Samuel L Jackson Page 10

Samuel L. Jackson has managed to upset a lot of people once again with his opinions about cross-cultural race issues. After expressing disapproval at a British actor being cast in the role of an African-American in the Jordan Peele horror film 'Get Out', star Daniel Kaluuya has hit back.

Daniel Kaluuya slams Samuel L. Jackson's comments about him

Following his suggestion that black people in Britain don't have the same awareness about race issues as black people in America, Samuel L. Jackson has incited 'Black Mirror' actor Daniel Kaluuya to respond to those comments; and it seems he holds a lot of resentment 'that [he has] to prove that [he's] black'. 

Continue reading: I'm Either 'Too Black' Or 'Not Black Enough: Daniel Kaluuya Hits Back At Samuel L. Jackson

Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson has clarified comments he made earlier this week about British black actors, saying that his remarks were not intended as a “slam” against them.

The 68 year old star had criticised the American film industry for casting black British actors in movies about American race relations, in a radio interview with Hot 97 on Monday (March 6th).

“I don't know what the love affair with all that is… we've got a lot of brothers here that need to work too.”

Continue reading: Samuel L. Jackson Clarifies Comments About Black British Actors

And this month he has two movies in cinemas: The Legend of Tarzan with Alexander Skarsgard, Margot Robbie and Christoph Waltz, and the Stephen King thriller Cell opposite John Cusack. He's philosophical about his hectic work schedule. "Painters get up and paint. Writers get up and write. I get up and create characters," he explains. "I like creating. It fuels me. And it's doing something that keeps me from being me all day!"

This helps explain why he appears in such a wide range of movies. He says that when Quentin Tarantino or Spike Lee call, he automatically says "yes" (last year he starred in Tarantino's The Hateful Eight and Lee's Chi-Raq). "Otherwise, there are times that I choose a movie because it's something I would have gone to see when I was a kid," he says, referring to the Star Wars pequels, the Marvel movies, his Shaft remake or the madcap action of Snakes on a Plane. "So with Tarzan, I always wanted to be in that movie. Here's the chance, hell yeah! Let me be in that! It's still the thing that drives me. I'm still doing the movies I was pretending to do as a kid."

Continue reading: With Cell And Tarzan, Samuel L. Jackson Loves His Life

Samuel L. Jackson has attacked Jodie Foster’s recent claim that Hollywood lacks diversity because the industry is “risk averse”.

The American movie icon appeared on ITV’s ‘This Morning’ on Thursday (June 9th), and during an entertaining interview was asked about diversity in the movie industry, a hot topic in recent years after incidents such as #OscarsSoWhite twice in a row.

Samuel L. Jackson attacked Jodie Foster for a lack of diversity in her movie 'Money Monster'

Continue reading: Samuel L. Jackson Slams Jodie Foster's For Lack Of Diversity In 'Money Monster'

That familiar anti-climactic feeling has hit following the 88th Academy Award winner announcements. That's the last we'll hear about last year's blockbusters and now we can look forward to another year of iconic filmmaking. Leonardo DiCaprio has finally landed his long overdue Oscar, but there's still a myriad of actors out there who are still patiently waiting. 

Winning an Academy Award for Best Actor or Actress is one of the highest (if not THE highest) honours a filmstar can attain in their career, save for winning several. Even receiving a nomination makes you forevermore an Oscar-nominated actor. But how many stars out there are yet to receive this prestigious honour, despite their remarkable filmographies? The answer is too many to count, but here's our top 12:

John Hurt was remarkable in 'The Elephant Man'

Continue reading: The Oscar Winners That Never Were: 12 Stars Who Are Still Waiting

Samuel L Jackson has revealed he was the victim of racial profiling by police officers in 1993, during the filming of Pulp Fiction. In an interview with Vanity Fair about being a black actor in Hollywood, Jackson described the experience which happened after he had performed in a play in Santa Monica.

Samuel L. Jackson has described how he was racially profiled by police in 1993.

