They still Marvel!

Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Chadwick Boseman, the three Marvel stars, have addressed the Martin Scorsese-Marvel controversy.

While Johansson (Black Widow) and Evans (Captain America) didn’t name the legendary filmmaker as they weighed-in on his comments that superhero films were “theme park experience”, “not cinema”, Black Panther star Boseman was more direct and questioned the timing of “The Irishman” director’s remarks ahead of Oscars season.

Old-fashioned

Johansson said initially she thought it was “old-fashioned” to believe that Marvel, the studio that churns out major money-spinners in Hollywood, could spell the “death of cinema”. “It’s interesting because a couple of people in the past couple of days have mentioned to me that a couple of extremely esteemed directors have been really vocal about how the whole Marvel universe and big blockbusters are really, like, ‘despicable’ and ‘the death of cinema’. At first I thought that seems kind of old-fashioned and somebody had to explain to me, because it seemed so disappointing and sad in a way,” she said.

Creative wheel

Evans said there was room for all kinds of cinema and no one had the authority over what qualified as art. “I think original content inspires creative content. I think new stuff is what keeps the creative wheel rolling. I just believe there’s room at the table for all of it. It’s like saying a certain type of music isn’t music. Who are you to say that?” he asked.

In an interview, Boseman said the multiple Oscar-winning director was “possibly campaigning” for an award for his Netflix gangster drama, which was getting limited release in theatres. The actor also said he had to “respect” the director’s opinion on Marvel films because he was “a genius at what he does”. — PTI