My favorite piece of showbiz gossip related to upcoming, dragon-friendly flick Eragon is the debate over whether its teen star Edward Speleers is sexist. In the Christopher Paolini book on which Eragon is based, a boy befriends (and eventually rides) a female dragon. He also plays a lot with his big sword. Back in August, Entertainment Weekly did a spot interview with the British lad about the difficulties of CGI co-stars, reporting:
He didn'tmuch mind delivering his lines to a tennis ball attached to a stick.
''I didn't get any backchat,'' he says, adding, with macho teenageflippancy, ''which is better than with most women.'' Given the book'syoung female fan base, that's an attitude Speleers may want to havedigitally erased.
Now Speleers is on the warpath, trying to prove that he's not sexist because his mum "knocked it out" of him. He told a press conference:
Actually, there was something that came out in Entertainment Weekly
I think. The way it came across made me sound like I was achauvinistic, sexist asshole. Apparently I said something but I said itin an English humorous sort of way, and my mom’s the first person theminute something’s sexist or chauvinistic, she’s like that. I had itknocked out of me, so I was just saying something in a little bittongue and cheek but in jest so I just want to clear that up. I’m notsexist or chauvinistic.
Huh? I love a little incoherent backchat in the afternoon.
Edward Speleers Covers His Ass [movies.about.com]
