Watch William Friedkin Take a Swipe at Film Festival Judges: ‘Bunch of Schmucks!’
As Hollywood commemorates the life and career of the late William Friedkin, fans are sharing clips and memories of the “Exorcist” director’s famously unfiltered and foul-mouthed takes on cinema… including an expletive-laden strike at the DC film “Batman v. Superman.”
One clip that has gone viral on social media since news of Friedkin’s death broke came from a 2018 documentary “Friedkin Uncut,” a retrospective of the filmmaker’s career as told through his words and those of his collaborators and peers.
At the end of the documentary, Friedkin discusses his then-recent visit to the Venice Film Festival, where he premiered “The Devil & Father Amorth,” a documentary about Catholic priest and exorcist Gabriele Amorth.
While Friedkin loves traveling to Venice and presenting his films there, he says in the documentary that he does not like screening them in competition. While some of his films have been entered into competition at Venice, like his 2011 thriller “Killer Joe,” the very concept of a film competition irks him.
“Filmmaking is not a tennis match,” he said. “What is a better film: ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’ or ‘Singin’ In The Rain’? I don’t know! I love them both! A film competition to me is a joke. It’s a dirty joke.”
And then he finishes his interview with a vicious parting blow.
R.I.P. William Friedkin, we miss you alreadypic.twitter.com/b1sqd2nk9E
— John Frankensteiner (@JFrankensteiner) August 8, 2023
“I don’t want a bunch of schmucks who call themselves judges sitting in a fucking room going ‘Oh, this ‘La Dolce Vita’ is not as good as ‘Batman v. Superman,'” he said. “Fuck them and the horse they rode in on! And the ship that brought them over here! And the dog that walks behind them! Fuck them all!”
Ironically, “Friedkin Uncut” would be released a year before another DC film, Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” won the Golden Lion, becoming the first comic book movie to win the top prize at a major film festival.
Of course, Friedkin’s dismissiveness towards awards hasn’t stopped the film world from lavishing him with them over the course of his career, most notably the Academy Award for Best Director for “The French Connection” and a subsequent nomination for “The Exorcist.”
Friedkin died this past Monday at the age of 87.
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