Timothée Chalamet criticized for remarks about opera and ballet performers

Timothée Chalamet criticized for remarks about opera and ballet performers

Actor Timothée Chalamet, known for the films Wonka and Dune, faced criticism after comments he made about ballet and opera in an interview with Variety.

The actor took part in the conversation together with Matthew McConaughey, the star of Interstellar. They discussed the future of movie theaters and what modern audiences want to see on the big screen.

Chalamet said that on the one hand, he would like people to continue going to the cinema and for the culture of theatrical movie watching to survive. On the other hand, he said he would not want to “work in ballet, or opera, or anything that needs to be kept alive.”

“Nobody cares about it anymore, with all respect to all the opera and ballet people who might hear this,” Chalamet said, joking that the statement would cost him “14 cents of views.”

The actor explained that audiences are increasingly losing patience and interest, which is why filmmakers today try to include large action scenes at the beginning of films and use other ways to entertain viewers and keep their attention. At the same time, he noted that some projects manage to attract audiences without adapting to this fast-paced style.

As an example, he mentioned Frankenstein. According to the actor, the film develops at a relatively slow pace, yet it still became one of the biggest theatrical successes of the past year.

Social media users did not fully understand Chalamet’s position. Some wrote that “when nobody remembers Timothée Chalamet anymore, the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky will still be creating magic.”

Professional ballet dancers and opera singers were also offended by the actor’s words, calling them “disrespectful” and describing him as “uneducated.” Some users also wrote that Matthew McConaughey tried to save Chalamet from the awkward situation but eventually gave up.