Update on JeffWellsOxfordGate 2009
Jeff Wells update! The festival provided a fantastic lunch yesterday at a local restaurant called City Grocery. It was for the filmmakers and the fest’s invited guests, including, apparently, those who had not actually done what the fest brought them here for. Wells was there, enjoying the free food and drink, and asking them to serve his lunch upstairs at the bar, instead of downstairs at the tables with everyone else.
That was all anyone saw of him yesterday. He didn’t show up at any of the evening’s screenings (at least not that we saw), or at the parties (he definitely wasn’t there). And then this morning he posts this:
The Oxford Film Festival cool kidz (Rocchi, Voynar, Yamato, etc.) are shunning me, or certainly not initiating contact. I guess yesterday’s cruddy wireless funk along with my subsequent disinterest in taking part in yesterday’s media panel was a factor. In any case this feels like high school all over again. The cool kidz didn’t hang with me back then either.
So he stays away from all public gatherings, then says everyone’s shunning him. Because he’s always the victim, you know. Everything is always everyone else’s fault but his.
But as it happens, yes, everyone in Oxford who knows what he did yesterday thinks he’s a jerk. The only person in the entire world who is informed on the details and still sides with Wells is Wells.
Today he sent an e-mail to Melanie, the festival organizer, and copied it to me, Weinberg, and other pertinent invited guests. Lacking his permission to print it in its entirety, I will paraphrase, with key phrases quoted directly:
Snider and Weinberg expressed “online anger” over my not doing the panel, and I assume the festival organizers feel the same way. So I’m leaving the hotel and going home. I won’t be at the awards ceremony tonight. “I would obviously be walking into a very rancid climate if I attended.”
Thanks for inviting me. The staff was lovely, the town beautiful, etc., etc. “I didn’t assign (and still don’t assign) a great deal of importance to showing up at a panel which 50 or 60 people attended.” I wrote lots of other stuff about the festival on my blog, so “I think I lived up to my end of the bargain,” despite the other unfortunate incidents and the “sputtering Weinstein/Snider rage” that ensued.
(Yeah, he got Weinberg’s name wrong at the end. We loved that part.)
So that’s the gist of it: What he’s sellin’ is that the festival flew him out here and put him up in a hotel in exchange for his providing overall coverage of the fest (which has amounted to a handful of blog posts, including the ones where he complained about the wifi). Attending the panel was merely a minor part of why he was here, and unimportant. That’s what he believes — or, at least, that’s what he’s saying now.
The fact is, if he really thought he was being flown out here for any reason other than to do the panel, he’s terribly mistaken, and he’s the only panelist who got it wrong. Besides, it would be unethical for a film festival to pay someone’s travel expenses solely in exchange for press coverage. If you’re DOING something for them — sitting on a panel, serving on a jury, conducting Q-and-A’s, etc. — then it makes sense they’d pay your way. If you don’t do that, then you’ve had your expenses covered just so you’d give them some press — and that’s shady.
February 7th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
The best part of his latest blog entry on the subject unravels like this: A commenter points out that Wells keeps talking about sight-seeing rather than movies and festival events. Wells replies that his readers are more interested in festival atmosphere anyway, because the films at Oxford aren’t very interesting anyway. WTF? Last I checked, his blog wasn’t about travel. Seriously, folks, this is douchebaggery of the highest order.
February 7th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
What a feminine hygiene product! Does he really have a good blog following? I’ve never heard of him before this, and I’m for sure not going to read anything of his now.
February 7th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
This whole dust-up rules.
It surely is giving this little festival 10 times the exposure it would have received otherwise. And of course it is always fun to laugh at narcissists like this wanker Wells.
February 7th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
“Wanker” is a fun word. Appropriate, too. Thanks Geoff J!
February 7th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Mr. Snider — I really enjoyed reading your coverage of Jeff Wells’ coverage of the Oxford Film Festival, but it seems a bit odd that you spend so many words condemning him for not covering the festival or showing up for the panel discussion. I’ve been looking elsewhere online for coverage of the festival and the panel, and it seems as though Wells has done more to shine a light on this event than any of the other so-called “critics”. If you have ever read Wells’ blog, you should know that he isn’t there solely to review films but rather to give readers an idea about his life and his thoughts about what’s going on around him. You give him grief for not showing up for a panel — sorry, but I’ve never been to a panel that was worthwhile at any festival that I can recall. Instead, we get his insights about the way festivals treat visiting journalists, got a pretty good view of what Oxford and Memphis are like, and enjoyed reading the vitriholic comments of folks like you who seem all high-and-mighty about how he behaves. Get over it. Wells is like Hunter S. Thompson — maybe readers who are expecting an objective, rational and cerebral bit of coverage will be disappointed, but there are others who appreciate his damn-the-conventional-wisdom-i’ll-do-what-i-want-and-suffer-the-consequences. In short (and I know this hasn’t been short), Wells can write circles around you and the rest of your internet hacks, and his antics are what make him so readable. Why don’t you do what you do best — go see a bad movie and complain about it. The rest of us will be cracking up and laughing at the latest imbroglio that Wells has gotten himself into and enjoying it while you play the sourpuss.
February 7th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I just want thank Eric for the professional journalism he’s done about this issue. Good job man.
February 7th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
My favorite part was how he replaced “Weinberg” with “Weinstein”, effectively saying that he can’t tell jewish names apart. He probably refers to Jews as “Those People” as well as putting swastikas on his luggage.
I’m not saying he’s anti-semitic, but there’s an excellent argument to be made for it. You know, just in case you want to paint him with some extra douchebaggery.
