Film Courage: What do you love about Marvel movies?
Erick Weber, Editor-in-Chief of Awards Ace/YouTuber: I love the fact that everybody
loves them I there's something that is absolutely to be cherished I think when we have something
that people like it it's we need more of that and I think Marvel movies and DCEU movies are
really those things that get people excited I don't get as excited for Marvel movies as a lot
of people do but but I understand their value and I think that there's a tremendous value
when Scorsese says the things he says and I know people say hey it's not Cinema and this and that
there's so many things that are Cinema there's two there's we can't Define Cinema as one thing right
it's only this it's only a small Art House film no it's it's not it can it can be a Marvel film
as long as it again I still I still want to see a very singular directorial artistic Vision on the
film and I think that's where the Marvel films sometimes lose their value is when I watch when
you have Chloé Zhao coming in and doing eternals and when you watch eternals and having obviously
recently seen Nomadland and then the writer the writer one of my favorite films of the past
decade when you look at what's her talent and what she does and then when you watch
eternals you don't see this same you can see that someone came in and said listen
we love what you're doing but we're going to we need to put this in the Marvel world so we can't
let you go full Chloé Zhao We Can't Let You Go full whoever even rainy recently I think when
you watch Multiverse Madness you see some parts that are Sam Raimi then you see other parts that
aren't you see other parts that almost feel like it's from someone else and I think that's the
challenge and those are the things that for me are the the hardest thing for a Marvel movie is
I wish that Marvel would allow their directors to really impart their Vision their individual
singular Vision on a film and an eternal is the perfect example of that it just you don't
see Chloé Zhao like you do in Nomad land the writer you don't see that organic filmmaker
you just you see it so sparingly in the film that you wonder where she disappears to right in the
process of the filmmaking and I think that's the challenge as a filmmaker when you step
into certainly an MCU film I think Warner Brothers does a much better job of allowing their directors
a cart launch in what they're going to do you look at Joker and what Todd Phillips did with that film
would Marvel ever allow that no there's no chance Marvel would never Kevin Feige would never let
them make a film like Joker if Joker were in the Marvel Universe and Todd Phillips said hey I want
to make this super dark king of comedy meets Taxi Driver version of Joker Kevin Feige say no no way
in hell Warner Brothers said yes I think Marvel would be better served if it allowed its directors
to do what Todd Phillips did with Joker to go all out and let that director really go after it
and I think that's the challenge I think as a filmmaker when you go work for for Marvel that
you're going to be lost you at least you better be aware of it now from watching eternals go back
multiple Dr Strange soup when you're a filmmaker and you go in and you you look at at what Marvel
does with their films you don't see the director as often and I think that that is I think going
forward if I was a director who really wanted to have my vision of a film up on the screen I
don't think I would work for Marvel because I think they're going to dampen your impact
immeasurably so you see the executive's note when you watch no question a Marvel oh yeah when you
you see listen Marvel's a is a listen they're the five billion pound gorilla when it comes
to to cinema these days and Kevin Feige obviously has a very specific plan that is working for them
largely but as we get here into phase four you're seeing some films like eternals even strange let's
hope that Thor love and thunder is is stronger I think that it's interesting as I say all that
I feel like Taika Waititi is given more artistic Freedom with his visions of those Thor films than
a lot of the filmmakers but he's earned that too you gotta remember obviously this is now going to
be his third or is the second third or third he's going to be he's been in the system so I think
he's earned more trust but but I think that that when you look at these Marvel films I think you
absolutely see the studio notes and versus the True full wattage director artistic Vision that
you see in a lot of these directors other films is there a comic book character that was either made
better or made worse in the film version so either way I did the the comic book version was was one
thing and then the film became it comes down to two performances for me the two performances
it's really about the actor and the role there's there's a lot that have been nailed I think that's
true but I think there's two without question Robert Downey Jr is Ironman and Hugh Jackman is
Wolverine those are two performances as those comic book characters that frankly can never
be recast I don't think there's a way that you could ever have someone else play either Iron Man
or Wolverine and get away with it because they have cemented their legacy as just iconic what
they've done with those characters I would never want to try to step into those shoes because it's
it's virtually impossible and I think those two in particular are the absolute best of the best that
said you go back and look at you look at Joker you look at all the different ver Heath leather
Heath Ledger Joker you go obviously Joaquin Phoenix Joker you're looking at two great
Jokers so there's you can I think it depends on the character but at this point again with with
let's say both Wolverine and Iron Man we've seen so much of Robert Downey Jr a decade plus going
back to truly Marvel's first film in Iron Man that it's just a legacy that will never go no one will
ever touch that he is I think look at look at this way Robert Downey Jr's performance is Iron Man
elevated Iron Man from a mid Marvel character right let's just say mid to truly the Mount
Rushmore of Marvel characters you or Comic Book Heroes in general comic book characters you're
talking about Superman Batman Spider-Man and Iron Man those are my four Wonder Woman five okay five
on the thing right and and obviously gal has done a tremendous job even though Wonder Woman
84 oh what a horrible film but she's great the casting's right but but I think that that the
way that Robert Downey Jr elevated Iron Man to this character that really again was a mid
