Denis Villeneuve isn't fond of Marvel zombies.

[Anthony W]

It's hilarious that he called Marvel fans zombies. He knows that Marvel fans have been taking pride in that since....forever.

“The problem is that we are in front of too many Marvel movies that are nothing more than a ‘cut and paste’ of others,” the 53-year-old “Sicario” director told the outlet. “Perhaps these types of movies have turned us into zombies a bit.”

https://nypost.com/2021/09/17/dune-d...-marvel-films/

[Kirby101]

Oh no, another director doesn't like the MCU, what will we do?

[regnak]

Oh I thought he was talking about the actual Marvel zombie story and I was going to agree with that lol.

[Starter Set]

Ah, the Marvel Inquisition has found an another disloyal person. Let's get the torture devices ready.

[Doom'nGloom]

Well he's free to state his opinion just as I'm free to disagree.

[Gray Lensman]

I wished he had kept this opinion to himself for a few more weeks - there is crossover between comic and science fiction fans, and telling people what will be interpreted as "what you love sucks" could affect ticket sales. Coupled with the pandemic and HBO Max, that might not be good for getting part 2.

[Jim Kelly]

Oh but surely Anthony W. is just being funny in his topic title and original post by stating that my countryman used the words "Marvel Zombies" together in a sentence. Denis used "Marvel" and he used "zombies" in two different sentences. Ha ha. It's just a joke--but seriously, folks, we all know that's not what he actually said.

I use Marvel Zombies--in my head anyway--and have been since the 1970s. It's kind of a neutral term. Some Marvel readers might have taken that and made it a positive. I don't know. What it meant was there are some readers who will buy Marvel no matter what. Jack Kirby left and they kept buying, Stan Lee gave up writing the comics and they kept buying. The Distinguished Competition hired people from Marvel and put out books that resembled the Marvel product and they kept buying. "Make Mine Marvel" was their credo. They were so brand loyal it was like they were zombies.

The problem I have with Nolan, Scorsese and Villeneuve et al is they make industrial movies, too. They can call it cinema all they want--but they are the boss on big pop-up industries that go from town to town, hiring hundreds of employees, spending hundreds of millions of dollars in investors' money, working for large multi-national conglomerates. The idea that they are "auteurs" and what they are putting out is their own personal artwork is the height of elitist crap.

It's rich people giving themselves airs--as though they're somehow the same as an artist strugglng to get by while they pour out their heart and soul in a piece of art that comes directly from their own mind and hands. Any movie that has a budget over a million dollars is an industrial movie. If you gave a real artist a million dollars, they would be able to pay for rent, food and medical bills, so they could go on making art for the rest of their lives.

I'm guilty of feeling happy when I see a favourite big budget movie do well at the box office. And then I kick myself for feeling that way. It's stupid to cheer on millionaires and billionaires as they add more of OUR money to their personal wealth. It's the crazy system that the super-rich have established for their benefit--where WE the poor masses continue to live in poverty and support the lifestyles of the rich and famous because we've been sold a hollow dream.

Disney Marvel movies are industrially produced opiates for the masses--but so are all Hollywood movies.

[babyblob]

I dont get into the whole debate over the Marvel movies being hated by "Real" Film makers because at the end of the day it does not matter.

Movies have 2 jobs, make money for the studio, and entertain people. The Marvel movies do both. I love how people in Hollywood and get pissed there is no deeper meaning and substance in a movie about a giant green gamma rage monster and a God with a hammer or a drunk in a flying suit. Really? Does everything have to make some grand point or statement? Cant movies just be fun to watch anymore?

At the end of the day some of these "Real" film snobs are just pissed that their arthouse edgy movie that makes a profound statement bombed because at the end of the day no one gives a **** and they want to be entertained. And they are mad a movie heavy on special effects and no plot beats their "Im going to change the world with this film movie.

Ironman, Avengers, GotG, they were never going to be the next Godfather r Grapes of Wrath and I love that not only are people shocked and upset by this they are upset that people are spending their money to enjoy and watch these films. Like how dare they? What is funny is how these guys basht he Heck out of The Marvel movies but give movies like The Fast anfdthe Furious a pass.

