Peter Bart: Hollywood Honchos Are In A Likability Lull, But Does It Really Matter?
deadline.comI had just arrived at a small dinner party several years ago when a surprise guest, Johnny Carson, seated himself across from me and promptly invoked the dreaded “L” word. “We haven’t met before, so I should explain that I’m not a very ‘likable’ dinner companion,” he advised. “I’m paid to be entertaining on TV but dinner is a ‘no laugh’ zone.” I appreciated his warning: A new survey of “likability” ratings was stirring controversy at that moment and, despite an erratic personal life, Carson was still a revered TV presence.
The comedian would be amused to learn that it’s all being reenacted today, again triggered by the behavior of late-night hosts (I’ll review Carson’s own dinner performance below).
According to the new likability index, James Corden is no longer the “Mr. Nice Guy” of late-night because of allegedly nasty restaurant behavior – that is, if you believe the waiters (and proprietors).
But there are broader symptoms: The Cate Blanchett movie Tár is generating op-ed debates because of her performance as an abrasive celebrity whose behavior helps ruin the lives of fellow stars.
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