Armond White has made a strong name for himself as the critic without a spine. When a film gets a nearly perfect positive review from professional critics, Armond can be sure to stand out in the crowd saying he hated it. And when a film gets panned, Armond is cheering it on. Just to stand out.
Well he was left standing out on the sidewalk when Greenberg was opened up for the press as the publicist curbed him, saying he was not welcome to come review the film because she was certain he woudln’t be fair to it, citing past reviews where Armond White has critiqued the director instead of his work in reviews.
Hollywood News says:
Leslee Dart, the film’s publicist, said she made the decision to keep White from the early screening with “100 percent” support from Focus Features, which is releasing the movie.
She said White’s previous writings and statements prove that the reviewer crossed a line, letting his personal animosity for Baumbach cloud his journalistic responsibility to judge Baumbach’s work fairly.
I think that is perfectly acceptable for her to turf this guy. With many qualified critics already being exposed to this film, I am sure she accepts that the film will get reviewed fairly. If they all hate it, that’s the chance you take giving advanced reviews. But you have to put yourself out there. Allowing a review to a “critic” who is already proven to have no integrity doesn’t serve their film at all.
White’s public reaction to this ban was a statement that just proves their decision was right, as he admits he is already predisposed to give a negative review before even seeing the film. He tries to direct the comment to address his personal feelings on the director, but then hypocritically saying its not the director he dislikes, it is his films!
“I have no more against Noah Baumbach than I do against Michael Mann,” White told HollywoodNews.com. “I never met either of them. It’s not personal. I just don’t like their movies.”
Films need to be critiqued on one film to the next and one actor to the next.
There are actors or directors that I will admit lessen my enthusiasm for a film, but I will still see that film and try to keep an open mind about the movie as it stands on its own. I generally don’t like Tarantino films, but there are some he has made that I love (Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill) so the ones he made that I DON’T like won’t change how I feel about those films. I really don’t like the recent trend of spoof films (which seem to thankfully be on a decline) but I still see many of them hoping one will stand out and offer some good clever gags.
After this “critic” constantly gets most of his attention for his complete lack of integrity I wonder just how he stays employed. Perhaps people read his reviews like they might read a gossip tabloid. “Lets see what unbelievable bullshit they will try to pass off as news today?”
I only ever hear his name when he is being an ass. I wonder if that is a measuring stick as to his popularity?
Perfect! Hopefully other screenings follow suit.
RottenTomatoes may give this man the undeserving platform he currently enjoys, but no one else has to.
Bravo to Focus Features! Someone like this just demeans film criticism which is an honorable profession when the reviewer is fair which most thankfully are. There’s nothing wrong with going against the flow but they have to judge the film itself, not other things.
I’ll tell you something else. Press previews are by invitation only and it’s highly improbable that anyone would be invited and then barred at the door. So I ask what the h___ was he doing there in the first place? Just because he found out about the screening? So he thinks he can just waltz right in uninvited? That alone makes me say bravo to the Focus Features rep who saw that this man was not on the list and wouldn’t let him in. I’m glad they didn’t cave.
From the sound of things the NY Press was issued an invitation and once it was brought to light that he was the critic representing them they curbed him.
These PR Reps send invites to organizations, not people.
When they do that they ask for an RSVP.
The RSVP just says they will be sending a critic. These press screenings usually require you to show press credentials to get in, not your driver’s license. lol
He should be banned from any and all movies for review. He attacks people individually in his reviews, turns everything into a race issue, and just has a really cloudy idea of what a good movie should be. He’s the definition of a troll and there is only one other critic I hate more than White, and that’s Rene Rodriguez. Fuck em both.
He looks like one of the inmates on Oz. I say if you don’t like his reviews don’t support whoever employs him.
Like I go out of my way to read this guy from Oz’s reviews,,,
^
Is anyone actually looking forward to Greenberg? Film looks horrible.
He just needs to be IGNORED.
People dont get it, everything you guys have said above^^^^ is what he wants.
Do I want him dead? Yes. Do I wish he suffers? Yes. I dont talk about it. I just hope he gets raped in the ass by Satan until he dies from intense anal bleeding.
But do I say anything? No. Just ignore him, make NO NEWS of him, if he steals a bank, NO ONE write about it. Don’t make these fuckers famous.
When one of his reviews come out, it shouldn’t even be on Rotten Tomatoes or any blog that measures reviews.
lol.
make him pay if he wants to review it. ftw.
Yep, you forgot Inglourious Basterds.
No, I most certainly did not.
no, a strict tarantino film is a film he directed/wrote.
Does sin city count as a tarantino film cause he directed a scene?
Nope.
