Why do so many people hate Kevin Costner? With the exception of a couple of movies in the mid 90s, he's been in good movie after good movie. Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, JFK, and Dances with Wolves are all classics. Why all the hate for an underrated actor?
shareI don't think it's actually true that "so many people" hate Kevin Costner. If that were true he wouldn't be still so successful. He's still getting lead roles, and still drawing profits at the box office. But you are right in that it seems like there are people who are more vocal about Costner than other actors they don't like.
What you are detecting is in part an unfavorable attitude toward him by the media because of him being a vocal Republican, though moderately so, and there are many in Hollywood who enjoy bashing him for the same reason. A vast majority of people behind movie and television production (whether entertainment or journalism) are left-leaning. But that can't be the whole reason. There are plenty of other right-leaning actors, like Bruce Willis and Arney, whose egos are just as big as Costner's, and they don't get the same bashings. (Arguably Arney might, but there are far more people who are crazy about him, and he has been much, much more successful -- now in three completely different careers.) I think there is more behind the scenes in Hollywood that we don't know about. What goes on at social gatherings, or how Costner has behaved with other Hollywood professionals that has caused some problems for him.
The first time I noticed the anti-Costner campaign was Robin Hood, when everyone started making fun of him for not holding the "English accent." (Which I, after many viewings, still don't notice -- nor do I care. Nobody of that time would be speaking with an "English accent" anyway, they'd all be speaking in medieval English such that we would barely recognize it.) That was the same year JFK came out, which was a huge success, though right-leaning audiences hated it. My radar suggests they felt it was a slight against the right. Which is ironic considering Costner is right-leaning.
Then Waterworld happened, and it was like everyone hated it, and him, with such vigor that I found myself wondering if I was missing something again. I liked Waterworld for what it was, just a fantasy movie built upon an impossible premise. We've had plenty of those before and after, so what's the big deal? I tried to drill someone on why they hated the movie and scoffed at it so much, and they said, "You can't cover the whole world by melting the icecaps, that's just stupid!" Wha?? First of all the world WASN'T covered by melting the icecaps, that was a myth in the movie not a fact. It ends with them on dry land, or did you walk out before that part? Or did you even see the movie? And even if that HAD been the premise, so what? It's featuring a guy who can breathe underwater using gills behind his ears. None of this is any different from a movie featuring monsters destroying a city or elves in another world or human-like aliens from outer space or men in weird costumes swinging around buildings on impossibly cooperative "spider" webs shot out their wrists. I don't understand the problem.
I think there was a general dislike for Costner by the public that was irritated by a momentum of things going on behind the scenes. Costner's support of the political right, plus some people he must have rubbed the wrong way -- especially on Waterworld (he fired the director, the movie went way over-budget, and they tried to accomplish ridiculous feats like building an entire artificial floating island off the coast of Hawaii which they had to turn around in circles to shoot opposite angles so that the camera didn't "see" Hawaii in the background. Couldn't they have used blue screens for all this like normal movies?) -- and the media jumping on the make-fun-of-Costner trend.
I am not big on Costner's romance movies because, well, I'm a guy and I don't like romance movies. But some of them were hugely popular (The Bodyguard). I'm not big on Costner's sports movies because I'm unique in that I don't follow, nor care about, any sports. And some of those were hugely popular (FIeld of Dreams). I like all of his other stuff. Yeah some of it's weak (3000 Miles to Graceland, etc) but it's the same pattern with all the other actors, and for the most part Costner's movies are fun if not interesting and his character is always fun to watch.
C.S. HAVILAND
http://FaithAndFairies.com
My understanding is Costner is hated after the Lakota Sioux mad him an honorary member of their tribe out of gratitude for Costner's portrayal of how the whites had stolen their land. He then used this status - against their wishes - to build a casino on a tract of land belonging to them. He is hated for showing himself to be a total hypocrite in the face of the movie's message...good enough reason, I feel.
shareoh, and as for hating Charlton Heston - you onl have to watch his interview in Bowling For Columbine to see why th senile, gun loving racist opportunist is worthy of contempt.
share
Re: Why do so many people hate Kevin Costner?
by - you
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by richardbradbury2001 (Sun Nov 2 2008 06:28:25) Ignore this User | Report Abuse
oh, and as for hating Charlton Heston - you onl have to watch his interview in Bowling For Columbine to see why th senile, gun loving racist opportunist is worthy of contempt.
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Do you honestly believe anything Michael Moore says? His own people have quit and left him because he loves to re-edit and put things in such an order to make anyone look silly.
Take a look at the movie :
Michael Moore Hates America.
Give it the same un-biased view you gave the columbine movie.. Which btw many in the movie are sueing moore... The bank and the vet with no hands etc.
Michael moore is a fraud; he didn’t even grow up in Flint and it is a FACT.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411646/
richardbradbury2001 on Sun Nov 2 2008 06:23:53
My understanding is Costner is hated after the Lakota Sioux mad him an honorary member of their tribe . . . He then used this status - against their wishes - to build a casino on a tract of land belonging to them.
Not quite. He wants to build a casino on a land claimed by both the Lakota and the US government. There is certainly room for doubt as to whether the Lakota own it. Costner isn't making any claim to Indian status.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7DD123CF937A15751C0A963958260
richardbradbury2001 (Sun Nov 2 2008 06:28:25
as for hating Charlton Heston - you onl have to watch his interview in Bowling For Columbine
One carefully edited to make him look bad. Abut what one would expect from one of Moore's political infomercials.
to see why th senile, gun loving racist opportunist is worthy of contempt
Senile, yes. That happens to people who get Alzheimer's. Most people would think it contemptible to hate someone based on a disability. Gun-loving is also accurate. Not everyone thinks it's bad thing. In fact, most Americans would disagree that it is. Racist is a damn lie. This is a man who worked with Doctor Martin Luther King Junior for racial equality. As for opportunist, presumably you mean that the NRA held a rally in Denver a few days after Columbine. Considering that it was their annual meeting and scheduled over a year in advance, it's not likely at all that it ws related.
