Guillermo del Toro says he would shorten his own life to extend Martin Scorsese’s after ‘cruel’ essay slates director
‘This article baited them traffic, but at what cost?’ Oscar-winner wrote
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Guillermo del Toro went to great lengths to defend legendary director Martin Scorsese after a magazine piece called him an “uneven talent”.
The article written by Sean Egan accused the Goodfellas director of “self-indulgence”, saying that “no studio dares utter the word ‘no’ to him” and that he has “debased his talent”.
Writing on Twitter, del Toro – who is himself considered one of the great directors of his generation – called The Critic essay “cruel and ill-intentioned”.
“I very, very seldom post anything contradictory here - but- the amount of misconceptions, sloppy inaccuracies and hostile adjectives not backed by an actual rationale is offensive, cruel and ill-intentioned. This article baited them traffic, but at what cost?” the Oscar-winner wrote.
“To be clear: If God offered to shorten my life to lengthen Scorsese's- I'd take the deal,” he continued. “This man understands Cinema. Defends Cinema. Embodies Cinema. He has always fought for the art of it and against the industry of it. He has never been tamed and has a firm place in history.
“I don’t s*** talk, I don’t ‘slam’ and I support- but if anyone thinks that WWS is ‘...achingly slow’ or that Raging Bull is ‘... bad filmmaking’ and that ‘No studio dares to utter the word “no” to him.’ Film language discussions, history lessons and research may be needed.
“Most of the article is akin to faulting Picasso for ‘Not getting perspective right’ or Gaugin [sic] for being ‘garish’. If you assail these cornerstones, you should lay it out- you disassemble the work and build your position- not just hand an opinion with ‘slamming’ adjectives.
Del Toro concluded: “When I read pieces like this one. Aimed at one of the most benign forces and one of the wisest, I do feel the tremors of an impending culture collapse- and I do wonder: ‘To what end?’ ...and find myself at a loss.”
The Independent has contacted The Critic for comment.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments