With The Irishman receiving critical raves and Netflix plays, it appears that all anyone wants to ask director Martin Scorsese is about his favourite genre of ‘cinema’ – the comic book movie. So when he was asked about a film he was once attached to produce, and one that stars his Irishman headliner, Robert De Niro, the filmmaker revealed that he hasn’t even watched it, and it sounds as though he probably won’t.
Speaking to The New York Times, the platform where he so eloquently put across his ‘Marvel vs Cinema’ defence last year, the legendary director said of Todd Philips billion-dollar grossing Joker, “I saw clips of it”. He added “I know it”, presumably in reference to his familiarity with the story from his early involvement on the film. Before finally stating, “So it’s like, why do I need to? I get it. It’s fine”.
It’s a throwaway line from a director who clearly has his own tastes. What this should teach us, regardless of whether you think he’s right or wrong, is to stop asking about something he has very little interest in, and start addressing those aspects of film he’s passionate about. That’s where we’ll get the stuff worth reading.
SEE ALSO: The Martin Scorsese/Marvel Debate
If you still have the energy to debate this, then please let us know what you think using the comments section below, or head over to our Twitter page to continue the discussion…
Joker stars Joaquin Phoenix (The Sisters Brothers), Robert De Niro (Goodfellas), Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2), Bill Camp (Red Sparrow), Frances Conroy (American Horror Story), Brett Cullen (Narcos), Glenn Fleshler (Billions), Douglas Hodge (Penny Dreadful), Marc Maron (GLOW), Josh Pais (Motherless Brooklyn), Shea Whigham (Kong: Skull Island), Douglas Hodge (Robin Hood) and Dante Pereira-Olson (You Were Never Really Here).
Originally published January 4, 2020. Updated December 8, 2022.
