Cannes Awards & Closing Ceremony
Sunday, May 28, 2017 at 4:53PM 
We've reached la fin.
The 70th annual Cannes Film Festival opened 11 days ago and today the jurors and a smattering of the leading lights of this year's edition of the prestigious festival are walking the red carpet one last time in the South of France to name the winners of the Palme d'Or, Best Actress, Camera d'Or (for new directors) and more. If you've fallen behind in Cannes-watching, here's our surely inaccurate predictions to one of the world's most unpredictable awards, the first round of awardage including the Palme Dog, reasons to be excited about the Queer Palme winner and of course a few rounds of fashion (with one massive fashiongasm to follow).
Opening ceremony highlights, Oscar hints, and a winners list after the jump...
the 2017 jury at the closing ceremonyAWARDS LIST
THE SQUAREPalme d'Or: The Square (Sweden) directed by Ruben Östlund
Östlund's last picture Force Majeure was an international success (though Oscar stiffed it at the last minute). His latest has been compared to Toni Erdmann mostly for being an unconventionally long and meandering comedy, this one set inside the art world. Unfortunately, from my understanding, this one is in English so it can't follow Force Majeure into the land of foreign language film nominations and awards.
UPDATE: IMDb (which lists the film's language as English only) and the partially American cast misled us. This film *is* mostly in Swedish and Danish (but for a few scenes with the two English language actors) so will qualify for Foreign Film prizes if Sweden chooses to submit it.
Östlund, who goes big with his emotions (remember his anger at being snubbed by Oscar?) was quite effusive and bouncy when winning, repeatedly blowing kisses to the jury.
THE SQUARE takes the Palme
Runner up 120 BPM.
Grand Prix: 120 Battlements Per Minute (France) directed by Robin Campillo
This drama about French AIDS activists in the early 90s is from one of the writers of Palme d'Or winner The Class (2008). The jury's standing ovation was so emphatic for this runner up prize that we're guessing the voting was close. We know it was Almodóvar's favorite due to the press conference but 'it's a democracy' and The Square was the picture that the entire jury loved.
Jury Prize: Loveless (Russia) directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev
His previous dense merciless drama about the cruelties of life in Russia, Leviathan (2014), went all the way from Cannes to an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win. Might we expect the same here? Whether or not this drama about the parents of a missing child is as successful remains to be seen but we haven't heard the last of this picture given that it was a critical smash.
Zvyagintsev made some sort of joke in Russian about Will Smith in his acceptance speech which the movie star on the jury with his translation earpiece obviously loved but I watched this on French television so I didn't get the English translation. Anyone know what it was?
Maren Ade, accepting for Coppola, garbled the speech and interrupted to say "I'm not Sofia Coppola"
Director: Sofia Coppola for The Beguiled (US)
Despite what was sometimes regarded as a weak festival for actresses and female roles, it was a great festival for women behind the camera with the Cinefondation top prize, and the competition Best Director both going to female directors as well as Lynne Ramsay's film winning the most prizes from the jury.
The only female BEST DIRECTOR winners at Cannes in its 70 year history. Both started as actresses: Yuliya Solntseva & Sofia Coppola pic.twitter.com/pgylFhK8dl
— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) May 28, 2017
Of Note: Coppola is only the second woman ever to win this particular prize. We didn't get a second female director Palme d'Or winner this year to join Jane Campion (who won the top prize with The Piano in 1993) but at least we now have a second best director woman! The first was a Russian director Yuliya Solnsteva for The Story of the Flaming Years (1961). Interestingly both Sofia and Yuliya began their film careers as actors. Sofia made about a dozen movie appearances, albeit some as mere cameos, before she made The Virgin Suicides. Yuliya was, most notably, the star of the sci-fi silent classic Aelita Queen of Mars (1924). She didn't act after 1930 but moved into documentary filmmaking in the 1940s and then to narrative films in the 1950s. She died in Moscow in 1989, 10 years after her final feature The World in Three Dimensions (1979).
Actress: Diane Kruger for In the Fade (Germany)
She plays a woman who loses her family to a terrorist bombing and seeks revenge. Kruger works in American, French, and German pictures so it's nice to see such major recognition despite her uneven filmography. More actors should really pursue fluency in multiple languages. If one country gives you bum roles (as Hollywood does with Kruger) you can still find good ones elsewhere!
