Disney CEO defends Marvel movies, says Scorsese and Coppola can 'bitch' if they want
"There. I said it."
- Webby Award Winner (Best Video Host, 2021), Webby Nominee (Podcasts, 2021), Gold Telly (Documentary Series, 2021), Silver Telly (Video Writing, 2021), W3 Award (Best Host, 2020), Australian IT Journalism Awards (Best Journalist, Best News Journalist 2017)
Bob Iger comes to the defense of Marvel movies.
Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola might say Marvel movies are "not cinema," but Disney CEO Bob Iger has words for them: if they "want to bitch about movies, that's certainly their right," but millions of fans clearly enjoy watching Marvel on the big screen.
Speaking on Tuesday at WSJ Tech Live in Laguna Beach, California, Iger weighed in on the war of words that has picked up over the past week on the cinematic value of popcorn blockbusters.
Scorsese decried the Marvel effect saying "theaters have become amusement parks" while Coppola dubbed the hugely successful franchise as "despicable." But the CEO of Disney (which owns the Marvel Cinematic Universe ) said the two directors clearly "don't see how the audience is reacting to them."
"Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese are two people I hold in the highest regard," he said. "But when Francis uses the words, 'those films are despicable'. I reserve the word 'despicable' to someone who committed mass murder. These are movies."
While Iger pointed to the proof found in audience numbers, saying people were watching Marvel's films "by the millions," he also praised the creative merits of the MCU.
"It seems so disrespectful to all the people that work on those films… are you telling me Ryan Coogler, making Black Panther is doing something that is somehow or another 'less than' what Marty Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola have ever done on any one of their movies? Like, come on. There. I said it."
Iger was at the WSJ Tech Live event speaking about Disney Plus, which is set to launch Nov. 12.
