Like clockwork, the debates over the historical accuracy of this year’s awards hopefuls have commenced. When Oscar voting begins, so does the urgent scrutiny of based-on-real-life dramas. Cue the think pieces about the creative license filmmakers should or shouldn’t have taken with movies such as “Selma” and “Big Eyes,” “Unbroken” and “The Imitation Game.”
But this year, there’s an angry voice in the mix that’s a little unexpected, and it’s that of Mark Schultz, the subject of “Foxcatcher.” His Twitter feed and Facebook page offer a window into his long-time ambivalence over having his life dramatized, but he’s generally been supportive of the movie.
“FOXCATCHER IS GOING TO BE THE FILM OF THE YEAR,” he tweeted Dec. 23.
This week, that changed.
On Tuesday Schultz took to Twitter and Facebook with a somewhat sudden and intense burst of anger. He has since deleted the tweets, which railed against director Bennett Miller and included such missives as, “YOU CROSSED THE LINE MILLER. WE’RE DONE. YOU’RE CAREER IS OVER. YOU THINK I CAN’T DO IT. WATCH ME.” And: “I HATE BENNETT MILLER.”
In the movie, Channing Tatum plays Schultz as a lost and impressionable wrestling champ on the skids, who falls under the spell of a mentally unstable millionaire, John du Pont. Steve Carell (with an eye-catching prosthetic nose) plays du Pont, a wrestling enthusiast who offers Schultz money, housing and a state-of-the-art gym facility to field a wrestling team that will, du Pont portends, be destined for greatness and Olympic gold. Mark Ruffalo plays Schultz’s brother, Dave, another talented competitor. Dave is portrayed as the more stable, clear-headed of the two brothers. He has a family and a coaching job, and comes across as his younger brother’s mentor.
Mark Schultz has been upfront about the fictional twists in the movie.
“In #Foxcatcher the movie my relationship with duPont is fiction,” he tweeted Dec. 21. “He was so repulsive I could barely tolerate him. I was there for $ only.”
Schultz released a book, also called Foxcatcher, in November, which he says sets the record straight, and he’s been offering other tidbits on social media. On Dec. 19, for example, the wrestler took to Facebook to explain a few things. “The relationships between the characters named Mark, Dave, and duPont are not true relationships. I never looked up to duPont as a mentor, leader, coach, or a father figure ... I never considered my brother Dave a father-figure. He was definitely my protector and role model until I out-grew him and won my first national title at the 1981 NCAA’s as a 167 lb college sophomore and he took 2nd as a 158 lb junior. After that our relationship changed. He started asking me about my technique, followed my stadium stair running regiment, and started calling himself ‘Mark Schultz’s brother.’”
But something set off Schultz earlier this week, and it appears to have been the homoerotic undertones of the movie. Critics have noted the seemingly romantic obsession Carell’s du Pont has for Tatum’s Schultz, and the real-life Schultz has clearly been reading those reviews.
In the midst of his Twitter tirade, Schultz also posted a lengthy message to Facebook (that also has been deleted) which culminated in this: “Leaving the audience with a feeling that somehow there could have been a sexual relationship between duPont and I is a sickening and insulting lie. I told Bennett Miller to cut that scene out and he said it was to give the audience the feeling that duPont was encroaching on your privacy and personal space. (The scene) wasn’t explicit so I didn’t have a problem with it. Then after reading 3 or 4 reviews interpreting it sexually, and jeopardizing my legacy, they need to have a press conference to clear the air, or I will.”
Schultz has since followed up with more level-headed words but says he doesn’t regret standing up for himself. “My story and my life are real. I am a real human being,” he wrote. “While I may have tweeted out of anger, I in no way regret standing up for myself, nor do I regret calling out the only other man who has had decision making power concerning my image and legacy these past years.”
Miller has yet to respond to the criticism. And whether Schultz’s diatribe will affect Oscar voters reains to be seen. Nominations are announced Jan. 15.
