Stopping by 'The View', the Nick Fury depicter in Marvel Cinematic Universe refutes the 'Django Unchained' director's claims that Marvel actors are 'not movie stars.'
- Nov 30, 2022
AceShowbiz - Samuel L. Jackson may have worked together with Quentin Tarantino on a number of projects, but it doesn't mean that they're always on the same page about everything. The actor has fought back at the director's claims that Marvel actors are "not movie stars."
The Nick Fury depicter in Marvel Cinematic Universe responded to his pal's anti-Marvel comments when appearing in a Tuesday, November 29 episode of "The View". Pushing back on Quentin's criticism, he said, "It takes an actor to be those particular characters, and the sign of movie stardom has always been, what, asses in seats? What are we talking about?"
The 73-year-old added, "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."
Jackson has starred in three films which were directed by Tarantino, "Pulp Fiction" (1994), "Jackie Brown" (1997) and "Django Unchained" (2012). He made his debut as Fury in "Iron Man" (2008) and has subsequently appeared in other films like "Captain America: The First Avenger", "Avengers: Endgame" and "Spider-Man: Far From Home". He is set to reprise the role on the upcoming Disney+ series "Secret Invasion" and in "The Marvels", the sequel to "Captain Marvel".
Tarantino criticized the Marvelisation of Hollywood during his appearance on "2 Bears, 1 Cave" podcast. "You have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters," he said. "But they're not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star. I mean, I'm not the first person to say that. I think that's been said a zillion times … but it's like, you know, it's these franchise characters that become a star."
While he said he doesn't hate Marvel, the 59-year-old dislikes their current ubiquity. "Look, I used to collect Marvel comics like crazy when I was a kid," he said. "There's an aspect that if these movies were coming out when I was in my twenties, I would totally be f**king happy and totally love them. I mean, they wouldn't be the only movies being made. They would be those movies amongst other movies. But, you know, I'm almost 60, so yeah. No, I'm not quite as excited about them."
Simu Liu, who has also joined MCU with his role in "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", was the first actor to respond to Tarantino's claims. Clapping back at the filmmaker as well as Martin Scorsese, who has previously expressed his dislike at superhero films, he tweeted on November 22, "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." The 33-year-old hunk noted, "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."
The Canadian actor went on praising Marvel's diversity while calling out old Hollywood. "No movie studio is or ever will be perfect. But 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 added in a separate tweet. "I loved the 'Golden Age' too.. but it was white as hell."
