Christopher Nolan on Martin Scorsese’s comments that superhero films are dangerous to the culture

Christopher Nolan on Martin Scorsese’s comments that superhero films are dangerous to the culture

“Established titles [can] assure a return in audience and give people more of what they want … and it pays for lots of other films to be made … but there also always needs to be respect for the audience’s desire for something new … a healthy ecosystem in Hollywood is about a balance between the two things” 

In a recent interview with GQ, the Taxi Driver and The Wolf of Wall Street director spoke out against what blockbusters and comic book franchise movies are currently doing to the Hollywood industry.

“The danger there is what it’s doing to our culture,” he said. “Because there are going to be generations now that think movies are only those—that’s what movies are.”

When the interviewer pointed out that people likely already believe that, Scorsese continued, “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.”

Scorsese, who has actively fought for film preservation and restoration throughout his entire career, has made similar comments in the past. In 2019, Scorsese compared the Marvel Cinematic Universe to “theme parks.” He told Empire Magazine that he believes Marvel movies aren’t “the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.