Joe and Anthony Russo have had an interesting co-directorial career. Beginning with comedies and TV dramas, they were quickly tapped for The MCU with Captain America: The Winter Soldier in 2014. Since then, they directed one more Captain America movie, two Avengers movies and departed from Disney for Netflix. Unfortunately, their Netflix stint hadn’t born the same fruit, resulting in several critical failures. It’s gotten so bad that they’re returning to The MCU, leading people to wonder if they were a flash-in-the-pan. I don’t agree, I think they’re talented, but it’s hard to ignore their unusual trajectory.
I mention this because while promoting their most-recent venture, The Electric State, Joe Russo shared his frustrations with Hollywood. Particularly, he had unpleasant words to say about Harvey Weinstein. Sitting down with The Sunday Times, he said the following:
“Popular films were winning Oscars before the mid ’90s, then Weinstein started mudslinging campaigns…It affected how audiences view the Oscars, because they’ve not seen most of the movies. We’re in a complicated place. Things we should all be enjoying collectively we instead punch each other in the face over.”
Joe credits Marvel movies for “saving theatres”, by the way. Yet while it’s easy to write this off as having a chip on his shoulder, his concerns shouldn’t be dismissed. Weinstein didn’t play fair when it came to Awards Season, and his disdain for Blockbusters is widely-known. It’s no surprise, therefore, that it’s been rare seeing big-budget tentpole experiences win Oscars in my lifetime. There are exceptions, but the 90’s saw a shift in how The Academy perceived “prestige entertainment”.
After reading Joe Russo’s thoughts, several concerns, some illogical, sprung to mind. The biggest was that The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which was initially under the Miramax label, only curried favour because of Weinstein’s name. That’s not true, but it sucks that this is what it’s come to. It doesn’t help that Weinstein has sabotaged releases before, including Princess Mononoke in 1999. If he could do that because Hayao Miyazaki had principles, who’s to say he couldn’t have done the same for Peter Jackson?
I do think a bigger issue’s at play. Chastise Russo’s recent projects all you want, but there’s definitely a divide between indie cinema fans and action fans. While crossover exists, for the most part the former looks down on the latter for being cheap and disposable, while the latter looks down on the former for being pretentious. With the two at each other’s throats, the bigger issue, how Hollywood’s current system’s unsustainable, goes unchecked. Because why would it?
I’m not a fan of the “Marvel movies are amusement parks” debate. Not only is it tiring, as it’s not rooted in facts, it’s also become a toxic conversation. It doesn’t help that celebrities, both actors and directors, have been frequently asked about it, and their responses have created teams and cheap banter. As Russo went on to say, people’s thoughts are reduced to soundbites. Where’s the lie?!
I do think a bigger issue’s at play. Chastise Russo’s recent projects all you want, but there’s definitely a divide between indie cinema fans and action fans. While crossover exists, for the most part the former looks down on the latter for being cheap and disposable, while the latter looks down on the former for being pretentious. With the two at each other’s throats, the bigger issue, how Hollywood’s current system’s unsustainable, goes unchecked. Because why would it?
I’m not a fan of the “Marvel movies are amusement parks” debate. Not only is it tiring, as it’s not rooted in facts, it’s also become a toxic conversation. It doesn’t help that celebrities, both actors and directors, have been frequently asked about it, and their responses have created teams and cheap banter. As Russo went on to say, people’s thoughts are reduced to soundbites. Where’s the lie?!
Truthfully, the “action movie VS arthouse movie” debate isn’t helpful. For one, what qualifies as either is subjective. And two, there are times where the line blurs. The John Wick franchise is clearly action, yet it’s directed like it’s arthouse. Oppenheimer’s a big-budget movie, yet it’s also a biopic that won Best Picture. What qualifies as either or isn’t always clear, and that gets lost in the kerfuffle.
Outside of that, getting mad that a director has beef with how Hollywood’s run nowadays, especially when it’s legitimate criticism, because they’re “part of the problem” feel dishonest. Are you allowed to disagree? Absolutely! But making a nontroversy into a scandal, like the online community frequently does, is childish and unhelpful. It also ignores the bigger problem, that being movie budgets swelling beyond reasonable limits. That’s not being discussed enough.
I want to return to Harvey Weinstein. Not only is he let off-the-hook here, and let’s not pretend otherwise, but his impact can still be felt with how The Academy views action films. Nominees aside, how many action movies in the last 20+ years have won Best Picture? I can only think of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King offhand, and that debuted in 2003. (Also, Everything Everywhere All at Once.) That’s telling considering action movies, or box-office darlings, used to win that award all the time.
Outside of that, getting mad that a director has beef with how Hollywood’s run nowadays, especially when it’s legitimate criticism, because they’re “part of the problem” feel dishonest. Are you allowed to disagree? Absolutely! But making a nontroversy into a scandal, like the online community frequently does, is childish and unhelpful. It also ignores the bigger problem, that being movie budgets swelling beyond reasonable limits. That’s not being discussed enough.
I want to return to Harvey Weinstein. Not only is he let off-the-hook here, and let’s not pretend otherwise, but his impact can still be felt with how The Academy views action films. Nominees aside, how many action movies in the last 20+ years have won Best Picture? I can only think of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King offhand, and that debuted in 2003. (Also, Everything Everywhere All at Once.) That’s telling considering action movies, or box-office darlings, used to win that award all the time.
Whether or not Russo has an axe to grind, he’s right about Weinstein’s influence on the industry. And yes, I doubt Weinstein alone “ruined cinema”. No one person has that power. But he definitely did a lot of damage, damage that’ll take a long time to rectify. It’s irrelevant if the Russos haven’t made great movies in a while, we need to bury the hatchet and remedy the bigger problem.
I also think people should stop getting defensive because it’s a Russo calling out the industry in a different, unexpected direction. He may not be Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg, but he’s an experienced director. Like him or not, he’s made an impact, and his voice carries weight. He might not be your cup of tea, but he should still be listened to. If indie film fans and action film fans can’t at least try getting along, then this toxic rift won’t be repaired. And that’s bad.
I also think people should stop getting defensive because it’s a Russo calling out the industry in a different, unexpected direction. He may not be Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg, but he’s an experienced director. Like him or not, he’s made an impact, and his voice carries weight. He might not be your cup of tea, but he should still be listened to. If indie film fans and action film fans can’t at least try getting along, then this toxic rift won’t be repaired. And that’s bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment