Here’s a video look at Melancholia director Lars von Trier trying to be humorous during the press conference with some of the comments that got him banned from the Cannes Film Festival this morning. Poor Kirsten Dunst looks like she wants to melt through the floorboards as von Trier just can’t bring himself to stop digging a hole he and his film might find it difficult to climb out of.
CANNES: Watch Lars Von Trier's Meltdown
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Oh my God… poor Kristen Dunst… She looks SO uncomfortable… this is just.. yeah..
Wow. Poor old Kirsten Dunst.
Old?? Are you serious??
If it takes a Nazi to get Kirsten Dunst to do full-frontal nudity in a film than I guess Im a Nazi sympathizer too.
The French are so touchy about Nazis. It’s like they were once occupied by Hitler and had their Jewish populations sent off to concentration camps.
Lighten up, France! Don’t you know that a French Jewish girl killed Hitler in a Paris movie house?
I think Cannes didn’t go nearly far enough. I think they should’ve eviscerated him. Not least of all for his smugness. He is a dirty European pig anti-Semite.
Although I don’t believe they overreacted at all, because he WAS out of line to the point of outrageousness….that was a DARN FUNNY joke Frank. Kudos for a “Basterds” reference. Well played. :D
I love that movie! Especially how Brad Pitt says Knatt-zees.
Wow! Unbelievable! For the first time I had sympathy for Kirsten Dunst
Man he just couldn’t stop digging that hole could he? A moment like this is something you’d see in a sitcom and you’d cringe, but think, “no one could actually be that stupid…” Turns out someone can.
Poor Kirsten. What an ungrateful ass he is to torpedo a film his actors worked so hard on.
Amen
Kirsten Dunst makes this video.
Because it is always about what someone says or does in real life, and rarely bout the actual product…
…how sad society has become.
I don’t agree with anything Lars Von Trier said and I think his jokes were tasteless. That being said, how sad that the people who banned him are the same people who would welcome Roman Polanski with open arms. As a liberal I find myself constantly offended by some of these phony liberals. One minute they express outrage over Von Trier’s comments and the next minute they are passing around petitions defending Polanski.
These are the same pseudo-intellectual assholes who host benefits to raise awareness for girls being raped in the Congo while they are busy defending Dominique Strauss-Kahn as a “guy who likes women, so what?” They are the same pseudo-intellectuals who hang out in the Hamptons every summer. The Hamptons, a place full of Golf courses that don’t allow Jews. They are the same pseudo intellectuals who run to the Global Economic Summit in Switzerland to talk about the global food crisis. All while they’re chowing down on a 27 course meal of roasted duck and truffle risoto.
It’s one thing to attack his comments, but to ban him, really? Maybe it’s time some of these jerks took a long look in the mirror. The sheer ridiculousness of it is breath-taking. I wonder how many of the jurors at Cannes this years signed the Polanski petition. More than a few I bet.
Wow. Because you are so vocal, and I completely disagree with you, I had to reply. I think Polanski served his time and blame the girl’s mother for the girl’s “rape.” The IMF head, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has not even had a trial yet. May I remind you that in this country, people are innocent until proven guilty – IF EVER. I am not too certain what happened and rely on the judicial process to take care of it, not the media.
Kudos to Kirsten. Her discomfort is obvious and she appears to be looking off stage for help.
Unfortunately, Lars made this press conference feel like one was watching the ‘death’ penalty being enforced. This was, without doubt, a self inflicted execution.
I wasn’t going to watch ‘Melancholia’ anyway; ‘Antichrist’ was horrendous.
My sympathies go to the rest of the people who worked on this film and are watching their director flame-out. That must be infuriating.
I actually feel bad for Kirsten Dunst, poor girl is just a bystander in this wreck
This is just what happens when you have no filter. It’s like a drunk and you’re just being honest about your feelings.
Lars Von Trier needs to get a hold of Mel so he can learn the secret of getting away with racist statements and be welcomed back again and again
Embarressing and toecringing? yes. Some form of tourettes syndrome? I think so. Ackwardly unintelligent attempt at giving the press some witty controversy? Yes. Taking it seriously enough to ban him from the festival, and thereby actually giving his statements actual weight? Bad bad call..
Hell no, this kind of thing should not be tolerated. 52 Million people died because of Hitler.
In all these years have we not learned that artists, many of them, are loose cannons. It’s that willingness to push the envelope that separates us from the audience. Trey Park and Matt Stone smell a new episode coming…come on this is standard South Park fare!
Watching Kristen Dunst’s face throughout the whole thing was priceless!
Poor Kristen!