Jackson was in the middle of a six week break from shooting Pulp Fiction and had taken a part in a play at the Coast Playhouse, a 99-seat theatre on Santa Monica Boulevard. "One night, after the play, I went with some friends to a restaurant down the street, Hugo’s,” Jackson began.

Continue reading: Samuel L. Jackson Reveals He Was Racially Profiled During 'Pulp Fiction' Filming

Two days after he noticeably forgot to thank the director and lead actor of Creed when he won Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes, Sylvester Stallone has taken to social media to put right his omission and thank Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan.

On Sunday night, when he scooped his first ever Golden Globe, the 69 year old actor thanked a handful of people, including his agent, his wife and kids and his “best friend” Rocky Balboa (who he said he still has “conversations” with every night). However, he left out director Coogler, and the lead actor Michael B. Jordan, whose character Stallone trains in the boxing movie.

Sylvester Stallone at the Golden Globes 2016

Continue reading: Sylvester Stallone Eventually Thanks Ryan Coogler And Michael B. Jordan For 'Creed' Award

Samuel L. Jackson is in a feud with Donald Trump… or at least that’s what Trump thinks, anyway. The actor reacted with surprise to being told of his apparent rivalry with the potential Republican candidate when he appeared on ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’ on Tuesday (January 5th).

There to promote his new movie The Hateful Eight, Meyers showed him a barbed Twitter missive that the billionaire had previously sent. “I don’t know Samuel L. Jackson, to best of my knowledge haven’t played golf w/him & think he does too many TV commercials – boring. Not a fan,” Trump tweeted, saying that he and Jackson had not been friends.

Samuel L. Jackson

Continue reading: Samuel L. Jackson Shoots Down Donald Trump's Claim That They've Never Met

Three major UK cinema chains, Cineworld, Picturehouse and Curzon cinemas won’t be showing Quentin Tarantino’s highly anticipate new film The Hateful Eight, when it is released on January 8th. The decision is due to a ‘last-minute’ dispute with the film’s distributor which has prevented it coming to the three chains.

The Hateful Eight is not coming to three major UK cinema chains.

After the film was noticeably absent from Cineworld’s list of upcoming films, some customers tweeted the chain’s official twitter account, who replied saying they’d ‘been unable to come to an agreement with the film's distributor.’

Continue reading: Tarantino's 'The Hateful Eight' Will Not Show At Three Major UK Cinema Chains

As always, there are far too many sequels, spin-offs, remakes and reboots clogging the cinemas, but surely some will be worth the effort. (Release dates are subject to change.)

10. The Hateful Eight
Tarantino kicks off the year with an epic Western starring Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell (Jan). And there's more manly action with Charlie Hunnam in Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur (Jul), Jack Huston in Ben-Hur (Aug), Chris Pratt in The Magnificent Seven (Sep). 

Continue reading: 10 Most Anticipated Films Of 2016

The Bet Awards were held on Sunday (30th June 2013) at the Nokia Theater in L.A. This year, artists who achieved awards included Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Miguel, Drake and Charlie Wilson. 

Charlie Wilson, pictured at the BET Awards Press Conference, won the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Awards were first held in 2001 with the intention of celebrating minorities in the Arts. The Awards this year were hosted by comedian Chris Tucker. Will Smith, Samuel L.Jackson, Queen Latifah and Jamie Foxx have all hosted the Award ceremony in the past. 

Continue reading: BET Awards 2013: Who Were The Winners?

Star Wars creator George Lucas and businesswoman Mellody Hobson tied the knot in a Californian ceremony last weekend that was described as "beautiful" by celeb guests including Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Howard. Hobson did look stunning in a Peter Soronen gown but if you haven't heard of her before, she's more successful businesswoman than arm-candy for 69 year-old Lucas.

The pair met at a business conference in 2006 and dated for seven years until their engagement in January 2013. However, it's a wonder Hobson, 44, managed to fit a wedding into her busy schedule: she's president of Ariel Investments - an investment management firm - whilst she also chairs the board at Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc., and a holds directing positions at Groupon, Inc., Starbucks Corporation and The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. She also has a heart of gold, becoming involved with community outreach projects such as Chicago's 'After School Matters' (a charity that provides constructive after school activities for teenagers) whilst also sitting on the board for The Chicago Public Education Fund.

