BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Out?

nakahara · October 16, 2014 11:20 am

REReader wrote:
As to the fanfiction--I'd bet good money that the "bed in space" thing was a picture, and since a picture of Sherlock is a picture of Benedict, I think he has a right to be a bit disturbed by having his face and body appropriated in that way.

You may be right.
He could be referencing something like that:

Found here: http://metacynth.deviantart.com/art/Sherlock-and-John-in-Space-388543060

Or this:

But apparently, last July, when the fans heard Benedict describe Johnlock fanfictions like "Sherlock and John" floating in space, handcuffed to bed" for the first time, they created some fictions and pictures like that out of spite.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9493869/1/The-Floating-Bed-of-Lust

Last edited by nakahara (October 16, 2014 11:43 am)

Mattlocked · October 16, 2014 11:50 am

Cute!!

Hm.... but when he actually said that in July the first time I wonder if he really said the exact words again - or if the author of the new article did some research....

Harriet · October 16, 2014 11:52 am

Benedict, beware of journalists! and fandom!

nakahara · October 16, 2014 12:28 pm

Mattlocked wrote:
Cute!!

Hm.... but when he actually said that in July the first time I wonder if he really said the exact words again - or if the author of the new article did some research....

Yes, the thought occured to me too. Some parts of the article seem to me as if I read them somewhere before. For example, the old and tired desciption of Benedict´s unusual name that appears at the beginning of the article is something that certainly appeared in the articles of other journalists at least ten times before. Obviously, the author of this one did some previous research on the internet.

Benedict´s funny quote about S and J floating on a bed in space first appeared when Benedict was a guest in Top Gear (so probably even sooner than last July). Could he be repeating himself so much - or did the reporter really used his previous words and instilled them in his own article?

Liberty · October 16, 2014 12:55 pm

I'm sure I've read the story about the bullying at Harrow before. And the comments about Turing. I thought that maybe he just tells the same story over (I'm sure he can't be expected to come up with new anecdotes on the same subject every time he's interviewed, and he seems to repeat himself in other interviews too), but reading the article, it's not absolutely clear what Benedict said at that particular interview and what's being quoted from earlier interviews for "background".

Harriet · October 16, 2014 1:07 pm

The Harrow story has a somewhat different focus here in the end, so it was probably not just copy and paste, in this case.

tonnaree · October 16, 2014 2:01 pm

I have subscribed to OUT for several years. Considering canceling.

Tinks · October 16, 2014 3:14 pm

There's so much I want to say about the interview, but I keep self censoring because it comes across as being too harsh on BC!
I'll (try to) stick to saying that some of it has most definitely been lifted from other interviews published elsewhere. That there are some good points made in it, that have sadly been overlooked because of the fuss some of the comments have caused. That the journo clearly had a bit of an agenda regarding BC and his fans. And that BC to some extent walked into that trap.
It'll blow over though - and I still love him!

SusiGo · October 16, 2014 4:48 pm

I do not understand most of the fuss. And someone on tumblr wrote that given the timing the interview should probably have been about TIG and not Sherlock fanfic. It was compared to Spielberg promoting Schindler's and being asked about ET porn instead. Interesting point. They should stop bringing up slash fanfic in interviews with the actors. It is intrusive and not nice for all people concerned.

tonnaree · October 16, 2014 4:57 pm

^^^^^^^
What Susi said.

Tinks · October 16, 2014 4:58 pm

I agree Susi; it shouldn't be brought up.
I think some journos do it for the same reason they keep asking him about the fame and attention from Fans; if he talks for long enough on the subject they'll get the right comments from him to shape their agenda.
But the fact is, they do keep asking him these things, and whilst I accept his right to say whatever he wants to say, there are some occasions where I wish he'd think "well I'll be diplomatic about that, because I don't really want to hurt anyone's feelings"
All a storm in a teacup really, though.

Last edited by Tinks (October 16, 2014 5:06 pm)

Liberty · October 16, 2014 6:00 pm

I'm not 100% clear, but to be fair, it looks as if Benedict brought up the subject himself (in the context of fans misinterpreting the character). The question from the interviewer is just about why people write them as gay.

I think I'd feel uncomfortable if I was the woman who approached him (I'd be mortified, reading the interview later! I do feel sorry for her), if I'd asked if he thought Sherlock would be into me, or if I'd made a fanwork with the particular scenes he mentions. I wouldn't like the overly cute stuff or the space bed stuff myself (unless it was very well written and somehow won me round), so it didn't bother me that he doesn't like it either. But I don't think I'd be offended even if I'd written it. Maybe singling out a particular work was a bit off (the space bed thing), but I'm not sure he even did that if people don't know what particular work he's talking about - he was maybe just parodying things he's seen.

I think if the interview had been filmed rather than in print, there might (I hope) have been a different reaction. His comments read quite differently if you imagine them being said in an angry way, a thoughtful way or an amused way. He's usually just lovely when you can see and hear him!

Last edited by Liberty (October 16, 2014 6:03 pm)

nakahara · October 16, 2014 6:44 pm

Well, they spoke about BC being cast into the roles of geniuses which quite naturally brought up the subject of Sherlock. How they jumped to the subject of fanfiction after that is unclear since we only have Benedict´s answer but none of journalist´s answers written. Still, no matter what, he still didn´t say anything which would deserve such hysteria over the subject, nothing, over which BC should have been stoned, crucified or burned at stake.

Benedict proved many times over the years that he is a genuinely nice person and that he cares about his fans. This one interview does not disprove that fact and will soon be forgotten. "Every miracle lasts but three days" and this subject will soon loose its novelty and thus pass into insignificance, where it belongs.