Kruger was obviously quite moved by the honor and director Fatih Akin was freaking out.
Actor: Joaquin Phoenix for You Were Never Really Here (US)
The actor didn't seem to understand his own name when Pedro Almodóvar said it with that beautiful Spanish accent. He required a tap on the shoulder. Then said "do I have to go up?" Once on stage he apologized for wearing Converse to the awards show but apparently his good shoes had been shipped back home already? Jessica Chastain, who presented, and Joaquin, both forgot his actual prize on the podium so they had to do their photo-op after his speech twice.
For what it's worth: I'm not sure how I missed this or if I merely forgot it but apparently Joaquin and Rooney Mara, co-stars in the forthcoming Mary Magdalene and previously in Her, are an item.
Screenplay: [TIE] The Killing of a Sacred Deer (UK/Ireland) written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou and You Were Never Really Here (US) written by Lynne Ramsay
Lanthimos and Filippou are having a great year. Hot off their Oscar nomination for The Lobster and they've won another screenplay prize! Ramsay's sex slavery thriller was expected to win something as the last film to debut and to raves no less. But it won screenplay AND actor, the only film to win two prizes.
Jeune Femme won the Camera d'Or
Camera d'Or: Jeune Femme (France) by Léonor Serraille
This award for a new filmmaker, is traditionally handed out at the closing ceremony even though it has a separate jury than the Competition Lineup. This particular jury is not assigned one sidebar but whichever filmmakers are just starting out within both the competition lineup and outside of it. French actress Sandrine Kiberlain presided over the jury this year and the winner was a female director (yay!) for this very warmly received film about a young girl trying to start over from scratch.
Finally, a special prize!
70th Anniversary Prize: Nicole Kidman for her contributions to cinema
Will Smith presented the award. After revealing that Kidman could not be there to accept he pretended to be her, crying and speaking in bad French. Merci Merci.
But then the Queen herself emerged via a prerecorded tape. I watched French television to see this so Kidman's speech was being translated so I couldn't really hear her. When the video becomes available we'll share it.
ADDITIONAL TAKEAWAYS?
Three much discussed films from the festival, Michael Haneke's Happy End, Todd Haynes's Wonderstruck, and Sergei Loznitsa's A Gentle Creature went home empty-handed. This probably won't be the end of the road for the former two\, awards-wise given the high profiles of those two directors. (At the very least Amazon Studios is expected to push Wonderstruck hard for Oscars and Cannes has a long history of not showing future Oscar contenders with awards when they premiere at Cannes. In other words: It might not mean anything.) The Ukranian director Loznitsa has a lower profile but with several acclaimed features already behind him in both narrative and documentary forms, we'll surely see him again.
Who is the big winner in terms of Oscar play then?
I'd argue it's both The Square and 120 BPM (if their countries submit them as their representative for the Oscar) or The Beguiled. The Cannes stamp for Sofia's Civil War era thriller adds a layer of prestige that that pulpy period female centric film might have had difficulty being taken seriously without, not just because it's girly but also because it's a remake.
You Were Never Really Here might prove too outre for Oscar (they didn't know what to make of Ramsay's other pictures after all and she's never been "mainstream" if you will).
It's tough to know what will happen with In the Fade. Germany, like France, always has a wealth of options for Oscar submissions. But if they do submit it and if it gets a good push from whatever US company eventually distributes it, who knows.
Reader Comments (54)
Kruger should have had an Oscar nom for Inglorious Basterds.
According to someone on Twitter, the gist of Zvyagintsev's joke had to do with him realizing that Will Smith was a real person.
I honestly can't remember anything Diane Kruger did in Inglorious Basterds. The only female role that stood out to me was the cinema owner, but that was played by Melanie Laurent. Laurent was hugely deserving of an oscar nomination....but this whole thing about Kruger feels new and random. She did not have anything like the same impact in that film as Laurent.
Kruger is generally a super bland and unmemorable actress, but like anyone, with the right role, they can exceed expectations. I'm sure she's stepped up and deserves the award.
The Square is not in English. From what I've heard, only the scenes with Moss and West are in English, and both have three or four scenes each. Since the movie is long, most (rough 70%) of it is in Swedish. (I know a person who saw it in the Cannes market).
Yay Joaquin! Best actor of his generation.
