Martin Scorsese Hits Back at the Film Industry’s Obsession with Money

Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese has made no secret of his thoughts on recent trends in the film industry. As one of cinema’s most beloved and respected active directors, the reverberations of his likening of superhero films to “theme park rides” could be felt widespread with even some of the world’s biggest stars taking time to hit back at what many considered an insult to the genre. Once again, however, Scorsese has expressed his views on the ‘downfall of cinema’, identifying the focus on numbers and box office figures as the latest threat to the art.

Scorsese’s most recent concern for the film industry was delivered in a speech during the 60^th New York Film Festival where he stated the film industry’s focus on box office figures has been “repulsive”. He further goes on to mention that “as a person who can’t imagine life without cinema, I always find it insulting”. In referring to how the success of films these days is measured on the money it generates, Scorsese once again created a wave of reactions on social media.

It comes as no surprise to hear the director’s thoughts on the industry. As mentioned, this is not his first outing as the pantomime villain for actors, directors and fans alike. Current Spider-Man and face of Marvel Studios Tom Holland’s response to Scorsese’s original comments in 2019 noted that the only difference between his franchise projects and the more art-house indie scene was the scale and expense at which they were produced. It stands to reason, then, that those multi-million-dollar budget projects hiring professional crews, talented visual effects artists and, A-list casts would make their money’s worth globally.

Calling to the defence of superhero films in response to Scorsese’s original comments, Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad director James Gunn took to Instagram pointing to the genre’s similar projection to early Hollywood western movies in the 60s and even Scorsese’s signature gangster flicks in the 70s and 80s. Gunn makes an interesting point: major film production usually always has a tendency to run with the current trends. With all four Avengers films sitting in the top 15 highest grossing films of all time, it is evident that the cinema business somewhat owes its success to such a formula.

Yet, it is this very saturation and over-production that Scorsese remains wary of. In his New York Times opinion piece, Marty goes full Marx, accusing the industry of creating “perfect products manufactured for immediate consumption” and repeatedly producing similar story structures. Coupling this with his fears due to the decline of independent theatres and worries that the choice of stories presented to the audience becomes fewer and fewer and with the exponential rise in streaming service platforms, his concern is understandable. 

Marking a film’s success based solely on its ability to make billion-dollar companies more billions of dollars is far from a true reflection of what the film industry is, or should be, about. It is especially concerning where inclusivity is sacrificed in pursuit of profit. Such films as Fantastic Beasts 3 and Bohemian Rhapsody succumbed to such cuts in China with studios removing any reference to homosexuality in order to secure release in the Chinese market, notorious for generating a large proportion of a film’s profit. While Scorsese relates his anxieties over the industry to his love for story, his recognition that major production companies surrender important aspects of the craft as a means for greater profit is worth listening to.

For me, I struggle to see movies attracting large and, importantly, enthusiastic audiences as being a problem for cinema as an industry; evidently the general population are willing to support them, so why not let them? Yet, I do somewhat sympathise with what Scorsese fears;  franchise films and sequels are the primary option in cinemas, and independent films rarely ever get the same global notoriety. But Edgar Wright’s defence of Scorsese puts it best, “how a film does in its first three days is never the end of the story”. The value of a film is not the amount of money it makes but what it means to those who see it, franchise film or not. 

Featured Image Credit: The Guardian