Following several instances of bringing up the new movie, “A Complete Unknown,” on radio and television platforms, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo recently traveled to London, England to attend the premiere and met star Timothée Chalamet. This fortuitous circumstance came after Russo ranted about not being invited to the New York City premiere on ESPN First Take, and the situation elicited national headlines. While Russo was appearing on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, host Dan Le Batard opined that complaining about not being invited was a “shameless” and “embarrassing” way for him to procure an audience.
Russo subsequently explained that he had talked about not having a seat at the premiere on January 2, and that one of his agents received a call a few days later from Searchlight Pictures. Having been offered the chance to attend the premiere in either London, Paris or Rome, he chose to go to London to work around the schedule of football games. He flew overseas last week with his daughter to attend the premiere and voiced that Chalamet did a stellar job.
“You’re bought and paid for,” Le Batard said, a sentiment with which Russo concurred. “…And Bob Dylan would hate what you’re doing. He would hate what you’re doing, he hates what Chalamet’s doing, and you’re out here endorsing. You’re laundering Chalamet for Bob Dylan because they can buy you – it’s embarrassing.”
Le Batard subsequently played the video of Russo on First Take, prefacing the clip by expounding that Ruso was using his platform to “curry favor with the famous” in order to benefit his daughter. Moreover, he classified the gesture as something that did not resemble objectivity and asserted that it needed to be called out. Russo clarified by conveying that he did not expect that he would be invited, but he was grateful for the opportunity and enjoyed himself.
“Again, I don’t like what you’ve become late in your career here where you are simply trafficking in all of the powers that you have to do things that satiate your ego,” Le Batard said. Jon “Stugotz” Weiner added that he had been doing this throughout his entire career. In the last year, Russo signed contract extensions with SiriusXM and ESPN through which he is continuing his multiplatform ventures.
Le Batard referred to Russo as having a resurgence and exclaimed that it was wonderful to see, especially after talking about how “one of his agents” received a call about attending the London premiere. Russo elaborated by saying that they work together in his representation and that he did not realize Chalamet had been the person to call about the ticket request.
“The nicest guy in the world,” Russo said of Chalamet. “Oh, what a nice kid, and forget me. He signed every autograph with those fans who lined that red carpet, he took pictures, he grasped the idea. On the stage before the movie was presented, he did a great job talking about the LA fires. I can’t tell you – and then he’s doing Saturday Night Live this week as you guys know – so I can’t tell you how good he did. What a nice kid.”
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
