Seriously? Do they not know what the term "acting" means?

 

Oh dear lord. No, I mustn't begin ranting about this. But come on. How stupid can you get?

 

And don't even get me started on "why weren't there any sex scenes in this movie?". What, do they think a film isn't complete unless it shows people F***ing? Don't get me wrong, I really have nothing against sex, nothing at all, and I wouldn't call myself prude, but I do think the majority of intimate scenes in movies is completely superfluous, and I don't understand why a story about a math genius would need one.

 

There are so many things I don't understand. Deep breaths. I am nearly thirty. I must not get too riled up. I don't understand, I don't have to understand, and I shouldn't care. Only, I can't help agreeing with Sherlock sometimes: people are idiots.

[sfmpco]

Yes, the why didn't you cast a gay man to play a gay man question was asked... but it started off an an even worse foot by the same idiot journalist saying, "you would never cast a white man to play Nelson Mandella."  Can I just pull my hair out now???  Now, I think that journalist needed to be taken down!!

[Convict13]

I wonder is he trying out for the role of Clark Kent?

[T.o.b.y]

Yes, the why didn't you cast a gay man to play a gay man question was asked... but it started off an an even worse foot by the same idiot journalist saying, "you would never cast a white man to play Nelson Mandella."  Can I just pull my hair out now???  Now, I think that journalist needed to be taken down!!

 

What a fascinating comparison. No, you probably wouldn't cast a white man to play Nelson Mandela, because it would take quite a lot of effort to make a white man look like Nelson Mandela. So this person it seems believes that being gay or straight is something visible? Huh! Now I want to call him or her and ask what I should be looking for. I mean, couldn't help to know my colleagues' sexual orientation in case I fancied an affair, could it? Oh, and what about bisexual people? How do you identify those? And are they only allowed to play bisexual characters, then? Boy, that would make the job tough... can't be too many of those.

 

By the way, what answer did they give in the interview? Or did they just ignore the question?

[by the sea]

Well,  I think the "yummy-ness" thing kind of threw him and where he made a decent recovery, he does seem to go on when he's flustered.  Who can blame him ?  It was disrespectful and I'm happy, based on the accent of the questioner, that she wasn't a Canadian, as I'm hoping the majority of us have better manners.  People will do the dumbest things to be noticed.  

 

Debbie

[Carol the Dabbler]

"Why didn't you cast a gay man?" might not have been, strictly speaking, a stupid question -- just politically correct.  It kinda reminds me of Native American actors asking why Hollywood kept casting Italians as Geronimo, but while I sympathize with them, I find myself considerably less impressed by the gay question.  There seems to be no uproar when a gay actor is cast in a straight role, so I fail to see why any sort of quota system should come into play when it's vice versa.

 

[Arcadia]

What a fascinating comparison. No, you probably wouldn't cast a white man to play Nelson Mandela, because it would take quite a lot of effort to make a white man look like Nelson Mandela. So this person it seems believes that being gay or straight is something visible? Huh! Now I want to call him or her and ask what I should be looking for. I mean, couldn't help to know my colleagues' sexual orientation in case I fancied an affair, could it? Oh, and what about bisexual people? How do you identify those? And are they only allowed to play bisexual characters, then? Boy, that would make the job tough... can't be too many of those.

 

By the way, what answer did they give in the interview? Or did they just ignore the question?

Pretty much the same answer you just gave, at least in the interview with the director that I saw. He was pretty irked by the question. It may have been asked in more than one interview. Probably was, it usually comes up when a gay character is played by a straight actor. (But not, interestingly, when a straight character is played by a gay actor. I guess because we're more accustomed to the latter than the former?)

 

I can kind of see their point. In earlier days we actually did have white actors portraying black characters, lest white audiences be offended. It's not that much of a leap to compare that to Tom Hanks being chosen for the role in "Philadelphia" because his stardom made the movie more accessible to more viewers. However, at the time, the majority of Americans were uncomfortable with the idea of gay love. But they trusted Hanks, and the movie was a hit; which probably would not have happened with a lesser known but gay actor.

