December 24, 2018

Kevin Spacey puts out a strange video.



He's defending himself somehow, in a puzzling way. The title "Let Me Be Frank" refers to his "House of Cards" character who is named Frank. I didn't watch that show, but I assume he's adopting the persona. The lines, as I heard them, are challenging us to give him a fair process and indicating that he intends to rise from what has been social death.

Here's an article about it in Vox, giving some important context:
News broke on December 24, 2018, that the two-time Oscar winner would be arraigned on a felony sexual assault charge in Nantucket District Court on January 7. Spacey faces charges of indecent assault and battery connected to an alleged incident in a bar in July 2016, involving the then-18-year-old son of former Boston-area news anchor Heather Unruh. Allegedly, Spacey put his hands down the man’s pants and grabbed his genitals....

Frank Underwood is House of Cards’ antihero. He lies, cheats, and literally murders his way to the top, making his way over the course of the series from frustrated House majority whip to president. Unscrupulous to the end, Underwood is not a character anyone can trust — he never speaks the truth to anyone, except sometimes his wife Claire, if it doesn’t benefit him....

“I know what you want,” [Spacey says in the video]. “Oh, sure, they may have tried to separate us. But what we have is too strong, too powerful. After all, we shared everything, you and I. I told you my deepest, darkest secrets. I showed you exactly what people are capable of. I shocked you with my honesty. But mostly I challenged you, and made you think. And you trusted me, even though you knew you shouldn’t. So we’re not done, no matter what anyone says. And besides, I know what you want. You want me back.... They’re just dying to have me declare that everything said is true, and that I got what I deserved. Only you and I both know it’s never that simple — not in politics and not in life... I can promise you this... If I didn’t pay the price for the things we both know I did do, I’m certainly not going to pay the price for the things I didn’t do.... Wait a minute, now that I think of it, you never actually saw me die, did you? Conclusions can be so deceiving."
So what do you think of this choice to take on such a negative persona in a video presumably intended to advance his interests in response to the news that he faces criminal charges? If you had to argue this is brilliant, what would you say?

88 comments:

YoungHegelian said...

If you had to argue this is brilliant, what would you say?

That he's bucking for Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity.

DavidD said...

I would hope that a jury would just ignore this altogether. What’s the point, then?

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

I didn't watch the show either, but I know the original (set in the UK, with "Frank Underwood" being Francis Urquhart) very well indeed. I can't see it being actually improved on, any more than the British version of "The Office," so skipped the remake.

YoungHegelian said...

@DavidD,

I would hope that a jury would just ignore this altogether.

How? I think from Spacey's point of view his life was destroyed overnight by an allegation he could not defend himself against. Now, comes another allegation that is going to court. It's his chance to defend himself in a court of law, and he's indicating he's gonna fight back with all he's got.

I'm still guessing Spacey's lawyer shit a brick when he saw this.

campy said...

"I know the original (set in the UK, with "Frank Underwood" being Francis Urquhart) very well indeed. I can't see it being actually improved on,..."

It wasn't.

Fernandinande said...

"So I knew this had to have been planned, though smeared with his characteristic rage that made you think it was just something that he had thought of the moment before he did it as for instance the time he throttled and then for good measure stove in the skull of the fire safety inspector a moment after smiling at him in appreciation for entrepreneurial flair."

Jupiter said...

It may be that Spacey is addressing his accuser.

Diogenes of Sinope said...

I'm gobsmacked by this odd video. At least he doesn't abuse anyone in the video.

BarrySanders20 said...

A: To Taint the jury pool.
Response: T’aint the jury pool though. It's everyone.
He’d be better off riffing on the old “I met a young man from Nantucket. . .” ditty. He could work in the bit about t’aint yer balls and t’aint yer ass as a defense that he ever really touched anything but the taint, which we know isn’t really anything.
Or perhaps he was Acting!
Genius!
Thank you!

traditionalguy said...

Spacey can say he is a Catholic Priest and all
will be accepted as normal and they will simply transfer him to new hunting Parrish.

robother said...

