Malcolm McDowell: It’s a ‘Shame’ There Are Fewer Character-Driven Films Amid Marvel Reign
Malcolm McDowell wants to turn the clock back on the green screen and CGI effects overload in Hollywood.
The “Clockwork Orange” star called it a “shame” that character-driven films have fallen by the wayside amid the reign of Marvel and DC superhero movies.
“It’s a shame we’re losing character-driven movies, and I don’t want to see green screen movies ad nauseam,” McDowell told Variety at the Torino Film Festival. “My kids love them and that’s OK – there’s room for them, let’s have them! But let’s also balance it a little bit with some adult content.”
McDowell continued, “What is happening is that it’s almost impossible to get an independent movie made. It’s always been difficult, of course, but it’s never been impossible. But now because of streaming… streaming is where independent movies go!”
Recent MCU addition Christian Bale, who starred in Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Love and Thunder,” called working with green screens on set monotonous.
“That’s the first time I’ve done that. I mean, the definition of it is monotony,” Bale said to GQ. “You’ve got good people. You’ve got other actors who are far more experienced at it than me. Can you differentiate one day from the next? No. Absolutely not. You have no idea what to do.”
The Oscar winner continued, “I couldn’t even differentiate one stage from the next. They kept saying, ‘You’re on Stage Three.’ Well, it’s like, ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ They’re like, ‘Yeah. But you’re on Stage Seven.’ ‘Which one is that?’ ‘The blue one.’ I was like, ‘Uh, where?'”
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” lead Benedict Cumberbatch echoed the sentiment, sharing that it’s difficult to reach an emotional depth in the MCU.
“It’s not some sort of acting gym where you’re stripping off layers of self to reveal a layer of truth all the time,” Cumberbatch said in an interview with The Talks. “You are working to do some of that but in the heartbeat of making a massive film like ‘The Avengers,’ for example, it can be tough getting that one moment of emotion absolutely nailed in five minutes because that’s all the time they have because of the other, bigger things around it.”
Cumberbatch added, “In this instance, it’s not a massive development of the character, it’s about how to service the story at the same time as balancing the integrity of a now much-loved part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, I learn on every job.”