Watch Your Mouth

Put some more money in the swear jar

It started with Adam Driver.

After a screening of his new film Ferrari at Poland’s Camerimage Film Festival last month, Driver, the film’s star and producer, sat down for a Q&A session with the audience.

“What do you think about [the] crash scenes?” an audience member asked Driver. 

“They looked pretty harsh, drastic and, I must say, cheesy for me.

“What do you think?”

“Fuck you, I don’t know,” Driver replied curtly.

“Next question.”

Maybe it’s an attitude Driver picked up when he worked with director Ridley Scott on the 2021 film The Last Duel.

During a junket promoting that film, a journalist started to credit the director for making a “very realistic film,” commenting that it “looked more realistic” than Scott’s films Kingdom of Heaven or Robin Hood.

That’s when Scott, interjected:

“Sir, fuck you. Fuck you. Thank you very much. Fuck you. Go fuck yourself, sir. Go on.”

And Scott, who just turned 86, isn’t pulling any punches now as he promotes his latest film Napoleon.

When historians criticized the film’s accuracy, Scott replied they should “get a life” but then elaborated:

“When I have issues with historians, I ask:

“‘Excuse me, mate, were you there? No? Well, shut the fuck up then.’”

And to complete the hat trick, last week Elon Musk sat down for an interview where he told advertisers threatening to boycott twitter/X that they could “go fuck yourselves.”

I’m not clutching my pearls here, but it feels like there’s a lot more rage and frustration on display than usual.

Critics, journalists, and members of the public have always annoyed artists and business leaders, but these responses seem a lot angrier than we’re used to.

Or maybe the anger has always been there, it just hasn’t been this visible.

Scott is 86, and surely frustrated – and likely fed up –with decades of Hollywood suits and critics not understanding his art. 

Musk is 52 and rich enough that he can probably get away with saying anything he wants.

But Driver is only 40. He hasn’t been in the Hollywood game that long. But he did serve as a Marine before becoming an actor, so perhaps that’s a factor.

And while their remarks have been shared online and written about, their word choice hasn’t been that newsworthy.

People don’t seem to be all that shocked or upset about their attitudes or their language.

They might be surprised that Musk made his comments that he did (given his platform’s business model depends on advertising dollars), but no one is suggesting we wash his mouth out with soap.

Maybe Driver, Scott, and Musk have been binging Succession and are just channeling a bit of Logan Roy rage?*

But why all this rage now?

While there are plenty of things to be upset about, I am curious if people are feeling more rage now – or if they are just more comfortable displaying it.

Maybe they’re just being their “authentic” selves.

But imagine if actor Natalie Portman or director Greta Gerwig gave an expletive-filled response to a critic.

Or if battered Twitter CEO  Linda Yaccarino was sharing the provocative message her boss did so publicly.

I bet she’d like to tell some people to f off, but would she?

And if she did, how would people react?

One can speculate — but unless you have “f you money” like Elon and these celebrities, you may want to find another way to communicate.

*I don’t know if anyone drops an f-bomb as powerfully as actor Brian Cox.  I mean, the range!  How does one actor find so many ways to say the same two words?
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Beth Collier loves writing, pop culture, and watching Succession (but not emulating any of the characters).

She also loves helping companies, leaders, and teams improve their communication (and creativity and leadership) through consulting, coaching, and workshops.

Her clients benefit from Beth’s global corporate experience, Midwestern practicality and enthusiasm, and an endless supply of pop culture references.

To find out how Beth can help you become a more confident, creative, and compelling leader – or improve communication in your company – visit www.beth-collier.com or drop her a line at beth@beth-collier.com

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