{"id":25376,"date":"2025-10-02T11:01:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T11:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=25376"},"modified":"2025-10-02T11:01:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T11:01:35","slug":"everything-that-is-wrong-with-the-human-race-inside-hollywoods-bizarre-war-on-the-leaf-blower-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=25376","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Everything that is wrong with the human race\u2019: inside Hollywood\u2019s bizarre war on the leaf blower | Movies"},"content":{"rendered":"

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C<\/span>onsider the great Hollywood feud. Perhaps Bette Davis and Joan Crawford\u2019s mutual loathing comes to mind? Or Marlon Brando\u2019s 40-year-old beef with Burt Reynolds? Maybe the more recent tensions between Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh? Well, let me tell you: these are absolutely nothing compared to Cate Blanchett and her indefatigable animus towards \u2026 the leaf blower. Seemingly every single leaf blower.<\/p>\n

Truly, this is one of the greatest celebrity animosities of this century. The earliest extant Blanchett-rant on the subject is a W Magazine interview, way back in 2007, when she ambiguously characterised leaf blowers \u2013 a lot of fence-sitting here \u2013 as \u201ceverything that is wrong with the human race\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the 18 years since, the two-time Oscar winner has ranted about leaf blowers: while munching her way through chicken wings on Hot Ones (\u201cGardeners, their faces \u2026 they know what they\u2019re doing is stupid\u201d); on Subway Takes (\u201cLeaf blowers need to be eradicated from the face of the Earth\u201d); during the press tour for her film Black Bag (\u201cIf you see someone with a leaf blower, doesn\u2019t your blood pressure go up?\u201d); and even on the red carpet at the world premiere for Where\u2019d You Go, Bernadette (for the avoidance of doubt: \u201cI hate them so much\u201d). She even shoehorned them into a press conference at Cannes for a film very much not about leaf blowers (the film\u2019s director: \u201cThis again?\u201d).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Blanchett\u2019s abhorrence of the leaf blower has become so renowned that she has fully leaned in, appearing in a sketch with her Borderlands co-star Gina Gershon. This passionate detestation has, as you might imagine, not gone unremarked upon by internet denizens. There are now a number of compilations of Blanchett bitching about leaf blowers, while memes abound. The actor isn\u2019t surprised because, as she correctly asserts, \u201cI talk about them all the time.\u201d It\u2019s a celeb obsession only matched by Helen Mirren constantly bringing up her sadness that Kurt Cobain died before the invention of GPS (I\u2019m serious).<\/p>\n

But it hasn\u2019t escaped my notice that Blanchett is not the only A-lister made irate by the commonplace gardening device. Michael Fassbender joined her condemnation (\u201cBring back the rake!\u201d) during a shared interview (to no one\u2019s surprise, Fassbender did not introduce the topic). Danny DeVito has a hatred of leaf blowers to rival the Aussie\u2019s. DeVito monologued on the show Lovett or Leave It: \u201cI know everyone\u2019s got to make a living \u2026 I used to be a gardener. We did everything with a broom \u2013 you don\u2019t take a fucking thing and make all the noise and blow the leaves from one neighbour to the next. And then their gardener blows them back to you. And on a Saturday<\/em>? Fuck you, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>Cate Blanchett holding a leaf blower.<\/span> Photograph: YouTube<\/p>\n

Other stars that have gone on record with their enmity? Hugh Grant, describing them in a junket as one of his pet peeves, and then doubling down \u2013 and how \u2013 telling Seth Meyers: \u201cAnyone who uses a leaf blower, or hires anyone else to use a leaf blower, should have it rectally inserted.\u201d This is not the sole time Grant has mooted sodomising individuals with their own garden apparatus, tweeting in 2018 that this would be a policy of his \u201cwhen I am prime minister\u201d. (Not sure that take would have made it into Love Actually, in which he played the role of PM.) In Vanity Fair\u2019s Proust questionnaire Grant answered the question \u201cwhich living person do you most despise?\u201d with \u201c[anyone] \u2026 who uses a leaf blower\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ricky Gervais? Hates \u2018em. (\u201cI want to ban leaf blowers. Why have they got leaf blowers? What are they doing? It\u2019s bad for the environment, it\u2019s noisy \u2026 it\u2019s pointless,\u201d he said on the Stick to Football podcast). Teri Hatcher, appearing on Inside the Actors Studio two decades ago, responded to \u201cwhat sound or noise do you hate?\u201d with: \u201cI know, because it happens every Saturday morning at 7 o\u2019clock\u201d. Cue her impression of a leaf blower<\/em>. \u201cI just wanna yell out of my bedroom window: isn\u2019t that illegal?!\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom Conti, one of Britain\u2019s greatest living thesps, was so enraged by his neighbours\u2019 method of lawn maintenance that he went on a Channel 4 documentary to complain, uttering the immortal line: \u201cIf these people can\u2019t stand the sight of a leaf then it\u2019s not a leaf blower they need; it\u2019s a psychiatrist.\u201d Meanwhile, Rainn Wilson, of The Office, got into a spat with Elon Musk, accusing one of the greatest villains of our time the entrepreneur of stealing his idea of a \u201cquiet electric leaf blower\u201d. (Musk taking credit for someone else\u2019s ideas? Who\u2019d have thought?)<\/p>\n

