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Brian Cox Criticizes Marvel, ‘Deadpool,’ ‘Wolverine’: “Cinema Is in Bad Shape”
Brian Cox thinks cinema is “in a very bad way,” with the Marvel and DC Universes partly to blame.
The legendary actor, known for his acclaimed role in HBO’s Succession, shared his thoughts at an Edinburgh International Film Festival panel. When asked about the recent successes of popular TV shows, Cox pointed to the latest MCU installment, Deadpool & Wolverine, describing it as cinematic “party time.”
“What’s happened is that television is doing what cinema used to do,” Cox told the audience. “I think cinema is in a very bad way. It’s lost its place because of, partly, the grandiose element between Marvel, DC and all of that. And I think it’s beginning to implode, actually. You’re kind of losing the plot.”
He discussed Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman of Deadpool & Wolverine, noting how films are “making a lot of money that’ll make everybody happy, but in terms of the work, it becomes diluted afterwards. You’re getting the same old… I mean, I’ve done those kinds of projects.”
Cox starred as William Stryker Jr. in X2: X-Men United, a military scientist who persuades Hugh Jackman’s Logan to become Wolverine, and admitted he often “forgets” about his role in creating Wolverine. “Deadpool meets the guy… Wolverine, who I created, but I’ve forgotten. Actually,” he joked, “When those films are on, there’s always a bit of me [as Stryker] and they never pay me any money.”
“So it’s just become a party time for certain actors to do this stuff,” Cox added. “When you know that Hugh Jackman can do a bit more, Ryan Reynolds… but it’s because they go down that road and it’s box office. They make a lot of money. You can’t knock it.”
Television, he continued, is pulling ahead with shows like Jesse Armstrong’s Succession and Netflix’s Ripley, starring Andrew Scott. “There are so many [shows] and you’ve got the honor of telling the story over a period of time.”
The actor recalled movies of his childhood, such as On the Waterfront, that inspired him to become an actor. However, he feels the magic is partially eradicated.
Cox spoke about growing up in Dundee, Scotland, where there were 21 theaters in the city. “From the ages of six to eight, I visited all of them.” He contrasted old-school filmmaking with the modern casting processes actors face today.
“Now, they want every young actor or actress to make their own self-tapes. They’ve got to make it without actually meeting anybody, and sometimes they never even get the result because they get ignored. They spend three days making a self-tape, which goes nowhere.”
Casting directors and actors used to have a rapport, Cox said, providing budding professionals a sense of direction. “Whereas now young actors are in limbo and it’s disgusting, quite frankly, because it stops what an actor can do or who an actor is.”
“It’s a terrible, terrible system. I wish it stopped. I wish we could get back to the individual relationship. That’s what art is about. It’s about relationships.”
The panel Cox was speaking at was moderated by Rowan Woods, director of the Edinburgh TV festival, and included Alex Walton of WME, producer Afolabi Kuti, ventriloquist-turned-director Nina Conti, and director Daniel Reisinger. The theme was how those in live performance and television can transition to filmmaking.
Cox said he respects directors like Mark Mylod, who worked on Succession. But being a good director requires the relinquishing of control, he added. “When you’re thinking about 50 million things, and someone says, ‘What do you want for her to wear? This or this?’ I don’t give a shit. Whatever she’s wearing. It’s fine, you know? That’s the thing about allowing people to do their job.”
“If you’ve got a production designer, don’t get in their way. If you’ve got a makeup artist, don’t get in their way. They’re there for a reason, and they’re there to offer their skill. I think there’s too much control that goes on. Control is the death of any art form because it’s not about control, it’s about things that flow, things that move, you know?”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