How about hostel, he executive produced it right?!!! That must mean it’s a tarantino film!!! No, it isn’t. If Hostel is a Tarantino film then so is Casablanca.
Just to put this troll’s reviews into perspective, he gave the following movies good reviews:
1. GI Joe
2. Transformers 2
3. Next Day Air
4. Dance Flick
5. Land of the Lost
6. Gentlemen Broncos
7. Disaster Movie
While bashing the following movies:
1. Up in the Air
2. An Education
3. Inglorious Basterds
4. District 9
5. Star Trek
6. Up
7. Dark Knight
He created this situation by his outrageous reviews. I swear this guy is than utter tool with some of the idiot reviews he’s written and you have to wonder…who hurt him?
I’m glad they left Armond White out in the cold. I hope more movie studios start doing it. He doesn’t review movies based on the merit of the actual movie, he’s always trying to go against the grain of reviewers despite what the movie actually is. He is the epitome of a troll.
Dennis
Even better than leaving him out in the cold, is to a make a point of inviting him personally, then rejecting him at the door.
Sounds good to me.
Dennis
Is this the same guy who ripped on The Dark Knight, yet gave Disaster Movie a good review? Because I remember reading about a guy who did that. I’m starting to think that this is the same guy.
Same guy.
Ha OMG what a douche he must be, just hoping for hits
How can you say “I generally don’t like Tarantino films, but there are some he has made that I love (Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill)”?
What else has he had? Jackie Brown, Death Proof, Inglourious Basterds.
With Kill Bill as 2 movies, thats four you like and 3 you dont. Seems like you generally do like his films.
Add in the films he has written, and count how many films he has directed, and I still only like 4. (I have only liked half of what he directed – check IMDB – there are 8 if you dont count guest director and TV)
“Tarantino films” doesn’t have to just mean ones he directed.
I generally don’t like his stuff, while others will always rush out to see anything Tarantino was involved with because they generally do. I don’t think he is this master genius he sometimes gets credit for, but I don’t judge the films I do like based on that either.
I saw My Best Friend’s Birthday on there but figured that no one saw it, so i wasnt counting it. Plus it doesnt seem like it was a studio effort. Hardly seems fair to count his first project, that he had to make with pennies($5,000 to be exact).
But to get the record straight, you didnt like True Romance, or Natural Born Killers? Those are the only full movies that he wrote and didnt direct.
And with producer you can never really tell, cause sometimes the movies are complete and he will just put his name on top to give the film a boost.
True. I’m sure you’re not counting the ‘Quentin Tarantino Presents’ stuff. Either way, I see the point. You don’t care if it is Scorsese, Tarantino, or Uwe Boll – a good movie is a good movie, and a bad movie is a bad movie.
Dude
I searched for Jackie brown on this website and i found a post called “Quentin Tarantino To Make a Porno Movie?” Written by Rodney and you said..
“I just wish he would make something along the lines of ‘Jackie Brown’ again, instead of exploiting every cheesy 70’s genre out there”
Admit it, you love the guy.
Cloud, I never wrote that article but I could see how you would think so. But if you read the post you would have seen that the first lines say “Quentin Tarantino is by far MY favorite director. He has inspired me to become a writer and to want to get involved in the film industry since I was a young girl” … so clearly it was Sharon or Serena who originally wrote that.
When some of our additional staff left the site their ID’s were removed defaulting the writer to either John or myself.
I have always been hit or miss on Tarantino. But I dont hate him.
I don’t like Uwe Boll movies, period. I am almost certian there will never come a day that I say I enjoyed one of his movies.
But should a day come when he makes a good one, will you automatically say its bad because you don’t like his movies?
This is my point. I don’t have to like an actor or director to review a movie subjectively. This is this guy’s JOB to be objective about films and not let his personal feelings in the way… which he does.
He has no integrity, in a field where his journalistic integrity is part of the job.
Exactly. The dude is a troll, plain and simple. If a movie was so good to him it changed his life, he would watch it all the time privately while publicly blasting it. I’m sure the guy doesn’t really believe the things he says.
I hate them all except Postal, love that one, and surprisingly he seems like a cool guy even boxing everyone
Kudos. This guy needs to be blackballed.
Have fun in 10 years when the industry has a cherry-picked guest list at every screening of who will be “fair” (that is, positive) in their review of the film. Even video game “journalism,” which is essentially a freelance publicity industry, knows better than to pull this garbage.
There are plenty of “fair” journlists who will give a negative review. They are fully aware of that posibility.
This guy was curbed because they had very good reason to believe that he WOULDNT be fair to the film.
If a journalist reviews a movie poorly, thats a fair opinion. White is not a journalist, he is a self serving attention troll with no integrity.