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Timothée Chalamet’s dismissal of ballet and opera raises a lot of questions around the survival of the arts.
Has Hollywood’s golden boy tarnished his crown? Timothée Chalemet was a shoo-in to win the coveted Best Actor trophy at this year’s Oscars. It’s his third nomination in the category, and despite having just turned thirty, a win for Chalamet feels like it’s been a long time coming.
Few leading men have established such immovable careers, let alone in the first act of their life. But despite a devoted fan base, sex-symbol status, and billionaire girlfriend, Chalamet might have scuppered his chances at a thespian’s ultimate honour.
On the tail-end of a viral press tour for Marty Supreme, the movie for which he’s bagged the latest Academy Award nod, Chalamet lost his footing. He’d been speaking to Matthew McConaughey during a CNN & Variety Town Hall event, and said he didn’t want cinemas to go the way of ‘ballet or opera’. These were two art forms that, according to Chalamet, ‘no one cares’ about anymore.
Ouch. Strong words from a man who works in the arts – and studied at LaGuardia School of Performing Arts, an institution famed for its dance program. He attempted to soften the blow, mind you. ‘All respect to ballet and opera people out there… I just lost 14 cents in viewership. Damn, I just took shots for no reason.’
I doubt Chalamet is skipping about his house in top hat and tails, plotting the imminent demise of these historic industries. But his nonchalant take-down – however ignorant or ill-informed – says a lot about our attitudes toward the arts these days. The actor’s statement seemed to come from a place of anxiety; fear of his own industry fading.
It’s also cutting for anyone who works in the ballet and opera, both notoriously competitive and back-breaking careers that, despite Chalamet’s opinion, still generate hundreds-of-millions in annual turnover.
Cue hundreds of dancers and singers chastising the actor on social media. Many have taken the opportunity to showcase the darker side of their profession – the gruelling hours and intense physical performances. Opera singer Isabel Leonard accused Chalamet of taking ‘cheap shots’ at fellow performers, while some institutions have made light of the comments and used them to generate ticket sales.
There was a general raised brow and pursed lip from the creative contingent, however. Broadway performer Zach McNally summed it up best when he asked why ‘any artists are taking shots at any other artist in the time [when] artificial intelligence threatens literally all art forms, except performing arts like plays, ballets and operas and musicals.’
