TheQuartering [9/16/2021]

Are we zombies now?

According to BoundingIntoComics:

Dune director Denis Villeneuve recently posited that Marvel and superhero films have turned filmgoers “into zombies.”

Villeneuve’s comments came during an interview to promote the upcoming Dune film with Spanish-language website El Mundo.

Using Google’s machine translation from Spanish to English, Villeneuve was asked, “Isn’t it contradictory to you that [Dune] is a ‘blockbuster’ (the greatest exponent of commercial cinema and, therefore, of the system it criticizes) who wants to become the conscience against the drift of capitalism?”

The director responded, “Just think of the golden age of Hollywood to see that commercial films can make a different artistic proposal and, therefore, political. I have never felt like a loss or an impediment to have a generous budget to do what I wanted to do. Upside down.”

He then questioned, “Who said that a movie on a big budget can’t be artistically relevant at the same time? I am currently thinking of people like Christopher Nolan or Alfonso Cuarón.”

In a follow-up, Villeneuve would be asked about Martin Scorsese’s recent comments about superhero films.

Back in 2019, Scorsese spoke to Empire Magazine to promote his Irishman film when he was asked about Marvel Studios film. The Gangs of New York director commented, “I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema.”

He further added, “Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”