It's easy to see why filmmakers, stars, producers, and studios really hate film critics. To complete a film and actually get it out into the big wide world is a minor miracle in itself, so when a group of writers dump on a movie, it's not surprising to see certain people get upset. In reality, many critics do a hell of a lot of good for cinema - promoting small, independent films that deserve recognition, and educating audiences about the particulars of quality cinema. Having said that, it's understandable why they are often disliked by those in the movie business - it's never nice to be told your movie sucks. Even when they dish out praise, critics aren't necessarily safe from the acidic response of filmmakers. Alejandro Gonzales Inarittu's critically-acclaimed film Birdman, in a delicious twist of irony, is actually a sly "f*** you" to film critics. Through casting Lindsay Duncan as an icy, vicious theater critic who seeks to actively destroy a production she's never even seen, Inarritu portrays criticism as mean-spirited, nasty and seriously damaging. "What had to go wrong in someone's life to make them become a critic?" Michael Keaton's character asks during one point in the movie. Ouch. Of course, Inarritu is a more subtle, clever brand of filmmaker than many, and whilst the Mexican has chosen to cast a cheeky middle finger at film critics through characters he has created, others filmmakers have been less subtle in their reaction to poor reviews. Listed below are ten occasions where stars/directors/producers and critics went head-to-head, with results that vary from tiny quibbles, to volatile confrontations, to a few tasty punch-ups.
