Want to direct films for Marvel? A background in comedy will help. Fresh from the $1.48 billion-grossing "The Avengers," the studio has chosen James Gunn for "Guardians of the Galaxy," its superhero space movie.
James Gunn is under fire.
The 42-year-old director — currently helming the big-budget comic book adaptation Guardians of the Galaxy for Disney-owned Marvel — continues to face strong criticism for two blog posts deemed to be offensive to gays and women, both of which have been recently removed from his personal website.
STORY: Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Director Draws Heat for Controversial Superhero Article
Now the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBT rights advocacy group, has come forward as the first organization to condemn Gunn’s posts.
“James Gunn’s blog post is offensive not just to LGBT people and women but rather to anyone with even the slightest sense of decency,” Fred Sainz, HRC’s vp communications and marketing, tells The Hollywood Reporter.
“His tawdry post is not reflective of the character that someone charged with directing a film aimed at youth should exhibit,” Sainz says. “It’s unfortunate that Mr. Gunn has nothing better to do with his time than churn out graphic and homophobic dribble about imaginary superheroes.”
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Gunn’s posts, written in February 2011 and titled “The 50 Superheroes You Most Want to Have Sex With” and “The 15 Superheroes I Most Want to Have Sex With,” contain numerous comments deemed to have crossed a line, including a description of one male superhero as a “Cajun fruit.” Of Batgirl, he wrote, “Being a teen mom and all, you know she’s easy. Go for it.”
Before the controversy, Gunn generally was well-liked among genre movie fans and his peers, who admired such films as 2006’s Slither and 2010’s Super. Joss Whedon, the hugely respected director of The Avengers, told MTV News in September that he thought Gunn had the perfect personality to tackle Guardians of the Galaxy — considered one of the more unusual titles in the Marvel universe. “He is so off the wall and so crazy,” Whedon said, “but so smart, such a craftsman. And he builds from his heart.”
Gunn is the ex-husband of Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam on NBC’s The Office. The two divorced in 2008.
Gunn, Marvel Studios and Disney have yet to speak out on the matter.
