J.K. Simmons came up with the most vicious insult in 'Whiplash'
If you've seen and loved Whiplash multiple times like we have, you probably haven't shut up about these three things:
- What an insanely skilled drummer Miles Teller is.
- How you were so mesmerized those last 20 minutes that your heart stopped beating.
- Why jazz instructor Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) is the king of hilariously cruel put-downs.
For real about that third one, guys. Although most of his jabs are too vulgar to repeat here, let's just say he can call you a leprechaun and make it feel like a dagger to the heart. (You might even shed
.)
So when we caught up with Whiplash writer/director Damien Chazelle at the New York Film Critics Circle awards Monday, we had to ask: Which of Fletcher's acidic barbs is his favorite?
It was fun writing those because it was like getting to unlock that dark part of your mind, like, 'What're the worst things (I can say)?' But J.K. came up with one himself, which is very subtle, but I love it, because I'm a drummer. He came up with the fact that drummers are always kind of getting insulted as not being real musicians, so there's a couple times, casually, where Fletcher refers to the drummers, and then to the musicians. He just does it so offhandedly that you can almost miss it, but as a drummer, that's my favorite.
Ouch. That's gotta hurt.