When I am Prime Minister (it can\u2019t be long) my first move will be to compel anyone who uses, or hires anyone to use, a leaf blower to wear it, rectally, for a week. With it switched on.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Hugh Grant (@HackedOffHugh) October 12, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n

Never before has such an ostensibly unassuming \u2013 but, given the racket they produce, actually obnoxious \u2013 instrument brought together so many disparate Hollywood luminaries in shared seething contempt. But if Hollywood as the collective noun for industry players can be said to despise leaf blowers, so does Los Angeles the city and the surrounding LA county itself.<\/p>\n

Beverly Hills, home to the great and the good and Ashton Kutcher, was one of the first cities to ban gas-powered leaf blowers, implementing the policy way back in 1978. West Hollywood proscribed them in 1986. Santa Monica in 1991. Los Angeles followed suit in 1998, prohibiting them within 500ft of residential property after a 12-year campaign spearheaded by Peter Graves, star of the funniest film ever made (Airplane!, obviously).<\/p>\n

Julie Newmar, the original on-screen Catwoman, was another big name leading the charge. The Brentwood resident tried playing Mozart at full blast to block out the noise. When that didn\u2019t work, she tried industrial strength earmuffs, but said that this made it hard for her to answer the phone. Other Newmar tactics included the distribution of DIY leaflets (\u201cAh, for the sound of rakes and brooms on a walk or driveway \u2026\u201d she wrote). Finally, she sent a letter to the then-Los Angeles mayor, threatening to move, very specifically, to New Zealand.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Peter Graves speaking at a city council hearing.<\/span> Photograph: YouTube<\/p>\n

Also involved was Meredith Baxter, star of the 80s sitcom Family Ties. In one council meeting, in support of a point made by Graves and his wife concerning leaf blowers spreading not just leaves, but fungus, animal faeces and pesticides, Baxter piped up: \u201cAre we going to put gas masks on our kids? It flies in the face of all rational thinking to continue using leaf blowers!\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, in response to growing pressure, California governor Gavin Newsom issued a statewide ban on the sale of new gas-powered leaf blowers and other small off-road engines (appropriately known as SOREs), but resale, existing and electric models remain exempt. But the continuing problem, as LA has found since its ban, is the law is almost impossible to enforce; by the time police arrive on the scene (and probably don\u2019t) the offender has moved on.<\/p>\n

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There are serious and justified reasons for the backlash. Traditional leaf blowers spew out carcinogens, carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide, while any leaking fuel negatively affects soil quality and wildlife. Karen Jubanyik, an associate professor at the Yale School of Medicine, calls lawn equipment \u201cone of the greatest polluters\u201d in the US.<\/p>\n

As Blanchett has vehemently attested, they are \u201cawful for the environment\u201d, a point made too by the nature-loving Gervais. In her appearance on Subway Takes, Blanchett cited a study that claimed operating a leaf blower for just half an hour is estimated to produce the same level of pollution as driving a pickup truck from Texas to Alaska. Los Angeles in particular is a city of cars, but automobiles are becoming cleaner much faster, thanks to advancing electric vehicle technology and evolving legislation; so much so that pollution caused by SOREs could be double that of passenger cars by 2031.<\/p>\n

The leaf blower\u2019s impact on mental and physical health is also substantial. They can produce noise levels of up to 112 decibels; louder than a rock concert; slightly louder than someone shouting down your ear; and not far behind a jet taking off from an airport. The World Health Organization warns that prolonged exposure to noise about 85 decibels can cause irreversible hearing loss.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

And the health impacts of noise pollution go beyond the aural. Charlotte Clark, a professor of environmental epidemiology at City St George\u2019s, University of London, explains to me that environmental noise triggers biological responses in an individual. Here\u2019s the science behind Blanchett et al\u2019s rage: \u201cAnnoyance is a stress response to noise,\u201d says Clark. \u201cWhen sound enters the ears, it is interpreted by the amygdala in the brain \u2013 which handles endocrine and autonomic functions. If the amygdala is over-activated by noise, the endocrine system will increase levels of the stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline. The sympathetic nervous system will also be hyper-activated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blanchett is correct about her rising blood pressure. Clark mentions that these biological responses, \u201ctriggered over a long time period are risk factors for cardio-metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart attacks and strokes.\u201d One study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine even linked certain types of noise pollution to higher rates of early death.<\/p>\n

Then there are the mental health effects: depression, anxiety, sensory overload, cognitive decline. Interestingly, Stephen Stansfeld, an emeritus professor of psychiatry who helped create the WHO guidelines on noise pollution in Europe, tells me that an added irritant when it comes to noise is any sense of arbitrariness: \u201cOne of the factors that contributes to annoyance is the necessity or usefulness of the activity causing the noise. Thus, if people feel the activity, such as leaf blowing, is unnecessary, it is likely to be more annoying.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>A 1970s Echo Inc advertisement.<\/span> Photograph: YouTube\/Echo Inc<\/p>\n

