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Samuel L. Jackson On #OscarsSoWhite 2017, Says TV Is Better Than Film And Marvel Is Better Than DC

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 04:24 PST, Dec 19, 2016

Samuel L. Jackson had some interesting and insightful comments to make on diversification in film when speaking at the Dubai International Film Festival, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Speaking about the #OscarsSoWhite controversy in 2016, Jackson noted that the issue isn’t as prevalent in the current season of films.

“This year seems to be a bit different from the #OscarsSoWhite of last year. All of these films have people of color in them. They are impactful and moving films.”

Samuel L. Jackson also says he wouldn’t mind acting in a TV show, according to the Independent. The 67-year-old Pulp Fiction actor hasn’t had a single substantive role on television even though he has a whopping 165 acting credits.

But it’s not that Samuel L. Jackson has no interest in starring in TV shows — the right TV role hasn’t come along for the actor yet. In his interview with the Independent, the Hateful Eight actor acknowledged that television is a very “fascinating” thing of the modern era.

“I’m just passionate about acting, if the right television thing role along I’d do it. There’s some very fascinating and innovative things happening in television.”

For some, it may even feel that television is becoming more successful than cinema. In fact, a significant number of movie stars have migrated from film to television, and Samuel L. Jackson says he doesn’t rule out the possibility that viewers might soon see him on their TV screens.

Samuel L. Jackson even draws a comparison between the independent film world and television, saying that the former used to tell experimental and offbeat stories, but now it seems that television has already surpassed the film industry in that regard.

“Mr. Robot, Orphan Black… all these very strange and wonderful worlds are being explored on television.”

In fact, Samuel L. Jackson thinks that cinema is “lagging behind in several areas” already. The actor, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Pulp Fiction in 1994, also thinks that movies need to up their game to stand a chance against television.

“Movies need to be better, movies need to be more exciting, movies need to be representative of the world and inclusive of who’s in it to compete with television.”

But in the era of big franchises about superheroes, people who want to tell offbeat stories simply don’t take the risk to make movies, because indie films don’t get distributed the way they used to. Those people end up making TV shows, Samuel L. Jackson explained.

Samuel L. Jackson could recently be seen in Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, in which he played a villain named Barron. It was the first time the actor has starred in a Tim Burton film, and he says he enjoyed working alongside the visionary filmmaker.

During the Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children press tour, Samuel L. Jackson revealed a few things about the competition between DC and Marvel, according to Comic Book. And it looks like the Avengers actor thinks Marvel dominates in that battle.

When asked what he thought about the ongoing online battle between Marvel and DC’s fan bases, Samuel L. Jackson explained it with just three words: “success breeds contempt.”

But Samuel L. Jackson thinks that it’s the DC people who believe there is some competition and that they have to be at odds with Marvel. In fact, the actor believes the Marvel people don’t waste their time thinking that there is some competition with DC.

When Samuel L. Jackson heard that people are excited about Man of Steel, he immediately said that he hopes that DC’s Wonder Woman starring Gal Gadot will be just as great as Man of Steel.

“Hopefully Wonder Woman will be great too, ya know, because a friend of mine trains her, so I hope it’s good.”

Samuel L. Jackson then got a bit philosophical and insisted that there is “room for everybody to exist there,” whether it’s Marvel or DC. But the actor quickly added that DC has yet to release a film that would as “big” as a Marvel film.

[Featured Image by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images]

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