I just wish people will learn from the experience and let Benedict some space to breath when he doesn´t wish for their company or attention. Their constant obssession over him and stalking him and barging into his every free moment is not love, nor respect and does not make them lovable - just the opposite. His art - acting - should be admired from apart, not from such unheatlhy closeness. When you look at paintings at the gallery you do it from the distance too, not with your faces pressed to the painting.

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

(Kahlil Gibran)

lil · October 17, 2014 1:24 am

Wonderful interview makes an Interesting read.
Reminds me a little of when Moffat said...there was no emotion on the roof...he saw no emotion.

There is a tendancy to over emo or over flufify Sh @ Jw I think from the fanfiction fraction...(eh made up words from the bottom of a bottle)...but something like that..and a tendancy to forget Sherlock was pretending emotions a lot of the time.....

Yes every disguise is a self portrait....but exaggerated .....

ancientsgate · October 17, 2014 9:59 am

KeepersPrice wrote:
It's interesting to me that in this interview (and others I've seen) he characterizes Sherlock as cold and unfeeling, someone who would "just look at you twice and tell you everything you hate about yourself and crumple you up like a little bit of paper and flick you away. He’s a machine and brutal and ruthless and has no time for the distractions of your fawning." Yes, Sherlock does have that side to him; but the story arc through three series seems to be suggesting something quite different. Is he really just a machine, brutal and ruthless? Com' on, Ben. You know you go deeper into your characterization than that!

I agree. His saying that stuff, describing his Sherlock that way, makes me wonder if he's ever seen the show more than the required once at some premiere or other. Seriously.

Sherlock is only one small bit of his professional life at this point in time. Yes, it's what made him famous on several continents, and the vehicle that threw open the doors to roles that he never would have been offered previously, but that doesn't mean he likes Sherlock, understands him, or is even particularly interested in him. He's not a Sherlock fan, after all... Sherlock is a job to him, just like Hamlet or Khan or Billy Bulger or any of the other characters he's played or will play.

Just my opinion, of course. Hey, we're all waist-deep in theory here, since none of us know the man.

Mattlocked · October 17, 2014 2:53 pm

I'm quite sure he's lying. He can't play all those looks and things and truly believe that "brutal and ruthless" thing.
On the other hand his description of Sherlock's reaction on a question like that fits quite well. Just think of Kitty Riley.
And then think of Molly. Always depends on who's asking.

Last edited by Mattlocked (October 17, 2014 2:54 pm)

tonnaree · October 17, 2014 3:48 pm

Mattlocked wrote:
I'm quite sure he's lying. He can't play all those looks and things and truly believe that "brutal and ruthless" thing.
On the other hand his description of Sherlock's reaction on a question like that fits quite well. Just think of Kitty Riley.
And then think of Molly. Always depends on who's asking.

YES! All those looks and emotions and things are mainly for John. If some random man or woman decided to hit on Sherlock he would rip them to shreds!

Liberty · October 17, 2014 4:27 pm

Yes, Molly is a kind of co-worker and later a friend, rather than a fan. I think this is just about his (Sherlock's) reaction to fans ("no time for the distractions of your fawning"). It's kind of funny that people are asking him if they approached him in that way, they'd get a different result to Kitty - do your research! (I don't know if people really do ask him that all the time - it's the kind of thing that if two or three people asked it would feel as if it was always being asked!). Kitty should have done her research too ... which I suppose showed her flaws as a reporter/interviewer/journalist.

There is a tendancy to over emo or over flufify Sh @ Jw I think from the fanfiction fraction...(eh made up words from the bottom of a bottle)...but something like that..and a tendancy to forget Sherlock was pretending emotions a lot of the time.....

Yes, I think that's true, and I can see why it's offputting to Benedict. But I think it's pretty common in fanfiction. I've seen it other fandoms as well. Maybe there's an attraction in creating alternative versions of the characters as you might hope they could be, saying and doing things that they wouldn't be able to in the show? I don't know.

And I don't know how far Benedict is aware that slash fiction has a long history, and that Sherlock and John probably feature so highly because it's such a popular show and they are such a slashable couple, with a certain "chemistry". It's not personal (although I imagine it could feel personal, when it's his character). (I got curious once, and looked up to see if his other works got the same attention - not at all! For instance, To The Ends of the Earth, which has an obvious potential pairing, has very little indeed! So it's a Sherlock thing, not a Benedict thing. And actually Martin gets quite a lot as Bilbo too) And that slashed male couples like Sherlock/John are often not in a relationship or even gay in the original stories, so I don't think the writers are even claiming that about Sherlock and John. I suppose if he hasn't come across this phenomenon before it must feel odd to see that everywhere.

Last edited by Liberty (October 17, 2014 8:15 pm)

nakahara · October 17, 2014 7:35 pm

Mattlocked wrote:
I'm quite sure he's lying. He can't play all those looks and things and truly believe that "brutal and ruthless" thing.
On the other hand his description of Sherlock's reaction on a question like that fits quite well. Just think of Kitty Riley.
And then think of Molly. Always depends on who's asking.

THIS! THIS!

I think you perfectly nailed it. If Sherlock was asked such a question by a woman, the question would probably get a reaction like this and it´s unlikely his relationship with a woman this bold would end up in a happy romance.

I also think that if Benedict didn´t like the character of Sherlock, he would never be able to act his role with such passion and dedication.But I doubt he hates poor SH: he definitely watched Jeremy Brett´s version as a child (and his impersonation of Jeremy Brett in one of his interviews was so spot on and so funny I laughed my ass off), he read the books, he was quite excited about being new Sherlock when he was first offered the role... he just looks at Sherlock objectively and has no illusion about the fact that a life with such a troubled genius would be difficult in real life.

tonnaree · October 17, 2014 7:41 pm

Slash fiction goes all the way back to original series Kirk and Spock.