“Scorsese doesn’t own cinema.”
Avengers: Endgame directors the Russo Brothers have responded to Martin Scorsese’s controversial comments about Marvel movies.
The Irishman director recently said Marvel’s output was “not cinema”, later elaborating on his opinion by saying they lack “revelation, mystery or genuine emotional danger”.
However, Joe and Anthony Russo have hit back at the criticism, the former telling The Hollywood Reporter: “Ultimately, we define cinema as a film that can bring people together to have a shared, emotional experience.
“When we look at the box office [of] Avengers: Endgame, we don’t see that as a signifier of financial success, we see it as a signifier of emotional success.
“It’s a movie that had an unprecedented impact on audiences around the world in the way that they shared that narrative and the way that they experienced it. And the emotions they felt watching it.”
Martin Scorsese
Scorsese revealed that he had tried to watch Marvel movies before abandoning them, the Russos saying it was hard to criticise when he had not seen them.
“But, at the end of the day, what do we know?” Joe added. “We’re just two guys from Cleveland, Ohio, and ‘cinema’ is a New York word. In Cleveland, we call them movies.”
Anthony further explained: “The other way to think about it, too, is nobody owns cinema. We don’t own cinema. You don’t own cinema. Scorsese doesn’t own cinema.”
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige recently responded to Scorsese’s comments, saying: “Some people don’t think it’s cinema. Everybody is entitled to their opinion.
“Everyone is entitled to repeat that opinion. Everyone is entitled to write op-eds about that opinion. And I look forward to what will happen next. But in the meantime, we’re going to keep making movies.”
