Photo by CaseyJNewell, cropped (CC BY-SA)
The Lowdown
Taika Waititi says he hasn’t read a review of his work in nearly 15 years. He still had plenty to say about the critics who panned Klara and the Sun, his adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel, in a Halloween post on Instagram (Variety Australia; TheWrap).
Key Takeaways
- On Saturday, Oct. 31, Waititi posted the film’s poster with its Rotten Tomatoes audience score and a caption aimed at critics (Variety Australia; TheWrap).
- He called reviewers who “couldn’t achieve their dreams of becoming artists” “Irrelevant. Out of touch. Obsolete. In the bin” (Variety Australia; TheWrap).
- The film, starring Jenna Ortega as Klara alongside Amy Adams, has a critics’ score in the high 20s on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score shown in his post was in the mid-to-high 70s (Variety Australia; TheWrap).
- It opened at No. 15 in the US with about $720,000 from 880 locations, and Variety reports it has barely passed $1 million domestically against a $20 million budget (Variety Australia; Variety).
The Story
Here is the full caption, as reported by Variety Australia and TheWrap: “I haven’t read a review of anything aimed at me or my peers in almost 15 years. But I do listen to the people… So this Halloween, let’s spare a thought for those sad lost souls who couldn’t achieve their dreams of becoming artists, and thus became critics. The same people who also hated Jojo Rabbit. Irrelevant. Out of touch. Obsolete. In the bin” (Variety Australia; TheWrap).
The image he shared was the film’s poster with its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Variety Australia put that score at 78% and the critics’ score at 28%; TheWrap reported 75% and 26% (Variety Australia; TheWrap).
The reviews he was answering
Critics have not been kind. TheWrap’s William Bibbiani called the film a “disappointing misfire” (TheWrap). Waititi’s reference to Jojo Rabbit points back to 2019, when that film drew mixed reviews from some critics on its way to winning him the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Jenna Ortega, who plays Klara, an artificial friend bought to keep a sick teenager company, has said in an interview with Vogue that she doesn’t read reviews either (TheWrap).
A rough start at the box office
Sony opened Klara and the Sun at No. 15 in the US with about $720,000 from 880 locations. It opened at No. 13 in Australia with $257,000, and Variety Australia reports Sony has scaled back its international rollout (Variety Australia). Variety put the domestic total just past $1 million against a $20 million budget (Variety).
The Background
Klara and the Sun is based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel, his first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature. Waititi directed the adaptation, which co-stars Amy Adams (Variety Australia; TheWrap).
People in This Story
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Director · Actor
Taika Waititi is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian, the Oscar-winning writer of Jojo Rabbit and director of Thor: Ragnarok and Klara and the Sun.
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