You probably didn’t know that actor James Woods was an executive producer on Oppenheimer. And according to Woods, the public not knowing that was part of a stealthy marketing strategy.
Woods was on Megyn Kelly’s SiriusXM show and discussed his credit on the film, which, as Hollywood Reporter previously reported, stemmed from his friendship with businessman J. David Wargo, who bought the rights to the Oppenheimer biography American Prometheus, and then enlisted Woods to find a Hollywood home for the project.
As the film approached its summer release date, Woods says somebody — he doesn’t say who — “gently” suggested that he keep a low profile and not promote the film due to his Twitter/X feed, which has supported Donald Trump in the past.
“When Oppenheimer came out, there was a discussion about my Twitter, and it was gently suggested that I basically remain invisible — which was painful,” Woods said. “On the other hand, I’m a pragmatic person and I thought: A lot of people put their effort into this, so I’m just going to be an invisible pariah because the people who are going to be voting for Oscars — which is very important to films, to get Oscars because it does help with the financial reward and historical archive in which it will rest forever. I don’t want to deprive those people.”
Continued Woods: “I don’t want some nutcase to come out of the woodwork and fabricate some ridiculous story about me, I’ve had a million of them and they’re all lies. I don’t want that to happen and have the clickbait story be, ‘James Woods is the executive producer of Oppenheimer, we’re not going to watch that movie!’ So I stepped back and basically took one for the team. You wouldn’t even know — I was not even invited to the Producers Guild of America awards. I’m a producer on the picture! And I was not invited to go to the Producers Guild of America awards. Which was fine.”
Woods added that anybody looking to make a career in Hollywood has “no chance” if they are outspoken about their conservative views.
During the podcast, Woods also bashed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, the trans movement, Palestinian protests, and a flurry of other topics you can probably guess at.
Oppenheimer went on to become a box office smash, racking up nearly a billion in ticket sales, and earned seven Oscars, including best picture.
Back in 2018, Woods said he was getting “blacklisted” in Hollywood due to not supporting Hilary Clinton in her campaign against Donald Trump in 2016. Around the same time, Woods was dropped by his Gersh agent for his views, such as the following tweet: “Dear Mr. President, when will you get a Department of Justice with teeth? Voter fraud, criminal ‘sanctuary’ hideouts, mass illegal invasion, the opioid epidemic, gang murders, drug cartels are all rotting the soul of our blessed America. Unleash the dogs of war, sir. It is time.”
