A Tale of Two Critics: Classy vs. Class A Asshole
I don’t know Lou Lumenick of the NY Post. I don’t care for his reviews or his employer, but I’m willing to give him the benefit of a doubt. Even so, I’m trying to imagine how this story can be spun so he doesn’t come off looking like a complete asshole. Here’s Ebert’s version of events.
We’ll assume Lumenick didn’t know the person behind him tapping on his shoulder could not speak, but wouldn’t you, as a civilized human being in a screening full of critics, naturally assume there was a good reason for someone to be tapping on your shoulder and then gesturing? Would your first response be to say “Don’t touch me!” loud enough to cause a disturbance and then to ultimately turn around and smack the person with your binder?
Filed under: Opinion
Tags: Lou Lumenick, Roger Ebert
Ebert is a classy guy as always. Lumenick should be ashamed of himself.
Maybe Lumenick has whatever that phobia is about being touched, he’s like TV’s lovable Monk, except with added freaking out.
People with phobias that make them annoying assholes should stay home. “with added freaking out”…that’s better than lemon fresh scent.
You are right to have no regard for that right wing rag newspaper Craig. And as for Lumenick: he has just erased all the good will he conveyed by picking ATONEMENT as his #1 film last year! His act here is disgraceful.
I love Chaz. That was something I would have said. Lumenick blows, by the way.
Ebert is indeed a classy guy and the funny thing is that Lumenick would have gotten away with it had the person behind him not been a minor celebrity journalist.
I had a similar experience to Ebert’s a couple years ago. I’ve since learned to avoid any and all confrontations in movie theaters because in the dark, people will go batshit crazy on you.
It’s just not worth it.
See, if you’re watching a movie with the unwashed masses, your policy of just steering clear of the patrons is wise. But in a critics screening? Lou acted like he was being assaulted by a crazy homeless guy.
Or, Lou acted like he _was_ a crazy homeless guy.
touche
Reminds me of the time I tapped Tom O’Neil on the eyeball with my dickhead.
AHAHHAHAHA. Wait, Tom IS a dickhead. Does that mean you were sword fighting?
I don’t know Lou Lumenick. I thought his writing was decent. But this does seem to be rather extreme behaviour on his part.
Love to give people the benefit of the doubt in some instances. I think you have to sometimes. If not, then your heart would either be broken every second of the day OR you’d be in jail.
What strikes me is that Roger has been exceptionally classy through his entire illness. Why this lovely guy should be going through this particular hell is something I CAN NOT comprehend.
There are times that I haven’t been that crazy about Roger’s attitudes towards women. He can be pretty old school. But there’s old fashioned, there’s paternalistic, there’s chauvinistic and then there’s outright misogyny. Roger, to my mind, doesn’t even fall into the chauvinistic category. So if that’s the WORST thing you can say about a man…
I have a friend who had the same kind of cancer that Roger has. It has one of the best cure rates of all of the cancers and its treatment is relatively simple and comparatively easy. I have NO IDEA why Roger keeps relapsing. I think we’re very fortunate that he’s still with us. It’s likely his emotional strength and his will that’s keeping him here.
WIth all that said, I find it interesting that Roger never mentioned ANY of this until another news source was going to blow this entire incident wide open – and that he only decided to discuss it in the interest of truth and getting the correct facts out there.
I find Mr. Lumenick’s behaviour utterly baffling. But then I have no idea WTF is going on with people the majority of the time.
So Roger ends up looking like the class act he is. ONCE AGAIN.
And I’m SO with Dorothy. (AS PER USUAL…)
If Roger has to go through this, I’m grateful he has Chaz. She sounds like a gutsy woman who’s a hell of a lot of fun. (Yet another lawyer, Goddess D.)
Chaz’s remark is exceptionally winning and tremendously apropos. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
And I have said similar. From time to time…
The whole thing is weird to me even if you take Roger out of the equation. It sounds to me like Lou totally overreacted.
Maybe he’s depressed because he writes for the journalistic equivalent of toilet paper.
Could easily be, Craig.
But I think people are fortunate if someone is actually PAYING them to write. If you can get a paying gig, then you can always get another one.
It’s finding the first one that’s the tricky part.
Apparently Lumenick was shouting “this guy fucking talks. I’ve never been more certain of anything in my entire life”.
Miranda, I would rather write for free because I love it than write for whores for money. Call me old fashioned.
Sartre. Hahahahaha. (that’s all I have to add)
Craig, I understand what you’re saying. Completely.
I have much stronger principles than most.
But my practical side is something that I can never dispense with. If a princess is NOT independently wealthy (and the Wilding family is only comfortably middle class, unfortunately) then she’s got to eat.
I do write because I love it. I genuinely do. But I don’t intend on writing for free forever…and I hope to hell that doesn’t happen.
When it comes to your first gig (in terms of an artistic enterprise or anything else – UNLESS you have great connections – and I DON’T) you can’t really pick and choose.
One person’s red light district is another person’s Santa Monica.
On the other hand, you can take the whorehouse as an entry point (as it were) and build on from there. Mr. Lumenick’s employer (or someone similar) wouldn’t bother me a bit as a start. It’s not indentured slavery. You can stay as long as you want.
Here’s where the principles kick in. For me.
I’d rather write for free than waste my time with people that don’t embrace my view of the world. I could never waste my words on Penthouse or some rag that was staunchly right wing/conservative.
It would just be hell.
But everyone has their own particular threshold.
That’s just me.
Miranda, you should start your own blog.
Oh, wait…