So, I got this email last Tuesday that prompted me to fire off an initial response that contained a very concise statement: “[H]oly shit.” Gracious, huh?
This email was from (a verifiable) Eli Roth, who made it pretty clear that he’d read those things about that I wrote about . . . um . . . his abundant use of hair product. (I may have mentioned a few other things too, but whatever.) As you can imagine, I was quite shamefaced about his discovery of my gloriously biting wit that had spilled forth here, there, and over yonder. Geez, that sounds pretty embarrassing, huh? Well, I got over it and eventually sent him a proper response. After several more exchanges, I have determined that the media has created a pretty inaccurate, crappy reputation for Eli Roth that he doesn’t deserve. Of course, I took several days to ponder this dilemma and whether I could mention it here without sounding like a fangirl. However, I think most people who have read my film reviews would never classify me as a rabid Eli Roth devotee, so the fact that I’m willingly putting these words out there should speak to their credence.
Yes, Eli Roth writes and directs movies are gory, disgusting, and filled with extreme violence. However, there’s a lot more at work beneath what’s happening on the surface in every one of his films. Beyond that, Cabin Fever and Thanksgiving are pretty fucking funny too. Of course, the difficulty of stating that I do respect (and to a degree, actually enjoy) Eli’s work is that it makes me look as if I condone his imitators. On the contrary, I feel that many of these other filmmakers have completely failed to comprehend the larger picture and have instead fallen down those dreaded slippery slopes, upon which many critics would hope to place Roth’s work.
In addition, I was also somewhat amazed to observe Eli’s treatment of his own fans. If you dig a little bit into his MySpace blog, you’ll see some of what I’m talking about. He listens to and respects the hell out his fans, and I think this is because he hasn’t forgotten that he, too, is a fan. That would be a mild understatement, because if you read or watch most interviews of Eli Roth, his all-consuming love for film is pretty undeniable. The coolest thing is that Roth hasn’t lost sight of where it all began for him, and I think that’s pretty damn rare in Hollywood today, whether you’re talking about actors or directors. The point where these parties completely distance themselves from the lowly civilians is the same division where we start to wonder why the hell all those pretentiously boring and self-indulgent films, obviously pet projects of the quarter for any given celebrity, ever end up in multiplexes. In comparison, Eli Roth is, dare I say, much more human (in many ways) than I expected him to be, and that’s pretty fucking cool, really.
Oh yeah, and Eli didn’t object when I told him that I’d probably uncover his secret to gravity-defying hair:
I use Tancho in my hair. I used to use textureline but it would wear off after like an hour and I’d have fluffy hair instead of spiked up hair. Tancho lasts for weeks. Are you an all natural bedhead?
Ha. We’ll leave it at that, but I also want to plug the goods here. Roth is presently running a film festival, “The Greats of Roth,” at the New Beverly Cinema, where he programmed two weeks of his favourite flicks. Undoubtedly, Eli does have good taste in this regard. I do, however, stand behind my opinion that the man puts far too much shit in his hair.
17 comments
Actually he looks like two, possibly three gorillas ejaculated on his head just before he was nearly lifted off the ground by a tornado.
And no, I’m not just saying that because I want him to email me.
Dude! You’re killing me here.
So..,. now would be a bad time to reveal my mancrush?
I have no idea who this man is, but the fact that he actually listens to his fans impresses me, hair or no hair.
I don’t know, though, he kind of reminds me of a Ben Stiller/Jason Thompson morph.
And I think he wanted to know if your drapes match your rug….
[...] Eli Roth is a bedhead beyond belief (AgentBedhead) [...]
Well, yes, he listens to his fans. Sick little twitches, all they have is each other…
Interesting. Even though old Eli and I have the same freaking film collection at home (from the looks of it–bootlegs and all), I haven’t been able to jump on the Roth-wagon re. his own output (his participation in the masterwork that is Grindhouse aside).
