Denzel Washington sparks heated debate after interview with film critic goes viral: ‘Insufferable’

nypost.com:

Denzel Washington’s recent interview. After the Oscar winner, 69, said he was not familiar with the work of late director Stanley Kubrick, fans were left in an online frenzy.Washington sat down in November for a chat with Collider correspondent Steve Weintraub to promote his latest project, “Gladiator II,” and the footage is going viral.Weintraub asked “The Equalizer” alum what his favorite Kubrick films was, to which Washington responded that he “wasn’t a real film buff” enough to have one.Kubrick’s famed movies include “Dr.

Strangelove” (1964), “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) and “A Clockwork Orange” (1971).“I’m not a movie buff — no, I’m not a big movie fan,” Washington confessed. “I was in the street when he was making movies.”At that time of his life, the star wasn’t in the Hollywood scene. “I’d be the one outside looking to rob you when you came out of a Kubrick movie, OK?” Washington added.“So I wasn’t a real film buff.

I didn’t start acting until I was 20 years old and didn’t start really going to the movies until I was 20, 22, 23.”However, Washington then clarified his statement, saying that “as a teenager, [he] went to see movies like” 1971’s “Shaft” and 1972’s “Super Fly,” respectively directed by late father and son duo Gordon Parks and Gordon Parks Jr., two of the 1970s’ most prominent black filmmakers.Washington — who went on to win Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for “Glory” and for Best Actor in a Leading Role for “Training Day” — garnered mixed reviews from viewers.Weintraub wore a shirt with Kubrick’s image on it during the interview, leading fans to think he was being presumptuous in assuming Washington had the same cultural experience with cinema.“I’M SO GLAD DENZEL DID THIS!” one social.