Method acting, as a defense. I like it better than Twinkies.

Don't know how this'd play as closing argument to a typical jury, but a jury of his peers (if it could be found) would vote to acquit.

langford peel said...

As Frank Underwood he molested a Secret Service agent.

So I don’t think that helps him.

Mary Beth said...

I too liked the original UK version and didn't want to bother with the remake. (What the US did to Life on Mars was bad enough.)

I think Spacey is trying to re-identify himself with his character in the hopes that even if the jury thinks he's a bad guy, the narrative demands that he get away with it.

He should have just said, "You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment", or whatever the Frank Underwood version of that was.

Freeman Hunt said...

Do we need a villain who really should apologize to end the Era of Too Much Sorry-Saying?

Bob Boyd said...

"Hold on a sec. All I ask is that you let me put my hands down your pants, then decide."

Beth B said...

So, he groped... So, he diddled... Are you not entertained?

C'mon now, we aren't really going to ask this sexual vampire to explain the the ins & outs of his need for narcissistic supply, are we?

Bob Boyd said...

@trad guy

What does a priest like best about thirty-nine-year-olds?



There's thirty of them.

robother said...

Frank Underwood, with his knowledge of American history, would have figured out the best way for an actor to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of the MSM and the Deep State.

Amexpat said...

Looks to me like a delusional attempt to get himself back on House of Cards. Hoping that the video would create enough popular support to have Netflix hire him back or a perhaps lesser company produce a similar show for him.

The Vault Dweller said...

I've never seen the House of Cards, but my understanding is that Kevin Spacey played the lead role of Senator Underwood, who was unscrupulous but still the star of the show. He was the anti-hero, someone who the audience knows does bad things but emotionally still wants them to succeed and get away with it. Perhaps he is trying to put as many people in the possible jury pool as possible in that emotional state of mind of Kevin Spacey is a bad guy, but we want him to get away with it. He was Kaiser Sose in The Usual Suspects after all.

The other thing I could think about is he is worried about the local celebrity power of the mother of the alleged victim. She was a news caster in that area, which I'm assuming only heightened the coverage of this scandal. And will probably heighten the ongoing coverage of it. Plus people are probably more inclined to be sympathetic to her and her son because of her popularity. Perhaps by putting himself out there in things that, on their face, do not appear related to the criminal allegations, he is hoping to heighten the media coverage of himself in the criminal matter, so that he can more easily argue for a change of venue to an area of the state where the mother isn't known as a broadcaster. Maybe, something like this is even trying to bait a response from the mother herself? Getting her to use her own local media pull and put out counter-statements. That would only help Kevin Spacey's argument for a change of venue.

Now if he is convicted what should he get? My initial instinct was about a year to a year and a half. Which is coincidentally what I thought the UC Swimmer who was sentenced to only six months should have gotten.

Amexpat said...

Also, looks like he's gained a lot of weight and is using the apron to hide it.

rcocean said...

Sexual Assault charges that are this vague are always suspect. Especially with gays. We're talking mano y mano sex here.

A certain roughness and aggressiveness is a given. BTW, if a girl walked up to man, and put her hands down his pants, would he cry Rape?

CF: Gone with the wind.

rcocean said...

Kevin Spacey Vs. Harvey Weinstein.

Its good to be the king.

Rabel said...

He was charged with abuse in Nantucket.
He said he just wanted to fuck it,
But he put his hands down the pants,
So he filmed him some rants,
And told the whole world to suck it.

rcocean said...

Christmas Eve and we're talking about Gay Rape.

LOL.

I'm going to have some Eggnog and sing some carols.

Merry Christmas.

rhhardin said...

He's an actor. They make their art out of damaged character.

Dave Begley said...

He needs to go away. He’s not that great of an actor. He’s no Clint Eastwood.

FullMoon said...

The dialouge fits his Underwood character and the series perfectly. Wonder who wrote it?
Don't know about rest of you guys, but 18 year old me not gonna allow any man to put his hand down my pants. Did the victim cooperate?