Despite Hobson's busy schedule, Lucas will have plenty of free time after selling his production company LucasFilm to Disney in October 2012 for a reported $4.05 billion, donating most of this sum to educational philanthropy - a cause that is clearly important to Hobson, the youngest of six children.

Continue reading: George Lucas' New Wife Mellody Hobson Is A Success In Her Own Right

George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars and Indiana Jones tied the knot with his girlfriend of seven years, Mellody Hobson. According to sources speaking with People magazine, the wedding took place on Saturday (22nd June) in California's Marin County at Lucas' 4,700 acre Skywalker Ranch. Amongst other guests, the wedding was attended by fellow director Ron Howard and actor Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Jedi Mace Windu in Lucas' Star Wars franchise.

Both guests publically displayed their excitement for Lucas' wedding, with Howard tweeting "George Lucas Melody Hobson wedding was joy to behold Bill Moyers service was beautiful, nothing short of profound. Congrats Mr&Mrs Lucas" and Jackson similarly enthusing: "Let's give a Galactic shout out to Master George Lucas & his Bride Melodie on This their WEDDING DAY!!"

Engaged since January 2013, Hobson, 44, met Lucas, 69, at a business conference in 2006 and have been dating ever since. She heads Ariel Investments - an investment management firm - whilst also chairing the board at Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc., and a director of Groupon, Inc., Starbucks Corporation and The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

Continue reading: George Lucas Weds Long-Time Sweetheart

Early plot details for Marvel studios Captain America sequel 'The Winter Soldier' have emerged. Co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo recently began principal photography on the movie, with Chris Evans back as Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, and Scarlett Johansson slipping back into her Black Widow cat-suit. The good guys at Marvel also revealed a brief plot synopsis, as well as the first promotional image - check it out below.

Chris Evans As Captain America In 'The Winter Soldier'

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier will pick-up where Marvel's The Avengers left off, as Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and teams up with Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, to battle a powerful yet shadowy enemy in present-day Washington, D.C," read a statement. Meanwhile, we know that Samuel L Jackson is retuning as Nick Fury and Hollywood veteran Robert Redford has signed on to play a senior SHEILD leader. It's shaping up to be a pretty strong cast, with Emily VanCamo, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie bolstering the supporting end of things. A tentative release date of April 2, 2014 has been pencilled in, though there's every chance Mravel and the Russo's will make the deadline. 

Continue reading: Marvel Reveal 'Captain America 2' Plot And First Photo

Daniel Day-Lewis was sounded out to play lead character Vincent Vega in Quentin Tarantino's classic 1994 crime-thriller Pulp Fiction, though Michael Madsen was eventually favored, who himself had to give way for John Travolta due to scheduling conflicts. In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Tarantino revealed producer Harvey Weinstein had the opportunity to land Oscar winner Day-Lewis for the role, though Quentin was adamant Vega should be played by his Reservoir Dogs pal Madsen.

Daniel Day-Lewis [L] Was Originally Sounded Out For The Role Of Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, Of Course Played By John Travolta [R]

Continue reading: The Pulp Fiction Cast That Never Was: Daniel Day-Lewis, Matt Dillon, Meg Ryan!

We've all had that moment; looking at photos of our favourite celebs and then jumping out of our seats screaming, 'He's HOW old?!' Well, we've been doing a lot of that here at ContactMusic. Some stars seem to have crept up the age ladder pretty sneakily, the odd wrinkle and grey hair barely registering on our radar, while others don't seem to have aged at all! English football player David Beckham was in his twenties when he rose to global popularity and, looking at his recent H&M underwear advert, it seems that his iconic hairstyles and tattoos are our only way of working out the old from the newer pictures of him. However, he is only 37 and has plenty of time to catch up yet. It's the over-50s that have really had our mouths agape in recent times as we've been scouring the net for the most youthful looking middle to old aged stars. 

(Anthony Kiedis, Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey)

Continue reading: Good Genes Or Good Ops: Which Male Celebrities Don't Show Their Age?

