Yesterday, Jodie Foster became the latest filmmaker to take aim at superhero movies, something which has upset a lot of comic book fans. Her apparent hatred of the genre led to the former actress essentially declaring that big budget movies like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Wonder Woman are ruining Hollywood and the director of the former, James Gunn, has shared his thoughts on that.
While Foster didn't name names when it comes to which superhero movies she's not a fan of, it's easy to see why Gunn had something to say and he's shared his thoughts in detail on social media.
"I think Foster looks at film in an old-fashioned way where spectacle film can’t be thought-provoking. It’s often true but not always. Her belief system is pretty common and isn’t totally without basis. I say not without basis because most studio franchise films are quite soulless – and that is a real danger to the future of movies. But there are also quite a few exceptions.
"For cinema to survive I believe spectacle films NEED to have a vision and heart they traditionally haven’t. And some of us are doing our best to move in that direction. Creating spectacle films that are innovative, humane, and thoughtful is what excites me about this job.
"But, to be fair, at least from Foster’s quotes, she seems to see filmmaking as something that’s primarily about her own personal growth. For me, that may be part of why I do this, but spending many millions of dollars on a film has to be about more than that – it’s communication – so my experience is merely one spoke on that wheel. But I respect Foster and what she’s done for films and I appreciate her different way of looking at Hollywood’s landscape."
It's hard to find fault with what Gunn is saying here, especially as he acknowledges that many low quality blockbusters - often made by studios solely for money - are a problem but his well thought out response also makes it clear that it's unfair to Foster to directly target superhero movies when filmmakers like him are making such a great deal of effort to ensure they're perceived differently.
No matter what Foster thinks, though, superhero movies are going nowhere and when you look at movies like Thor: Ragnarok and the upcoming Black Panther, that's definitely far from a bad thing.
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