Martin Scorsese Slams Comic Book Movies

Film director Martin Scorsese took aim at comic book movie culture, saying it could be negative to audiences who aren't well-versed in other types of film.

"The danger there is what it's doing to our culture," he said of those films' omnipresent nature in an interview with GQ. "Because there are going to be generations now that think movies are only those — that's what movies are."

When the interviewer suggested that audiences might already hold that belief, Scorsese, 80, agreed.

"They already think that," he said. "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 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 also discussed the modern streaming era and its definition of content as opposed to genuine cinema.

"I do think that the manufactured content isn't really cinema," he said, adding, "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?"

Scorsese's latest film, "Killers of the Flower Moon," is set to be released in theaters Oct. 20. In a recent interview with Time, Scorsese said he rewrote the script after realizing he was primarily "making a movie about all the white guys."

The Western true-crime thriller, based on David Grann's 2017 nonfiction book, delves into the Osage Indian tribe murders in 1920s Oklahoma after an oil discovery on their land.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Ernest Burkhart, who, under the direction of his uncle, William Hale (Robert De Niro), marries Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) upon arriving in Fairfax, Oklahoma. The event also marks the FBI's inaugural homicide investigation.

"After a certain point, I realized I was making a movie about all the white guys," Scorsese said. "Meaning, I was taking the approach from the outside in, which concerned me."

Initially, DiCaprio was slated to portray FBI agent Tom White, responsible for probing the murders. Yet, they later decided to shift the focus of the film to Burkhart and Kyle's relationship, leading to a recast of the role (now played by Jesse Plemons).

Scorsese commended Gladstone, 37, for her exceptional performance, saying there is "a fierceness and serenity at the same time. And it's encased in this intelligence — the eyes say it all."

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