With the controversy surrounding Django Unchained Stateside, Samuel L Jackson has been in no mood to let the heated debated surrounding director Quentin Tarantino’s handling of slavery issues and racist language cross over to the UK ahead of its release there.

Tarantino’s film is up for Best Picture at the Oscars next month, but it’s also come under fire for its portrayal of – among other things – slavery in the 1800s and its liberal usage of the ‘N- word’. Jackon’s already had plenty to say on that and, talking to The Independent, he moved quickly to shut down any talk of slavery too. "The movie is not about slavery," said the actor bluntly. "Slavery just happens to be a backdrop. Even Django is not trying to end slavery. He's just trying to get his girl back."

Returning to the use of the ‘N- word’ Jackson was again in typically forthright form. "Did they have another name to call the [black] people they were talking about at the time?" he shot at his reporter. "If you're going to deal with the language of the time, you deal with the language of the time. And that was the language of the time. I grew up in the South. I heard 'n*gger' all my life. I'm not disturbed by it." The debate over the script has clearly got to the stars involved with the film; just last week Quentin Tarantino had a meltdown on Channel 4 when questioned about those same issues, whilst at the Golden Globes he shocked the media by using the ‘N- word’ in a press conference. Given that the film itself is fiery enough, it says much that the build-up to it has arguably manage to supersede it.

Continue reading: 'What Else Did They Call Black People Back Then?' Samuel L Jackson Defends Django Unchained's Use Of The 'N- Word'

Academy Snub For Bigelow, Django Scores Five Oscar And 5 Bafta Nominations And Robot & Frank Trailer Delights

The big movie news this week, of course, was the announcement of this year's Oscar nominations, to which people reacted with the usual levels of surprise and anger. The biggest snub seems to be for previous winner Kathryn Bigelow, who was overlooked for a directing nomination even though her film Zero Dark Thirty earned five other nods, including Best Picture. 

Continue reading: A Week In Movies Feat: Academy Snub For Bigelow, Django Scores Five Oscar And 5 Bafta Nominations And Robot & Frank Trailer Delights

Quentin Tarantino can’t seem to fend off the controversy being aimed at him and his new film Django Unchained. The warped western, which deal with issues of racism and slavery, has come under fire from Spike Lee and other sections of the black community in America over its treatment of the subject, and now a line of Django Unchained merchandise figures have come under fire for making a ‘mockery of slavery’.

Those are the words of Rev KW Tulloss, who told the New York Daily News "Selling this doll is highly offensive to our ancestors and the African-American community. The movie is for adults, but these are action figures that appeal to children. We don't want other individuals to utilise them for their entertainment, to make a mockery of slavery."

The figurines were produced by the National Entertainment Collectibles Association and feature Samuel L Jackson’s ‘house slave’ Stephen and Jamie Foxx’s leading character Django, according to The Guardian. Najee Ali, director of the Los Angeles civil rights organisation Project Islamic Hope, was another who was against the models, and called for them to be taken off sale. "We were outraged. We feel it trivializes the horrors of slavery and what African Americans experienced." Despite the controversy surrounding it, there is a fair bit of expectation that Django Unchained will be featured when the Oscar nominations are revealed tomorrow (January 10, 2013).

Continue reading: Slavery Controversy Continues For Django Unchained As Figurines Criticized

David R Ellis, the director of Snakes on a Plane, has died unexpectedly at the age of 60.

Ellis, who started his career in movies as an actor stuntman and later found fame when he directed the 2006 movie Snakes on a Plane. Ellis passed away in a hotel room in Johannesburg, South Africa, though the cause of his death has not yet been released.

The former actor and stuntman was working on a new album entitled Kite. Samuel L Jackson was due to star in the movie and has expressed his sadness at the director’s passing, via his Twitter feed. “So sad to hear of David R Ellis passing! So talented, so kind, such a Good Friend. He'll be missed. Gone too soon!” came the message from the Pulp Fiction star, who worked with Ellis on Snakes on a Plane. The 2006 movie was an action thriller set on an airborne plane which, despite its tenuous premise, became something of a cult hit. Ellis has also worked on movies such as Final Destination 2 and Shark Night 3D.

