Overview
- Chloé Zhao used a masterclass at the Venice Film Festival on Friday to say comic-book and superhero movies should not be written off as lacking artistic merit.
- She said she loved directing Marvel’s Eternals and called the experience a fulfillment of a childhood manga dream that shaped her interest in archetypal storytelling.
- Zhao rejected the notion that Eternals and Nomadland sit at opposite ends of filmmaking, saying both films share concerns about people, nature and human relationships.
- Reporters noted Eternals earned about $400 million worldwide against a budget above $200 million, a shortfall that Zhao argued should not be the sole measure of a film’s value.
- Zhao framed her remarks from a position of awards credibility—Nomadland won Venice’s Golden Lion and Best Picture at the Oscars while Hamnet drew major nominations—and the comments reopen the debate over art versus commerce in tentpole cinema.