I was not one of the many, many vocal critics and cinema-goers who loudly complained about January Jones’s part in X-Men: First Class. I didn’t think January was particularly good, but I didn’t really think she was so terrible as to destroy my general warmth towards a really solid film. Now that I’m several days away from my X-Men experience, and I’m not so suffused with Fassbender-lust, I can think back to January’s performance with more objectivity. Yeah, she really did suck. It was like she was sleepwalking through her performance as Emma Frost, the mutant with telepathic powers, plus she can turn into a diamond.
I have to wonder… what would an actress like Emily Blunt have done with the part? What about (gasp!) Sienna Miller? Or Diane Kruger? Surely, January Jones isn’t the only “icy blonde” who could have conceivably done the role? Surely someone else (Emily, Sienna, Diane) could have made this small-but-showy role really pop, right?
Anyway, Lost creator Damon Lindelof called January out on Twitter a few days ago:
[From Damon Lindelof’s Twitter]
Is Lindelof a Spielberg-like power player in the industry? No, not really, but his opinion counts amongst certain circles, especially when January’s sleep-walking performance is getting so many horrible reviews. But I’d just to like two more points, somewhat defending poor, horrible-actress January: one, Lindelof is responsible for the consistently crappy acting of Evangeline Lilly in Lost, so he’s one to talk. Also: I thought Zoe Kravitz sucked just as badly as January, if not more. Why is January getting all of the criticism and not Zoe?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
He’s a fan boy X-Men fans are pretty passionate. I haven’t seen the movie so I can’t judge JJ. I never read the comics and I didn’t really enjoy the first three, the only reason I would see this is for the hottness of Fassbender/McAvoy. On a side note yeah Evangeline Lily as Kate was the absolute worst. I seriously could not stand her and that whole Jack/Sawyer triangle pissed me off to no end. Why would Sawyer waste all that energy on Kate???
I love him. <3
It was like she was pronouncing her lines phonetically.
Oh I agree – people in LOST houses should not throw stones. Loved the show and all, but with a couple of exceptions half the fun was the wooden acting.
So what you’re saying, basically, is that all the press over her pregnancy is her only contribution to the film?
Well first, that tweet is funny!
Second, you are right on about those other actresses having made the role of Emma really pop- The Bacon made his role campy fun, and a good actress certainly could have done the same with Emma Frost.
As to why Zoe isn’t getting the criticism of January- first, I think Zoe has less than half of the screentime of January so her suckiness stood out less. Second, I think that Zoe is young, and very new to acting- it would feel a bit like bullying for middle aged adults to bash a 21 year old for her first real role. January is in her 30s, she’s an established actress on tv and film, so she’s fair game.
Snap!
Wow. That’s mean, Damon. Isn’t he also insulting the people who cast her, the producers of the movie and the director?
because January puts herself out there more. I don’t think I had ever heard of Zoe until X-Men promotion. Can’t wait to see it next week!!!!
Ouch.
Maybe her talent sounds as sucking.
January did suck and its a shame because Emma Frost is supposed to be badass. I think Zoe is getting away with it because she doesnt put herself out there as much as january on mag covers and red carpets. He isnt a make it or break it type industry player though so whatever
I saw Unknown the other day and she was really terrible in that. I’m starting to think the frosty and wooden aspects of the Betty Draper character is down mostly her bad acting!
January Jones sucked in the movie Unknown opposite Liam Neeson. She was HORRIBLE! I was watching the movie thinking this is all she knows how to do? She was the lifeless Betty Draper in the 21 century. I have not seen X-Men yet. I plan to this weekend. I am really looking forward to it. But she is the same in everything she is in. The vacant eyes, with the monotone voice. There is absolutely nothing there.
Gah…@her awful padded push-up bra. Seriously? Wasn’t this movie set in the 60’s or something. They didn’t have wonderbra’s back then. LOL…
What has she done to cause this much bad will.
Whatever about January…..i thought she did ok….but what i really want to know about is that GREEN STRIPEY BAG she has in one of those photos…..am in LOVE with it!
January might be getting more hate than Zoe because of the character she played. Emma Frost is a longer running and more beloved character from the X-universe than the Angel Salvatore character that Zoe played. Zoe’s character came about during the more recent run by Grant Morrison in the comic books. Emma was created by Chris Claremont (a writer that created a lot of the enduring X-men mythos). Emma is more apart of the X-men history as being a former member of the Hellfire Club, being one of the headmasters in Generation X, etc. Plus her character in the comics is very dynamic. She’s supposed to be witty, clever, bitchy, snarky, a little snobby, and kind of cruel.