Continue reading: Snakes On A Plane Director David R Ellis Dies Whilst Working On New Movie

Well, the answer is yes and no, really. Django Unchained star Samuel L Jackson appeared on the comedy show this past weekend to promote Quentin Tarantino's latest movie, but things nearly went oh so wrong.

Pretending to be annoyed at being interrupted during the mock talk show 'What's Up With That?', Jackson half uttered an F-bomb, before stopping himself. Playing the host of the game, comedian Kenan Thompson looked startled, cracked a smile and said, "C'mon, Sam. That costs money!" to the delight of the live studio audience. Moments after the show had aired, Jackson attempted to explain himself on Twitter "I only said FUH," he insisted, before tweeting a photograph of himself looking mortified. Cursing on the comedy show is a rarity, with Jenny Slate being the last cast member to swear nearly four years ago. On that occasion she accidentally said f*cking instead of freaking. Hopefully Sam won't be repeating the stunt when he appears on the Today Show on Monday (December 17, 2012). Now that would be embarrassing. 

His new movie Django Unchained hits theaters in the U.S. this weekend, and still boasts a perfect 100% score on review aggregating site Rotten Tomatoes. 

Continue reading: Did Samuel L Jackson Drop F-Bomb On Saturday Night Live? (Video)

In New York, Leonardo Dicaprio, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Johnson and a bald-shaven Christoph Waltz attended the premiere of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, joking with the photographers as they posed for them. And Tarantino even turned up with his Kill Bill star Uma Thurman on his arm.

Meanwhile in London, the first part in Peter Jackson's new trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, had its royal film performance this week with much of the cast in attendance, including Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett and Ian McKellen, who watched the film alongside Prince William. The film is in cinemas now, with the following chapters scheduled for next Christmas and the summer of 2014.

Continue reading: A Week In Movies Feat: Tarantino's Django Unchained, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey And Tom Cruise's Jack Reacher All Premier

Samuel L. Jackson offered a pithy yet powerful surmise of Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilms, saying that George Lucas got "cheated" to TMZ.

The TMZ reporter pounced on Samuel as he was leaving a store, wearing a big purple hooded sweatshirt. The man behind the camera asked him what he thought of George Lucas getting $4b for "Lucas film", to which he replied, "He got cheated". The reporter, obviously taken aback by his response, asked him what he'd do with the money, to which Jackson said he didn't know, but that he'd "think of something". There was something about Samuel L's tone that suggested he was being somewhat tongue in cheek about the line of questioning, but then again, the reporter played along in what was a short interchange. Jackson did say, however, that $4b wasn't a lot of money "to some people", which implied that maybe he thought Lucasarts was worth a tad more. $4.05b is a lot of money. 

Disney's latest purchase has been met with a mixed reaction. Most hardcore fans lament the decision, having been through enough with the last three films, and disenfranchised with The Clone Wars series. But industry folks seem naivly confident that Episode 7 will manage to recapture the magic of the original films, made all the way back in the 70's and 80's. Now that the decision is made, all we can do is hope. 

Continue reading: Samuel L. Jackson On Disney's Star Wars Deal: "He Got Cheated"

Movies can affect different people in different ways. Sometimes, even established and respected filmmakers have to appreciate the marvel of particular films. Two-time Academy Award-wining director  wept at a premiere of his collaborator George Lucas' sixth and final 'Star Wars' movie 'Revenge Of The Sith'; the third part of the prequel trilogy which began in 1999 with 'The Phantom Menace'. 

Steven Spielberg cried at the end of 'Revenge of the Sith'

The film stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, and long-time 'Star Wars' actor Anthony Daniels as C-3PO. The 'Jurassic Park', 'Jaws' and 'Schindler's List' film-maker, Spielberg was so moved by the eagerly-awaited conclusion of the sci-fi saga, he burst into tears at its screening in April 2005. 

Continue reading: Steven Spielberg Wept At 'Revenge Of The Sith' Ending