Natalie Portmanis standing up for Marvel Studios.
As directors likeMartin Scorseseand Francis Ford Coppola have come out against popular superhero films, Portman — who willstar in the upcomingThor: Love and Thunder— had plenty to say about the value of the brand.
“I think there’s room for all types of cinema,” the actress, 38, toldThe Hollywood Reporteron Saturday at the Los Angeles Dance Project Gala. “There’s not one way to make art.”
“I think that Marvel films are so popular because they’re really entertaining and people desire entertainment when they have their special time after work, after dealing with their hardships in real life,” she added.
Debate over Marvel blockbusters started when Scorsese, 76, gave his honest opinion of the studio’s output earlier this month, saying the films are “not cinema.”
“Honestly, 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 said in an interview withEmpireviaThe Guardian. “It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
Rob Kim/Getty; Andreas Rentz/Getty; Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty
Over the weekend, Coppola added his voice to the conversation as he took Scorsese’s side.
“When Martin Scorsese says that the Marvel pictures are not cinema, he’s right because we expect to learn something from cinema, we expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration,”The Godfatherdirector, 80, told journalists after accepting the Prix Lumiere in France, according to theAFP.
“I don’t know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again,” he continued. “Martin was kind when he said it’s not cinema. He didn’t say it’s despicable, which I just say it is.”
RELATED VIDEO: Marvel Super-Fan Documents Watching ‘Avengers: Endgame’ 110 Times to Break a World Record
“Superheroes are simply today’s gangsters/cowboys/outer space adventurers,” he continued.”Some superhero films are awful, some are beautiful. Like westerns and gangster movies (and before that, just MOVIES), not everyone will be able to appreciate them, even some geniuses. And that’s okay.”
Chris Pratt and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.
“Martin Scorsese is one of my 5 favorite living filmmakers. I was outraged when people picketedThe Last Temptation of Christwithout having seen the film. I’m saddened that he’s now judging my films in the same way,” he tweeted. “That said, I will always love Scorsese, be grateful for his contribution to cinema, and can’t wait to seeThe Irishman.”
source: people.com
