Martin Scorsese says we've got to “save cinema” from comic book culture and superhero movies by supporting filmmakers such as Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan. The irony lost on Scorsese is that Nolan directed three acclaimed superhero blockbusters: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises.
Scorsese has sounded off about his dislike of comic book movies in the past, but he doubles down in a recent GQ interview. “The danger there is what it’s doing to our culture,” says Scorsese. “Because there are going to be generations now that think movies are only those — that’s what movies are. They already think that. 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. And you’ll have, you know, the Safdie brothers, and you’ll have Chris Nolan, you know what I mean? And hit ’em from all sides. Hit ’em from all sides, and don’t give up. Let’s see what you got. Go out there and do it. Go reinvent. Don’t complain about it. But it’s true, because we’ve got to save cinema.”
Oscar-winner Martin Scorsese has directed iconic movies such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, and The Departed, to name a few. He sings the praises of Nolan, who has directed 12 movies so far, 3 of which are superhero movies.
Martin Scorsese Criticizes Streaming-Era Content in the Same GQ Interview
In the same interview with GQ in which he seems to forget about Nolan's three Batman films, Scorsese waxes philosophical about the streaming-era definition of content as opposed to theatrical movies. He says:
“I do think that the manufactured content isn’t really cinema. 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. 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?”
Martin Scorsese's next movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, is a Western crime drama based on the Osage Nation murders in Oklahoma during the 1920s. The not-a-superhero movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro and based on a book by David Grann opens in theaters — not streaming providers — on October 20.