Scorsese's dislike of superhero films is nothing new, and the director has for years debated the phenomenon that has become such a dominant factor in the film world, and now it's time again. The 80-year-old director was interviewed by GQ on the occasion of the premiere of his new film Killers of the Flower Moon, where he again called for a fight against superheroes, saying:
"The danger there is what it's doing to our culture, because there are going to be generations now that think movies are only those—that's what movies are."
"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."
"Go out there and do it. Go reinvent. Don't complain about it. But it's true, because we've got to save cinema." Cinema could be anything, Scorsese said; it didn't just have to be serious. Some Like It Hot—that was cinema, for instance. But: "I do think that the manufactured content isn't really cinema."
It was a really fiery speech and he was also clear about AI-created film, which he likened to factory production when he said:
"It's manufactured content. 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?"
What do you think about what Scorsese says, is he right or is he just old and bitter?