In my mind, Samuel L. Jackson is one of the top five overrated actors currently employed in Hollywood. He chooses bad parts, and then proceeds to make them worse by either overacting or underacting to the point of lunacy.
Despite this, Jackson is still considered a major Hollywood star, primarily due to his magnetic turn in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction way back in 1994. Tarantino handed Jackson that plum role on a platter with a big bow on top of it, and Jackson has managed to squander every last bit of the goodwill it delivered to him in the years since. Few will ever forget his charisma-free performance as beleaguered Jedi Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequels. Coupled with embarrassing turns in pathetic crap like Snakes on a Plane and The Spirit, Jackson has revealed a surprising lack of actual talent.
So when he showed up at the end of Iron Man as Nick Fury, my heart sank a little bit. Sure, the character was remodeled after Jackson’s unique mug, but what could Jackson bring to the role that would enhance this realistic world that director Jon Favreau had so carefully constructed?
Well, it looks like the inevitable sequel will be spared destruction by Jackson’s theatrics. The L.A. Times is reporting that Marvel refuses to pay Jackson the hefty sum he is undoubtedly seeking to portray Nick Fury in Iron Man 2.
I know I part from my fellow fanboys on this, but I am secretly happy that Marvel is playing hardball on budgets. These films are very expensive to produce, and tacking on another $20 million for the dubious services of someone like Jackson is absurd. While Iron Man 2 will undoubtedly be a massive worldwide hit, does it really need to feature Samuel L. Jackson in this role?
I will admit that Marvel has definitely played this wrong. When making films like these , you need to lock up your actors if you wish to continue certain plotlines. For instance, the whole Terrence Howard/Don Cheadle mess from late last year could have ben avoided had they locked up Howard at a base fee at the outset, or simply hired a cheaper actor to a cheaper multi-film contract. In the case of Jackson, you don’t put him in at the end of Iron Man without some sort of contract in place to do the next film. Of course, Marvel is fairly new to the moviemaking business, so I guess we can forgive their lack of savvy on this issue.
But what Marvel is doing is ultimately good for Hollywood business. Like baseball, you cannot continue to operate while paying outrageous sums of money to egotistical divas; not everyone has pocketbooks like Steinbrenner. As my St. Louis Cardinals demonstrated in 2006, the little guys who remain cautious about how they spend money can sometimes win the World Series against the big guys. In other words, Marvel can find someone to replace Jackson – who is overrated anyway – and still make a mint.
As for Jackson, he could use a dressing down. It’s time for him to step up his game.
12 Comments
I heard that Howard was hired by Arad before Favs came onto the project. I agree with you on how they should lock this actors with multi-film contract so that egos and greed on both sides don’t get in the way if they want things to go smoothly. I guess it was a good thing they had that scene after the credits where most people probably didn’t know about it.
@ Lencho – That’s what I was thinking. Of course, everyone probably sat there and watched the scene anyway, since it was highly publicized.
@ Ray – When I saw it, only a few people stayed. So, I’m guessing people like you and I, who follow this type of news and know about Marvel’s plan for Avengers are outnumbered by those who didn’t see the scene. But, that could’ve changed with people getting the DVD and the idea of Avengers getting more exposure. Either way, it won’t make or break the film’s possible success considering Jackson was only in the film for a minute or two. The Howard/Cheadle stuff is a bigger deal and that won’t hurt the film neither.
@ Lencho – Hmmmm … I always love to hear about screening stories. At my screening of the movie, nearly everyone stayed until the end. In fact, I was a bit surprised that so many people remained to see that little bit of footage, which they loved, of course.
But I totally agree that Jackson’s absence will not hurt the film in the slightest.
“In my mind, Samuel L. Jackson is one of the top five overrated actors currently employed in Hollywood.”
And let me guess the other four: Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Terrence Howard and Taye Diggs?
You oughta start your own blog Ray. Call it WhiningAboutBlackActorsDaily.com
I doubt that Sam was looking for $20,000,000 for what will be likely another cameo at best. You have to pay to play, and like it or not, if Marvel wants to compete in the same marketplace for talent they need to be willing to pay their performers fairly upfront, or else part with a few gross points. These movies ARE very expensive to produce, and what Marvel would pay Terrence Howard over Don Cheadle amounts to nothing more than a drop in the bucket (although economy was only the cover story in that case — Favreau just wasn’t impressed with Howard and to mitigate fallout from the decision it was blamed on Howard’s people). Sam Jackson is a bad ass mother and he is a movie icon with presence deserves to play Nick Fury.
I doubt that Sam was looking for $20,000,000 for what will be likely another cameo at best. You have to pay to play, and like it or not, if Marvel wants to compete in the same marketplace for talent they need to be willing to pay their performers fairly upfront, or else part with a few gross points. These movies ARE very expensive to produce, and what Marvel would pay Terrence Howard over Don Cheadle amounts to nothing more than a drop in the bucket (although economy was only the cover story in that case — Favreau just wasn’t impressed with Howard and to mitigate fallout from the decision it was blamed on Howard’s people). Sam Jackson is a bad ass mother and he is a movie icon with presence, he deserves to play Nick Fury.
@ Ray – That’s very interesting. The first time I ever heard of an audience staying after the credits. I guess Marvel let the word out more than I expected. Ah, well. I don’t really care if Jackson stays or not.
@ Jaysmack – What the hell does Jackson being black have anything to do with him being overrated??? I have not been whining about Will Smith except when he does something stupid (see HAPPYNESS and SEVEN POUNDS for more on that). I like Denzel Washington. I am not that familiar with Howard’s entire career, but I liked him in IRON MAN. Taye Diggs is self-explanatory.
I’m guessing you’re a black man with the race card shoved sideways up your ass. You have a big black chip on your shoulder the size of Utah, don’t you??
Get over the racism bullshit, Johnnie “Jaysmack” Cochran. The rest of us have moved on.
Oh, and I DO have my own blog, thankyouverymuch. It’s http://www.sammyray.com
LINK WHORE!!!
I agree completely with Jackson being overrated. Outside of Pulp Fiction and Black Snake Moan I’m hard pressed to think of a movie that he was more than decent in. He’s not the worst actor ever, but definitely not in the top echelon where most people seem to put him. So he can yell and drop “f” bombs constantly, I can do that. He has no real screen presence to be honest. Nothing about most of his roles really command respect. Like you said, most are just overacted to the point of absurdity.
If there is any doubt that Jackson is motivated by the all mighty dollar, rather than a passion and commitment to only put his name to good things, we need only look at the Virgin Media adverts he has no shamelessly put his name to over here. Hands up who thinks Daniel Day Lewis, or Denzel would be seen dead advertising products on main-stream television at the supposed pinnacle of their careers?!
Old Walter Willis has a lot to answer for as well, with that Aviva/Norwich Union advert- although that one at least has some sort of cinematic flavour to it. Jackson shouting about fibre-optic cable is not something I ever want to have to see. “Im sick of these motherfucking firewalls on this motherfucking broadband”. Or something.
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[...] Not quite sure what’s going on out there with IRON MAN 2 and Marvel at the moment. Director Jon Favreau, who was so talkative when he was making the original IRON MAN, hasn’t said a word about the dismissal of Terrence Howard (to be replaced by Don Cheadle) and nor has he spoke about the Samuel L. Jackson situation which Ray reported on today. [...]