Days after Martin Scorsese walked back his comments about Marvel movies, director Francis Ford Coppola offered his own clarification regarding his comments.
Speaking to Deadline, Coppola expressed his displeasure regarding how his earlier comments were interpreted. He said that he was not speaking specifically about Marvel movies, but large franchises in general.
"Personally I don’t like the idea of franchises, the notion that you can keep repeating what is essentially the same movie for financial gain — in other words, what is a formulaic approach," he said. "I feel that approach is taken to reduce the economic risk of movies, and I feel the 'risk factor' is an element that makes movies sometimes be great. Also, the formulaic film draws most available resources to them, leaving little for more daring productions, reducing diversity."
He concluded with a metaphor: "In some ways I think the cinema is like food; certainly you can add things to make it tempting, tasty and enjoyable but it must also be nutritious to qualify as real food."
The irony in these comments is that Coppola directed all three Godfather films, which are considered some of the best movies in cinema history. According to Deadline, Coppola is aware of this critique but is standing by his comments.
This entire sage started a few weeks ago when Martin Scorsese referred to Marvel movies as "theme parks" and declared that they were "not cinema." Coppola soon joined him in the critique, calling them "despicable."
Marvel stars Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr. and Karen Gillan all responded to the directors' comments, along with Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and Avengers: Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Damon Lindelof and Kevin Smith also called out the two directors for their harsh words.