‘Avengers: Endgame' Directors Joe and Anthony Russo Claim ‘Cinema' is a ‘New York Word'

With more and more people chiming in, and as I try not to overreport it to death (I just can’t post every single person’s thoughts on the “Marvel is/isn’t cinema debate), here are two guys whose opinion should probably be put into official deposition.

I like Joe and Anthony Russo, after all, they’ve directed the three best Marvel movies (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Endgame”), But we are now reaching fever-pitch delusion with these Marvel spokespeople (actors, directors, writers) trying to defend their watered-down product. Case in point; The Russos claiming, courtesy of THR, that the definition of “cinema” is really up to the viewer:

“Ultimately, we define cinema as a film that can bring people together to have a shared, emotional experience,” Joe Russo said. Russo also added that “Avengers: Endgame” breaking box-office records this year wasn’t a financial success but an “emotional success” shared by audiences worldwide.

“But, at the end of the day, what do we know?” Joe Russo joked. “We’re just two guys from Cleveland, Ohio, and ‘cinema’ is a New York word. In Cleveland, we call them movies.” Anthony Russo added, “The other way to think about it, too, is nobody owns cinema. We don’t own cinema. You don’t own cinema. Scorsese doesn’t own cinema.”

Cinema is a New York word? Do they really want to die on that hill?