Posted in: Movies | Tagged: carly rae jepsen, chronicle, dirk gently's holistic detective agency, max landis, oddball, star wars

Max Landis Shares 150-Page 'Living Document' All About…Carly Rae Jepsen?

Max Landis is a screenwriter, producer and comic book writer, who is behind Chronicle, American Ultra and Victor Frankenstein. He's the writer of DC mini-series, Superman: American Alien and is also the creator and showrunner on BBC America/Netflix's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, based on the Douglas Adams books.

He's also someone some folks may recall for his fairly controversial opinions about Rey (Daisy Ridley) in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, calling the character a Mary Sue or author insertion character that everything comes easy for. An argument that many thought was sexist, when it was arguable that Rey did nothing that Luke Skywalker didn't also do and also find incredibly easy (such as flying an X-Wing and landing a next to impossible victory shot that saves the day, despite not being seen to have ever flown a fighter craft ever before).

Well, Max Landis is at it again, but this time it's especially odd.

Announcing it's release with the launch of a video on social media, on the 12th of September this year, Max Landis has…unleashed a massive 'living document' (i.e. a fucking website, for pete's sake) all about…Carly Rae Jepsen.

Yes, Landis has felt the need to educate us all, possibly even the popular female musician herself, on what he has decided has to be actually factually true about her own artistic statements and intent.

In the video, Landis appears in a mental institution and wearing a straight-jacket, as he explains to us the overview of his essay: that he is clearly obsessed with Carly Rae Jepsen and her music and has 'discovered' that she sings about the same thing every single time.

Why this is so important to him? Why does it require a dramatic launch with an immensely well shot and lit, and probably costing some, video announcement that guess what, he has some ideas about Carly Rae Jepsen….well, that is never really explained.

And you know, even after subjecting myself to the entire thing (yes, I really suffer for you guys sometimes…I mean, I did after all read Secret Empire too), I honestly cannot tell you what to make of this…outlandish decision to present a basic 'hey, I kinda have a theory about those songs!' as something more like a bizarre conspiracy that he desperately must share with the world.

I mean,it's hard to say what the purpose of it is, and even Landis basically admits as such. He believes that he has found the secret theme of all of Jepsen's work, implying that every single piece of music she has been connected to is about the same structure of rejected, unrequited love with a boy who may in fact already be in a relationship. What is a little irksome is the suggestion that he has found it, and that possibly Jepsen is unaware of it.

And despite his manic video presentation making it seem a little like Landis is having a dig at Jepsen, and calling her talent into question, the actual dissertation suggests otherwise. It actually hints more that Landis is something of a Carly Rae Jepsen megafan and loves her work…though this then kind of makes this whole thing even more creepy.

After all, Jepsen probably doesn't mind fans having theories about her music, but declaring them in such an aggressively manic manner with suggestions that she might not even be aware that she's doing it, but oh hold on, YOU found it – that's a little but too much, eh.

Even the name is a little insulting – A Scar No One Else Can See, which yes is indeed a Carly Rae Jepsen lyric, but the implication here is Landis found something that no one else was smart enough to see. Nah, son, we just didn't feel the need to get all up in people's faces about it.

As yet, Jepsen has not responded to Landis' fervent assertions, but then, nor does she really have to.

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