Warcraft has been in theaters for almost a week, and while the movie definitely looks visually magnificent, it's largely gathered negative reviews from critics (though has done wonderfully financially in China). This news obviously isn't great for director Duncan Jones, but in the midst of the critical reception, what he probably didn't count on was a journalist weirdly walking out on an interview with him. The nearly-six minute interview can be viewed below, but if you want to skip to the awkward walk-out, it happens at the 5:40 mark.
The interview started off reasonably well, with the journalist, Adam Rosser, reasonably asking Duncan Jones if he thought that Warcraft should have been a story told over multiple movies. However, as the interview continues, it's clear that Rosser didn't care for Warcraft, and makes his dissatisfaction with the movie clear over several minutes, like questioning whether Jones was the right man for the job or stating his problem with the character Medivh. Jones handled himself well, providing articulate explanations for why he made certain creative decisions. Then right before they hit the six minute mark, Rosser abruptly stops, looks offscreen, picks up his things and bids goodbye to Jones, leaving the director with a puzzled expression on his face, uttering, "...Okay?"
This interview by itself is weird enough, but as Independent noted, things got especially ugly when Rosser received abuse and death threats from fans online, leading him to delete the official version of the interview from BBC's iPlayer. Here's the tweet he sent as a response to those critiquing him.
As far as the interview itself goes, it certainly was uncomfortable to watch. While it's certainly okay to dislike a movie, Adam Rosser's Warcraft questions and comments seemed a little too hostile for the professional setting. However, his peculiar way of conducting the interview is no excuse for others sending him abusive comments and threats. Finally, there's that exit at the end, which, no matter what way you look at it, was definitely awkward. To be fair, these junket interviews usually only last between 5-10 minutes, depending on the outlet. So while it technically might have ended at the right time, the way Rosser left made it seem like it was unplanned, like the way he thanked Duncan Jones as he was walking away, as if it was an afterthought. Whatever was truly going on here, Rosser made his issues with Warcraft perfectly clear to Jones and the rest of the world.
You can judge Warcraft for yourself now in theaters, but let us know what you think about this bizarre interview experience and its aftermath in the comments below.
