Apparently the latest "in thing" amongst the Hollywood crowd is to knock superhero movies.
Dan Gilroy, who happens to be married to Thor and Thor 2's Rene Russo, recently compared superhero movies to a tsunami.
And last night on the Oscars saw also Jack Black (of all people) throw jabs at superhero movies during his own song and dance routine.
Now director James Gunn has taken to his Facebook page to address the situation and has some pretty good points (Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy was up for an Oscar, which didn't win).
It seems some Hollywood folks think that just because it's a superhero movie, it's not "art," or that the people involved with the movie aren't dedicated.
I like what Gunn has to say, which you can read below.
Via Facebook:
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.