This seems very much to be the case with Blanchett (\u201cthe wind is just gonna blow it back!\u201d), Gervais (\u201cit\u2019s pointless!\u201d) and DeVito (\u201cthese leaves are getting a great ride\u201d) in particular.<\/p>\n

But not everyone in the Hollywood Hills is on the anti-blower side of the hedge. For obvious reasons, landscaping companies (think of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) as Big Leaf) and their employees push back. The blower was first introduced in the state after the droughts of the 1970s, when residents stopped hosing down their lawns and driveways in an effort to conserve water. Spotting a gap in the market, Japanese company Echo Inc introduced the wearable \u201cclean-up machine\u201d.<\/p>\n

Back then, many gardeners in the Los Angeles area were Japanese-American, but current workers are often low-paid and of Latino descent: jardineros<\/em>. They argue that their work is much more laborious without the use of blowers, and that electric ones are nowhere near as efficient (there\u2019s also an environmental impact there, too, with the issue of battery disposal). Some workers resent that blowers are deemed a nuisance by the same residents who demand perfect lawns in record time.<\/p>\n

In 1998, fighting against the Peter Graves-led campaign, 12 workers from the Association of Latin American Gardeners of Los Angeles (ALAGA) camped outside the city hall and even went on hunger strike in an attempt to overturn the ban. Their victory wasn\u2019t full-blown, but they did manage to lessen proposed punitive measures (for instance, potential six-month jail terms).<\/p>\n

Patrick Shen, director of the award-winning documentary In Pursuit of Silence, which explores the \u201cdeeply unsatisfying, unhealthy\u201d effects of \u201cour rapid-fire rhythms, the constant stimulation, and the ceaseless cacophony of noise around us all the time\u201d, is sympathetic.<\/p>\n

Shen, who lives in a Los Angeles suburb, tells me: \u201cOn any given day, there\u2019s a leaf blower somewhere disrupting what otherwise is a decently quiet neighbourhood. I fully support the legislation \u2013 so long as there are sizeable rebates available to landscapers to trade in their old gas-powered units. The burden most certainly shouldn\u2019t be on these hard-working people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The ubiquity of leaf blowers and the strong emotions they provoke has proved fertile on-screen inspiration. There\u2019s the critically acclaimed coming-of-age film Sopladora de Hojas (Leaf Blower), by Alejandro Iglesias, in which a group of Mexican teens search for lost keys in a pile of leaves. Then there\u2019s Leafblowers: a gorgeously shot short film from Nowness which explores the \u201crising tension against a familiar hum\u201d with LA director CG Watkins working with composer Billy Bultheel to push the sound of the machines \u201cto an overwhelming level\u201d. The protagonist, awoken by the surging burr, pops headache pills with a look of utter defeat and grips the edge of a kitchen unit, as masked workers dressed ominously all in black swing what look like the trunks of fighting elephants.<\/p>\n

<\/span>A still from a film by Nowness.<\/span> Photograph: Nowness\/CG Watkins<\/p>\n

Another short Leaf Blower Massacre (tagline: \u201cWhen autumn arrives, no-one survives\u201d), pays homage to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And then there\u2019s Leaf Blower Massacre 2. (Presumably some people did, in fact, survive.)<\/p>\n

<\/span>The artwork for Leaf Blower Massacre. <\/span> Illustration: Anthony Cooper\/IMDb<\/p>\n

The blower also has its place behind the camera. It can serve as such a handy low-budget prop that online tutorials for film-makers and SFX departments are plentiful. Often they\u2019re used for supernatural effects or to cultivate an eerie atmosphere. (It\u2019s quite possible this (not low budget) scene in Lord of the Rings utilised one, in addition to CGI.) There\u2019s even a debate as to whether one of the most iconic movie scenes \u2013 American Beauty\u2019s plastic bag dancing in the wind \u2013 was created with the help of a leaf blower. Then there\u2019s the manufactured glamour employment: flowing hair in adverts and high-end photoshoots (spot the man in singlet and jeans blasting Margaret Qualley in this iD shoot).<\/p>\n

One usage Los Angeles citizens can get on board with is a more recent innovation. This summer anti-ICE protesters met the national guard on the streets of the city while \u201cwielding leaf blowers\u201d in a bid to disperse teargas. Or rather: \u201cMexican mom reveals sneaky riot tactic\u201d, as one newspaper put it.<\/p>\n

And there is one big movie star who has spoken of the leaf blower in non-combative terms. David Oyelowo, who lives in the San Fernando Valley, north of Hollywood, once told a story on The Daily Show about his late father\u2019s love of the devices. \u201cHe\u2019s got, like, four different leaf blowers. The problem is he never does the constant vroooooom. He goes vrooom \u2026 vrooom \u2026 vrooom \u2026 \u201d, Oyelowo said, imitating a staccato technique. \u201cSo for the hour<\/em> that he\u2019s doing this \u2026 oh man.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the love of God, nobody tell Cate.<\/p>\n