Martin Scorsese has been a bit of a hot topic as of late. His passive aggressive jabs at comic book films have not gone unnoticed, and fans have voiced their issues with his comments. While he tries to save face by continuing to call them a ‘different’ art form than his own, his comments of them only being for ‘young people’ and are extensions of ‘theme parks’ are thinly veiled backhanded compliments candy coated in a big ‘F You’ shell. So, this latest revelation to come to light about Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker isn’t all that shocking.
Scorsese produced the Todd Phillips film that is currently destroying records at the box office. However, he could have very well directed it. While speaking with BBC, Scorsese admitted to thinking about directing it a lot over the last fours years, but decided he didn’t have time for it. He also took issue with the fact that the main character would end up becoming a ‘comic book character’ in the end. He credited Joaquin Phoenix’s performance with helping to turn the film into “a remarkable work.” He said that Joker did not count as a superhero film, but even so, he did not know whether he could direct it and make the “next step, which is…this character developing into a comic-book character. He develops into an abstraction. That doesn’t mean it’s bad art. It could be, but it’s not for me, you follow?”
While it’s really hard to deny Scorsese’s impact on Hollywood, and the fact that he has made several masterpieces, it does feel a tad bit hypocritical for him to make comments like these. If you look at the films he has made, many of his characters are unrealistic caricatures of stereotypes. In other words, comic book characters without powers. What this basically boils down to is that he isn’t a fan, so he assumes its bad. When it comes down to it, to each their own. Just because it’s not the type of film you make, doesn’t mean you have to trash it, even passive aggressively.
Would you have wanted to see a Scorsese directed Joker? Let us know in the comments below!