Everything is coming up Milhouse for Mel Gibson at the moment, with his first directorial effort in a decade, Hacksaw Ridge, already receiving tons of praise and plenty of awards buzz, on top of a rare ten minute standing ovation after it’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival. But that doesn’t mean the outspoken director has softened any. In an interview with Deadline, Gibson broached the matter of superhero movies, something that was missing from the cinematic landscape the last time he stepped behind the camera, and as you would expect he had a few choice words to say about them:
I look at them and scratch my head. I’m really baffled by it. I think there’s a lot of waste but maybe if I did one of those things with the green screens I’d find out different. I don’t know. Maybe they do cost that much. I don’t know. It seems to me that you could do it for less. If you’re spending outrageous amounts of money, $180 million or more, I don’t know how you make it back after the tax man gets you, and after you give half to the exhibitors.
One film in particular was singled out by the director, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and he summed up his thoughts on it quite simply:
What did they spend on ‘Batman v Superman’ that they’re admitting to? And it’s a piece of shit.
He ended his conversation about the genre with a statement that will answer any future questions whether our not he would direct an installment of the MCU or DCEU:
I’m not interested in the stuff. Do you know what the difference between real superheroes and comic book superheroes is? Real superheroes didn’t wear spandex. So I don’t know. Spandex must cost a lot.
I look at them and scratch my head. I’m really baffled by it. I think there’s a lot of waste but maybe if I did one of those things with the green screens I’d find out different. I don’t know. Maybe they do cost that much. I don’t know. It seems to me that you could do it for less. If you’re spending outrageous amounts of money, $180 million or more, I don’t know how you make it back after the tax man gets you, and after you give half to the exhibitors.
One film in particular was singled out by the director, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and he summed up his thoughts on it quite simply:
What did they spend on ‘Batman v Superman’ that they’re admitting to? And it’s a piece of shit.
He ended his conversation about the genre with a statement that will answer any future questions whether our not he would direct an installment of the MCU or DCEU:
I’m not interested in the stuff. Do you know what the difference between real superheroes and comic book superheroes is? Real superheroes didn’t wear spandex. So I don’t know. Spandex must cost a lot.