Due to Emma being an older character many X-comic book fans have grown up with her and so they have more of an attachment to her, so they are going to be harder/more critical on the actress that portrayed her than on the actress that palyed a newer character.
It’s true, she’s a HORRIBLE actress. I was really surprised that she got any jobs outside of Madmen.
I must say if she was playing her part … cold, indifferent like her name ‘Frost’, and aloof and emotionless like her diamond ability … in other words, meeh!
LMAO
you have to admit, that is a funny tweet
OK, I’m not a JJ fan, but that was harsh. I there some backstory here? Why would you tweet that out of the blue?
If I were Jones, I’d clip this on my wall and wait until that loser Lindelof (inevitably) makes a crappy new series and gets canned.
Then I’ll tweet, “what two things do Paris Hilton and Lindelof have in common?”
“Getting lucky and beating the dead horse.”
That was unnecessarily mean. Carlton Cuse was the better half of Darlton anyway.
She is the same wooden character in all her movies. I noticed it when she was in one of those Janet Oke adaptations, and have seen it ever since.
And her costume is so not comic book cool, that bra is ridiculous. She is pretty though.
Jinni – you are my hero(ine)
Haven’t seen it, but aside from Mad Men, she does seem to be a fairly bad actress. Her SNL was quite possible the worst ever.
I have to disagree, TQB, Lost had some AMAZING performances. Terry O’Quinn, Michael Emerson, Henry Ian Cusick, Elizabeth Mitchell, Yunjin Kim, etc. And I never thought Evangeline was all that bad, but not as strong as some of the others.
I haven’t seen a thing she’s in, thus I can’t express an opinion on her acting skills, but, well, Damon Lindelof sucked in writing LOST’s finale (and the whole sixth season), and I can’t forgive him for having ruined one of the best shows ever.
I think it’s honestly the characters she plays that are cold and uptight and therefore, “wooden”. I think she’s a good actress…(though not comedic).
Thanks Ari:)
Why is JJ getting more grief? Well, she does suck, but beyond that, this Married Baby Daddy mystery makes her appear to be a bit of a whore, but it also implicates people who do not want to have to be at her mercy. I believe the Directors Club is still an Old Boys School, and so women like her must be punished while the men involved are protected.
Oh please it’s commonly obvious Ms Jones can’t act for shit thankfully they’ll never attempt to put her opposite Mr Neeson’s mother in law Vanessa Redgrave who mind you won an oscar in 1978 and at 74 could still act the snott out off the likes of January Jones
Does professionalism count for nothing in Hollywood. I mean it’s one thing for bath-shit crazy, uneducated, immature, coked-out B-list actors to behave like spoiled kindergartners, but why is this behaviour now being emulated by GROWN MEN!?!
The only reason she got the Betty Draper part is because she IS Betty Draper. And, that’s not acting.
Now, now, Kaiser, don’t let your lust for the Fassdong make you hate Zoe. I don’t think she was bad but like Jinni said, Emma Frost is an important character in the XMen history. It’s pretty obvious that January was hired just to look nice in lingerie.
Honestly, I thought she was BETTER than past performances. That being said, she was OK and I had no idea what her superpower even was. Zoe was much worse and as I watched the movie I wondered why either of them were in it. I did not find them additive at all. I also could have done completely without Rose. Maybe the director has a thing for lifeless women or he gave them nothing to work with. Who knows.
I thought being an attention whore was her superpower.
Perfectly stated @WOM – kuddos for the perspective.
People hate whoever they consider to be a “slut”, especially if she’s got any semblance of attitude about her. She aint saying who the daddy is. So here come the bullies and slut-shamers. People hate women who aren’t owned and don’t care. I think women like Jones make directors nervous b/c they’re reminded not every actress they “couch” will get an abortion cos they say so. (No matter who’s baby daddy. I think regardless, this Jones situation still makes them think about the terrible possibilities .) I’m glad I never wasted one second watching LOST this guy seems like a 16year old idiot. I haven’t liked most of the actresses they’ve casted in XMEN, so I’m used to the women they choose sucking and ruining the characters by now. I think Mystique by Rebecca Romijn and Famke J were decent. Halle Berry was horrible as Storm and so was Anna Paquin.
Yup, just kick the woman while she’s down why don’t ya..
I feel like his comment was unnecessary. She may not have been an amazing Emma Frost, but this was obviously a crass attempt at garnering attention for himself.
Maybe Lindelof is the baby daddy and he pissed that she embarrassed.
She obviously hasn’t slept with this one yet…
Aw, give January a break. She was concentrating on conceiving her baby and had no time for acting! So many baby daddys, so little time.
