Guardians of the Galaxy star slams “TikTok crap” for ruining people’s attention spans

Michael Rooker, star of Guardians of the Galaxy, has urged people to go see “real cinema” like Kevin Costner’s Horizon and get over TikTok “crap.”

TikTok is arguably Netflix’s biggest competitor (it said as much in 2020), with the average user spending nearly an hour on the app every day.

There’s been an unfortunate consequence from the rise of short-form content: long movies have fallen out of fashion, with people either failing to resist the urge to check their phones in the theater or watching new movies and TV shows after they’ve been chopped up into 30 parts.

Horizon: Chapter 1, the first of a planned four-part Western saga, hit cinemas in late June with a formidable 181-minute runtime. That, plus its nature as a quarter (or perhaps half, if Costner only makes one more) of a story, hasn’t done it any favors at the box office, grossing just $12 million worldwide so far.

Speaking to TMZ, Rooker (best known for playing Yondu in the MCU movies) said people need to “get over” the long runtime and appreciate “real cinema.”

“It’s crazy. I’ve never done that before. You’re involved with a project and you have three more to go, four more to go,” he said.

“It’s real cinema, folks, so be prepared. We ain’t used to that sh*t. We’re used to 90-minute movies. Everything’s 90 minutes. Oh, come on, give me a break. Get over that sh*t.

“Let’s watch a movie that actually tells a story, where you learn, you learn about the people, you grow to like them or hate them. It’s not all fast, cut, cut, cut.”

When asked if people have been “TikTokified”, Rooker replied: “Totally, they are. Yeah, of course they are. They’ve got to get over that crap. Come on. They’ve got to learn what it’s like to watch real cinema, please.”

Nevertheless, Costner isn’t fazed by the movie flopping, nor does he care if you think Horizon is too long.

In the meantime, check out every Yellowstone cameo in Horizon, and why Kevin Costner ruined the end of Horizon with one decision.