Marvel character that's Robert Downey Jr it's all him if you put someone else in that film do
we even have the MCU like we we did I don't know the answer to that if someone else plays Iron Man
less iconically than Robert Downey Jr did from the original all the way through I don't think
it's the same Legacy I don't see how it's possible he's so he was born to be Iron Man even though I
think he's graded everything he does and he really needs to be working in independent film if I was
Robert Downey Jr's agent I'd be like listen man you need to be working with a24 you need to be
working with neon make some small independent film he's a tremendous actor I think people
forget that about Robert Downey Jr tremendously smart guy too if you listen to interviews from
him goodness he’s a brilliant man but but I think people lose the fact that that he is I think he's
he might be the singular reason why Marvel is the way is what it is Robert Downey Jr so he took sort
of a mid-tier comic book character and made it top shelf no question again Iron Man was no one back
in even let's go back to the mid 2000s before Iron Man and you say name comic book characters people
would not throw out Iron Man no way they would throw out Hulk obviously Spider-Man Batman the
traditional Superman no one would say Ironman now they would now now you would and I think
that's going to be the challenge going forward too because now that he's gone and I I by the way
do not bring that character back okay you I as as tempting as it is as much trouble as you get into
let's just assume that the MCU starts to really go on a down slide do not ever bring him back I don't
care if it not in the Multiverse nothing that's a perfect ending to a to a character and and you're
going to tarnish the Legacy and and I think that will be a challenge because ultimately if if you
struggle you're like well how can we get everyone back well let's bring back Robert Downey Jr
I'm sure he'd do it for the right amount of money he made so much cash playing that
character but I think artistically it's the wrong choice and for legacy it's the wrong
choice so I hope it doesn't happen why do you think comic book movies dominate The Box Office
that's good I think ultimately films are about accessibility
certainly for audience and the larger that your pie chart is for the given film Marvel
obviously dominates like almost the entire pie of of available moviegoers right so you're looking at
a four quad film which means young old male female everybody's in right families especially so that's
the reason Marvel was so successful is obviously it's four quad obviously you're talking about a
film that appeals to families superheroes escapism it's got all these things going for it that it's
very easy to understand why it's successful that said after watching Multiverse and Madness and
going back to eternals you're you're looking at Marvel being in a spot where they really need
Thor love and thunder to be not good they needed to be borderline great or better because you're
at a spot where I think people are starting to go you've seen the the chatter on social media people
are saying I'm kind of overcoming with movies I'm not as excited now as I was and I think
that's the challenge is how do we recreate how do we get that going again and for me again the
answer is very simple is allow these directors to make the film they want to make without
the overriding studio notes slash MCU Kevin Feige saying this is what we're doing trust in
your filmmaker to deliver something that will re-energize the fan base and when you look at
Joker and Todd Phillips granted it's completely apart from the DCEU but either way it's still
connected and look what that film did a billion worldwide a film that people were like what are we
doing with an R-rated CBM and it turns out to be obviously an Oscars player Oscar's winner and and
a film that really re-energized I think DC even if it's disconnected but why because they allow the
director to make the film that he wanted to make and most Studios wouldn't do that Warner Brothers
would get so much crap for what happened with Zack Snyder and I understand things happen nothing's
perfect in the studio world but you have to give Warner Brothers the credit they are due for Taking
Chances and we need more Studios to take chances we lost Fox as you guys know 20th century is now
part of Disney Fox was kind of doing their own thing Deadpool and now that that's gone you're
you lost an entire Studio that used to take chances like Fox did a great job of doing that
and now that's under the Disney umbrella we'll see what happens I know they're going to make a
Deadpool three will it be in the same irreverent super R hard R CBM that we've expected I think
the answer is yes because you can't do that any other way but Studios Taking Chances we we need
more of that and Warner Brothers does that four quad you said it's young old so four quad so yeah
four quad film is a film that appeals basically to everybody right so when you talk about a four quad
film you're talking about something that when you look at the movie going pie available audience of
this pie chart you're talking about pretty much the entire pie chart filled in with one giant
slice of the movie going public that will go see your film and you're talking about young old male
female it's everybody right so so that's those are Marvel films that's Jurassic world Dominion that's
it's not every film certainly but the films those are the films that are going to do the
best at the box office Maverick top go Maverick is a four quad film even though it probably
is a little bit lesser on the younger but the screening I went to to show you how four quad
this is I sit down last Thursday when the film opens here I am at Top Gun Maverick I sit down
on my seat four o'clock screening on a Thursday on my right is a woman that's probably in her
mid 80s and on my left a family with two young kids under the age of five so you've got five to
eighty five right and someone in the middle right there and it's just like this is this is the whole
pie this is the four quad and you see it in action and not every film is going to be that way but but
Marvel is and and most Summer Films are going to be four o'clock because they know the kids
are out of school Pixar yeah Pixar certainly light year the Pixar would be a four quad film
any of those usually traditionally you're going to see those at Christmas you're
going to see them at over the summer when you have those kids available to you all day for
the matinees and all that stuff but but yeah those are the films are going to do the best.