She sucked. No one’s kicking her while she’s down. The chick cannot act. Her wooden performance works as Betty Draper, but not in other roles.
Emma Frost is supposed to be a kickass character, not some emotionless fembot. Ugh.
And it pains me to defend Lindelof after that crappy ass finale, but it was his Twitter. He doesn’t owe anything to Jan Jones or anyone else. It’s his Twitter. He can say what he wants.
that’s really classless for a director to tweet about someone’s talent or lack thereof. He needs to get his diaper changed.
saying that someone’s acting was less than stellar (or even sucked) is NOT slut shaming. It’s crappy actor shaming. There’s a difference. And if Damon thinks she sucked, he’s as allowed to say so in public, on twitter, on facebook or anywhere as the rest of the world is allowed.
@Betsy;lol!
@cookie @Wendy I agree. I watched Unknown a couple of days back and I cringed through January Jones’ scenes. I’m a huge mad men fan and I had to concede. Betty Draper is just January Jones in period clothing. She is BAD.
@Liana , duh he can say what he wants, wherever he wants. Like I can say I think he’s just jumping on the “she’s a slut so I’ll be a bitch about her too, randomly” bandwagon. It’s not like it’s really common for directors to spout off their unfavorable opinions of other directors’ or actors’ work publically. It’s random he calls Jones specifically out. I doubt he’s done it before. Slut-shamer. My opinion. Jones was no worse than Anna Paquin as Rogue. She ruined Rogue. I hate how she even got work after that. She was terrible. And Berry’s Storm was like a shadow of the real Storm. Lifeless. Jones was better than either of them. That said I realize that opinions are like a**holes. Everybody’s got one.
Here is what I have learned from going to see the franchise comic movies, there is no investment in thefemale characters. They are strictly eye candy for the fanboys. I doubt any of them leave the theatre saying, ‘Her acting was great’, they are leaving saying, ‘Boobies’.I did not think she was bad at all, she served her purpose. The comment was below the belt and I want to throw the producer’s name in as a possible baby daddy.
You know who deserve each other?
Lindelof and Ryan Murphy,
cuz both of them are little weaselly twitterb*tches.
Zoe sucked more, but January’s as sub-par an actress as Zoe.
I’ve never read anything about Zoe being a mega bitch, but plenty about January “Don’t You Know Who I Am?” Jones being a mega bitch.
Why call her out? Because people keep saying how brilliant she is on Mad Men. She’s not brilliant, she’s wooden, but because her character is detached and a bitch it plays. That woman has no talent whatsoever. I will never understand why anyone would cast her in anything (unless they’re hot for her and, man, I don’t think much of any one who would be hot for that frozen thing).
The only thing missing from this Emma Frost portrayal are the nipple guns. Maybe Shaw has a really hairy chest and that’s why she puts up with his bullshit.
Zoe, was just as bad. Others have mentioned this is more or less her first role, so I looked her up and she’s been in enough shit to be better than this. All her lines fell flat, and I couldn’t help but role my eyes about the line about people looking at her constantly. So, maybe it was the lines she was given though I don’t really think so.
Jennifer Lawrence seemed to have no problem with her role and they’re in the same age group, but whatevs. And as much I love Rose Byrne, I didn’t really see much point in her role except for the ending dig about women not being cut out for the FBI.
Aaaaand finally, the tweet. I think Twitter is stupid period, but I do admit to chuckling a bit when I read that. I don’t personally think it has anything to do with slut-shaming, but more of he is possibly a fanyboy of the series and fanboys are waaay bitchier than fangirls when it comes to this shit. (goodness, longest comment I’ve ever written!)
I find nothing about her attractive. Her mouth and jawline are weird.
I’ve never watched Mad Men but thought John Hamm was hot in “The Town”. I wanted to see this movie anyway (McAvoy, Fassbender, etc.) but will now be extra careful to see how dreadful JJ is on the screen. Nice to have something else to look forward to!
I don’t appreciate the negative criticism toward Evangeline Lilly.
@jennifer: “duh?” Really? What are we, seven?
Damon’s a HUGE X-fan.
“It’s not like it’s really common for directors to spout off their unfavorable opinions of other directors’ or actors’ work publically.”
clearly you don’t work in the television/motion picture industry. We’re a catty bunch, from the bottom to the top.
Um…there were actors besides Fassbender and McAvoy in Xmen? Cause honestly I didn’t notice and didn’t care.
“Lindelof is responsible for the consistently crappy acting of Evangeline Lilly in Lost.. Amen, I always thought Ms. Lilly was the worst part of LOST…
Damon Lindelof better watch himself, or he will end up the latest on/off candidate for JJ’s baby-daddy.
