'Begin Again' director shades Keira Knightley nine ways to Sunday

A lot of people suffer the fate of being their own worst critic, but Keira Knightley is one of the lucky few that don't. Because she's got her Begin Again director John Carney for the job! Knightley starred as an indie musician in Begin Again, singing and playing her own instruments, but Carney didn't find the performance authentic. Speaking with The Independent, Carney explained: "It's not like I hate the Hollywood thing but I like to work with curious, proper film actors as opposed to movie stars...it's hard being a film actor and it requires a certain level of honesty and self-analysis that I don't think she's ready for yet and I certainly don't think she was ready for on that film." As if Carney's own "certain level of honesty" wasn't plenty injury, Carney tacked on some more insults, suggesting that Knightley didn't live up to costars Mark Ruffalo and Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine, the latter of whom Carney called "a joy to work with and actually quite unpretentious and not a bit scared of exposing himself on camera and exploring who he is as an individual." "Keira's thing is to hide who you are and I don't think you can be an actor and do that," Carney stated.

Carney says that after Begin Again, "I learned that I'll never make a film with supermodels again," apparently finding only incidental relevance in the fact that Knightley is not and has never been a supermodel. In spite of Carney's blistering, shall we say, consideration of Knightley, he insists, "I don't want to rubbish Keira." Wow, imagine if he had; he might've said something belittling and dismissive. Shake it off Keira. To some of us, you are perfect.