Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Disney(LOS ANGELES) — Another day has brought new responses to Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola’s attacks on the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As previously reported, Scorsese said the billions-grossing Marvel Studios films and their ilk “aren’t cinema,” saying they were more like “theme parks.” Days later, Coppola threw fuel on the fire by not only agreeing, but further calling the movies “despicable.”
Jon Favreau, who helped launch the MCU by directing 2008’s Iron Man and who’s since directed blockbuster Disney adaptations like The Jungle Book and The Lion King as well as appearing in several Marvel films, took the high road.
“These two guys are my heroes, and they have earned the right to express their opinions,” the Marvel movie star told CNBC on Tuesday. He added, “I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing if they didn’t carve the way,” a noted that “They served as a source of inspiration” for him as far back as 1996’s comedy-drama Swingers, which he wrote and in which he starred.In fact, Swingers features a scene where its central group of friends are talking about their favorite movies, and the restaurant scene in Scorsese’s Goodfellas was an agreed-upon favorite.
However, Bob Iger, the CEO of Marvel Studios parent company Disney, was less diplomatic. While speaking at the Wall Street Journal Tech Live conference in Laguna Beach, California on Wednesday, Iger declared, “I reserve the word ‘despicable’ for someone who committed mass murder.”
He added that while “it’s certainly their right” to “bi*** about movies,” Iger said Coppola and Scorsese’s comments were “disrespectful” to the filmmakers and the fans who enjoy them.
“You’re telling me Ryan Coogler making Black Panther is doing something that is somehow ‘less than’ what Marty Scorsese or Francis Coppola has ever done on one of their movies? Come on,” Iger said to applause.
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