Marvel Director Disses Martin Scorsese With Video Flaunting Own Box Office Success
The battle between Marvel and Martin Scorsese fans has reached a fever pitch.
The “Killers of the Flower Moon” director famously said in 2019 that superhero movies are “not cinema.” After being slammed on social media by ardent Marvel fans for his opinion, he can now add “Avengers” director Joe Russo to his list of apparent critics.
Russo, who co-directed “Infinity War” (2018) and “Endgame” (2019), the two highest-grossing “Avengers” films, posted a video Friday on Instagram to boast about his success — and mock Scorsese’s accomplishments.
“Aw look, he’s got a schnauzer! I love schnauzers. And his name is Oscar. That’s really cute,” said Russo in the video following spliced-in footage of Scorsese with his dog, the aptly named Oscar, before Russo addressed his own dog. “OK, come on, Box Office.”
Russo, who has 2.9 million Instagram followers, received 35,000 likes for the post.
This entire discourse was spawned from a mere opinion Scorsese shared in 2019, when he told Empire magazine of Marvel films: “I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema.”
“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 added. “It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
The Instagram video landed the scorn of film critics, cinephiles and Scorsese fans, who argued Russo’s record-breaking box office numbers were a reflection of Marvel’s popularity — and not his directorial skills. Russo’s 2021 film “Cherry,” for instance, was a bona fide flop. That particular film featured a shot from the inside of a character’s orifice.
“Scorsese used his clout to cash his biggest check and make a jeremiad work on America’s founding sin and the bottomless pit of human sin,” wrote director Adam Piron on X, formerly Twitter. “Joe Russo used his success to frame a shot from inside Tom Holland’s anus.”
Jake Cole, a writer at Slant and member of the Atlanta Film Critics Circle, went even further.
“I could only watch a few seconds of that Joe Russo video bc it was so cringe so I just now found out he ends up bragging about [box office] which is pretty bold considering everything he makes that isn’t an IP delivery service is a money pit ... harming actors,” he said on X.
Russo’s video arrived during Scorsese’s candid press run for “Killers,” an epic crime drama about the Osage Nation murders in 1920s Oklahoma, in which he publicly reflected on his own mortality. The $200 million movie has only made $85 million since opening Oct. 20.
Scorsese has long expressed distaste for box office bragging rights. He apparently spends his spare time working on film restoration and starring in TikTok videos with his daughter, Francesca, whose footage Russo used for his video.
I could only watch a few seconds of that Joe Russo video bc it was so cringe so I just now found out he ends up bragging about BO which is pretty bold considering everything he makes that isn’t an IP delivery service is a money pit that’s materially harming actors’ careers
— Jake Cole (@ThatJakePC) October 30, 2023
Scorsese used his clout to cash his biggest check and make a jeremiad work on America’s founding sin and the bottomless pit of human sin.
Joe Russo used his success to frame a shot from inside Tom Holland’s anus pic.twitter.com/HPv9RbgI0W— Adam Piron (@adam_piron) October 29, 2023
I guess THE GRAY MAN is no longer the most embarrassing thing directed by Joe Russo.
— Sean Burns (@SeanMBurns) October 29, 2023
Cruel of Joe Russo to name his dog Visual Illiteracy
— Siddhant Adlakha (@SiddhantAdlakha) October 30, 2023
In 50 years no one will know who Joe Russo is. https://t.co/tTd6Vf4yn7
— Louis Peitzman (@LouisPeitzman) October 29, 2023
Joe Russo's gonna get to live out a scorsese movie in real life when the next 17 marvel movies flop and he starts hearing layla playing as the disney ghouls come for him
— Sylvian (#1 Skinner of the Flower Moon) (@TheAlexSylvian) October 30, 2023
probably one of the funniest things about this is that Joe Russo is responding to a tiktok on Francesca Scorsese's account. imagine having your dad do a skit on your account and some 52 year old guy you've never met tries to own your dad. such a strange turn of events https://t.co/c17hBmJuZZ
— Kingofied Tomato (@LegoKingo) October 29, 2023
I honestly feel a tiny bit bad for Joe Russo. Seems like the massive in-the-moment hype around Infinity War and Endgame really went to his head, and the comedown realization that nobody gives a shit about his work when it's not attached to popular IP is hard for him to accept.
— ErnestBorgnineNavalCapDoff.jpeg (@poddtadre) October 30, 2023