Let people just like what they like. To the fans If you want serious cinema and something that will impact the world why are you watching a super hero movie to begin with? Im not holding Disney and Marvel to some higher standard because I enjoy what they put out. I dont care that big name actors and directors hate these movies because their views to not influence what I enjoy. I do not care about feeding the big business machine because I understand I have to pay to be entertained and I do that with pretty much all of my hobbies.

[Jim Kelly]

My point is that even when people try to think of film as art, they just think of more big budget movies that were made with large crews and lots of financial support, with the expectation of getting wide distribution and big box office. As if that's serious film making. Whereas, I think of movies like ROME OPEN CITY or PINK FLAMINGOS. The makers of those films did it for the art with no expectation of fame or glory. Well, Roberto Rossellini and John Waters did get fame and glory later on--but they didn't start out in film with that as their goal. They made those movies under difficult and desperate circumstances because they needed to do it--it was their passion. Scorsese might have understood that when he made WHO'S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR, but he hasn't got a clue now--he's a rich man indulged by other rich men.

[Mormel]

I don't think Villeneuve would give Fast & Furious a pass and crap over the MCU. What he was saying to Premiere in an earlier interview in French is, and i'm paraphrasing: "the Marvel movies are made in the same mold. Different directors can add their own colour to it, but they're all rolling off the same assembly line. That does not take away from the movies themselves, but they're formulaic."

In the same paragraph he says he's not opposed to making a movie that fits into a franchise if he can make it a personal movie, as well as saying that he attempted to make his Dune film appeal to a wide audience, and that the budget shouldn't affect whether or not a movie can be an auteur film with a strong personal touch

[Kirby101]

I don't think Villeneuve would give Fast & Furious a pass and crap over the MCU. What he was saying to Premiere in an earlier interview in French is, and i'm paraphrasing: "the Marvel movies are made in the same mold. Different directors can add their own colour to it, but they're all rolling off the same assembly line. That does not take away from the movies themselves, but they're formulaic."

In the same paragraph he says he's not opposed to making a movie that fits into a franchise if he can make it a personal movie, as well as saying that he attempted to make his Dune film appeal to a wide audience, and that the budget shouldn't affect whether or not a movie can be an auteur film with a strong personal touch

Okay. but so is their source material. And if this is suppose to decrease our enjoyment of these films, we must also do this with all the James Bond films, Monster movies, especially Godzilla, horror movies, action cop films...I could go on.
The notion that if a film isn't socially relevant and "artistically pure" it is somehow not worthwhile is nonsense.

[babyblob]

Okay. but so is their source material. And if this is suppose to decrease our enjoyment of these films, we must also do this with all the James Bond films, Monster movies, especially Godzilla, horror movies, action cop films...I could go on.
The notion that if a film isn't socially relevant and "artistically pure" it is somehow not worthwhile is nonsense.

This 100 percent!

[babyblob]

Okay. but so is their source material. And if this is suppose to decrease our enjoyment of these films, we must also do this with all the James Bond films, Monster movies, especially Godzilla, horror movies, action cop films...I could go on.
The notion that if a film isn't socially relevant and "artistically pure" it is somehow not worthwhile is nonsense.

In the words of the great Peter Griffin.

"I Like The Money Pit."

[Kirby101]

In the words of the great Peter Griffin.

"I Like The Money Pit."

Yeah, but he thought The Godfather insisted upon itself.

[babyblob]

Yeah, but he thought The Godfather insisted upon itself.

I mean it kind of did?

Here is a legit question I have. Is all of this hate from "Real" writers and directors a sign of the times? By that I mean is it because the special effects have gotten so massive and the over use of CGI effects?

I dont remember hearing this same kind of talk and hate for all the pop corn blow em ups back in the 80's and 90's. Even the westerns which were pretty much all written the same in the old days got no real hate.

So why the focus on these types of action movies now?