Simu Liu slams Quentin Tarantino for his comments on superhero movies, and says the Golden Age of cinema was “white as hell”
Canadian movie star and Shang Chi superhero Simu Liu has always been one to speak his mind. When his hit CBC show Kim’s Convenience was unceremoniously cancelled, he took to Facebook to bluntly explain, point by point, why he and the entire cast were let down by production.
Now the Toronto native is spilling the tea and a whole bunch of truth bombs in response to some choice comments from famed Hollywood directors Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese.
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.
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) November 22, 2022
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.
“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,” he tweeted to his 1 million followers on Twitter.. “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.”
He continued in a thread, writing, “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.”
“I loved the ‘Golden Age’ too.. but it was white as hell,” he said in a tweet slam dunk.
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.
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) November 22, 2022
I loved the "Golden Age" too.. but it was white as hell.
His comments come on the heels of the Once Upon A Time in Hollywood director Tarantino saying that the “Marvel-ization” of cinema has resulted in no movie stars, just characters who become the stars.
“You have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters, but they’re not movie stars. Right? Captain America is the star. Or Thor is the star,” he said during an appearance on Tom Segura’s podcast. “I mean, I’m not the first person to say that. I think that’s been said a zillion times, you know, but it’s like, you know, it’s these franchise characters that become a star.”
Tarantino’s thoughts dove-tail off of what Raging Bull director Martin Scorsese said in 2019 of the MCU, saying that those films, “just aren’t cinema,” and that they’re “closer to theme park rides” than traditional cinema.
Simu, for his part, knew that his comments might upset the white male audience that populates the Tarantino and Scorsese fanbase, and tweeted a meme of himself ready to take on the trolls when they dare challenge him.
bracing for loser internet trolls like pic.twitter.com/VwieKrQd19
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) November 22, 2022
