Matthew McConaughey Responds To ‘The Sea of Trees’ Boos At Cannes

Matthew McConaughey took a Zen approach when addressing the chorus of boos at the Cannes Film Festival that followed the premiere of his newest film, The Sea of Trees.

The Sea of Trees premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last week, and, while booing isn’t necessarily associated with the movie-going experience in the US, it is a widely accepted, and sometimes encouraged, practice at the French film festival. Films that get booed aren’t always bad, and many go on to do very well upon theatrical release. However, it’s not a good sign, something McConaughey didn’t seem too concerned with at Saturday’s press conference.

“I would say, real simply, anyone has as much right to boo as they do to ovate,” McConaughey told reporters when asked about the film’s negative reception.

McConaughey stars in The Sea of Trees as an American man who wanders into a Japan’s Aokigahara forest to committ suicide and ends up fighting for survival with a Japanese man played by Ken Wantanabe. The film also stars Naomi Watts as McConaughey’s wife.

Upon its disastrous premiere, The Sea of Trees was named director Gus Van Sant’s worst film. Van Sant, who won the Palme D’or in 2003 for his well-received Elephant said at the press conference that he knows first hand that audiences can be divided.

“There was a story that there was some kind of fight [at Cannes] after an Elephant screening…There were fisticuffs…over [whether the movie was] good or bad, and actual punches…Who knows?” Van Sant recounted.

(Skip to 35-minute mark to watch McConaughey’s response to the boos.)