Sigh. This has nothing to do with the First Amendment
It appears as if Armond White — the New York Press iconoclast who Roger Ebert once defended then referred to as a troll after being exposed to his work — has found himself in a spot of trouble over his trollishness recently. Reportedly, White said that he thought director Noah Baumbach is an “asshole,” and much else besides:
Look at the movies. That’s how I know. You’re aware of what D.H. Lawrence said about writing…? Trust the tale, not the teller. So, Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, they can tell you what they believe they’re about. They can get on a podium and say, “This is what I believe in, this is what I feel, this is what I love, this is what I dislike…” Can’t trust any of that. You’ve got to look at the movie. You look at Noah Baumbach’s work, and you see he’s an asshole. I would say it to his face. And, of course, he gets praised by other assholes, because they agree with his selfish, privileged, stuck-up shennanigans. I don’t need to meet him to know that. better than meeting him, I’ve seen his movies.
I’ll be honest: Baumbach’s work isn’t really my cup of tea either. But I don’t know if I’d go around calling him — or any other artist whose work I had a problem with — an asshole. Not even a real piece of work like Michael Moore, or Jeremy Piven. I wouldn’t do this because it’s unprofessional, mostly, not to mention rude and at least a little immature.
Anyway, for his comments White has been excluded from press screenings of Baumbach’s latest film, Greenberg. Apparently there are some emails floating around calling on other critics to take a stand with White, to say that if he’s not allowed into the screening then none of them should go either in solidarity. Included in those emails, according to Jeffrey Wells over at Hollywood Elsewhere, is this line:
I objected that they were infringing upon my First Amendment rights as a journalist. In a second phone call, [the rep] apologized but informed me that I was still blackballed.
Now look: Focus may be doing any number of things wrong here, but they are by no means infringing on your first amendment rights, Mr. White. They are not obligated by the first amendment to allow you to attend an early screening for free so you can write a review of it. The first amendment says nothing about corporations stonewalling reporters/reviewers. If they went to the mayor of NYC and had you arrested for what you said, Mr. White, then Focus would be attempting to infringe upon your first amendment rights. As it is, they’re just pushing back against what they see as an unreasonably biased reviewer.
And you know what? I find it hard to blame them for doing so. Why would they think they’ll get a fair shake from White at this point? He’s already said that he thinks Baumbach’s a privileged asshole whose work reeks. I think studios have an obligation to let critics in who won’t necessarily give their films positive reviews, but I think that obligation ends once the critic in question makes things personal. You don’t get to call your host an asshole then act surprised when he ejects you from his party.