Few filmmakers inspired as much discussion about the state of cinema in 2019 as Martin Scorsese, who recently revealed that he previously had plans to meet with Disney to discuss his nonprofit organization whose goal was to preserve and restore classic movies. While promoting his latest film, The Irishman, Scorsese admitted that he had tried to enjoy superhero films, such as those created by Disney’s Marvel Studios, but they weren’t for him, inspiring discourse about the merits of superhero cinema. The filmmaker noted that the status of the studio had changed since he initially tried to meet with them, which will likely inspire even more discussion.
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“Then all this came up,” Scorsese shared with The New York Times about meeting with Disney in regards to his Film Foundation. “So, we’ll have a lot to talk about.”
Another development that unfolded following Scorsese’s initial interest in meeting with Disney is that the company had since officially purchased 20th Century Fox, a studio possessing a number of films that the filmmaker had hoped to restore and preserve. A Disney representative claims that they are still attempting to schedule a meeting with Scorsese.
Scorsese is considered by many to be one of the most accomplished filmmakers in history, though his comments about not personally enjoying superhero films ignited passionate discussions across the fandom.
“I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema,” Scorsese revealed to Empire Magazine about comic book films. “Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
Last month, TIME selected Disney CEO Bob Iger as the Businessperson of the Year, which offered him the opportunity to address Scorsese’s comments.
“If Marty Scorsese wants to be in the business of taking artistic risk, all power to him,” Iger noted. “It doesn’t mean that what we’re doing isn’t art.”
He added that dismissing these films in his comments was “nasty” and “not fair to the people who are making the movies.” The article did note that Disney was still in the process of trying to set up a meeting between Iger and Scorsese, though it is unclear if that discussion would be about the director’s Film Foundation or an opportunity to bury the hatchet in regards to differing opinions about superhero cinema.
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