By now it is common knowledge that most of Jared Leto’s performance in Suicide Squad ended up on the cutting room floor. How did Leto take that? Not very well.
Leto spoke last weekend at Camp Mars, a camping trip he organized for fans of his band, 30 Seconds to Mars. Due to his close connection to his fans, he didn’t feel afraid to open up about the film. Luckily, his fans weren’t close enough to keep what he said a secret. One camper relayed what he said:
“He was very honest about the film this weekend; his disappointment in what he’s learned of the theatrical cut (he’s still not seen the film); feeling sort of tricked into being a part of something that had been pitched to him very differently; thinking it would’ve been more artistic than what it became; feeling overwhelmed by the hate regarding the look and choices.”
Wait, he’s bad mouthing a film he hasn’t seen? HE’S JUST LIKE US!!!
Another beef with Warners is that they have prohibited him from engaging in rock climbing, something he loves to do and something that might have liked to do at the camping trip he helped organize. To this, he reportedly said:
“Fuck ’em!”
We don’t know if that is a “Fuck ’em” in the sense of “I hate them for stopping me from doing something I love” or a “Fuck ’em” in the sense of “I’m going to do it anyway,” but it does seem like a strong statement for someone who is under contract with them for a few more films.
It needs to be said that this is something someone said he said, but what rumor isn’t? If it is true, it’s hard to feel any sympathy for Leto. I’m a fan of the genre and I still know that any comic book film that is part of a series of interconnected comic book films will never quite be high art. As for the end result being different than what he was pitched, well, welcome to Hollywood. I imagine the end result was different than what director/writer David Ayer wanted too.
It should be interesting to see if Leto confirms this, and if he does will he do some damage control or double down on his disdain for Warners. I’ll get the popcorn.
UPDATE:
It seems like the campgoer who either originally shared Leto’s statement or was there at the time the statement was made, Britt Bellgardt , posted on a Jared Leto fansite to clarify what Leto really said:
1) I think it’s highly problematic a media outlet such way Batman-News.com is sourcing someone’s impressions posted on a tumblr account as some sort of fact – when no direct quotes from Jared were ever posted.
2) The 9 second “fuck em” snapchat video had been posted identifying that that was Jared’s response to his contract asking he not rock climb while filming. That was all it was in regards to. If a media outlet wants to take it out of context to get people to click on an article that has no direct basis beyond someone’s impressions – that’s on them.
3) It’s no secret Jared feels disappointed in what ended up being the theatrical release of Suicide Squad. He’s discussed this repeatedly in interviews during the promotional tour in London. This is the same sentiment he shared in moments during Camp Mars – however he did say he had a lot of fun creating the joker and needs more joker as well.
4) I never meant or wanted my impressions over hearing Jared’s disappointments in the Suicide Squad editing to be taken out of context. It was interesting to hear him be so honest and open and while I captured 16 seconds of that particular moment on snapchat and shared it – there were dozens of people in that room videotaping minutes and possibly the entire event – as a request had never been made to not record it.
If that request had been made – I never would’ve recorded a second of it. I personally just really loved his vibe in that second, being about following his passions no matter what, that I wanted to share it.
The fact this has happened has made me very apprehensive over sharing any additional impressions or thoughts on Camp Mars. Which is unfortunate because it was a very entertaining weekend, Jared was lovely & lively, and I wanted to discuss so much.
Her original post has been taken down, so we can’t tell if she put a disclaimer on it that it was her impressions of what Leto said or what he actually said. But hopefully this is a valuable lesson to her as to the power of the Internet and why clarity is so important when dealing with what would be a hot button topic.
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