The Museum of Modern Art was filled with expletives and laughter Wednesday evening as Samuel L. Jackson’s family and friends celebrated the actor and director’s storied career of box office hits, larger-than-life characters and explosive one-liners at the annual film benefit.
Jackson, known for his infamous F-bombs, stuck to a more sentimental speech at the benefit while his friends and family honored him with some of his choicer one liners.
"I’ve been fortunate enough to play a wide array of characters where I have learned something new about the human experience with each and every one, and I always carry a piece of them as I carry on,” he said.
At 75, Jackson has built a Hollywood legacy that stretches across 40 years. From playing in action packed blockbusters as Mace Windu in "Star Wars or Nick Fury in the Marvel universe to the iconic Quentin Tarantino characters of the foulmouthed Jules in "Pulp Fiction” and Ordell in "Django Unchained,” Jackson has shown time and time again that he can effortlessly transform himself with each new role. His versatility is what has catapulted him into movie stardom.
But Jackson’s career is not only defined by acting on screen in movies and T.V. He has lended his cinematic talents to Broadway where he played Martin Luther King Jr. in "The Mountaintop” and Doaker Charles in "Piano Lesson.”
In between the clips from Jackson’s illustrious career, an intimate circle of Jackson’s family and friends going back to his college days at Morehouse took to the stage to honor him.
His wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson joked at the benefit how she questioned Jackson’s acting abilities up until the point she saw him in "Pulp Fiction.” Before he decided on acting, she said, Jackson was studying to be a marine biologist.
"Fast forward, I saw Pulp Fiction and I sat in that theater, and I started crying,” she said.” I said my life is over, he’s going to be a movie star.”
Actor Denzel Washington first worked with Jackson in 1979 and has since marked 45 years of friendship with the actor. He recently produced the August Wilson adaptation of "The Piano Lesson” for Netflix, which features his long-time friend. At the event, Washington said he remembers learning from and watching Jackson perform onstage as a lead in a play while he was once the understudy.
"I wish I was half the character actor that he is,” Washington said.
Filmmaker Spike Lee first saw Jackson acting with his wife on their former college campus. Since their college days, Lee has gone on to cast Jackson in "Jungle Fever,” "Do the Right Thing” and "Chi-Raq.”
"I was blown away by their talent,” he said of Jackson and Richardson Jackson. "I knew that if god willing if I became a filmmaker that these great artists would be in my films.”
Actress Brie Larson and filmmaker George Lucas both sent in video messages, praising Jackson’s incredible catalog and his loving personality. Other speakers of the night who shared kind words and a handful of F-bombs for Jackson included Tony Award-winning director Kenny Leon and actor Walton Goggins.
As the latest MoMA film benefit honoree, Jackson joins past recipients including Martin Scorsese, Tom Hanks, Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett and Quentin Tarantino. The New York museum’s 16th annual benefit, presented in partnership with Chanel, raises money to preserve and bring movies into the museum’s collection.
"As we celebrate film tonight, let’s remember the power it has to change lives and inspire future generations that benefit from MoMA’s acquisition and preservation of films like the ones that ignited the dreams of a little black kid sitting in the segregated Tennessee movie theater that is standing before you now,” Jackson said in his speech.
