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Award season is here! Time to get petty!
The Irishman director, legendary Martin Scorsese, threw significant shade on Joker, one of the most popular movies of 2019. The director admitted to having little interest in seeing Todd Phillips’s masterpiece. The irony is not lost on us: Joker‘s directing is inspired by Scorsese’s work, most notably by Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy.
Speaking with The New York Times, Scorsese said that the urge just isn’t there. “I saw clips of it… I know it. So it’s like, why do I need to? I get it. It’s fine,” the famous director explained. It’s going to be an awkward moment on the Academy Awards, where both Scorsese and Phillips will make appearances. But, this isn’t a one-off for Goodfellas director: he recently got a lot of heat for being against Marvel superheroes. And Joker is a part of the comic book universe.
Speaking to Empire magazine, the director was asked a question about Marvel movies. Some people saw it as a personal attack on their favorite superheroes, and Scorsese himself had to pen an article defending himself. Again, Academy Award-winning director, writer, and producer, didn’t say that Marvel movies aren’t movies per se. He did make some excellent points, which only made the debate last longer than anyone expected. Now, let’s go back to Joker and why it is such a big deal that Scorsese said what he said.
Scorsese revealed that he was somewhat associated with Joker production for four years before dropping out. This was back in 2017 and it was reported that Scorsese was associated with Joker as a producer and as a director, while the title role would go to Leonardo DiCaprio. Scorsese made a statement that: “It was personal reasons why I didn’t get involved. But I know the script very well. It has real energy and Joaquin. You have remarkable work.”
Scorsese added: “For me, ultimately, I don’t know if I make the next step into this character developing into a comic book character.” We will never know what happened, but it doesn’t seem like it’s a personal message to Phillips. Still, we find it hard to believe that the Oscar-winning director skipped Joker. Not because of the story, despite it, since the movie is a perfect example of exceptional acting and fabulous directing.
On the one hand, it’s great to have valid opinions. On the other, wouldn’t it be braver and bolder to embrace the change, even if that change leads to superheroes? We could argue that the famous director only has one topic in his movies, but for now, we are just going to watch the awkward run-ins with Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix. And since Joker is getting a sequel, there will be plenty of time for more shades from one of the most significant movie-makers ever!
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