AVENGERS’ TAKE ON SCORSESE’S COMMENT
Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Chadwick Boseman, the three Marvel stars, have addressed the Martin Scorsese-Marvel controversy.
While Johansson (Black Widow) and Evans (Captain America) didn’t name the legendary filmmaker as they weighed in on his comments that superhero films were “theme park experience”, “not cinema”, Black Panther star Boseman was more direct and questioned the timing of The Irishman director’s remarks ahead of Oscars season.
Johansson said initially she thought it was “old-fashioned” to believe that Marvel, the studio that churns out major money spinners in Hollywood, could spell the “death of cinema”.
“It’s interesting, because a couple of people in the past couple of days have mentioned to me that a couple of extremely esteemed directors have been really vocal about how the whole Marvel universe and big blockbusters are really, like, ‘despicable’ and ‘the death of cinema’,” she told Evans in a chat show.
“They said, ‘I think what these people are saying is that at the actual theatre, there’s not a lot of room for different kinds of movies, or smaller movies, because the theatre is taken up by huge blockbusters’,” she said.
For Evans, the film industry had room for all kinds of the cinema and no one had the authority over what qualified as art.
“I think original content inspires creative content. I think new stuff is what keeps the creative wheel rolling. I just believe there’s room at the table for all of it. It’s like saying a certain type of music isn’t music. Who are you to say that?” he asked.
In an interview, Boseman said the multiple Oscarwinning director was “possibly campaigning” for an award for the latter’s gangster drama, which was getting limited release in theatres. The actor also said he had to “respect” the director’s opinion on Marvel films because he was “a genius at what he does”.
Almost a month after sparking the debate, Scorsese, in an attempt to settle the matter, elaborated on his remarks in an op-ed , saying that while the superhero films were made by people from considerable talent and artistry, there is an absence of “revelation, mystery or genuine emotional danger” in them.
Boseman countered Scorsese, saying the director wouldn’t have said the MCU films lacked “mystery” had he seen Black Panther(2018) owing to its cultural diversity in its cast and setting.