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Kevin is not Republican.
He backed four Democrats in the past for President.
He has to be given credit for seeking out unique roles and sticking with it and not folding up and whining about them.
He's not the only actor responsible for the movies...there are other actors involved too, yet they never get the flack for them.
Tom Cruise doesn't use a German accent in Valkyrie, from the scenes I've seen so far. So will he be tackled, trounced upon, ripped and shredded apart for it? Doubtfully. Why can he get by with it and Kevin can't? Because Kevin's become the whipping boy for all things scorned by such babyish attitudes. The movie didn't meet with their expectations. Well, tough noogies. Make no mistake, there are plenty, plenty of fans for Mr. Kevin Costner.
CSHaviland on Sat Nov 1 2008 05:41:09
of him being a vocal Republican, though moderately so,
According to Wikipedia, he's supported mostly Democrats, though has contributed to individual Republicans at the same time.Most recently, he's been campaigning for Barack Obama, who, if memory serves me, is not a Republican.
If he's unpopular in the Hollywood establishment, it's likely because his films have not made a lot of money. That seems to be the major factor in how well regarded one is in that industry.
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Becouse in the times of Waterworld and Postman, the man became so bleeping egoistic that even his friends started to have problems with him. Maybe the lesson is now learned that you can't behave like god even when it seems you are one and the humble Costner we all loved, comes back.
...or something, i'm hammered. Jolly good.
Nettipokeri ja pokerihuoneet- http://www.internetpokeri.net
i pretty much agree with OP
Costner is a solid actor
i think his recent Mr Brook's (2007) (9/10) and Open Range (2003) (9/10) are probably his best film's.
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My Vote History ... http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=11026826
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I love that guy.
I loved A perfect world (great great movie by Eastwood, fantastic performance by Costner and Co.), I kinda liked the extended cut of Waterworld, first I hated The postman but I rewatched it last week and now I consider myself a fan!!!!!. Mr. Brooks was cool (even though the character of the female cop was useless IMHO), I love 3000 Miles to Graceland (yeah, sorry, stupid silly movie but lots of fun and Costner steals the show as a gread bad guy), I liked The upside of anger a lot (underrated movie!), Open range rules (even though I'm not a fan), Wyatt Earp is a great and beautiful western, I liked For the love of the game (another underrated movie IMHO), Dances with wolves is a classic, Tin cup wasn't great but the chemistry between Costner and Johnson was fun to watch, JFK was awesome, I have to see Revenge again, The untouchables is cool, Field of dreams is beautiful, No way out was fun, Silverado isn't a classic but it's really ccol, I loved Fandango.
I'll see Swing vote in a minute, it seems like a fun ride.
I used to love Robin Hood (but I watched it a few months ago and I really really didn't like it at all), I haven't seen Bodyguard (I hate Witney Huston and that kind of female singers), Message in the bottle was lame, I haven't seen The war, Thirteen days wasn't very good (and I have to say that Bruce Greenwood and Steven Culp stole the show), Dragonfly wasn't very good, I haven't seen Rumor has it (can't stand Jennifer Aniston, except in The good girl), Costner and Kutcher were good in The guardian (but the movie was lame and so predictable...), I didn't like Bull Durham.
I think he's a very solid actor, even a great one IMHO (let's call him a..."classic and classy actor", if you know what I mean), and his filmography is more than decent (compared to lots of other more "in" stars I won't name). I think I can call myself a "fan".
He's overrated and a douche!
shareCostner has made some of my favorite films: Dances with Wolves, Bull Durham, JFK, Field of Dreams and Tin Cup; he has also made some movies that were so bad they were hard to sit through.
He is obviously very talented, and I'd never say I hate him. I will say I take his movies with a grain of salt; they could be great, or they could be stinkers.
I just saw Swing Vote over the weekend, and I enjoyed it.
A more interesting discussion might be how can one have such a wide range of good and bad projects to his credit?
Best Wishes,
Fitz
I wouldn't want to think that any apparent anti-Costner feelings are directed against him as a person....it's most likely just a response to some (and certainly not all) of the films he's had a major role in - not just where he's been a main actor, but the ones he's also produced / directed / in some cases re-written - some of which I think many people would have to admit, are absolute stinkers. Until I saw 'Swing Vote' the prime example of what I'm talking about was the dreadfully over-long, bloatedly self-indulgent 'the Postman' but I think 'Swing Vote' might even have knocked that off its perch. If Kevin Costner, as an actor and producer, will persist in making these films, releasing them for public viewing and then people don't like them - well, I suppose he's only got himself to blame if he catches a little flack for it.
I don't know why in this particular actor's case it seems so much easier to remember more about the terrible films he's been in, which as braves sul says, are greatly outnumbered by his good ones - and of course I'm not denying there are some really good ones - 'Perfect World' and even a lot of the generally-despised 'Waterworld' as well as 'Mr Brooks' all come to mind. But I have to admit, I've been more or less of a Kevin Costner fan for many years, and even I loathed 'Swing Vote'. Objectively, you have to acknowledge it was pretty dreadful throughout.
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