Screenwriter bro Max Landis is at it again. After the “Victor Frankenstein” screenwriter spent a good part of last winter insulting “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” for its female lead, he’s now turned his attention to the Amy Adams-led sci-fi film “Arrival.”
As Vanity Fair reports, Landis took issue with the emotional center of the critically acclaimed movie, calling it unearned and uninteresting.
Arrival's "emotional" subplot and relationships are among the least earned I've ever seen in a wide release movie.
Much like 2012’s “Gravity,” “Arrival” is an invigorating sci-fi film that includes a very feminine story of motherhood at its core. It’s not surprising that a male screenwriter known for his abhorrent views on women, who claims to this day that Rey, the female lead in “The Force Awakens” is a Mary Sue, would find the emotional center of a grander-scale sci-fi film uninteresting. Landis, whose films are exceedingly male-centric, also described “Arrival” in this way:
Arrival dares to ask the cinematic question: what if you combine Tree of Life and Close Encounters and took out all the fun parts?
As Vanity Fair pointed out, Landis’ own films continue to under perform at the box office and are critically panned. (Only one of his films has been considered a success, 2012’s “Chronicle.”) Can you imagine if a female screenwriter had the same track record as Landis? She’d probably never get another screenwriting job in Hollywood.
Check out this Jezebel article for a primer on Landis’ track record. “The fact that everyone [in LA] is so good-looking is intense and good and rewarding,” he has said. “Something about everyone around you being a little bit better looking, it puts you in a good mood. I don’t feel bad or superficial for saying that. I’m also attracted to ambition and there’s a lot of that out here. But yea [sic], being a single guy in LA is great.”
It’s unsurprising that someone this tone deaf and superficial failed to appreciate to the depth of “Arrival” and couldn’t register the significance of a character like Rey. It seems that he enjoys being a troll, which is problematic — to say the least. It would be great if he focused on his own work instead of just trashing other people’s.