Latif --disagree. In my own awards here I almost nominated Kruger for Basterds (she was my sixth place finisher that year -- the dread sixth place!). I thought she was definitely better than Laurent who probably did have the slightly better and definitely bigger role.
thefilmjunkie -- thanks
cal -- thanks. double checking with a journalist friend right now who saw it. IMDb lists it as English only (no other languages). Not sure how to contact them to fix that but waiting to get more info.
@Nathaniel R
I'll have to give Inglorious Basterds a rewatch to see if my position on Kruger"s performance changes. I've only seen it once, around the time it came out, and Laurent"s was the only female performance that stuck with me. If I can"t remember a performance, then it probably wasn't that great, but who knows...another viewing might get me to recall and appreciate Kruger in that movie.
Kruger should have been nominated for (and should have one for) farewell my queen.
Of course they deadass make a special award just to give it to THE Nicole Kidman!!! YAS QUEEN
Quite disappointed she didn't win best actress, but this is even better lol
So happy for Joaquin too. Can he alson win an Oscar for this?
I thought the winners normally knew the were getting an award in advance... I remember Bardem talking about getting "the call" in advance when he won in 2010. Maybe not always or they just like to act surprised!
Nat what did you think of the possible team-up of Will Smith and Park Chan-wook?
Here's Smith's full quote: "This jury is composed of a global community, and [a] major part of the time we spent being sequestered how to be a part of the future of the Cannes Film Festival in opening avenues to the world to be able to bring of women [and] people of color, communities that don’t have as much access to this vibrant community. Actually this morning, we had conversations about how we could open those avenues. We have some ideas. Director and I [are] forming a board and a coalition that might be able to find films and present them more effectively to the Cannes community, and by the Cannes community, I mean Thierry Frémaux and Pierre Lescure."
I. AM.HERE.FOR.THIS. Listen Steve Mcqueen's Widows is probably going to be in next year's line up but that obviously isn't enough.
@Carlos
Was Bardem at the ceremony? If not that would explain why he got an advance notice.
Had a good laugh this morning when I saw that Kidman got a special award...
They needed to call it the " I can't act, but I was in 4 pictures at the festival" award.
Now we will have actors and actresses every year insisting to have numerous movies at the festival so they can also get an award. What a Hoot!
Kruger is off and on, but the last thing I saw her in was "Farewell, My Queen" and she was brilliant...but Lea Seydoux got most of the plaudits.
I would have loved to know if The Square is the only film that everyone on the jury could at least be happy with rewarding the main prize (i.e. was there someone who REALLY didn't like 120 BPM?) or if they genuinely were blown away by it. I ask because the reviews seem to be mixed, but when discussing it, Pedro and others sang its praises.
Kidman was in Cannes all week, but couldn't hang around another day to accept her award?
Square's lead actor is danish - Claes Bang - and he speaks Danish to his (danish) co-worker.
So it's a danish/swedish/english language movie!
There's also danish/swedish/french/german/american money
invested in the movie.
I can't believe they gave the directing award to Coppola - all the reviews suggest that the tension and danger that the movie alludes to, is not very competently handled - that in fact there's no tension and danger present in the movie.
Lynne Ramsey would be a more deserving winner, if we are to believe the reviews - her direction is unique and arresting, according to the reviews.
K:
I'm an actor. Whenever some random on the internet claims Kidman "'can't act", I immediately dismiss them as a pathetic and jealous hater. Anyone who acts for a living knows Kidman is an expert at the craft. I know for a fact you are not an actor, because you don't know what you are talking about.
I do find it incredible how much Kidman threatens some people though. The attacks with her tend to get deeply personal. It's almost as if some people see a woman that basically has everything (talent, looks, acclaim, wealth) and it brings out the worst in their human nature.
I had no idea that Phoenix and Mara were dating. I'm happy for him. I would have loved Garrel or Renier too.
Is Kruger the Cotillard/Huppert of this year? Oscar totally spoiled us and now I want a foreign actress nominated every year.
"I thought the winners normally knew the were getting an award in advance... I remember Bardem talking about getting "the call" in advance when he won in 2010. Maybe not always or they just like to act surprised!"
I think it's a little of both. The film teams get contacted and informed they've won an award, but they don't always know what it is. Ramsey/Phoenix probably thought the screenplay award was all that would be given. Plus, like Nathaniel said, it legitimately looked like Joaquin Phoenix didn't quite understand that it was his name being called when he won.
