Last year's highest-grossing comic book movie, "Guardians of the Galaxy" was nominated for two Oscars during Sunday's ceremony. But despite the inclusion, "Guardians" and its brethren were on the receiving end of a diss from Jack Black during the Oscars' opening musical number.
"Opening with lots of zeroes, all we get are superheroes: Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Jedi Man, Sequel Man, Prequel Man, formulaic scripts!" Black sang in "Moving Pictures," a tribute to the power of movies performed by Neil Patrick Harris.
The shot came one day after "Nightcrawler" writer-director Dan Gilroy praised independent film for surviving against an onslaught of superhero movies. "Independent film, the foundation and everybody here today, I think, are holdouts against a tsunami of superhero movies that have swept over this industry," Gilroy said after winning Best First Feature at Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards. "We have survived, and thrived, and I think that's true spirit."
Not to director James Gunn. On Monday, the "Guardians of the Galaxy" director wrote a response to Gilroy and Black on Facebook:
Whatever the case, the truth is, popular fare in any medium has always been snubbed by the self-appointed elite. I've already won more awards than I ever expected for Guardians. What bothers me slightly is that many people assume because you make big films that you put less love, care, and thought into them then people do who make independent films or who make what are considered more serious Hollywood films.
If you think people who make superhero movies are dumb, come out and say we're dumb. But if you, as an independent filmmaker or a "serious" filmmaker, think you put more love into your characters than [when] the Russo Brothers do Captain America, or Joss Whedon does the Hulk, or I do a talking raccoon, you are simply mistaken.
Read Gunn's full response:
"Opening with lots of zeroes, all we get are superheroes: Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Jedi Man, Sequel Man, Prequel Man, formulaic scripts!" Black sang in "Moving Pictures," a tribute to the power of movies performed by Neil Patrick Harris.
The shot came one day after "Nightcrawler" writer-director Dan Gilroy praised independent film for surviving against an onslaught of superhero movies. "Independent film, the foundation and everybody here today, I think, are holdouts against a tsunami of superhero movies that have swept over this industry," Gilroy said after winning Best First Feature at Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards. "We have survived, and thrived, and I think that's true spirit."
Not to director James Gunn. On Monday, the "Guardians of the Galaxy" director wrote a response to Gilroy and Black on Facebook:
Whatever the case, the truth is, popular fare in any medium has always been snubbed by the self-appointed elite. I've already won more awards than I ever expected for Guardians. What bothers me slightly is that many people assume because you make big films that you put less love, care, and thought into them then people do who make independent films or who make what are considered more serious Hollywood films.
If you think people who make superhero movies are dumb, come out and say we're dumb. But if you, as an independent filmmaker or a "serious" filmmaker, think you put more love into your characters than [when] the Russo Brothers do Captain America, or Joss Whedon does the Hulk, or I do a talking raccoon, you are simply mistaken.
Read Gunn's full response:
I
didn't really find the Jack Black superhero jokes offensive, did you
guys? It was, like, a joke. I'm not sure if you guys noticed, but the
writing on the Oscars didn't seem to be all that well thought out.
As far as Dan Gilroy saying that attendees of the Independent Spirit Awards have survived against a "tsunami of superhero films" well it seems a bit weird coming from a guy whose wife has acted in two Thor films really, that seems like you've drowned horribly in that tsunami. But I know I just kind of make up stuff as I go along on these awards shows, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
Whatever the case, the truth is, popular fare in any medium has always been snubbed by the self-appointed elite. I've already won more awards than I ever expected for Guardians. What bothers me slightly is that many people assume because you make big films that you put less love, care, and thought into them then people do who make independent films or who make what are considered more serious Hollywood films. I've made B-movies, independent films, children's movies, horror films, and gigantic spectacles. I find there are plenty of people everywhere making movies for a buck or to feed their own vanity. And then there are people who do what they do because they love story-telling, they love cinema, and they want to add back to the world some of the same magic they've taken from the works of others. In all honesty, I do no find a strikingly different percentage of those with integrity and those without working within any of these fields of film. If you think people who make superhero movies are dumb, come out and say we're dumb. But if you, as an independent filmmaker or a "serious" filmmaker, think you put more love into your characters than the Russo Brothers do Captain America, or Joss Whedon does the Hulk, or I do a talking raccoon, you are simply mistaken.
As far as Dan Gilroy saying that attendees of the Independent Spirit Awards have survived against a "tsunami of superhero films" well it seems a bit weird coming from a guy whose wife has acted in two Thor films really, that seems like you've drowned horribly in that tsunami. But I know I just kind of make up stuff as I go along on these awards shows, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
Whatever the case, the truth is, popular fare in any medium has always been snubbed by the self-appointed elite. I've already won more awards than I ever expected for Guardians. What bothers me slightly is that many people assume because you make big films that you put less love, care, and thought into them then people do who make independent films or who make what are considered more serious Hollywood films. I've made B-movies, independent films, children's movies, horror films, and gigantic spectacles. I find there are plenty of people everywhere making movies for a buck or to feed their own vanity. And then there are people who do what they do because they love story-telling, they love cinema, and they want to add back to the world some of the same magic they've taken from the works of others. In all honesty, I do no find a strikingly different percentage of those with integrity and those without working within any of these fields of film. If you think people who make superhero movies are dumb, come out and say we're dumb. But if you, as an independent filmmaker or a "serious" filmmaker, think you put more love into your characters than the Russo Brothers do Captain America, or Joss Whedon does the Hulk, or I do a talking raccoon, you are simply mistaken.
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