Hollywood Remembers Ned Beatty – and His ‘Ahead of Its Time’ Speech in ‘Network’
As the entertainment world mourns the passing of Oscar nominee Ned Beatty, many stars are recalling arguably his most famous and ominous performance as TV executive Arthur Jansen in the Paddy Chayefsky satire “Network.”
In his tweet commemorating Beatty, “Karate Kid” star Ralph Macchio called “Network” one of the “greatest screenplays and films of all time” and commended Beatty’s monologue towards the end of the film as “ahead of its time.” In it, Beatty as Jansen gives a booming sermon to news anchor turned raging talking head Howard Beale for using his TV show to get his viewers to shut down his network’s merger with a Saudi conglomerate, putting the network in danger. You can watch the speech in the clip below.
Ned Beatty. Superb character actor – my fave being his brilliantness in NETWORK (one of the greatest screenplays and films of all time) So ahead of its time. And same for Mr. Beatty. RIP https://t.co/yzw05ip7zw
— Ralph Macchio (@ralphmacchio) June 13, 2021
Former ESPN/MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann called Jansen’s speech a “prophecy that has come totally and terribly true,” as the executive proclaims that multinational corporations have come to dominate the world of international politics. Other stars and film writers have posted gifs and clips from the speech in tweets commemorating Beatty and his career.
RIP Ned Beatty. Gave voice to yet another Paddy Chayefsky prophecy that has come totally and terribly true. pic.twitter.com/hv0S6lFNEe
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) June 13, 2021
A few years ago, Ned Beatty told me the extraordinary story of how he won his role in NETWORK after a meeting with Paddy Chayefsky and Sidney Lumet. May he rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/fLbHUrKNPD
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) June 13, 2021
Along with “Network,” which earned him an Oscar nomination in 1976, Beatty was known for performances in films like the Jon Voight thriller “Deliverance,” his feature film debut, the Best Picture-nominated “All The Presidents Men,” and villainous turns as Lex Luthor’s bumbling henchman in “Superman” and the tyrannical teddy bear Lotso in “Toy Story 3.”
Read more tweets commemorating Beatty below.
'Network' & 'Superman' Actor Ned Beatty Dead at 83 via @TMZ One of American Cinema’s greatest character actors..His epic monologue in “Network” Will forever be etched in movie history..RIP https://t.co/bIL8WVgwKe
— Michael Des Barres (@MDesbarres) June 13, 2021
Another huge loss for the acting community. https://t.co/iCDRicYQes
— Lance Henriksen (@lancehenriksen) June 13, 2021
Ned Beatty was an amazing actor.
Good in everything he was ever in.
RIP.
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) June 13, 2021
RIP Ned Beatty, so good in so many films pic.twitter.com/Tz6XbaIQac
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 13, 2021
RIP Ned Beatty. One of the all time best. pic.twitter.com/phiMHmdKTs
— marc maron (@marcmaron) June 13, 2021
We're saddened to learn about the passing of actor Ned Beatty, who played family man Ward Douglas in Steven Spielberg's WWII comedy 1941 (1979).
Beatty, an Academy Award-nominated performer, was one of the truly great character actors of his generation.#NedBeatty #1941Movie pic.twitter.com/ERPHEIZdHH
— Amblin (@amblin) June 13, 2021
Ned Beatty seemed changed by the rape scene in Deliverance, whose "Squeal like a pig" line wasn't even in the script. RIP.
("My Summer of Deliverance," by Christopher Dickey.) pic.twitter.com/WY3MywtNDQ
— Justin Miller (@justinjm1) June 13, 2021
We have lost a great actor… from Network to Superman to All the Presidents Men to Charlie Wilson’s War to Nashville (a special favorite worth watching) #NedBeatty may his memory be a blessing https://t.co/bV5pKLZmdz
— Jamie Gangel (@jamiegangel) June 13, 2021
Read original story Hollywood Remembers Ned Beatty – and His ‘Ahead of Its Time’ Speech in ‘Network’ At TheWrap