Joseph, I wonder if it's in part because Campillo was part of a Palme D'Or film with The Class. They don't mind repeating victories, but sometimes juries will avoid it if possible.
I saw this documentary today, La légende de la palme d'or. It's a series of interviews with past winners such as Campion, Scorsese, Kusturica, Moretti, the Dardennes, among others, reminiscing the year they won. If you get the call you've won something, but you don't know what! It has to be nerve--wracking specially towards the end.
Joaquin is from another planet, so I totally buy his surprised face.
Sorry again: West is not American, he's obe more British who does act in "American", like Bale, Aluson Wright and Matthew Rhys. I was shocked when I've found out that both West and Idris Elba were not Americans. They were very convincing in The Wire.
Now try to make an American sound British. Only the ones with British parents (Christina Hendricks, Julianne Moore) can do that. And Renee, of course.
Happy for Sofia and Lynne for getting prizes. I'm also happy for Diane Kruger who I think is underrated when you get away from her Hollywood work. Yes to Joaquin Phoenix. I really thought 120 Beats Per Minute was going to win but at least it got some awards. I'm intrigued about The Square as I did like Force Majeure.
Nicole Kidman totally deserves the 70th Anniversary prize. She's an international treasure. Suck on that you overrated, no-talent midget and take your bitch David Miscavige with you.
Well, in my book, Nicole should have taken the Best Actress prizes in 2003 (for Dogville) and 2012 (for The Paperboy). I would have loved to see her get it this year, but I now prefer she got the 70th Anniversary Award, because it's for all she's contributed, at and outside of Cannes. And she has contributed so much. She was my gateway into an appreciation of cinema beyond my years, and I'm forever grateful. Nicole, the marvelously gifted film geek weirdo, is the perfect choice.
Did Nicole buy herself an award? She is too much
If The Beguiled was made by a pop culture provocative like Quentin Tarantino, would people be so quick to dismiss it as historical pulp or just a remake? Because it sounds like a Quentin-like project that Sofia Coppola pulled together with an incredible cast. I'm curious to see how The Beguiled fairs this year in awards season.
JOAQUIN CASE: at the end of the year we will have Oldman, Day-Lewis, Jackman, the boys from Call me by your Name, Elba, Carell, Hanks and a lot of Men that I don't remember. If Joaquín will be nominated, will be the "Isabelle Huppert" case of the year (Tour de Force performance with artistic value).
DIANE CASE: Glenn, Jennifer, Michelle, Kate, Meryl, Saoirse, Emma, Frances, Brie, Annette. Where she's fixes? I don't see that now.
@Zylo
OK you are an actor... there are a lot of lousy actors out there!!!
Ask yourself this... if Kidman had not had 4 movies at the festival, would she have received that SPECIAL AWARD???? Agents are a wonderful thing... as an "actor" you should know all about that.
K;
Stop embarrassing yourself. As I said, you sound bitter and jealous. I'm trained actor, and I don't get work based on my looks either. So I'm ok, and qualified to judge those in my profession. Kidman is an elite actor. One of our very best .It's as simple as that. She's got like 9 SAG nominations because us actors rate the shit out of her.
As for why she got the 70th Anniversary award....you'll have to ask Pedro Almodovar, the jury president. But considering the previous Anniversary award winners were Gus Van Sant, Yousssef Chahine and Federico Fellini, I'd say celebrity stature and Hollywood influence count for very little with the award, and it's based more on artistic sensibility. Cinephiles and European fillmmakers love Kidman. She'll be winning plenty of "special prizes" like this for the rest of her life (like an honorary Ceasar), and I don't think her agent will have to lift a finger. They'll give it to her because she's that respected in that film community. Let that sink in.
And Kidman obviously didn't even expect to get this award or know it was coming, otherwise she woud have stayed to accept it. She must have a pretty dumb agent if he paid for an award and didn't make her stick around to accept it.LOL! Cannes is not the Golden Globes and their prizes can't be bought.
Any more stupid conspiracy theories
Whatever. You don't have to be pretentious. Nicole is a joke. They gave her that award because it was arranged by her publicist and Kevin Huvane. Nicole shows up with her dud films and wears a bunch of dresses and then they give her a silly award. Thank God Will Smith made fun of her. He knew it was stupid and gratuitous.
