James Gunn Reveals the “Greatest Living American Filmmaker”
Ask a filmmaker to name the best of the best and you usually get a careful answer. James Gunn did not go that route. When the conversation turned to his personal pick for the greatest living American filmmaker, he was clear and fans still revisit what he said.
The moment came while he was responding to the long running debate about comic book movies and cinema. Gunn pushed back on some criticism but kept his tone respectful. He wanted people to know he could disagree without dismissing a legend.
Then he said exactly who sits at the top for him. “Martin Scorsese is probably the world’s greatest living American filmmaker.” That was the line that cut through the noise and it came straight from Gunn himself.
He did not stop there. He explained why the praise was so strong. “I love & study his films & will continue to love & study his films.” You could feel both the fan and the craftsman speaking at once.
Some very honest thoughts here from James Gunn on defending comic book movies from the likes of Martin Scorsese. Yikes. https://t.co/RUtfz9L6oK pic.twitter.com/d4CKkZeM2w
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) August 4, 2021
Gunn also made room for disagreement and quoted his point plainly. “I disagree with him solely on one point: That films based on comic books are innately not cinema, that’s all.” It was a small but important distinction that framed the whole exchange as admiration rather than a feud.
This was not a one off burst of flattery. Around the same time Gunn called Scorsese “one of the greatest filmmakers who’s ever existed” and said he could watch his movies with no problem. Even as he critiqued the broader debate, he circled back to the same respect.
In the end Gunn’s pick felt both bold and obvious. Bold because he named names when many would hedge. Obvious because the impact of Scorsese is hard to overstate. What stuck was the way Gunn phrased it. Praise first. Disagreement second. And a reminder that the best conversations about movies start from love.