The award-winning actress, director and producer likened the films to hydraulic fracking in an interview with the British Radio Times, according to The Telegraph, holding the genre responsible for ruining movies for audiences worldwide.
“Going to the movies has become like a theme park,” she said. “Studios making bad content in order to appeal to the masses and shareholders is like fracking - you get the best return right now but you wreck the earth.
“It’s ruining the viewing habits of the American population and then ultimately the rest of the world.”
She told the Radio Times that she had no interest in making superhero movies, but she said she could be swayed if the protagonist had a “really complex psychology.”
Her comments drew mixed reactions.
I think people are unfairly taking Jodie Foster out of context, she's not saying superhero movies are implicitly bad, just the current glut of tentpoles now (even with a couple of great ones every so often) are mostly soulless money grabs and CBMs aaare the best examples of that.
— Jim Halpert (@wyattyhalpert) January 3, 2018
The grave mistake that elitists like Jodie Foster make when they rip superhero movies is lumping them all in one category. If you look at SUICIDE SQUAD and THE AVENGERS and somehow can't tell the difference because both are "just CGI nonsense", you're being willfully blind.
— HoustonProductions1 (@Blockbustedpod) January 2, 2018
Screenwriter and producer James Gunn, who most recently directed the superhero film “Guardians of the Galaxy 2,” called Foster’s viewpoint “old-fashioned” in a series of tweets Monday.
“Her belief system is pretty common and isn’t totally without basis,” Gunn wrote. “For cinema to survive, I believe spectacle films NEED to have a vision and heart they traditionally haven’t. And some of us are doing our best to move in that direction. Creating spectacle films that are innovative, humane, and thoughtful is what excites me about this job.”
1. I think Foster looks at film in an old-fashioned way where spectacle film can’t be thought-provoking. It’s often true but not always. Her belief system is pretty common and isn’t totally without basis. https://t.co/IgthsjsSYm
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 2, 2018
2. I say not without basis because most studio franchise films are somewhat soulless - and that is a real danger to the future of movies. But there are also quite a few exceptions.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 2, 2018
3. For cinema to survive I believe spectacle films NEED to have a vision and heart they traditionally haven’t. And some of us are doing our best to move in that direction. Creating spectacle films that are innovative, humane, and thoughtful is what excites me about this job.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 2, 2018
4. But, to be fair, at least from Foster’s quotes, she seems to see filmmaking as something that’s primarily about her own personal growth.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 2, 2018
5. For me, that may be part of why I do this, but spending many millions of dollars on a film has to be about more than that - it’s communication - so my experience is merely one spoke on that wheel.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 2, 2018
6. But I respect Foster and her talent and what she’s done for films and I appreciate her different way of looking at Hollywood’s landscape.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 2, 2018
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