FullMoon said...

The santa claus apron adds gravitas

walter said...

Assuming he's hired very high priced lawyers to advise him, gotta wonder..

With the Nantucket riff, Rabel went for the low hanging fruit
Spacey may have too.

narciso said...

well they praised him for playing a sociopath in wiseguy, American beauty and house of cards, it turns out he wasn't playing,


well except for the murders, he was a blue dog democrat, to the right of the real party today

Shouting Thomas said...

Spacey pilfered one of the greatest lines in country music history from this song:

"Been busted for things I did and didn't do."

Wince said...

“Oh, sure, they may have tried to separate us. But what we have is too strong, too powerful. After all, we shared everything, you and I. I told you my deepest, darkest secrets. I showed you exactly what people are capable of. I shocked you with my honesty. But mostly I challenged you, and made you think. And you trusted me, even though you knew you shouldn’t. So we’re not done, no matter what anyone says. And besides, I know what you want. You want me back.."

The accuser was 18. The defense is consent. Spacey is warning the young man that all the lurid details will come out in open court.

William said...

Both the nature of the alleged crime and now the release of this video indicates that Spacey is an impulsive creature. He's very good at playing the cold blooded Machiavellian villain. I guess that's why they call it acting. He's none too shrewd in real life, but his persona says otherwise.....,,I wonder which of the "me, too" heavies will be the first to find redemption. I don't think it will be Spacey. Maybe Louis CK......Perhaps in the spirit of Christmas Trump should issue a pardon to Bill Cosby. It might help Trump pick up some black votes, and Cosby himself is no threat to anyone.

cassandra lite said...

It makes me immediately think of the people Frank Underwood murdered. Nice going, Spacey.

0_0 said...

EDH: Or Spacey wants the jury pool to think there is more.
I hope you aren't on the jury.

sinz52 said...

There's only one way to find out how "brilliant" this is:

Let him try it on the judge and jury.

"Advancing his interests" with the general public is irrelevant to a criminal trial.

chickelit said...

He’s a sex predator. The fact that he’s gay shouldn’t come into play.

glenn said...

Maybe losing his show made him bats**t crazy. Or maybe he was nuts all along.

wild chicken said...

Like the Dramatic Chipmonk ending.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

People loved Spacey for the underlying creepiness his portrayals usually more than hinted at, but I'm not sure anyone who could hire him would want to be infused with his stink.

daskol said...

It’s brilliant if his is merely an appetizer and his next video is in the character of Kaizer Souze.

Earnest Prole said...

When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose.

Laslo Spatula said...

In the still-frame he has a very Nixonian kinda look going on.

Do you see it? I see it.

Okay: maybe you don't see it.

But it's there.

I am Laslo.

BUMBLE BEE said...

I much prefer Christopher Walken's video i.e. Weapon of Choice.

chillblaine said...

did someone say weird video? Cope Land, Guest Host Lush

yo no soy el Laslo

Sebastian said...

If I had to argue it was brilliant, I would say it is because of the way he artfully exploits two ambiguities: is he in character or "real," and is he talking to him or to us?

But he misjudges his public prog inquisitors: "I showed you exactly what people are capable of. I shocked you with my honesty. But mostly I challenged you, and made you think" That flattery won't work. Being prog means not having to think. Being prog means clamping down on doubleplusungood wrongthink--whatever happens to be wrong as the tribe decides.

Of course, in this case it may not work with non-progs either, cuz facts and all. On which I have no opinion for the moment.

MayBee said...

Charlie Sheen's rants seemed less crazy than this.

walter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
walter said...

Blaine's ramble is mo' crazy than even Tiger Blood's rants.
It's Guildy via ewetube

Rory said...

Michelle Dulak Thomson said: "I know the original (set in the UK, with "Frank Underwood" being Francis Urquhart) very well indeed. I can't see it being actually improved on,"

I crawled through the first season of Spacey's version, just to give it a chance on its own merits. I didn't find any.

