Samuel L. Jackson Was in Top Form at the 2024 MoMA Film Benefit in His Honor

Samuel L. Jackson is known for many things—his numerous collaborations with Spike Lee, his long-running role as Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but maybe most of all, he is known for his one-liners. You’ve heard them. “And that’s the truth, Ruth,” “Hold on to your butts,” the one about the snakes on the plane. Jackson is unsurprisingly aware and surprisingly proud of his prolific list of quotable lines, which can maybe sometimes overshadow other aspects of his craft. “I do T-shirt lines,” he tells W. “I’m okay with that.”

But it’s not those highly-quotable lines that led to the Museum of Modern Art’s choice of Jackson as the honoree of its 16th annual film benefit, sponsored by Chanel. The 75-year-old actor was picked for his contributions to the world of cinema, his acting prowess, and—maybe less relevant, but still important—for his demeanor, and the light he clearly sheds on all with whom he interacts.

At the event held at the Museum on Wednesday, October 24, Sofia Coppola, Amanda Seyfried, and other attendees gushed about their favorite Jackson films, but when speakers like Denzel Washington, Walton Goggins, and Kenny Leon took the stage, the focus was on Jackson as a person, not the many characters he has played over the years.

“We’re so blessed to have shared the planet with Samuel L. Jackson,” said Leon, who has known Jackson for 50 years and directed him in the 2011 production of The Mountaintop, Jackson’s Broadway debut. Walton Goggins, who starred with Jackson in both The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained, spoke similarly of his former costar. “It's indisputable what your contribution to the art of storytelling is, but it's your contribution to being human that I want to talk about,” the actor gushed. “You are a friend's friend. You're an actor's actor. You're a human's human.”

It wasn’t all sentimentality, however. This is Jackson we’re talking about, so the f-bombs were flying throughout the evening’s speeches. Washington called Jackson “a bad motherfucker,” while Leon referred to him as “one of the best motherfuckers on the planet.” On the red carpet, though, the praise for Jackson was a bit more PC. Phoebe Tonkin, who attended the event in a sheer, black sequin-embellished Chanel dress, called Jackson a “living legend,” while both Coppola and Lyonne aligned on their favorite Jackson film: Pulp Fiction. “I think it ages really well,” Lyonne said about the Quentin Tarantino-directed movie. “It's a moment in time where everybody is just doing such beautiful work.”

Lyonne stood out among the attendees, even though she, like many of the evening’s guests, dressed in head-to-toe Chanel. The actress paired black knit shorts with a silk blouse featuring voluminous, lace-embroidered sleeves. A black tweed coat and heavy application of accessories completed the ensemble, which Lyonne described as a mix of “boho chic casual” and vampiric. “When you button up [the blazer] it turns into something from a Tilda Swinton and Jim Jarmusch movie,” she told W on the red carpet. “So it can go both ways.”

The heavy Chanel presence at the event wasn’t surprising. A sponsor of the benefit since 2011, Chanel has had a history with the world of cinema ever since the days of Coco Chanel. More recently, the French House became a sponsor of all film programming at the MoMA, aiding in the Museum’s accretion into one of the strongest international film collections in the world.

Which brings us back to Jackson, the man of the evening, who took the stage on Wednesday night following surprise video messages from former collaborators Brie Larson and George Lucas and a dinner of short ribs and truffle mashed potatoes.

“I've always believed that cinema has been and continues to be a powerful medium,” the actor said. “It transcends language, shifts the silent paradigms, and pushes us as audience and artists to see the world from the perspectives of others.” He spoke of the many characters he has played over the years, from Mister Señor Love Daddy in Do the Right Thing to Frozone in The Incredibles. “I have learned something new about the human experience from each and every one,” he said. “I always carry a piece of them with me as I continue on.” And continue on he will. Jackson—who has multiple films in the works at this very moment, including an adaption of the 1987 August Wilson play, Piano Lessons—remains booked and busy, but he always has time to read one of those “T-shirt lines” with a fan. “There are no quotes I hate reciting,” he said. Yes, even the quarter-pounder one.