What is it with white people today and this “awkward” sh**. Always saying the wrong thing in the wrong places ON PURPOSE. Just taking it to extremes as we see here. SMH
What is it with non-white people today? Racism goes both ways! People who are black, Hispanic, etc. also sometimes say dumb things.
Yes, Hannah, there were so many white people enslaved, raped, and killed for being white. Thanks for the history lesson.
I definitely look forward to the revelry surrounding DJANGO UNCHAINED next year – what a message of tolerance, “humanity and genorosity” that movie will have. You’re right Hannah, black people are SO RACIST!!!!
Ben, that doesn’t have anything to do with what Hannah said.
Um, yes it does.
@Ben, you are clearly not seeing Hannah’s point. Racism exists on all levels. Subjugating and generalizing it to one group only betrays… well your own prejudice.
This is not quite like the other recent celebrity antisemitic outbursts. It sounds like incoherent drivel. The guy talked himself into a corner, then tried to use humor to back out of it which clearly backfired. Is he a nazi or Hitler sympathizer I don’t know… but his comments where astonishing to say the least, and I think his punishment is justified. People need to realize there are consequences that come along with certain comments. Though I believe in free speech, some speech will not sit well with the masses. Too many people were offended by his comments even though he was talking about himself. This is just another example of why people need to think before they speak, particularly when you’re an ambivalent director such as Von Trier
“Though I believe in free speech, some speech will not sit well with the masses”
Nice contradiction, you are either for free speech or not. It seems you are for free speech that doesn’t hurt people’s feelings
“This is just another example of why people need to think before they speak”
I couldn’t agree more
The poor guy was trying to make a joke and failed miserably. Give him a break.
HA HA…not funny. you imbecil.
He wasn’t attempting to be funny. you imbecil.
I really have to love someone who misspells “imbecile”. :)
Oh irony! Imbeciles calling someone an “imbecil.”
I don’t give two shi!$ if he was joking or not. There are many words I cannot say in a public forum and should not say in a private forum. Is using the N word appropriatre if I am joking? What about the multitiude of “gay” words used today? Ok as long as I’m joking? I work in a school that has a classroom for kids with disabilities. I guess it is ok to make fun of them as long as I’ve done it before and people should know I am joking. No harm done, right?
This douchbag was perfectly sober and knew people were watching him. At least Mel Gibson was drunk. Not an excuse, but come on, he wasn’t at a podium at a movie festival. He should know better, does know better, and ignored the social rules we have in place. He earned his persona non grata status.
Amen!
KD has never been so appealing or sexy
That’s what I was thinking the whole time! who knew? She was like a visual palette cleanser
I concur.
I am glad she did not have a razor on her person. She probably would have slit her wrists right there on the podium.
Open Mouth… Insert Foot. Wow, Lars just couldn’t STOP himself from talking. He was like that guest at the party who keeps making jokes, but no one gets its a joke…and the joke is about being a Nazi. It just doesn’t end well.
I think having seen this now, that Cannes calling him “Persona Non Grata” is a bit drastic. Yes, he made some dumb rambling remarks, but you could tell there was no sincerity to it. He’s just a bad comedian… stick to making movies, not making speeches… Dumb dumb dumb.
Or better yet, don’t stick to movies, as in “don’t make movies”, or “stop making movies”, or “stop hiring actors and making movies with them”, or “stop making movies so the rest of the world can stop giving a shit what you say about anything you hacktwit pseudoartist”!
What is weird is that if Lars had said “I’m a Communist”, a political system/ideology that slaughtered tens of millions more innocent human beings that even the Nazis, the French would love him even more. Poor Kristen, but really she should have just looked at him and said ” you’re fucking insane dude. See you later” and walked. She doesn’t need his shitty little movies.
Under your logic, capitalism has also slaughtered millions of innocent people, from what was done to the Native Americans, to every war committed since. What’s your point? Ideologies and political systems don’t kill, some of the people following them do.
Under anyone’s logic, capitalism dictated the slavery of 50 million Africans. So much so that half the country was willing to go to war to preserve it.
Right back atcha Alan.
The civil war was not fought solely for the purpose of defending slavery. Take a history class.
Im sorry you hate yourself and this country’s history and feel ashamed to be an American.
I dont know how you sleep at night.
I can be ashamed of the civil war, ashamed that slavery ever was a part of our history and still be proud of America. I don’t see a connection to “hating history” and especially not to “hating yourself.” Go get some sleep – you’ll think more clearly. MAYBE.
