Oscar Isaac fans are threatening a boycott of Amazon Prime Video over a controversy related to Adam Driver and Inside Llewyn Davis. Before being known to fans of Star Wars as Poe Dameron and Kylo Ren, Isaac and Driver shared the screen in 2013’s Inside Llewyn Davis. Written, edited, and directed by the Coen brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis is a dramedy that takes place in 1961. The movie follows one week in the life of the title character, portrayed by Isaac, who is a folk singer struggling for success. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Grand Prix. Inside Llewyn Davis was met with widespread critical acclaim overall, earning two Academy Award nominations and receiving recognition from several influential publications.
Part of the reason for the enduring appeal of Inside Llewyn Davis, besides the distinctive style that comes with any Coen brothers movie, has to do with the performances. For many critics and for many of his own fans, the film still counts as Isaac’s best performance. The drama also boasted a talented supporting cast, featuring names like Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Abraham, Justin Timberlake and Driver. It is that very distinction now, between a lead actor and a supporting player, that has some fans rather upset on social media.
It turns out, on Amazon’s Prime Video, where Inside Llewyn Davis is available for purchase or to rent, Isaac had been listed under the category for supporting actors, while Driver was elevated to a lead. This is odd for a couple of reasons. Isaac is the undoubted lead of Inside Llewyn Davis while Driver’s character, a fellow singer known as Al Cody, only appears in one full scene. Driver left a positive impression by many accounts, in a brief scene-stealing turn, but he was hardly one of the leads. The oversight did not go unnoticed by Isaac’s fans, who took to social media and pointed out the error. Check out some of the responses below.
The issue has since been corrected, as the category for lead actors has been changed to include Isaac. It’s worth noting that other movies have this ranking issue as well. Prime Video’s page for Spider-Man: Far From Home, as an example, lists Jon Favreau as a lead but not Jake Gyllenhaal. Favreau’s part as Happy Hogan is significant to Far From Home, albeit Gyllenhaal should get higher billing since he portrays the movie’s main villain, Mysterio.
Not everyone took the complaints seriously. For many, even some of Isaac’s ardent supporters, the hashtag against Prime Video was more a tongue-in-cheek example of the ways in which social media controversies can sometimes be less about genuine grievances and more about creating an event in a fandom or manufacturing arguments between fandoms. But as fellow Star Wars alum John Boyega learned earlier this year, it can be easy to grab attention with just a few provocative posts.