Samuel L. Jackson has responded to Martin Scorsese’s scathing criticism of the Marvel superhero movies.
In a recent interview, the Oscar-winning director compared the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to theme parks, and said he pitied the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson for having to compromise their acting abilities to star in them. Advertisement
Now, Jackson, who plays Nick Fury in the MCU, has fired back at The Wolf of Wall Street filmmaker and defended the Marvel movies.
“I mean that’s like saying Bugs Bunny ain’t funny. Films are films. Everybody doesn’t like his stuff either,” the 70-year-old told Variety. “We happen to, but not everybody (does). There are a lot of Italian-Americans who don’t think he should be making films about them like that… Everybody’s got an opinion, so I mean it’s okay. Ain’t going to stop nobody from making movies.”
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn also responded to Scorsese’s statements and expressed his sadness in a series of posts on Twitter.
“Martin Scorsese is one of my five favourite living filmmakers. I was outraged when people picketed The Last Temptation of Christ without having seen the film. I’m saddened that he’s now judging my films in the same way,” the 53-year-old wrote. “What I’m saying is I’m not fond of people judging things without actually seeing them, whether it’s a movie about Jesus or a genre.”
Karen Gillan, who plays Nebula in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and Avengers: Endgame, also leapt to the defence of the MCU, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “I would absolutely say that Marvel movies are cinema. Cinema is story-telling with visuals.”
The Goodfellas filmmaker sparked outrage last week when he told Empire magazine, “That’s not cinema… 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.”
