You’ll find no shortage of those who feel superhero movies are having a destructive impact on the way we take in film. The argument has been raging for years and it isn’t likely to end until the genre either takes over utterly or begins to fade. One person who is definitely hoping for the latter is Jodie Foster, who takes shots at blockbuster movies in general and superhero movies specifically for ruining the business. She told The Telegraph…
“Going to the movies has become like a theme park. Studios making bad content in order to appeal to the masses and shareholders is like fracking – you get the best return right now but you wreck the earth. It’s ruining the viewing habits of the American population and then ultimately the rest of the world. I don’t want to make $200 million movies about superheroes.”
However, she did that she would consider directing a superhero movie that had “really complex psychology.” So…what? Like a Batman movie?
For the counterpoint, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn weighed in. And while he agrees with some of Foster’s points, he takes issue with her lumping all superhero movies together. Because like all movies made by studios, some are good, some are shit, some have greater purpose, but all are to serve the shareholders…
“I think Foster looks at film in an old-fashioned way where spectacle film can’t be thought-provoking. It’s often true but not always. Her belief system is pretty common and isn’t totally without basis. I say not without basis because most studio franchise films are quite soulless – and that is a real danger to the future of movies. But there are also quite a few exceptions.
“For cinema to survive I believe spectacle films NEED to have a vision and heart they traditionally haven’t. And some of us are doing our best to move in that direction. Creating spectacle films that are innovative, humane, and thoughtful is what excites me about this job.
“But, to be fair, at least from Foster’s quotes, she seems to see filmmaking as something that’s primarily about her own personal growth. For me, that may be part of why I do this, but spending many millions of dollars on a film has to be about more than that – it’s communication – so my experience is merely one spoke on that wheel. But I respect Foster and what she’s done for films and I appreciate her different way of looking at Hollywood’s landscape.”
A pretty fair and thoughtful exchange of ideas, I think. The discussion will rage on until Marvel has their first movie that fails to top $100M or something.
