Disney chief Bob Iger has hit back at acclaimed directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola who bashed Disney-owned Marvel films as ‘despicable’ and ‘not cinema’.
‘I reserve the word ”despicable” for someone who committed mass murder,’ Iger said Tuesday at the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference. ‘These are movies.’
‘I’m puzzled by it. If they want to bi**h about movies, it’s certainly their right,’ he continued while praising the director of Oscar-wining Black Panther.
‘It seems so disrespectful to all the people that work on those [Marvel] films who are working just as hard as the people who work on their films,’ he said. ‘Are you telling me Ryan Coogler making Black Panther is somehow doing something that is less than what Marty Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola has ever done on any one of their movies?’
‘There, I said it,’ he concluded.
Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger defended Disney-owned Marvel superhero films Tuesday after directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola bashed them
![Scorsese described Marvel universe films as theme parks and not cinema](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/23/20/19969264-7606247-Try_Scorsese_was_being_interviewed_by_Empire_last_week_when_he_w-a-4_1571857806042.jpg)
![Coppola joined in adding that the superhero series was 'despicable'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/23/20/19968682-7606247-Cinema_It_isn_t_the_cinema_of_human_beings_trying_to_convey_emot-m-3_1571857794896.jpg)
Scorsese described Marvel universe films as ‘theme parks’ and not cinema while Coppola joined in adding that the superhero series was ‘despicable’
Iger’s comments come after Coppola backed fellow director Scorsese’s controversial comments about Marvel superhero movies last week.
Earlier this month Scorsese, who helmed Goodfellas, Taxi Driver and his latest flick, The Irishman, slammed the comic book genre as ‘not cinema’ for the lack of emotion being conveyed.
He described the Marvel universe films as more like theme parks than cinema, even if they were well made.
Coppola, who directed classics including The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, said he agreed with Scorsese when it comes to the Marvel Studios franchise.
But he went even further than his colleague and described the superhero series as ‘despicable’ and like seeing ‘the same movie over and over again’.
The 80-year-old filmmaker was in Lyon, France, accepting the Prix Lumiere for his contributions to cinema, when he was asked about Scorsese’s controversial comments.
He said: ‘When Martin Scorsese says that the Marvel pictures are not cinema, he’s right because we expect to learn something from cinema, we expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration.
‘I don’t know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again,’ Coppola added.
![The Academy Awards honored Black Panther with Oscars for costume, score, and production design. Iger praised its director Ryan Coogler](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/23/20/19307910-7606247-Critical_acclaim_On_February_24_the_Academy_Awards_honored_Black-a-5_1571858287971.jpg)
The Academy Awards honored Black Panther with Oscars for costume, score, and production design. Iger praised its director Ryan Coogler
![Coppola added an extra jab, stating that Scorsese's statement was kind, while Coppola went so far to call Marvel movies 'despicable'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/20/23/19969090-0-image-a-2_1571612074989.jpg)
Coppola added an extra jab, stating that Scorsese’s statement was kind, while Coppola went so far to call Marvel movies ‘despicable’
Coppola even added an extra jab, going as far to call Marvel movies ‘despicable’ and stating that Scorsese’s statement was kind.
‘Martin was kind when he said it’s not cinema. He didn’t say it’s despicable, which I just say it is,’ Coppola added.
Scorsese kicked off the riff during an interview with Empire Magazine this month and was asked about Marvel Studios superhero movies, where he revealed he has ‘tried’ to watch them but never has.
‘I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema,’ Scorsese said.
‘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,’ he continued.
‘It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being,’ he added.
His remarks made waves across social media for days, as fans of his work and the Marvel hits such as the Avengers films, argued the merits.
![Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn (M) - whose Twitter feed got him fired by Disney last year - wrote Friday that he was 'saddened' over Marty's MCU comment (pictured on the set in 2015)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/04/22/4900818-7538823-_MeToo_movement_Disney_fired_Gunn_in_July_after_offensive_tweets-a-178_1570225959442.jpg)
Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn (M) – whose Twitter feed got him fired by Disney last year – wrote Friday that he was ‘saddened’ over Marty’s MCU comment (pictured on the set in 2015)
![The 53-year-old director tweeted: 'Martin Scorsese is one of my 5 favorite living filmmakers. I was outraged when people picketed The Last Temptation of Christ without having seen the film. I'm saddened that he's now judging my films in the same way'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/10/04/22/19317036-7538823-image-a-180_1570226084871.jpg)
The 53-year-old director tweeted: ‘Martin Scorsese is one of my 5 favorite living filmmakers. I was outraged when people picketed The Last Temptation of Christ without having seen the film. I’m saddened that he’s now judging my films in the same way’
Scorsese’s statement lead to several Marvel Studios directors to respond to his criticism, including Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn.
‘Martin Scorsese is one of my 5 favorite living filmmakers,’ Gunn began on Twitter.
‘I was outraged when people picketed The Last Temptation of Christ without having seen the film. I’m saddened that he’s now judging my films in the same way,’ Gunn added, referring to religious groups protesting Scorsese’s 1988 film.
‘That said, I will always love Scorsese, be grateful for his contribution to cinema, and can’t wait to see The Irishman,’ Gunn added.
‘And I’m not saying religious zealotry is the same as not liking my movies, or in the same category.
‘What I’m saying is I’m not fond of people judging things without actually seeing them, whether it’s a movie about Jesus or a genre.’
Gunn added added on Instagram that gangster movies, which have been closely associated with Coppola and Scorsese, were once called ‘despicable’ by ‘our grandfathers’.
He wrote: ‘Some superhero films are awful, some are beautiful. Like westerns and gangster movies [and before that, just MOVIES], not everyone will be able to appreciate them, even some geniuses. And that’s okay.’
Coppola hasn’t directed a movie since 2011’s Twixt, but he has been working on a project called Megalopolis for the past two decades.