We have an interesting interview with Robert Downey Jr coming out in the wake of comments made by Martin Scorsese earlier in the week.
Scorsese was asked what he thought of the Marvel movies recently and the world-famous director had some pretty big criticisms which included the following:
“Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
When asked if he’d ever tried to watch them Socrsese stated:
“I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema.”
Robert Downey Jr. On Martin Scorsese Comments
Ok so that’s the clip and I think that Downey takes a very dignified response to the comments and it’s quite respectful towards Scorsese. Now, this is obviously because of the Director’s body of work and it’s difficult to argue with someone of his stature about the state of film when he has been so influential in the genre. However, I do agree a lot with what RDJ is saying in that I feel like people in the industry feel quite jealous of Marvel’s success and even earlier this week we had Jennifer Anniston say that they had ruined cinema.
Every time a comment like this pops up by an elder person I’m kind of reminded of things that people said when I was growing up which was that Comic Books weren’t art. Now as I’ve gotten older the medium has changed a lot and there’s so much respect for comic book movies at the moment that it’s very difficult to refute that they aren’t comics.
Martin Scorsese On Marvel
Now, of course, Martin Scorsese is entitled to his opinion but I think the general reaction is that he is wrong and that they are indeed films and that movie making, in general, has changed to go with the times. Of course, Scorsese is a genius but even things like his upcoming project The Irishman which features a lot of de-aging owes something to the technologies developed by the MCU.
Another thing is that Scorses was asked about Marvel Movies in general, and to the uninitiated I’m sure all comic book movies get lumped in with them so perhaps someone asked what he thought of ‘those Marvel movies’ and his mind went to the more lackluster ones rather than the MCU. We just don’t know but Kevin Feige had some words on the statement too, saying the following:
“Maybe it’s easy to dismiss VFX or flying people or spaceships or billion-dollar grosses, I think it is easy to say that you have already been awarded in a certain way. Alfred Hitchcock never won the best director, so it’s very nice, but it doesn’t mean everything. I would much rather be in a room full of engaged fans.”
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