Martin Scorsese shared his thoughts on comic book films again, saying it’s up to creative filmmakers to “save cinema.”
In an interview with GQ, the famed filmmaker spoke on the “danger” the growing genre poses to culture, pointing out, “There are going to be generations now that think movies are only those—that’s what movies are.”
“They already think that,” he continued. “Which means that we have to then fight back stronger. And it’s got to come from the grassroots level. It’s gotta come from the filmmakers themselves.”
He pointed to the Safdie brothers — who directed Uncut Gems — and Christopher Nolan as prime examples of filmmakers who could fight against the superhero franchises that have come to dominate box offices.
“Go out there and do it. Go reinvent. Don’t complain about it. But it’s true, because we’ve got to save cinema,” Scorsese said.
Though he admitted he didn’t want to discuss the topic of comic book adaptations and superhero films, the director insisted that cinema should mean something, even if it’s not a serious film.
“I don’t want to say it. But what I mean is that, it’s manufactured content. It’s almost like AI making a film. And that doesn’t mean that you don’t have incredible directors and special effects people doing beautiful artwork,” he said. “But what does it mean? What do these films, what will it give you? Aside from a kind of consummation of something and then eliminating it from your mind, your whole body, you know? So what is it giving you?”
Despite his complaints, Scorsese’s profiler notes that he is still “excited “about Avatar: The Way of Water and what’s next for visual effects. “I’m looking forward to new ways,” the director said. “It’s just, I got as far as this. And that’s what I do. That’s it.”
But he continued, “What I mean is that you gotta rip it out of your skull and your guts. To find out what the hell you really…what do you really feel should be said at this point in life by you? You gotta say something with a movie. Otherwise, what’s the point of making it? You’ve got to be saying something.”
He later acknowledged that studios aren’t “interested any longer in supporting individual voices that express their personal feelings” with “a big budget,” and he may be one of the last few exceptions to the rule. According to him, many other filmmakers often get “pigeonholed” into what the studios “call indies.”
“How much longer can it be me? … I’m gonna try until they pick me up off the floor. What can I tell you?” Scorsese said.
If you haven’t heard yet, the famed director has a new movie hitting theaters in October: Killers of the Flower Moon, a hefty, three-and-a-half-hour-long western drama that details the string of mysterious murders that plagued the Osage Nation after they came into some oil.
Killers of the Flower Moon premieres Oct. 20. The film will also stream on Apple TV+.