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Samuel L. Jackson Blasts Quentin Tarantino's Assertion That Marvel Actors Aren't 'Movie Stars'
Samuel L. Jackson strongly disagreed with Quentin Tarantino's dig at superhero movies after his frequent collaborator lamented about the waning of movie stars due to the "Marvel-ization of Hollywood."
Jackson–who played Nick Fury in various Marvel movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)–discussed why he didn't see eye-to-eye with Tarantino after the Inglorious Basterds director made his controversial statement during an interview on the 2 Bears, 1 Cave podcast.
Jackson appeared on The View alongside his wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson to promote their Broadway revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson, which LaTanya directed and in which Samuel stars.
When asked about his take on Tarantino's opinion, Jackson told the show's co-hosts:
"It takes an actor to be those particular characters, and the sign of movie stardom has always been, what, a**es in seats?"
"What are we talking about?"
The 73-year-old continued:
"That's not a big controversy for me to know that apparently these actors are movie stars."
"Chadwick Boseman is Black Panther. You can't refute that, and he's a movie star."
You can see the discussion on The View here:
\u201cSamuel L. Jackson calls Chadwick Boseman a "movie star" after Quentin Tarantino criticizes Marvel's affect on the movie industry #THRNews\u201d— The Hollywood Reporter (@The Hollywood Reporter) 1669833000
\u201cSamuel L Jackson says Quentin Tarantino is wrong about MCU actors not being movie stars\n\n\u201cIt takes an actor to be those particular characters ... Chadwick Boseman is Black Panther. You can\u2019t refute that, and he\u2019s a movie star"\n\n\ud83d\udcfa The View\u201d— Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f (@Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f) 1669795478
People weighed in with their take on the conversation.
\u201c@ciri2019 @CultureCrave Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson , Angela Basset, and Samuel L Jackson were movie stars way before they did marvel movies.\u201d— Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f (@Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f) 1669795478
\u201c@CultureCrave Thats the point he was making, chadwick boseman should be seen as chadwick boseman the star and not the black panther guy, or when fans refer to Robert DJ as iron man. They dont go to movies to see these great actors they go to see their favourite super heroes.\u201d— Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f (@Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f) 1669795478
\u201c@CultureCrave Samuel L Jackson was also a big star before becoming nick fury. Dude was in San Andreas which was the best selling game on the PS2.\u201d— Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f (@Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f) 1669795478
\u201c@CultureCrave I know people who went to see Doctor Strange just because of Benedict Cumberbatch\u201d— Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f (@Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f) 1669795478
\u201c@CultureCrave Eh I\u2019m a fan of the actors. If an actor I didn\u2019t like played any of these characters, I wouldn\u2019t watch the movies at all. It\u2019s like the new Caption america. Don\u2019t like him, so I don\u2019t watch it. Not there for captain America, I\u2019m there for Chris Evans portrayal\u201d— Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f (@Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f) 1669795478
\u201c@CultureCrave Why are we even talking about who\u2019s a movie star and who isn\u2019t? The most important thing is how an actor feels about their own career, not how Quentin Tarantino feels about someone\u2019s career. The MCU has great actors who are greatly deserving of being movie stars, that\u2019s it.\u201d— Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f (@Culture Crave \ud83c\udf7f) 1669795478
Tarantino's comment also rubbed another Marvel actor the wrong way.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu took to Twitter and wrote:
"If the only gatekeepers to movie stardom came from Tarantino and Scorsese, I would never have had the opportunity to lead a $400 million plus movie."
"I am in awe of their filmmaking genius. They are transcendent auteurs."
"But they don't get to point their nose at me or anyone."
In a follow-up post, Liu–who is expected to reprise Shang-Chi in two upcoming Marvel films–added:
"I'm proud to work with one that has made sustained efforts to improve diversity onscreen by creating heroes that empower and inspire people of all communities everywhere."
He ended the tweet by saying while he loved the "Golden Age" of Hollywood too, it was "White as hell."
Tarantino wasn't the only major director to express disdain for box-office-dominating superhero films.
In October 2019, acclaimed director Martin Scorsese said he didn't consider them to be "cinema."
He told Empire Magazine:
“Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks."
"It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
Tom Holland—who played Spider-Man in the MCU on loan from Sony Pictures—responded to Scorsese's statement.
He said:
"You can ask [Martin] Scorsese ‘Would you want to make a Marvel movie?’ But he doesn’t know what it’s like because he’s never made one."
“I’ve made Marvel movies and I’ve also made movies that have been in the conversation in the world of the Oscars, and the only difference, really, is one is much more expensive than the other."
"But the way I break down the character, the way the director etches out the arc of the story and characters—it’s all the same, just done on a different scale."
"So I do think they’re real art.”