James Woods Says ‘Oppenheimer’ EP Credit Was Kept Quiet After It Was ‘Suggested’ His Pro-Trump Twitter Could Screw Up the Rollout: ‘It Was Painful…I Took One for the Team’
James Woods recently told Megyn Kelly on her SiriusXM radio show that he was “gently” asked not to promote Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” in which he served as an executive producer after buying rights to the non-fiction book (“American Prometheus” by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin) upon which Nolan’s screenplay is based. The film was a cultural juggernaut with $975 million worldwide (the highest-grossing biopic in history) and won Oscars for best picture, director, actor, supporting actor and more.
“When ‘Oppenheimer’ came out, there was a discussion about my Twitter, and it was gently suggested that I basically remain invisible, which was painful,” Woods said, claiming that his outspoken support for Donald Trump over the years made him a risk for “Oppenheimer’s” release and awards campaign.
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“On the other hand, I’m a pragmatic person and I thought, a lot of people put their effort into this,” Woods continued. “So I’m just going to be an invisible pariah because the people who are going to be voting for Oscars, which is very important to films because it helps with the financial reward and historical archive in which it rests forever, I don’t want to deprive those people.”
Woods explained that he did not want the “Oppenheimer” team to have to deal with some “nutcase” coming out of the woodwork and making up stories about him and his conservative views (“I’ve had a million of them said, they’re all lies,” he added).
“I don’t want that to happen and have the clickbait story be, ‘James Woods is the executive producer, we’re not going to watch that movie!’” Woods said. “So I stepped back and basically took one for the team. I was not even invited to the Producers Guild of America awards. And I’m a producer.”
“Oppenheimer” ended up winning the top prize at the Producers Guild of America awards, just as it did at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, BAFTA Film Awards, SAG Awards and Oscars. As an executive producer, Woods was not included as part of the film’s Oscar nomination and win for best picture. The top prize was awarded to main producers Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas and Charles Roven.
Woods has largely stayed out of Hollywood and has said he was dropped by his agent a few years ago due to his support of Trump. The actor’s last screen credit is two episodes of Andrew Dice Clay’s short-lived sitcom “Dice” in 2017.
Watch Woods’ appearance on Megyn Kelly’s show below.
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