Seriously, if you haven't seen the Ian Richardson version, give it a try.

Rosalyn C. said...

He's reminding us that he is a brilliant actor, and a slightly crazy artist. As such he does unconventional things which makes him different from vicious criminal. He's not trying to pretend that he's a regular guy or some kind of saint who has never done questionable things. As a strategy it's shocking and a long shot but he's being completely honest with us about who he is and hopefully we will appreciate his talent and that his motivation was not to cause harm.

walter said...

He was doing character research when (if) he jammed his paw down the teen's pants.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Amexpat had it. He wants back on the show.

He's probably broke.

walter said...

Back on show because..I can be a creep without acting.

Robert Cook said...

"Amexpat had it. He wants back on the show."

The show is over.

walter said...

There's the cooking show option...Ramsey Gordon branching into pedo/metoo shaming.
"What the fuck are ya trying to fuck? Wait. What? Fuck off! No..not what I meant. Aw..fuck it."

walter said...

"No fucking way I'm eatin' that Morel now."

Drago said...

Spacey Thought Bubble: Just 24 months ago we were all sitting around laughing about how all this stuff was going to bring that nazi Trump down........

....hey baby I hear the blues a-calling, tossed salad and scrambled eggs...

....and now here I am having to deal with all this...this....this Trump stuff...ugh...

....Hey baby, I hear the blues a-callin',
Tossed salad and scrambled eggs

...And maybe I seem a bit confused, yeah maybe, but I got you pegged!
Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!

But I don't know what to do with those tossed salads and scrambled eggs.
They're callin' again.

Scrambled eggs all over my face. What is a boy to do.

Goodnight, everybody!......

Static Ping said...

I do not think Spacey is capable of doing non-weird. He's a very good actor but he was weird before the accusations. The accusations, if anything, make him more weird. If he's wearing pants, that's a win.

David Begley said...

Just think. If only he had been wearing an Althouse Apron.

LordSomber said...

I have never viewed an episode of 'House of Cards'-- (cut cable long ago).

I think Mr. Spacey is a talented actor, but find his actions heinous.
But what compounds the acts to render him unforgivable is the atrocious fake Southern accent.

P.S. His celebrity impersonations are dead-on, rendering this cardboard pantomime a further disapoinment.

wildswan said...

William said:
...He's none too shrewd in real life...

I think that's it. Frank Underwood would have found a way out but he's no Frank Underwood. He's just Spacey.

FullMoon said...

I have never viewed an episode of 'House of Cards'-- (cut cable long ago).

I think Mr. Spacey is a talented actor, but find his actions heinous.
But what compounds the acts to render him unforgivable is the atrocious fake Southern accent.

It is his characters accent.

Spacey made the mistake of not considering most people seeing this video have never seen House of Cards and take the vid at face value.

Without the backstory, the vid is creepy and stupid.

madAsHell said...

I think this is performance art. Sure, it reflects his life in some manner, and it is over-the-top creepy, but he's competing with Randy Quaid.

And, I'm not sure if you wanna suck the air out of that circus tent!!

LordSomber said...

I have never viewed an episode of 'House of Cards'-- (cut cable long ago).

I think Mr. Spacey is a talented actor, but find his actions heinous.
But what compounds the acts to render him unforgivable is the atrocious fake Southern accent.

It is his characters accent.

Spacey made the mistake of not considering most people seeing this video have never seen House of Cards and take the vid at face value.

Without the backstory, the vid is creepy and stupid.



Considered.

I do try to take a grain of salt when viewing new things without context.

narciso said...

Well Spacey has been pulling that trick since wiseguy in 87, or time of kill or a bunch of other films

Ken B said...

He wants to play Roseanne on The Conners.

walter said...

Shit. That would be pretty Trans.

Laslo Spatula said...

You watched my shows. You've seen my movies. You know the characters I have played. I have been the man who has always been askew; I am the man who put Gwyneth Paltrow's head in a box.

