AYER LOOKS ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
American director takes the high road in response to attacks on his new sci-fi film
Bright Now streaming on Netflix
Director David Ayer has responded to a film critic who called his new Netflix project Bright “the worst movie of 2017.”
The Fury filmmaker’s latest movie Bright, Netflix’s first original blockbuster, stars Will Smith as a LAPD officer working alongside an Orc officer, played by Joel Edgerton.
It was largely panned by critics ahead of its release on Friday, with IndieWire’s David Ehrlich calling it “the single worst movie of 2017” and opening his review with the line “There’s boring, there’s bad, and then there’s Bright, a movie so profoundly awful that Republicans will probably try to pass it into law over Christmas break.”
Ayer read the review and heaped praise on Ehrlich for his criticism, although it is not clear if he was being sincere or sarcastic.
“This is going on my fridge. Highest compliment is a strong reaction either way,” he wrote. “This is a f---ing epic review. It’s a big fun movie. You can sure string words together Mr. Erlich (sic). I’d love to read any script you’ve written.”
Ehrlich replied by calling Ayer a “good man” and said he will be ready with “fresh eyes” for his next directorial outing, and Ayer responded again.
“I really appreciate that. Every movie is a labour of love for me,” he explained. “I’ve never chased the audience, and I know my work can be polarizing. I’ve lived a crazy love and I guess my movies reflect that.”
He also replied to a Twitter user who asked how Ayer can go from writing hits such as Training Day to directing Bright and said there was no way he could think Bright was any good.
“Watch it and hit me again. Don’t go off other people. Walk the Earth with your own legs,” he replied.
Ayer is no stranger to criticism — his previous film Suicide Squad was battered by critics and he wrote a lengthy post on Twitter admitting he was hurt by the reception and there were some elements he wished he’d done differently.