 

Nowadays ... I don't know. I find myself torn on the issue. If only gay men can portray gay men on screen, then it seems only fair to me that only straight men should play straight men. I'm pretty sure no one in the industry intends that. (Ooops, and there goes the award-winning performance by Linda Hunt as a man in "The Year of Living Dangerously"!) But I am in no way any kind of persecuted minority; I'm not sure I'm qualified to judge what is/isn't acceptable to someone who is. Guess I'll just duck the issue. (Am I a Perceiver or what! )

 

Added: Or, yeh, what Carol just said. (Must learn to be more succint!!)

[jesskayding]

Uh. I didn't read anything. I just looked @ the pics. I wish he used a thinner frame on his glasses, but he's still handsome. Can't wait till he suits up as my favorite detective in his funny little hat. Heart racing, pupils dialated....

[by the sea]

The topic could be discussed forever, but here is one definition of "actor"  :  "An actor (alternatively actress for a female) is a person portraying a character in a dramatic or comic production."   He .. or she .. portrays or interprets the character in their production.  Doesn't mean he .. or she .. has to be anything like the character in reality.  That's the actor's art .. to make audiences believe the actor is the character.  Fortunately for his fans, Mr. Cumberbatch excels at his art and while we're watching him interpret a character, we can believe his gay mathematical genius, menacing villain from the future or high functioning sociopathic detective without him having to be any of those things when he goes home at the end of the day.

 

Debbie

[Arcadia]

Just to be -- well, me ... my actor niece informs me that female actors are no longer referred to as actresses but as actors. Because we're not confused enough already, apparently.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I think the switch to "actor" being gender-neutral is in general a good move (albeit, yes, confusing at the moment).  I've read that when the first women were about to be awarded a doctoral degree, the university debated whether their title should be Doctor or Doctress.  Thank goodness they decided as they did -- it's so much easier having just the one term for everyone.

 

On the other hand, there's far more justification for maintaining a distinction within the acting profession, since the roles may not be interchangeable -- though that's changing (cf. Elementary).  I suspect we'll continue to see/hear "actress" used when that is what's specifically meant, as in separate award categories for male and female performers -- though logically speaking, those categories could be combined, and may well be at some point.

 

We live in a transitional time!

 

[jesskayding]

Although they still devide categories for female actors vs. male actors. Sooooo , all things being equal, should award categories become unisex?

[sfmpco]

 

Nowadays ... I don't know. I find myself torn on the issue. If only gay men can portray gay men on screen, then it seems only fair to me that only straight men should play straight men. I'm pretty sure no one in the industry intends that. (Ooops, and there goes the award-winning performance by Linda Hunt as a man in "The Year of Living Dangerously"!) But I am in no way any kind of persecuted minority; I'm not sure I'm qualified to judge what is/isn't acceptable to someone who is. Guess I'll just duck the issue. (Am I a Perceiver or what! )

 

 

 

And if we take it to that extreme, hypothetically, then only Brits should play Brits, only Americans can play Americans, only real kings should play kings in films, or only real doctors should play doctors... the list is endless and ridiculous.  I do believe that's why it's called ACTING.  One of these days Ben needs to lay down the law with some of the stupid questions he gets asked.

[Bakerstreet Irregular]

Maybe he should hire a veteran. Someone to screen all questions that are on tap for the night. 

[Arcadia]

And if we take it to that extreme, hypothetically, then only Brits should play Brits, only Americans can play Americans.........

And there's even been some angst about that, hasn't there?

 

At least our American and British actors are still actors. I really don't want to see doctors playing actors who play doctors!

[sfmpco]

I'm still cringing over yumminess.  ick.

[Caya]

I think the switch to "actor" being gender-neutral is in general a good move (albeit, yes, confusing at the moment).  I've read that when the first women were about to be awarded a doctoral degree, the university debated whether their title should be Doctor or Doctress.  Thank goodness they decided as they did -- it's so much easier having just the one term for everyone.

 

In German, which unfortunately doesn't really have a gender-neutral mode, the question came up several times, according to our Latin professor at Uni. But apparently the folks in charge weren't happy when he explained to them that, yes, there is a female form of Doctor, and it's been used since BC times - and it's Doctrix .

 

As for gay actors getting flak for playing straights, I can't find the interview right now, but I once read one with Neil Patrick Harris where he stated that he was given some trouble for playing Barney Stinson. People are universally stupid .