Quentin Tarantino became the latest auteur to fire a shot at Marvel, saying that the actors who play its superheroes aren’t movie stars. One of these actors is, however. “Shang-Chi” Simu Liu was a leading figure in this field.
“If the only gatekeepers to movie stardom came from Tarantino and Scorsese, I would never have had the opportunity to lead a $400 million plus movie. I am in awe of their filmmaking genius. They are transcendent auteurs. But they don’t get to point their nose at me or anyone,” Liu Responded in a Tweet
An interview with the podcast “2 Bears, 1 Cave,” Tarantino said that Marvel’s characters were the most important audience attraction, rather than their actors. This is quite a departure from Hollywood’s traditional actor-driven approach to filmmaking.
“Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is…you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters,” Tarantino said. “But they’re not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star. I mean, I’m not the first person to say that. I think that’s been said a zillion times…but it’s like, you know, it’s these franchise characters that become a star.”
Tarantino stressed that he doesn’t hate superhero movies and believes that he probably would be more excited for them if they had been coming out when he was getting into showbiz in his 20s.
“My only axe to grind against them is they’re the only things that seem to be made,” He concluded. “And they’re the only things that seem to generate any kind of excitement amongst a fan base or even for the studio making them. That’s what they’re excited about. And so it’s just the fact that they are the entire representation of this era of movies right now. There’s not really much room for anything else. That’s my problem.”
Simu Liu, on the other hand, supported Marvel Studios, touting the possibilities it provided him and others of color, with an emphasis on diversity. What was the time? “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” When the movie was finally released in 2012, Liu frequently expressed pride at being the star in the blockbuster that featured a predominantly Asian cast. It became the first film since the Pandemic to earn over $200 million in North American box offices.
In his tirade to Tarantino, he expressed the same pride, noting that white actors were almost always the first to get the major breaks during Hollywood’s actor-driven days.
“No movie studio is or ever will be perfect. But I’m proud to work with one that has made sustained efforts to improve diversity onscreen by creating heroes that empower and inspire people of all communities everywhere,” He tweet. “I loved the ‘Golden Age’ too, but it was white as hell.”