The Oscars have introduced a new category this year in a bid to achieve mainstream appeal again and show support for the blockbusters that are typically left out of contention. Social Media users can vote for their favourite film of 2021 on Twitter using the hashtag #OscarsFanFavorite. It has caused a stir of controversy among The Academy and now Samuel L Jackson has dived into the debate, saying “all movies are valid,” particularly referencing superhero cinema that has been at the heart of cinema debate over the last couple of years.
Marvel blockbusters such as Avengers: Endgame, Captain America: Civil War and Guardians of the Galaxy were all some of the biggest films of their respective years, but none found a place on the Best Picture list. Black Panther was an outlier in 2018 but failed to bring meaningful change to how films are selected.
2022 has finally done that with the Fan-Favourite Award, and Jackson is all for it. He said: “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 s**t that’s on a T-shirt.” (via The Sunday Times).
He particularly showed his support for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
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He may have been referenced in it, but Jackson’s Nick Fury didn’t make an appearance in the Sony flick. Regardless, it smashed the box office to the tune of $1.8 billion, putting the final nail in the coffin that audiences won’t return to cinemas due to the coronavirus pandemic.
When asked if the film should have been nominated for Best Picture, the 73-year-old said: “They should! It did what movies did forever — it got people to a big dark room.” He added: “They should have an Oscar for the most popular movie,” explaining it’s “what the business is about.”
The Pulp Fiction star then took issue with the awards as a whole, all while boasting about his own box office appeal.
Jackson continued: “I guess Black folk usually win for doing despicable s**t on screen. Like Denzel [Washington] for being a horrible cop in Training Day. All the great stuff he did in uplifting roles like Malcolm X? No — we’ll give it to this motherf****r. So maybe I should have won one. But Oscars don’t move the comma on your check — it’s about getting asses in seats, and I’ve done a good job of doing that.”
He was particularly referencing certain major hits he has enjoyed throughout his career, including Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. The star was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the film but lost out to Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood. He said: “I should have won for that one.”
Jackson then spoke of his role in Spike Lee’s 1989 seminal classic Do the Right Thing, where he played Mister Señor Love Daddy.
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Jackson believes he should have received a nomination for the role, but ultimately wasn’t even in the running that year. Instead, Dustin Hoffman was in contention for Rain Man, while Alec Guinness, Martin Landau, River Phoenix and Dean Stockwell all received nominations.
Once again, in 2022, the star is not in consideration to receive an Oscar, with his biggest film of the year, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard failing to make a return at the box office, putting it out of hopes for the Fan-Favourite category.
It makes little difference to the legendary actor though, as he has no less than eight projects in development, according to his IMDb profile. They include two upcoming Marvel projects, the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels and the Disney Plus series Secret Invasion. With the current track record of the MCU, both are likely to do exceedingly well when they release.
Published at Wed, 02 Mar 2022 10:53:35 +0000
Oscars 2022: Samuel L Jackson slams awards for “despicable s**t”
