Scorsese had plenty to say about Marvel movies dominating the box office. Coppola went even further and branded them “despicable”. Well, if you are gonna go for the King then you better not miss! And now the current King Of Hollywood has spoken, and Bob Iger has come out swinging.
Speaking at a Wall Street Journal Tech Live conference, The Disney CEO reacted to these comments from the two filmmaking giants:
“They’re entitled to their opinions. Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese are two people I hold in the highest regard, in terms of the films they’ve made, the films I’ve liked, and the films we’ve all watched.
But when Francis uses the word ‘those films are despicable,’ to whom is he talking? Is he talking to Kevin Feige who runs Marvel, Taika Waititi who directs, or Ryan Coogler, who directs, or Scarlett Johansson, or Chad Boseman, I could name a number of people — Robert Downey Jr.
I don’t quite get what they’re trying ot criticize us for, when we’re making films that people are obviously enjoying going to, because they’re doing so by the millions.”
Iger then went even further and explained some facts of economic reality in the creative industries – simple economics behind the entire business with thin margins, and how blockbusters keep the entire industry alive for people like Scorsese and Coppola to play in:
“That actually gives them the ability to run other films that might not be as successful, but there are people in different places that want to see them.”
Then he went in for the killer blow, calling their comments out as downright disrespectful:
“If they want to bitch about movies, it’s certainly their right…It seems so disrespectful to all the people that work on those films, who are working just as hard as the people who are working on their films, and are putting their creative souls on the line just like they are. You tell me Ryan Coogler making Black Panther is doing something that is somehow or another less than what Marty Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola have ever done in any one of their movies? Come on! There, I said it.”
Finishing move from Iger? Triple combo score. Race card special move deployed!
The only possible defence against this onslaught would be to ask Iger about the shameless prostitution of Disney in search of Chinese Renminbi.
