Were Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola right about Marvel films not being cinema? Hell no, muthaf*cka, says Samuel L. Jackson, who was asked for his thoughts about big-shot directors questioning the merit of superhero movies in an episode of The View last week. Cheekily noting that “people aren’t going to see their movies” anyway, Jackson suggested that Marvel films may boil down to a simpler type of entertainment that doesn’t prompt any serious thought, but that doesn’t make them any less legitimate. “Movies are movies,” the actor said. ” All movies are valid.”
Samuel L. Jackson: It’s Easy for Directors to Slam Marvel Movies When ‘People Aren’t Seeing Their Films’ (Variety)
- “Movies are movies,” Jackson said about directors criticizing Marvel films. “Those are the movies that I went to see when I was a kid. And the artistry of making a movie is something that was a mystery for so long. Making movies is no longer a mystery. Kids know how to do it on their phones. So it’s easy for [directors] to dismiss it, only because people aren’t going to see their movie.”
- “It’s like we’ve been dumbed down, but that’s always been the case,” Jackson added. “When we were younger, people went to see cowboy movies, and they went to see superhero movies of another ilk, they had superheroes on television. When you told a serious story, yeah, you find a niche audience — same thing still happens. People go to the movies to make themselves feel better and to get out of their daily existence.”
- Jackson concluded that “people go into the big, darkroom to have a good time. It’s a shard good time. You laugh together and scream together. I still do movies that I would have gone to see when I was a kid.”
- “All movies are valid,” Jackson added. “Some go to the cinema to be moved dearly. Some like superheroes. If somebody has more butts on seats it just means your audience is not as broad. There are people who have had successful careers but nobody can recite one line of their parts. I’m the guy who says shit that’s on a T-shirt.”