I have yet to see the movie, but as a life-long X-Fan, I’ve been consistently disappointed with the acting ability of almost every actress in the film adaptations. I think the women are cast exclusively on how well they look in cat suits and thigh-highs. So disappointing.
After Halle Berry single-handedly broke my heart, I have learned to adapt very, very low standards for Hollywood interpretations of my childhood superheroes. Hearing Jones mangled the role of Emma Frost isn’t surprising in the least bit. Nor is hearing about her pregnancy.(/snark)
I don’t know much about her. I saw a few of her interviews for X-men and her humor.. is.. well
But I have to say I don’t recall seeing that many pictures of her on gossip sites before she go pregnant. And now it seems like I see her on a daily basis. I guess the paps are following her more. Did anyone see the joke Jason S. made on the MTV awards.. something to the affect that he was about to be a daddy. hmmm
it was quick but I caught it. surprise no ones said anything. I guess the Reese comments took over. But why in the world would he joke about that, especially since she and he dated. It causes rumors..
Or maybe that was the point.
Incidentally, Damon isn’t a director. He didn’t direct a single episode of anything, so he’s not responsible for the continuous crappiness of Evangeline Lilly, but as a producer, he IS responsible for cosigning on her casting and as a writer, he’s responsible for writing Kate as a Mary Sue.
Wait a sec.. your all criticizing Damon Lindelof for calling January Jones a crappy actress but you have no problem calling Evangeline Lilly a crappy actress…hypocrite much??
Also, Evangeline has been in a grand total of ONE tv show whereas J.J has appear in alot more TV shows and movies in the past 10 years so I don’t think its fair to compare the two when one has more experience than the other.
And I also believe that Evangeline did the best she could with “Kate” it wasn’t her fault that her character was so poorly written the blame for that lies directly at yep you guess it – DAMON LINDELOF!!
I haven’t seen X-Men: First Class. However, I was a fan of LOST and will NEVER forgive Lindelof and the other LOST writers for giving fans such a crappy ending to an otherwise entertaining show. And most of the actors on LOST were decent enough for a television ensemble cast but could never hold their own as a lead or even as a supporting actor in a big budget film.
Actually I will be not watching this movie,and I f’ing hate her,she is not an ugly woman.But to me she is ugly inside and out.
Liana – I think she means it’s uncommon for insiders to spout off where civilians can see/hear it. And let’s face it, bad acting is never called out publicly if the actor is generally liked. Charlie Sheen’s the only one to openly question Keanu’s range, after all. JJ seems, for whatever reason, to have pissed a lot of people off.
Is it just me, or does January really look like Chelsea Handler in that top picture? It’s eerie. And NOT a good thing. (… Doing anything like Chelsea Handler is not a good thing… But that should go without saying.)
I’ve not seen the movie yet (or anything else she’s ever been in). But you’d think a huge movie like this one would put some serious thought into who played *all* the roles… Not simply for the sake of appearances in the movie, but for those who are fans of the characters themselves. Sounds as though many are disappointed, at least in Frost.
Evangeline Lily was the January Jones of Lost. So those who live in glass houses…you know the rest.
On top of being a bad actress, her eyes are dead. There’s no real emotion there. Can’t stand her!
Who is her baby daddy?
I actually thought Zoe was worse than January; although both were pretty bad when compared to their cast mates. Fassbender was completely badass (submarine scene…I mean c’mon…AWEsome)and the synergy between him and McAvoy was amazing. Also, I can’t really picture Emily Blunt as a blonde; I would have loved to see her in First Class.
Didn’t even know who she was before the pregnancy stories, but her name is really annoying.
If you have to be a month, can it at least be a summer month?
I don’t watch Mad Men *ducks* but I don’t like her. She gives off some sort of uber-bitch vibe that just completely makes me want to smack her.
@KL: Oh, they will if they never care about working with someone.
I don’t have lots of hate for January Jones. I actually wanted her to be good… she looked great and looked the part. I think part of it was that she was directed as an afterthought and I think she’s an actor who needs lots of direction.
As for Damon and the ending of Lost – that ending made me want to demand all the time I spent on that show back.
I’ve been on the fence re: debates about JJ’s acting skill in “Mad Men.” I found her character compelling and thought the actress who portrayed her must have real talent. Having just seen her terrible performance in “Unknown,” I now think she was simply perfectly cast as an icy blonde with limited emotional range.
Wow, that’s pretty cold calling her out like that, maybe she turned him down at some stage!!
@Wendy City@cookie@cubesque: She was so terrible in Unknown that if you hadn’t mentioned, I would not remember that was her!
