The Power of the Dog: Director Jane Campion calls Sam Elliot a ‘bit of a b****’ over criticism

Actor had asked ‘what the f***’ Campion, a director from New Zealand, could know about the American west

Jane Campion has called Sam Elliott a “b****” after he criticised her Oscar-nominated film The Power of the Dog over its depiction of cowboys and the wild west.

Elliott – whose cinematic legacy is inextricably tied to westerns – said he took the film’s portrayal of the American west as “f***** personal”.

He called it a “piece of s***” and compared the cowboys in Campion’s movie to Chippendales dancers who “wear bowties and not much else”, adding: “They’re running around in chaps and no shirts. There’s all these allusions of homosexuality throughout the movie.”

Elliott said of Campion: “What the f*** does this woman from down there [New Zealand] know about the American west?”

Speaking to Variety before the Directors Guild of America awards – where she won the feature film prize – Campion said: “I’m sorry, he was being a little bit of a b****. He’s not a cowboy; he’s an actor.

“The west is a mythic space and there’s a lot of room on the range. I think it’s a little bit sexist… I consider myself a creator and I think he sees me as a woman or something lesser first. And I don’t appreciate that.”

Benedict Cumberbatch in ‘The Power of the Dog’ (AP)

The film’s lead star Benedict Cumberbatch and its distributor Netflix also previously responded to Elliott’s criticisms.

The Power of the Dog is nominated for 12 Oscars, including Best Picture and a directing nomination for Jane Campion.

Read The Independent’s four-star review here.