I haven’t heard much from director Albert Hughes. He used to be a fairly big name in the ‘90s, especially after his and brother Allen’s incendiary 1993 debut, “Menace II Society.” They went on to direct three more films together: “Dead Presidents,” “From Hell” and “The Book of Eli.”
Promoting his “John Wick” spin-off series, “The Continental,” Hughes opened up about Marvel’s recent trouble in a sit-down with the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast (via The Playlist).
He actually mentions that he had talks with Marvel about directing “Blade.” So, why did Hughes decide to walk away from this bag fat paycheck? He claims he knew that project would “implode.” He goes on to call any filmmaker who hops on-board a Marvel movie a “bad situation,” adding that there is a “kind of controlled nature” that may appeal to “up-and-comers,” but for older directors like himself, it’s a recipe for disaster.
Hughes goes on to mention that he went on a “deep dive” on all of Marvel’s movies when he was in talks to work on “Blade”. He feverishly educated himself on leverything about the MCU:
I’ve been in talks with the obvious studio about superhero movies a couple of times, but I always felt uncomfortable because I knew it was a system, and they’re very nice, and I went through a long process. In fact, I broke down all their movies and put them in a spreadsheet and broke down the box office, watching the title scores, where the VFX ranks, I had to do a deep dive on them.
I got halfway, not very close, halfway through the process, and I go, ‘No, I would implode from the kind of controlled nature of that world and not being able to do what I do.’ And I don’t understand why a real filmmaker would want to be in that system. I understand why up-and-comers would, which they do a good job of. finding people at the right time. But I think I would implode.” “And there was one character that I was interested in, all of the others I really wasn’t.”
Hughes soon realized that artistic freedom wasn’t what the MCU was about. “No, it’s a bad situation,” he went on. “You never want to be somewhere you’re not truly wanted. You’re not truly wanted for what you do.”
I think there’s a thing that’s rarely talked about in Hollywood: there’s a difference between a director and a filmmaker. A filmmaker, it’s all-encompassing what they’re touching on their film; that’s a filmmaker to me. And a producer can be a filmmaker, too; a cameraman is a filmmaker, a rockstar cameraman. A director is one who just calls action and leaves and checks in on the editing every once in a while […] So if you’re getting hired for you, and what you do and what you bring, I’ve been in a situation more recently where I’m getting poked and prodded, and it’s like, ‘Oh, you don’t really want what I do” — That was checking a box for them, and this is not going to work out. And it didn’t work out; I had to quit that job. I smelled it pretty early, and I said, ‘No, I’m not here for this.’
His instincts were correct. “Blade” has been in a constant state of turmoil for 4 years now. A sixth rewrite was just called on the movie. A third director has just been hired. Lead actor Mahershala Ali threatened to drop out of the role.
Regardless, Hughes is correct. Independent creativity gets stifled in the MCU. The amount of new talent that has grown from the American studio system since the 2000s is pathetic, at least when compared to the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s and ‘00s.
It doesn’t help that many promising filmmakers quickly get sucked into the Marvel and DC vacuum. The likes of Ryan Coogler, Chloe Zhao, Destin Daniel Cretton, Jon Watts, and many more, have all sold their creative souls to the corporation.
Marvel loves to pounce and corrupt Sundance alumns. They’re easy targets and, when a big fat paycheck gets waved to their faces, it’s very hard for them to say no. People tend to forget that, given the current climate, at the end of the day a filmmaker does need to make a living.
What’s next for Hughes? He’s currently working on an Untitled Snoop Dogg biopic film.