How can she get all these roles? seriously?!
To be fair to Evangeline Lilly…When she got casted in Lost, she did not have much acting experience, especially for that complex role! And honestly, I don’t think she sucked as JJ does. Morevoer, JJ had many more gigs prior MadMen, just google it…
@ Jinni, ITA!! It’s the same reason I HATED Halle Berry as Storm. I love Storm, and HB was nothing like who she was supposed to be. Even down to her body type. Storm is a tall, statuesque African Queen with a commanding, classy personality. Not a short, little “sexpot”. Gah, i hate when they do that. They should be looking to find the person that IS the part, instead of finding a “name” that can pull it off.
I’m bummbed she sucked.
@ctkat1 sums up why JJ is getting all the heat for the bad acting and not Zoe. Might I also add, that January just seemed to reprise her role as Betty Draper from Mad Men, and when an actor tends to play the same character, it just underscores how much talent they DON’T have. For Zoe, she has a much smaller body of work to reference.
@Jennifer,
I agree with you completely. People love to call these blonde actresses by slut and other terrible words.
Her role in x-men was not perfect, but it was not that bad either. I think she’s a very good actress. I love her as betty drape in Mad Men. Sometimes I guess it happens that the role in a movie simply does not fit you very well.
I believe that’s the case.
I thought Zoe was horrible. She’s insufferable. There was nothing to her performance at all, instead she was actively terrible.
January Jones should just stop!
First class was great!! but she obviously fucked the producer because that girl is NOT an actress!!!!
She’s monotone and seems like she’s sedated, that chick has issues!!!
As for her in MadMen~ she lucked out in landing a character that is just as lifeless as JJ is. The character Betty is nothing but a filler.
My theory on why January is getting more crap than Zoe is a simple one: Emma Frost is a MUCH more well-known character than ‘Angel’ (who’s really a compilation of several d-list marvel characters)… Emma Frost is central in the X-Men comics as well as most of the recent X-Men cartoons, so people have a more solid idea of who the character should be.
…Or maybe that’s just me, because I’m a gigantic nerd. 🙂
Re: #18’s comment – well if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck…
Let’s see…
1. She inexplicably get a job where she is horrible in the role
2. Is now pregnant and 90% of Hollyweird know who the baby daddy is b/c that explains the inexplicable casting
3. The alleged poor decision maker (both in cheating on his wife & casting his lover in a role she was ill suited for) has not publicly attended any screenings since Babygate
4. His wife looks like a skeletal stressed mess
5. Hi babymama won’t deny his alleged parenthood
I never felt one way or the other about Jones, but her lack of respect for other women’s marriage (first allegedly Bobby Flay and now her X-men director – that’s two marriages that need a recovery from the JJ effect. I tend to boycott both men and women who have low morals and have cheated & done other dastardly deeds. I worked hard for my money and I refuse to give it up to help someone who I don’t like or respect get rich with it.
Zoe wasn’t great, but at least she had some facial expressions unlike January.
January Jones makes Megan Fox look like Meryl Streep.
I will say it looked like Zoe actually tried, she was pretty terrible but the tone of her voice changed on occasion, which is more than I can say about January.
@ sarah
right? I went to see it again tonight, and my friend and I were noticing how her vocal intonation didn’t change. At all. And how flatly she delivered her line. Upon first viewing, I just chucked it up as it being the character. But a stronger actress could have played her more cheekily while still keeping her aloofness in tact.
Actually, before I even read this article tonigh,. Emily Blunt was the first actress to pop into my head.
So, Kaiser….I think that would have been a good call.
@liana Okay then we’re both 7, cos I thought it very “age 7” of you to be that one person in every thread who finds it necessary to state that so and so “is allowed to say anything he wants wherever he wants…(!)”
I must say again, Duh. We all have the right to freedom of speech, yes, that’s a given.
And I know industry people are catty, but they are less so in the public sphere.
Yeah, she’s pretty much overrated. That bra is ridiculous too.
I do think that she looks like “Leave-Britney-Alone” Chris Crocker
Ahhh Damon, you’re such a douche. I have to say, unlike the other x-men movies, I did enjoy this one very much. But guess I missed the point where January Jones is supposed to be acting so f***ing terrible. Just to say I dont like “Lost” at all, but I’m not running around telling people that it sucks and that they shouldn’t watch it because in my opinion it’s crap. And EVEN if her acting wasn’t that good, can it entirly be blamed on her just because she did what the filmdirector told her to do? People like Lindelof should really learn to stfu before starting telling BS just to make themselves look more interresting.