James Gunn Clarifies Comments About Martin Scorsese And Comic Book Movies

The Suicide Squad director James Gunn has clarified the comments he made recently on a podcast pertaining to Martin Scorsese and comic book movies.

Gunn said on the podcast Happy Sad Confused that Scorsese was intentionally bashing comic book movies to generate press to elevate his own new movie at the time, The Irishman. "He's creating his movie in the shadow of the Marvel films, and so he uses that to get attention for something that he wasn't getting as much attention as he wanted for it," Gunn said (via IndieWire).

Gunn also said on the podcast that there is a lot of truth to what Scorsese said about comic book movies. "There are a lot of heartless, soulless spectacle films out there that don't reflect what should be happening," he said. "I can't tell you the amount of times I've talked to film directors before they went and made a big movie, and said, 'Hey, we're in this together, let's do something different with these big movies. Let's make them something different than everything that has come before them.' And then see them go and cater to every single studio whim ... and be grossed out, frankly."

Clarifying his comments on Twitter, Gunn praised Scorsese for being, in his eyes, "probably the world's greatest living American filmmaker." He only disagrees with him on one point.

"Martin Scorsese is probably the world's greatest living American filmmaker. I love & study his films & will continue to love & study his films. I disagree with him solely on one point: That films based on comic books are innately not cinema, that's all," Gunn said.

Host Josh Horowitz added, "I wasn't trying to start a war between 2 directors I admire. If you watch/listen there's a lot more nuance then many of these headlines are going with."

Scorsese made waves when he said Marvel movies are "not cinema." The famed Oscar-winning director later clarified his remarks as part of an opinion piece for The New York Times--but he didn't back down.

Scorsese started off by stating that he does not detest Marvel, he just doesn't see those types of superhero movies as "cinema" as he defines it. He said many franchise films are "made by people of considerable talent and artistry." He doesn't watch or enjoy Marvel movies because they do not personally appeal to his "taste and temperament."

Scorsese is currently filming Killers of the Flower Moon with Leonardo DiCaprio for Apple, while Gunn's The Suicide Squad opens in US theaters on August 6.