I am, however, willing to concede his genius in recognizing the eye-candy wonder that is Edwige Fenech, and can’t wait to see what he does with her in his upcoming.
Wait–have I been avoiding Hostel II for that long? No longer so upcoming….
[...] Can you say, ‘Zoolander’? (ABH) [...]
Booooo!! Booooooooooo!! Boo on your renege!
That Roth replied amicably, even that he is involved with his fans, doesn’t really change the fact that he’s an attention-starved fratboy whose blatant misogyny is likely an overcompensation for his latent homosexuality – a latent homosexuality which would be FINE if he just came out and admitted it and stopped writing movies that vilify the vagina.
We are not amused.
Boo! Boo on horror fans! Boo on horror filmmakers! Horror hates women and puppies and God and handicapped children! Eli Roth wants to destroy all vaginas! Horror fans are borderline psychotics who want to cannibalize the human race while raping everything in sight! You should never harm a [sacrosanct] woman in film, because that means you hate ALL WOMEN! So boo! BOOOOOOOO! [/snark]
Seriously, haters, if you’d do a little research, you’d see that in Cabin Fever AND Hostel, men and women were treated equally. And those fratboy lead characters you all seem to think are perfect stand-ins for Mr. Roth? They acted like shitholes, and got “punished” as a result. And Hostel 2 had a woman win in the end!
Yes, the movies are gory and violent and not for everyone. But it’s really fucking lazy to dislike the genre and automatically assume that those of us who like it are messed up in the head. Why don’t you step back from your elitism and examine the creativity that often goes into horror films, especially the low budget ones? Two of Hitchcock’s most famous and well loved films (Psycho and The Birds) are essentially horror films, even though you’d probably call them “thrillers”. Does that make Hitchcock a mysogynistic fratboy?
Pull your heads out of your hating asses and do a little research before vilifying the entire genre and its fans. And thanks, Agent Bedhead, for being willing to be objective on the subject.
Re: Bill
Eli Roth =/= the entire horror genre.
Hating Eli Roth =/= hating all horror.
Thank you.
Thanks, Jesse, for deigning to step down to my level (the condescending “Thank you.” was a nice touch) and explain that for me. I’m not sure I understood that, being a mentally challenged horror fan and all.
I’m actually referring to a larger pattern that wants to paint all horror as mysogynistic, and all horror fans as idiots or subversive psychotics. If you’ll read up a few comments, you’ll see where Brett labeled all Eli Roth fans as “sick little twitches”. I came here from Pajiba, and that attitude tends to reign supreme. I would comment on it there more, but my thoughts get lost in everyone trying to out-clever one another (me included, unfortunately). That and the fact that this is an extremely topical post.
I attended a horror convention where two female stars of Eli Roth films were speaking. I had the chance to ask them how they felt about the “mysogynistic” label that’s applied to most modern horror in general, and Roth’s work specifically. Both responded that they really enjoyed working with Roth, that yes mysogyny exists in the film industry, but they didn’t feel it was any more prevalent than in any other genre.
You’re referring to a larger pattern which has yet to show its face here. The only person making large sweeping generalizations about the entire horror genre is you.
You’re right. I was the one who branded a filmmaker I don’t like a mysogynist and closeted homosexual. And silly me for not realizing that a pattern isn’t a pattern until it presents itself on the very page I happen to be browsing at the time. I’ll bear all that in mind in the future.
Look, I’m not trying to attack any one person here. You just have to try to understand that, as a fan of the genre, it’s difficult at times to be constantly on the defensive. Horror films are widely derided as pointless or even harmful, which is something I couldn’t disagree with more. I’m just trying to stand up and defend the filmmakers and style that I enjoy, nothing more.
And quite frankly, Jesse, I’m starting to wonder if you’ve actually viewed any of Eli’s full-length films. Have you?
GOD I love someone who can be objective. Objectivity gets you added to my list of daily read blogs.