Yet her publicist and Kevin Huvane couldn't make their client stick around one extra night to wear another pretty dress and accept that award in person.
Not very likely, is it. It really kills some people that Kidman is genuinely respected as a great artist. Her "dud" films also won Best Director and Best Screenplay. Keep up.
And don't drag Will Smith into your Kidman-hating party. The guy cracks jokes at everything. He even said Pedro was offering sexual favors for votes (tacky, but also a joke and him trying to make the room laugh). He was just being his usual Fresh Prince self. Don't read too much into it.
@,zylo. I think I know who's embarrassing himself?!
Why would I be jealous and bitter. I only go to movies not pretentiously be in them.
I am done😂😂
I can 100 percent vouch that her award did not come from the jury.
I can 100% vouch that you aren't actually Jessica Chastain.
If you were, "vouching" like you were there for the deliberation process might actually mean something
This comments section devolved pretty quickly! The Anniversary Prize is not a made-up award. It's given every ten years, and the winner is selected by the jury. Previous winners were:
1987: Federico Fellini
1997: Youssef Chahine
2007: Gus van Sant
All male filmmakers. I think it's pretty awesome that she won! Her detractors seem to refuse to give her any credit, though. So be it.
Actually 'The Anniversary Prize" is given every FIVE years (not TEN).
And they couldn't reward Ramsay with directing prize if they wanted to reward Phoenix (when actor or actress wins his or her film can win only screenplay award or Jury Prize - directing award is not an option. According to festival rules, of course).
Great and deserving award for great and deserving actress Nicole Kidman!
And I'm happyfor Ostlund, Lathimos, Phoenix and Campillo.
P.S. I'm not sure if this 'anniversary prize' was given five years ago but for example in 2002 (55th edition of the festival) it went to Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" and in 1992 (45th edition) to James Ivory's "Howards End". So it's given every 5 years but 2012 could have been an exception. :P
Still sounds like an after thought. She had already left after prancing around the red carpet for days.
"all the reviews..." NEXT.
All the Kidman hate? It's gonna suck to be you this coming year, I guess. Although it also sucks to be readers and commenters here because if there's one thing we know the only thing more dedicated to actress fans are actress detractors.
Really looking forward to THE SQUARE now, as if I wasn't already. FORCE MAJEURE was so great.
Thrilled for Sofia! She has been one of my favorite directors for a long time and I can't wait to see The Beguiled.
"If The Beguiled was made by a pop culture provocative like Quentin Tarantino, would people be so quick to dismiss it as historical pulp or just a remake?"
No. Directors remake movies all the time. A Bigger Splash was a remake, and now Luca Guadagnino is remaking Suspiria, which is a bona fide classic - is there moaning and groaning about it? I never even heard of The Beguiled until Sofia wanted to remake it, and she has been clear about her intentions in doing so.
Nicole Kidman, more than any English speaking actress (save Julianne Moore, but Kidman especially) takes more acting risks than any other. Just look at her filmography. Yes there are a few duds in the mid 2000s, but films like Birth, Dogville, The Others, To Die For, Eyes Wide Shut, Stoker... just to name a few. She always takes chances. She deserves that award.
Kidman is great even when the film doesn't live up... I happen to like "The Stepford Wives" for two reasons: Frank Oz's craftmanship and Kidman's leading performance, understanding the tone and soul of the film Oz was trying to make - a satire. The film wasn't that great (I don't think, it's bad at all) but it's a little treasure with Kidman, Midler, Broderick, Close, Walken...
Would Nicole have won anything if she did not have four films in the festival and made endless costume changes on the red carpet? I doubt it. Publicity and ego stroking. And yes she has the wealth to take chances, but her movies are almost uniformly terrible.
JC -- kind of uncool to use "jessica chastain" as your handle when you're just going to trash other actresses. Especially since Jessica herself is an actress fanatic who always has kind words for other actors. If i were a film star I would LOVE to have Kidman's resume, duds and all. So many classics in that filmography ... you're just not willing to acknowledge them in order to make a point. Selective amnesia you (apparently) have about cinema from the last 30 years now.
