JOKER Director Todd Phillips Disagrees With Martin Scorsese's Comments On Marvel Films

JOKER Director Todd Phillips Disagrees With Martin Scorsese's Comments On Marvel Films

Much ado has been made of Martin Scorsese's much debated commentary on Marvel films and how they relate to cinema as a whole. This time,a prominent DC director chimes in.

By XMenGiveItToYa - Nov 27, 2019 07:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Joker
Source: The Playlist
In the past few months there has been a lot of debate as to whether Marvel films are considered "cinema", following an interview and later further in an op-ed in the New York Times. A number of directors and actors from Jon Favreau to Chadwick Boseman to even Kevin Feige himself have responded to the comments. Now with Oscar season heating up, another CBM director has chimed in, this time from a DC director, Todd Phillips, who's recent reinterpretation of The Joker has earned both major awards buzz and success at the box office. In an interview with The Playlist, Phillips said the following:

“My only issue with what he said – and I have no issue with anything he ever says, I literally worship the man – is that he’s lumping a lot of movies into one thing, and I think that’s a tough thing to do. I think if we lumped in gangster movies and put in “Goodfellas” and “Casino” with some shit that’s not quite the same…” he offered as an example before trailing off.

Phillips' film is heavily influenced by Scorsese's past films, in particular King of Comedy and Taxi Driver (which share a cast member with Joker in the form of legendary actor Robert DeNiro), so his split with Scorsese on the topic of Marvel is notable.

Joker still looks to have a great deal more success ahead of it as there are many reports (albeit inconsistent from outlet to outlet) that WB is interested in a sequel, as well as more potential spinoff films for villains and R-Rated characters from DCs vast catalogue of characters, including some on HBO MAX.

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Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 11/27/2019, 8:46 AM
Agreed.
That's also what Lindelof and James Mangold said and it's true.
L0RDbuckethead
L0RDbuckethead - 11/27/2019, 8:47 AM
This will be a fun comments section to read.

BoW
BoW - 11/27/2019, 11:23 AM
@L0RDbuckethead - Nah, check the comments on any Snyder Cut article.
Kumkani
Kumkani - 11/27/2019, 9:50 AM
Scorsese didn't need to throw in a pointless and elitist "high art vs low art" argument when he did have a good point about the current state of distribution in theatres and how lower budget films have been pushed out (due to various factors).

Saying Marvel movies aren't cinema is completely unnecessary when you're trying to fight for something that actually does matter. It's especially weird when Scorsese said he hadn't seen the films in their full breadth either.
JohnCastillo
JohnCastillo - 11/28/2019, 3:22 PM
@Necropolitan - Yh it's an interesting subject of smaller films being pushed out.. i mean i don't see it that way because when i go to cinema i see about 15 or more films being shown so it's not like they're all big budget blockbusters it's just that those are the films people want to see.. Also a question, do you think cinemas would survive without blockbusters? I only ask because i believe cinemas would have died down a long time ago if all they had were arthouse films. Blockbusters literally save the industry.
GhostDog
GhostDog - 11/27/2019, 11:22 AM
“ l literally worship the man...”
Darkknight2149
Darkknight2149 - 11/27/2019, 1:12 PM
In no universe are films like The Dark Knight, Logan, A History of Violence, Road to Perdition, V For Vendetta, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Iron Man (2008), ETC, not cinema.
Jazzy4
Jazzy4 - 11/27/2019, 2:51 PM
Me personally, i have a problem with Sorcese and directors like him who pretend producing movies for artistic reasons but expect, others to take the financial risk, aka : distributors, viewers, you name it.

I don't have a problem for him asking for better representation but i find it quite insulting and arrogant to tell other people to chose his pet project instead of another they deem more profitable when he isn't the one putting the money in it. Distributors have a business to run too. They have employees. Like for sales, they make a significant portion of their yearly profits during a Marvel movie for that matter.

At the end of the day Sorcese makes movies, in Hollywood at that. It is show-BUSINESS, he doesn't just stand for the show, otherwise, he would put his money in it to offer it freely.

Also, he seems to cave into the false idea that without Marvel, his movies will be more popular as if people divert their own money from a gangster movie to see a Marvel movie instead. People, families divert their money from their entertainment and hobbies to see a Marvel movie, usually with kids. For many it will be the only theater experience through the year.

Marvel movies are blockbusters and blockbusters unlike gangster movies are the most exportable movies. They make most of their money abroad because their themes, the way they are expressed are culturally universal. They are poeple saving money for weeks if not months for a Marvel movie in some countries. Whereas, not only a mob movie featuring italian Americans wont' resonate in a lot of countries, there are amso more local similar products they can chose from TV or theaters.

There are no local equivalent to a Marvel movie abroad.
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