What good director isn’t a fascist dictator to some degree? I can understand his comments, which weren’t literal, by the way, nor do I think that he meant to be anti-semetic. He was being hyperbolic, and this isn’t the first time — he’s a provocateur. That’s how he’s survived in this business. I find the hypersensitivity being displayed by people regarding this matter a touch extreme, and more disturbing than Von Trier’s flip comments. If I were to say “Chaplin is a bit like Hitler” — well, it’s true and it’s not. One can’t deny that Chaplin had Hitlerian qualities, and likely understood the man, but one doesn’t take the Great Dictator literally. It’s a comedy. Von Trier is being subjected to a similar reactionary hysteria as Chaplin was subjected to, and it’s just silly.
Jesus. Hitler wasn’t a bossy director, you twit, he was the greatest single mass-murderer in human history. He set in motion a system that resulted in children being bayoneted in front of their parents. He didn’t insist on unnecessary takes, he f0cking tens of millions of people.
Kirsten’s reactions in this video are mind-boggingly priceless.
I just couldn’t keep my eyes off of her.
As much as what Von Trier was saying for captivating, her visual reactions and obvious physical discomfort made the video.
All I could think of (that was probably going through her head as she went through that) was that Dwayne Wade commercial where he’s screaming “GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!” as she looks for her agent (whom I believe she’s probably already fired).
Poor girl is now immortalized in the worst possible way.
And here we thought it couldn’t possibly get worse for her than Spider-Man 3…….or the entire Spider-Man series for that matter.
Well said. I would pay good money to see exactly what Kristen did once the interview was over. Did she scream at her agent? Did she curl up in a private room and burst out in tears? Did she immediately order a triple shot of vodka? I can’t imagine.
I think we can all relate with her to being in a situation like that. Someone says something completely off the wall and because of proximity, you’re now tied into the mess.
One thing is certain: she never looked more beautiful or endearing in an unintentional way.
This isn’t even close to as bad as Spider-Man 3.
Comment of the day!
I concur. Again.
At first when I read about this I thought the guy was being provocative and tongue in cheek in a ridiculous way.
After seeing him speak the words? He was being sincere and that is more disturbing than anything I could have imagined.
It’s time for him to go away.
Von Trier’s FATHER IS JEWISH! His adopted father whom he has no relationship with is German. This is a case of making fun of oneself. This touches a nerve because subconsciously people don’t see Von Trier as Jewish which speaks more about how people view adopted children as not genuine and is more troubling than anything Von Trier joked about. Just think if it was some wannabe hip Jewish person making fun of his heritage this wouldn’t have grabbed the headlines.
The outrage over this is disturbing. The holier-then-thou douchery of the ‘arts’ world and beyond are using Von Trier’s inability to explain his feelings in English as a way to jump up and down and grab attention for themselves. Von Trier even says at one point “How do I get out of this?” He fully knows that he is having a hard time conveying in English what he is trying to say. If you can’t see that he’s not praising Hitler/Nazi’s but rather making a comparison with an austere, German way of thinking, then you need to look inward. If you have this sort of ‘pop’ sensitvity, then please withdraw yourself now from the film and television making world.
If you can’t understand what Von Trier was explaining, than I recommend you rush off to see the new “Pirates of the Carribean” films today…it’s safe, goofy and probably the biggest challenge you would be able to handle. Grow up people!
You are a dumb bastard.
I hope you didn’t take me saying ‘You are a dumb bastard,’ in the wrong light. I am an American and I have trouble sometimes conveying that you are a dumb ass.
Nein, sie sind ein dummer bastard.
You make a good point about the language barrier.
Thank you, Mrs. Von Trier. Your explanation has been most insightful.
Anon,
When Von Trier says “Israel is a pain in the ass” he wasn’t joking, he was being sincere, insulting a prosperous democracy in the middle of an otherwise tumultuous middle east. His words as a director, filmed and rebroadcast online, can influence less informed minds globally.
I don’t need to see Pirates of the Carribean when I have mind-numblingly awful entertainment like your comments at my ready disposal.
Much love,
Smarter, Not Holier, Than Thou
Haha…”when I have mind-numblingly awful entertainment like your comments at my ready disposal.”
I guess my ‘entertainment’ was so awful, you had to respond to it. Thank you. I love you.
And thank you for reminding us that we may never ever say anything negative about Israel because it’s a democracy. I’m sure you defend the U.S. with even more zeal since it is a much bigger democracy (I know, I know…it’s a representative republic, blah blah, etc.).
A “German way of thinking” is such a huge generalization that it discredits the rest of your post. I know plenty of Germans who are not “austere” and each thinks in his own individual way, not in some nebulous “German way.”