Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is someone you’d like to spend some time with. That is, if you like spending time with thoughtful people who care, who don’t get defensive too easily, and who can make a seriously kick-ass, world-beating, box-office-crushing superhero movie. Gunn might reasonably have had his hackles raised by all the comic book movie mocking that went on at the Oscars–if he weren’t so grounded, sensible and dedicated to his craft. The only characterization that bothers Gunn is when people assume big movies require “less love.” Not so. Gunn makes movies because, like others he admires, he’d like to “add back to the world some of the same magic they’ve taken from the works of others.” You can’t make magic without love.
As for the barely veiled criticism (read jealousy) of all the superhero blockbusters, here’s just a sample of what the generous Gunn said on his Facebook page: If you think people who make superhero movies are dumb, come out and say we’re dumb. But if you, as an independent filmmaker or a ‘serious’ filmmaker, think you put more love into your characters than the Russo Brothers do Captain America, or Joss Whedon does the Hulk, or I do a talking raccoon, you are simply mistaken.”
