Zachary Levi has stirred controversy once again with his comments on the film industry. This time, the Shazam! actor shared his thoughts on Hollywood, saying that the industry does not care enough to make great content.
According to a report by Entertainment Weekly, Levi called out the film industry and expressed support for writers and actors on strike during a recent appearance at the Fan Expo Chicago. The actor said that the amount of movies coming out of Hollywood is “garbage.”
“I personally feel like the amount of content that comes out of Hollywood that is garbage — they don’t care enough to actually make it great for you guys. They don’t,” Levi said. Seemingly, the comment was aimed both at moviegoers and his colleagues.
He adds, “How many times do you watch a trailer and go, ‘Oh my god, this looks so cool!’ Then you go to the movie and it’s like, ‘This was what I get?’ They know that once you’ve already bought the ticket and you’re in the seat, they’ve got your money. And the only way for us to change any of it is to not go to the garbage. We have to actively not choose the garbage. It’ll help. It’ll help a lot.”
Levi also clarified previous comments he made about the SAG-AFTRA strike during a recent fan event appearance. The actor previously said that the strike hinders him from talking about his work as an actor, which some interpreted as criticism of the strike.
“I fully support my union, the WGA, and the strike,” Levi stated. “I remain an outspoken critic of the exploitative system that us artists are subject to work in since I started my journey in this business 25 years ago. This strike is necessary to protect ourselves, our writers, and all those working in production who make the industry move.”
“But we also cannot forget our fans during this strike,” he continues. “Fans that spend their money and energy traveling far distances to talk with us about our work that means so much to them, we should be able to engage. Our business exists and succeeds because of the fans, and I think it’s imperative we appreciate them for their support of our careers.”
Shazam! Fury of the Gods was a massive box office bomb for Levi and DC Studios. The sophomore outing for Levi as the superhero earned a paltry $133 million worldwide and received a mediocre critical reception. Despite its box office performance, Levi still believes that the movie was good.
“The audience score is still quite good, but the critics score was, I don’t know, very oddly and perplexingly low, and people were insanely unkind. Listen, I’ve been a part of things and as much as I wish that they were good, I know that they’re okay, I know they missed a lot. I’m not saying Shazam! Fury of the Gods is some perfect Orson Welles masterpiece, but it’s a good darn movie.
Viewers seem to agree with Levi as Shazam! Fury of the Gods received an 86 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the 49% critics score. However, it may just be a small subset of the audience that went to see the movie.
