Posted by | Ray Cornelius
Can’t we all just get along?
12 Years a Slave may have picked up the Oscar for Best Picture on Sunday night but the real drama was clearly taking place in the audience between the film’s screenwriter, John Ridley and the film’s director, Steve McQueen. Allegedly the two are at odds with each other and it came out during the ceremony.
Reportedly, Ridley threw some shade toward McQueen as he made his way down the aisle to pick up his Oscar for Best Screenwriter. In this video, Ridley clearly ignores McQueen as he walks by him and then stops to hug American Hustle director David O Russell. He also noticeably thanks everyone but McQueen during his speech. At the same time, McQueen is seen giving Ridley a weird hand clap, accompanied by an uninterested look on his face.
Fast forward to the end of the show when McQueen is receiving the Oscar for Best Picture and he totally omits Ridley’s name from his long list of supporters. He even thanks his mum before going into a “Pentecostal leap.” All of these actions led many to believe that there was something strange going on between the two men.
So what is the reason you ask?
According to Deadline founder Nikke Finke, sources are telling her Ridley and McQueen are fighting over screenplay ‘credit.’ There is also the alleged rumor that Ridley is disputing McQueen over his salary. Either way, the rift is apparent and had the internet all abuzz after the show.
However, Ridley has now come out to say that he did not throw shade at McQueen and applauded the director for a job well done.
“Listen, without Steve McQueen I wouldn’t have this Oscar tonight […] I owe a lot to the genius of Steve McQueen, and I am forever grateful to have had the chance to work with him […] I had less than two minutes to thank everybody, and I was so caught up in the emotion of the moment when I was onstage […] It was Steve’s wife who found Solomon Northup’s book. It was a great honor, but also a challenge because I wanted to be true to him, to turn Solomon’s eloquent words into a screenplay.”
So far McQueen has not said anything about the incident.
What are your thoughts RC fans?
Photo Credit: Emag.co.uk