February 8th, 2009 at 12:55 am
Regardless of what Wells is known for, it’s simple decorum — the kind Wells attacks others for lacking — to show up at the event you were flown out to attend. PERIOD. He can’t give up an hour because of bad wifi and ennui? That’s pathetic.
And as morbidly interesting as his antics are, from a business sense it makes no sense to piss on your benefactors – can you imagine how many more fests will want to deal with his childish bull****? It’s truly perverse.
February 8th, 2009 at 1:54 am
OMG, what a big baby…
February 8th, 2009 at 6:04 am
jefferybrianr.,
At best, the argument that you are making is that Oxford should have known that Wells is a flake and therefore should have never invited him to the festival at all if they wanted him to actually attend the panel. This is a form of blaming the victim. No-one is forcing Wells to accept their money. No-one is forcing Wells to stay in town, on their money, while essentially ignoring the basic reason that they are paying him money. This really isn’t that hard a concept to wrap your head around.
February 8th, 2009 at 8:38 am
No, John C. I’m not making any argument. I’m just remarking that Wells is an iconoclastic writer. And I haven’t seen any coverage of the Oxford Film Festival online except for his blog and this one discussing his antics there. Sure, I would have liked to have heard what films he enjoyed and maybe even something about that dumb panel he skipped. But the drama and the craziness he launched seems to be just as entertaining, if not more so, than any lame movie or panel could be. People seem to be up in arms about this, but anyone who reads Wells should know that he’s a first rate reporter and also a first rate loon sometimes, and that’s what makes his column worthwhile. Who else would leave a cowboy hat at a hotel as a down payment and then get irate when the proprietor rents out the room to someone else? Who else would ask a director for nude pictures of his leading lady? I mean, come on! Don’t get your knickers in a twist over this — it’s only a little film festival and this situation has given it much more exposure than anything else. . . . .
February 8th, 2009 at 10:21 am
So the difference then is that I say that we should call it deplorable behavior and you say that we should call it typical deplorable behavior? It still sounds like you are saying that the festival is at fault for not expecting him to be a jerk.
February 8th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Being a jerk is something I think we’ve all been guilty of at one time or another. Why, I myself have been jerk maybe two or THREE times. *cough*
I think the biggest mistake he has made here is that he isn’t realizing his mistake, and he isn’t apologizing for it. He probably imagines that it’ll blow over, and he’s probably right: folks will mostly forget about it. But he’s missing a chance to change himself for the better.
Dude, when EVERYBODY thinks you’re a jerk, it’s time to change your behavior.
I don’t club baby seals anymore, for example.
February 8th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Aw, crud. I said I don’t club baby seals, and it gave me the old hankerin’. Well, back on the wagon with me.
February 8th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Be strong, Randy!
February 8th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
It’s abundantly clear to me that jefferybrianr is Mr. Wells himself. Or his mother. Seriously, iconoclastic writer? Please.
February 8th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Eric, you may not care — but there is a typo in your sentence about Wells’ letter. You meant to say that you don’t have permission to “print it in it’s entirety”.
Aside from that, I have to wonder if the film festival is happy or distressed with the attention you and Weinberg are heaping upon this incident. On the one hand, it’s publicity! On the other hand, it’s not exactly a story about how awesome the festival is. Hopefully this whole thing is good for their event!
That is all.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:21 am
Nope, Ryan, Eric got the apostrophe right. If he were to change it to your way, it would read “print it in it is entirety.” Those apostrophes in “its” can be tricksy sometimes.
We all have our douchey moments, but the better people among us recognize when we’re being self-centered idiots and apologize for it. Wells has thus far failed to admit that he bears any sort of fault for the situation getting out of hand. Maybe he’s still sleep-deprived and nursing himself back to health after the traumatic loss of his wifi, but hopefully over the next few days he’ll wise up and show some remorse. I also hope this snafu doesn’t reflect poorly on the festival itself. From Eric’s coverage of it, it sounds like a very enjoyable shindig to attend.
February 9th, 2009 at 8:10 am
The guys a total jerk. You should know this from reading his lame blog.
February 9th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Ampersand, I was referring to the word entirely which has now correctly been changed to entirety.
The apostrophized “its” was merely a casualty of me commenting after a late night.
February 9th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Ryan-
Just remember Strong Bad’s excellent grammar song:
“Oooh if it’s possessive, its just I-T-S, but if its supposed to be a contraction, its I-T-Apostrophe-S…… Scalawag!”
(homestarrunner.com)
February 9th, 2009 at 10:53 am
http://hekima.lionking.org/thestick/its.mp3
February 9th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Why do you need his permission to print an email? By paraphrasing him, aren’t you risking someone saying that you misunderstood him? If you reproduced the email in its entirety (sp?), there can be no such accusations.
The guy sounds like a douche, and going over to his blog, it was confirmed.
BTW, from Wells’ blog, some commenter noted that the film festival probably got a whole lot more press because of this unfortunate affair than because of the events themselves. That’s unfortunate.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Jeffrey Wells says …
If you’re too “doesn’t play well with others,” you’re going to have trouble in life. Or end up a loner or a loser. But a little bit of “doesn’t play well with others” isn’t too bad. It means a strong streak of individuality.
No Jeff. This is silly and childish. You can have a “strong streak of individuality” without being an arrogant, self-centered prick.
Fail.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I see this as a wonderful example of policing your own…eric was paid to do the same thing Wells didn’t do (but was paid for). If people assume Wells shouldn’t have to work then they will come to assume Eric won’t work, and neither will be paid.
Eric’s just protecting his profession and behind
February 11th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
So, back to the lunch, did they actually serve him the lunch upstairs like he demanded or did he eat w/the rest of the “grunts”. I hope the wait staff stuck fingers in his meal as they served it to him.