Disney Chief Bob Iger Rips Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola: They Can “Bitch About Movies” But It’s “So Disrespectful”

Disney boss Bob Iger has some thoughts about Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola‘s recent digs at Marvel. During a WSJ Tech Live event on Tuesday night, Iger fired back at the famed directors, saying, “If they want to bitch about movies it’s certainly their right.” According to TheWrap, the Disney CEO went on to say that Marvel’s Black Panther is just as innovative as “anything Marty Socrsese or Francis Ford Coppola have ever done on any one of their movies,” and he insisted that the criticism is unwarranted. “I don’t get what they’re criticizing us for when we’re making films that people are obviously enjoying going to because they’re doing so by the millions,” said Iger.

Earlier this month, Scorsese made waves when he insisted that Marvel movies are “not cinema” and compared them to “theme parks” instead of real films. The Irishman director later said that the superhero movies are “invading” theaters and pushing out smaller-budget “narrative films.” This week, Coppola backed Scorsese’s widely-criticized remarks, saying, “Martin was kind when he said it’s not cinema. He didn’t say it’s despicable, which I just say it is.” The Apocalypse Now filmmaker went on to say that cinema brings “some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration” to viewers, but Marvel films do not. “I don’t know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again,” he told reporters at the Lumiere Festival in Lyon, France.

On Tuesday night, Disney’s Iger was given a chance to respond to Scorsese and Coppola’s criticism. While the CEO reportedly said that the holds the legendary filmmakers in “the highest regard,” he reserves the term ‘despicable’ “for someone who had committed mass murder.” He added that he’s “puzzled by” Scorsese and Coppola’s remarks, but, “If they want to bitch about movies it’s certainly their right.”

“When Francis uses the words, ‘those films are despicable,’ to whom is he talking?” asked Iger. “Is he talking to Kevin Feige who runs Marvel, or Taika Waititi who directs or Ryan Coogler who directs for us or Scarlett Johansson? I don’t get what they’re criticizing us for when we’re making films that people are obviously enjoying going to because they’re doing so by the millions.”

According to TheWrap, Iger went on to say that Scorsese and Coppola’s criticism is “so disrespectful,” particularly to “all the people who work on those films who are working just as hard as the people who are working on their films and are putting their creative souls on the line just like they are.” He continued, “Are you telling me that Ryan Coogler making Black Panther is doing something that somehow or another is less than anything Marty Scorsese or Francis Ford Coppola have ever done on any one of their movies? Come on.”