Marvel Studios‘ Joe Russo — half of the Russo Brothers, who directed Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame — used a cute dog in a sly video response to Martin Scorsese‘s criticisms of popular superhero movies.
In a TikTok video reposted to X (per Deadline), Russo played a clip in which Scorsese pretends to be directing his Schnauzer, saying to the animal, “Oscar, show sadness!” Russo then filmed his own reaction to the joke, saying how cute it is and remarking on the name “Oscar.” The video zooms out from Russo’s face to show that he’s holding a Schnauzer of his own, to which he says, “Alright, come on, Box Office.”
Differences between Marvel’s directors and Martin Scorsese
Scorsese, an acclaimed director with many dramatic films to his name, has long been critical of Marvel Studios, having commented back in 2019 that he doesn’t consider its movies “cinema” and likening them to rides at a theme park. Most recently, he expressed concern that future generations will think that comic book movies are all there is of film and that it’s the duty of filmmakers to “fight back stronger” to show them otherwise. “Don’t complain about it,” the famed director said. “But it’s true, because we’ve got to save cinema.”
Some Marvel directors have fired back, like Russo, whose joke about his dog’s name seems to be pointing out that awards aren’t everything when it comes to filmmaking.
Joe and Anthony Russo built their name on television, directing episodes of shows including Arrested Development and Community. They came to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the co-directors of 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and were afterwards chosen for Captain America: Civil War and then the epic two-part conclusion of the MCU’s first three Phases, Infinity War and Endgame.
