Lulu Wang is an extremely talented director, having gained an immense amount of respect for herself, considering how long she has been working in the industry. Though she hasn’t been a part of very many projects, the ones that she has, with some examples being The Farewell, Posthumous, and Touch, have gained a huge amount of critical acclaim, helping her establish herself as a force to be reckoned. The filmmaker’s most popular work, The Farewell, has received many different accolades, including being nominated for The British Academy Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.
Wang gave an interview alongside Martin Scorsese, Todd Phillips, Greta Gerwig, and many more extremely talented directors. Here, the director ended up challenging the views of one of the most respected and competent directors in the room. Surprisingly enough, Wang may have just ended up impressing him in the best possible way.
Lulu Wang Challenged Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese, in the past, has been very clear about his opinions on superhero films. The director has stated, time and time again, that he believes, superhero films, like that of Marvel and DC, to be more like amusement park rides, and less like actual cinematic experiences. This created quite a lot of uproar in the film industry, with many fans and figures in the industry, getting extremely upset at this comment. Unsurprisingly, this was brought up during The Directors Roundtable interview by Variety.
“I remember when Disney Land was built, I am that ancient, you know. One of the aspirations of the studio was to become as important, in a sense, to American culture as Disney Land. And I think the first studio to really ever do that was Universal Tours” he went on, “ the sense of theme parks, has sort of, always been there. It’s not bad. We used to love going to amusement parks. But now in the amusement parks, you have the film.”
The director started off by saying that he did not mean this comment in any negative way. He simply stated that everyone loves amusement park rides, however, they focus more on the shock factor and providing thrilling experiences for their audiences, rather than helping them feel emotions towards characters and getting attached to them.
It was here, Lulu Wang chimed in, stating that she doesn’t necessarily see this as a problem, however, she personally would not do a superhero movie for a completely different reason.
Lulu Wang Rejected Doing a Superhero Film
During this interview with Variety, another question was brought up, asking if anyone on the table had been offered to direct a superhero film. Lulu Wang revealed that she had, in fact, been asked in the past. She then went on to explain why she decided to reject this project which could have easily changed the entire trajectory of her career.
“No, no, I agree with you and I don’t think that’s why you were saying that because it’s negative. I think you are making the distinction between cinema and bigger entertainment things, which is really made by committee. And that’s one of the reasons why I don’t want to do it right now, because I I haven’t figured out my voice yet as a filmmaker.”
She stated that she has not figured out her voice as a filmmaker as of yet. Doing a project like a superhero film would most certainly decide for itself, what Wang’s voice would be like as a filmmaker.