That is what you wanted from me: to be the oil in the cake, to be the pea under the mattresses.

You knew: oh yes, you knew. I was a snake wriggling in the grass at the elegant lawn party, and you rooted for me, because you wanted to see yourself in me, to be the grit in the oyster.

And now you want to pretend that you were not complicit. That's OK: I knew that many of you would not be there for me in the end, that you would ride shotgun until the road-trip got too real.

Can someone be a Judas to the Devil? Are you comfortable in your skin?

Yes: I did the things that you always suspected someone like me would do. And now you want to know more. You want the details, the dirt under the fingernails, the surreptitious photographs and recordings.

But I am only going to give you another character I play. As the audience you feel the right to have it all played out for you, but I am not going to follow your script. I understand: this will frustrate you. But it will only make you want more.

These men who have accused me: you know them, too. You know the type, you know that your suspicions do not need to be confirmed to be true.

They are playing a part, too: they are Little Red Riding Hood. But then you must ask yourself: just what were they doing, walking alone in those woods? Let us be honest with each other: no one is that naïve.

There are wolves in the woods, there are sharks in the ocean: when you enter their worlds there are risks that you are taking. Deep down, you understand: it is pointless to blame the wolf or the shark. Hollywood is red in tooth and claw, and that is why all of this excites you.

And you ARE excited: you now get to play YOUR role: the shocked ingenue. But, people: you are not that good of actors; you really aren't. And -- in the end -- that is the difference between you and me. And that is why you want me back.

The stage is mine, and you are in the audience, where you belong. I'll make it worth your while: trust me - I'm an actor.

I am Laslo.

AZ Bob said...

Narcissists are unable to see themselves as they are.

Gojuplyr831@gmail.com said...

Once the allegation is termed "credible" he is obviously guilty. Isn't that the Kavanaugh rule?

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rhhardin said...

An advantage of very short statue of limitations limits is that the context is still there, unaffected by recovered memories and interim plans.

Do it then or never.

David Begley said...

The case is set to be tried on Nantucket. The jury pool is full of beautiful people. They will see this. His lawyer approved this.

And Laslo’s text is way better than what the defendant performed,

exhelodrvr1 said...

He is forcing Hollywood to admit that they were all aware of what was going on.

Unknown said...

I think this is performance art. Sure, it reflects his life in some manner, and it is over-the-top creepy, but he's competing with Randy Quaid.

And, I'm not sure if you wanna suck the air out of that circus tent!!

----------------------
WhatStatus

Tom from Virginia said...

"The case is set to be tried on Nantucket. The jury pool is full of beautiful people. They will see this. His lawyer approved this."

I don't think so. The beautiful people left on Labor Day. The jury pool will be Nantucket's working class. I'll bet most of them have never watched an episode of House of Cards.

That being said, given the stakes on January 7, Kevin Spacey's video is remarkable.

Chuck said...

Master Persuader.

Curious George said...

That sip of coffee at .40 is so clearly faked.

chickelit said...

Mastur Persuader

FIFY, Chuck

Doug said...

exhelodrvr1 said...
He is forcing Hollywood to admit that they were all aware of what was going on.

While he is forcing his fans to admit they don't care what he did as long as they can get more of this.

Dave Begley said...

It only takes one juror to hang it. Some of the older beautiful people must live on the island year round.

n.n said...

With the progress of early indoctrination of boys and girls, this behavior will be considered forward-looking and normalized.

Joe said...

Spacey has always had a creepy undertone is across roles. I've also noticed for years that in interviews, he's an extremely bland person almost devoid of personality. In hindsight, the guy now strikes my as a sociopath, which is why his acting is "good" (even if unbearable.)

The Gipper Lives said...

The guy may be creepy and guilty elsewhere, but in the account I read, the "victim" happily stayed there, even texting his girlfriend.

rightguy said...

I would say KS is suspiciously good at playing sleazy characters.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

" I am the man who put Gwyneth Paltrow's head in a box."

Best thing he ever did.