just as as a reminder. Here is a list of kidman films widely seen as classics or top notch examples of their form (whether that's art cinema, genre films, or mainstream "prestige" cinema or what not) I don't even like a couple of these very much but it would be insane to suggest that they don't have mega fans or aren't widely well regarded:
DEAD CALM (1989) - very well regarded thriller
FLIRTING (1990) - Australian classic
TO DIE FOR (1995) - arthouse classic
EYES WIDE SHUT (1999) - auteur classic
MOULIN ROUGE! (2001) - all around mainstream classic and musical classic
THE OTHERS (2001) - horror classic
THE HOURS (2002) -oscar classic
DOGVILLE (2003) - auteur classic
BIRTH (2004) - polarizing art film very few people even saw to begin with that people *still* talk about 13 years later (pretty good sign that in 50 years it'll still be famous)
RABBIT HOLE (2010) - respected drama
LION (2016) - oscar attention and international hit -- we'll see how it ages
BIG LITTLE LIES (2017) - miniseries... already hugely beloved so it'll probably be considered a classic of its form]
so yeah, most actors would kill to have that many super respected enduring films on their resume.
but i realize you're trolling and I fell for it. BUT THAT'S OKAY BECAUSE IT GAVE ME A CHANCE TO LIST WHY NICOLE KIDMAN IS THE QUEEN AGAIN SO IT'S A WIN-WIN FOR TROLLING AND STANNING SIMULTANEOUSLY.
:)
Nathaniel! Thanks, youre always the best! ;)
Kidman is great because she makes movies with auteurs. That's my favorite kind of actor.
Oh yeah Mara and Phoenix are an item. They were together in colonic spa recently.
If that's not true love, I don't know what is.
Nathaniel, you forgot to mention STOKER;
even though kidman's probably the movie's weakest link, it's such a great movie, I think - from one of the great auteurs.
MARGOT AT THE WEDDING -
as Margot, Kidman' gives one of her best performances -
Margot is such a great, complex character, beautifully written by Baumbach,
and beautifully acted by Kidman.
As people who like movies more than the average Joe and who follow actresses and awards, I think we may have a perception of Kidman that is a bit warped, or out of step with larger audiences.
If anything, the utter shock and amazement of the general public in reaction to her Big Little Lies performance's being so great should tell you just how much the widespread appreciation for her abilities as an actress has slipped over the years. People were rediscovering her after a long hiatus from the last time she had mainstream success (the Moulin Rouge!/The Others combo), which happened 15 years ago.
She was terrific in Rabbit Hole and Margot at the Wedding, surely, but who's seen that besides us and fellow actressexuals? Not very many people. We're a very tiny niche, and in a sense it is a good thing, so the legacy of these films can develop in fertile ground among movie watchers whose sensibilities are keen to appreciate them for what they're worth. If general audiences were exposed to, say, Birth, for sure they'd be talking about it, but it'd be to say what a pile of horse sh*t it is! As nice as it is to see a hard working actress entering her fifties and finding a new spike in popularity, not all of her work requires mainstream validation. It is cool that a part of her brilliance remains an intimate affair for the initiated.
In that sense, the Cannes award she received is perfect. It is a festival for cinephiles and glamour. She's a poster child for both. She's amid a career ressurgence and had four movies in the Festival, one of which won a jury prize for director, another for the screenplay. She has stature and was never honored before, despite terrific work (especially in Dogville). It's an honor much more representstive of who she is as an actress than, for instance, her Oscar nom for Lion.
So kudos for her! :)
All that said, I must confess that the whole "I'm a trained actor" pedantic BS that popped up this time around and was swiftly shot down by something along the lines of "there are plenty of sh*tty actors out there" made me laugh pretty hard.
Carmen Sandiego: Swiftly shut down by some bitter troll who claims Kidman can't act ....um, sure babe and no one else. If you say so. Obviously no one else cared to defend the troll or even claim to find make any note of my "trained actor" other than the troll that got served by it, and you about 40 posts and 2 days later.
So yeah, weakest shut down ever.lol! I don't really give a shit about pulling that card when faced with blatant ignorance about my craft, even though it does upset some people to point out that those actually professionally trained to a job might actually be a bit more qualified to make a value judgement on said job than some random on the internet or some couch potato with a blu-ray player and Netflix subscription.
There might be shitty carpenters out there, but if someone tells me they are a trained carpenter, I'd still be more inclined to value his judgment on carpentry related matters than you, because you own some table and chairs. For obvious reasons. I find it fascinating that acting is one of the few jobs that everybody thinks they are an expert at judging, even if they've never done or studied it a day in their lives.