Offerings #18: The Letterboxd Wars Rage On

Hudson Williams, the skincare-loving star of Heated Rivalry, is the latest actor to get his Letterboxd discovered by fans. He promptly deleted his account. 

He posted under the name “Stfu” and wrote candid, borderline mean-spirited reviews. He gave Dune three stars and wrote, “Timmy breaks all his bones under the demands of this film. And how does he hold a weapon?? With what visible muscle? Booo get him off stage. His whole performance screams the idea that he’d rather be hitting a Juul than anywhere but that sandy planet.” He called Pedro Pascal’s performance in The Materialists, “so wooden it made Dakota Johnson look like the charismatic one.” 

Vulture came to his defense with a piece titled, Please Let Celebrities Have Letterboxd Accounts in Peace. I actually think it’s pretty easy to not have a Letterboxd — since when is a niche-social media account a God-given right? — or to have a Letterboxd no one can discover. 

Williams not only faced backlash for criticizing his fellow actors, but for giving Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita five stars. A culture that doesn’t allow for a difference in opinion with “artists” who are too cowardly to stand by their taste is a boring one. In an ideal Letterboxd-pilled word, artist Letterboxd accounts allow us to see their influences and eccentric taste.

He could have used this opportunity to promote artistic conversation by explaining specifically why he liked Lolita. It’s depressing that we are at the point where liking something with troubling themes/plots leads to the perception that you are Bad. How can we have interesting art with this fan-inflicted censorship?

I hate to say it, but Jack Harlow (and Charli XCX) is a beacon of artistic integrity. That’s a guy who shamelessly owns his taste. He recently liked and reviewed The Celebration writing, “Another incestuous classic.” Is Jack’s Letterboxd saving cinema? Williams’ sure isn’t.

I’M SO SORRY I EVER DOUBTED YOU, TIMMY. 

I still find his passion for marketing unsavory, but his performance in Marty Supreme caused me to retroactively overlook a lot. I do think he needs to think before he speaks and lay off the Theo Vonn, but he remains an Altar Boy.

THE NEW YORK TIMES WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND JOSH O’CONNOR THE WAY I DO.

JACOB ELORDI was unaware of “Sally (When The Wine Runs Out).” I guess when you’re that tall and from Oceania certain things don’t reach you. But he has a message for Role Model, “I would tell him, Sally is not the one for him. It sounds tumultuous. And she might be an alcoholic.”

In general, his WMag interview is a rich text. He revealed that he did “butoh, a form of Japanese dance-theater akin to ‘reanimating a corpse’” in preparation to play Frankenstein’s monster.

NOAH WYLE is inspiring new ways to describe men. Get a load of this: “At 54, Wyle appears to be aging into previously unexplored zones of handsomeness. His beard is perfectly unfussy - not too short, not too long - and dusted with sprinkles of gray. The creases branching from the corners of his eyes feel artisanal, like a rare and exclusive collection assembled with great skill.”

CHRIS BRINEY is starring in “Crashing Through the Snow.” According to Deadline it’s “billed as Planes, Trains, and Automobiles for today’s generation.” Bad news for Dominic Sessa, who was being billed as the Gen Z King of Christmas Movies based on the (almost) only two movies he’s ever been in.

I’ll be spending my weekend watching Tom Blyth in People We Meet On Vacation, Mr. Previously Unexplored Zones of Handsomeness in The Pitt, and Joe Keery present at The Golden Globes. Yippee!