Samuel L. Jackson Believes Popular Movies Should Get an Oscars Category
The Oscars is constantly struggling with ratings, and one reason may be that many people have not seen the movies that are nominated. The Academy has attempted to address this, but it’s been met with mixed reactions. Actor Samuel L. Jackson believes that the Oscars should honor popular movies by giving these films their own category.
Samuel L. Jackson’s movies have made him the highest-grossing actor of all time
Samuel L. Jackson is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. He is involved in some of the most successful movie franchises ever including Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Incredibles, and Jurassic Park. Throughout his career, he has appeared in over 140 movies.
His exceptional filmography has made him the highest-grossing actor of all time. According to statista.com, Jackson movies have grossed “about 5.7 billion dollars” domestically, mostly due to his role as Nick Fury in the MCU. His role as Mace Windu in Star Wars is also a factor within this statistic.
Jackson believes popular movies should be honored by the Oscars
In an interview with The Times, Jackson was asked about his role in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, which was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. While Jackson believes he should have won for that performance, he also says that Oscar wins don’t earn money. He’s proud that his moves put “a**es in seats.”
“So maybe I should have won one. But Oscars don’t move the comma on your cheque,” Jackson said. “It’s about getting a**es in seats and I’ve done a good job of doing that … All movies are valid. 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 … They should have an Oscar for the most popular movie because that’s what the business is about.”
The Academy experimenting with how to approach this. In 2018, the Academy proposed a popular film category. However, backlash from the internet caused the Academy to walk this decision back as many felt it to be a lazy way of honoring movies people have watched just for ratings. This year, the Academy is letting Twitter decide on a fan-favorite film that will be honored at the ceremony.
Jackson says ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ should have been nominated for Best Picture
While No Way Home missing out on Best Picture isn’t surprising, Jackson believes the movie deserves to be there. While it is the highest-grossing film of 2021, it is also one of the best-reviewed movies of the year. Both critics and audiences showered it with praise. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Jackson says that the movie that makes the most money should be nominated.
“The movie that made the most money that year should get an Oscar,” Jackson said. “That’s what the Oscars are about, celebrating the popularity of movies. And the movie that made the most money was the most popular movie so they should get an Oscar.”
Jackson is returning to the MCU soon as Nick Fury in two movies (The Marvels, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania) and a Disney+ series (Secret Invasion). Currently, he is starring in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey on Apple TV+.
