Samuel L. Jackson lauded at MoMA film benefit by close family and friends

NEW YORK (AP) — 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, 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.

Natasha Lyonne attends the 16th annual Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit, presented by Chanel, honoring Samuel L. Jackson on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Emily Mortimer, left, and Alessandro Nivola attend the 16th annual Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit, presented by Chanel, honoring Samuel L. Jackson on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Spike Lee, left, and Tonya Lewis Lee attend the 16th annual Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit, presented by Chanel, honoring Samuel L. Jackson on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Denzel Washington, far right, poses with his children Malcolm Washington, left, Katia Washington and Olivia Washington at the 16th annual Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit, presented by Chanel, honoring Samuel L. Jackson on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Honoree Samuel L. Jackson, right, and wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson attend the 16th annual Museum of Modern Art Film Benefit, presented by Chanel, honoring him on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Trash carried by a North Korean balloon fell on the presidential compound in central Seoul on Thursday in a second case raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean sites during potential North Korean aggression.

The incident comes after the rival Koreas ramped up threats and rhetoric against each other over North Korea’s claims that South Korea flew drones over its capital Pyongyang to scatter propaganda leaflets this month.

No dangerous items were found in the rubbish that was dropped on the ground when one of the North Korean balloons burst over the South Korean presidential compound on Thursday morning, South Korea’s presidential security service said in a statement.

North Korea has sent thousands of balloons carrying bags of rubbish like plastic and paper waste into South Korea since late May in a resumption of a Cold War-style psychological campaign. The trash that fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July contained no hazardous materials as well.

It wasn’t immediately known whether South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was at the compound during the latest incident. Later Thursday, he met visiting Polish President Andrzej Duda at his office.

South Korean media reported that North Korean leaflets criticizing Yoon and his wife Kim Keon Hee were found on Thursday in Seoul's Yongsan district, where Yoon’s presidential office is located. Media published photos of some leaflets that described Kim as a latter-day Marie Antoinette, the queen who was beheaded in 1793 during the French Revolution.

The reports said it was the first time that North Korean propaganda leaflets have been found in South Korea since the North began its balloon campaign five months ago.

The South Korean presidential security service didn't immediately confirm the report.

Experts say North Korea likely lacks sophisticated technology to drop balloons on specific targets.

“Whether the balloons have GPS or not, it’s all about launching them in large numbers and hitting the right altitude based on wind direction and speed, so that they can ride those winds to travel,” Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute, said.

“While some media are saying the accuracy of the balloons has improved, that improved accuracy isn’t because they equipped them with some sort of guidance system, but rather because it’s the season when winds blow southward," Lee said.

North Korea has earlier accused South Korea of infiltrating drones to drop propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang three times this month and threatened military responses if it happened again. South Korea has refused to confirm whether it sent drones but warned that North Korea would face the end of its regime if the safety of South Korean citizens is threatened.

North Korea said its balloon activities were a tit-for-tat action against South Korean activists launching anti-Pyongyang leaflets via their own balloons. South Korea responded by restarting propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts at border areas, prompting North Korea to turn on their own frontline loudspeakers.

The Koreas' Cold War-style campaigns come as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has increased the pace of his weapons tests and expanded military cooperation with Russia.

U.S. and South Korean officials said Wednesday that 3,000 North Korean troops have been deployed to Russia and are training at several locations. South Korean officials say North Korea eventually aims to send a total of 10,000 troops to Russia to support its war efforts in Ukraine.

South Korea is concerned that Russia may reward North Korea by giving it sophisticated technologies that could improve the North's nuclear and missile programs that target South Korea and the United States.

Polish President Andrzej Duda, center right, and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda, center left, visit the National Cemetery in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Polish President Andrzej Duda burns incense as his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda stands at the National Cemetery in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korean first lady Kim Keon-Hee, right, talks with Polish first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Jeon Heon-Kyun/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Poland's President Andrzej Duda, third from left, walk with honor guards during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Jeon Heon-Kyun/Pool Photo via AP)

Polish President Andrzej Duda, right, and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda pay a silent tribute at the National Cemetery in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Polish President Andrzej Duda, right, and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda offer a wreath at the National Cemetery in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korean first lady Kim Keon-Hee, second from left, talks with Polish first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda, left, as South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol, third from left, and Poland's President Andrzej Duda, right, walk with honor guards during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Jeon Heon-Kyun/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Poland's President Andrzej Duda, right, walk with honor guards during a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Jeon Heon-Kyun/Pool Photo via AP)

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, third from right, and his wife, Kim Keon-Hee, second from left, and Polish President Andrzej Duda, right, and his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda, left, participate in a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Office in Seoul, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Jeon Heon-Kyun/Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - North Korean balloons are seen from the Unification Observation Post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, on Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

A visitor uses binoculars to see the North Korean side from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)