This week’s major film release is unquestionably Ridley Scott’s near three-hour historical epic, Napoleon. All sex, swords and Joaquin Phoenix scenery-chewing, it’s exactly the kind of fare that fans of Scott hoped for. The film has also had a press tour for the ages, thanks to Scott coming out with all sorts of barnstormers in interviews. He told those who nitpick at the film’s historical inaccuracies to “get a life”, but perhaps my personal favourite quote is on a scene where Napoleon fires a cannon at the pyramids: “I don’t know if he did that,” Scott says, “but it was a fast way of saying he took Egypt.”
At 85, Napoleon may well be Scott’s last rodeo. Martin Scorsese, 81, who also has a film out – the somehow much, much longer Killers of the Flower Moon – has said he’s probably got one more in him.
Scott and Scorsese are not the only masters in the twilight of their careers. Indeed, this year has been a doozy for Oscar-worthy films from octogenarians. With Hayao Miyazaki’s latest “last” film The Boy and the Heron also likely to be in the awards conversation. Even Woody Allen, 87, has found time to release from exile what he says is his penultimate picture. And that’s not to overlook Francis Ford Coppola’s upcoming epic Megalopolis, starring Adam Driver and Game of Thrones alum Nathalie Emmanuel.
Brian De Palma is 83. Michael Mann is 80. Steven Spielberg 77. It’s as if the remaining embers of “New Hollywood” resolutely plan to burn on. So with the old guard still around, and still at the top of the industry – where is the new wave? The young pretenders, ready to snatch the crown of cultural relevance from the men (yeah, men) who have hitherto crowded the top-tier of cinema and subsequently marshalled the big budgets and been consistently in contention for the top prizes?
Well, that question is more complex. If we’re talking “young” as in under 45, then there’s a pacy film you can watch right now from an exciting young director: Saltburn from Emerald Fennell, 38. The film is her second feature – her first, Promising Young Woman – racked up five Oscar nominations including a best director nod for Fennell herself.
But Fennell’s lack of company as a young writer-director with creative control of her movies is startling. Gone are the days of New Hollywood, when just about any dude with a script and some chutzpah could get $40m, but where are the younger generation who can demand the big budgets from studios to do their own thing?
The answer largely reflects how the studio system – and viewing habits – have shifted in the last 20 years. Mid-budget movies (think $5-75m) like Saltburn have become all too infrequent, meaning that promising young directors fail to get the chance to move up in stakes.
Big budget films are overwhelmingly Marvel-style franchise behemoths. Their place in established stories and extended universes means the real power behind the scenes lies with studio executives more than directors.
Out now is The Marvels, starring Brie Larson as Captain Marvel. It’s directed by Nia DaCosta (above), just 34 and coming off the critical and commercial success of her 2021 Candyman legacy sequel. But DaCosta’s role on The Marvels was more shepherd than visionary, and as a result a degree of uncertainty surrounds her involvement.
Being subsumed by Marvel is a fate that has befallen a number of young directors – presumably for the pay – including Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station to Black Panther) and most notably Chloé Zhao (who directed the Oscar-winning Nomadland and more recently Marvel’s The Eternals).
Chuck in the fact that TV work has become more attractive: bigger budgets, longer contracts and the opportunity to work with genuine stars and there’s yet another reason for talent to be pulled away to another medium.
Maybe our best hope then is A24, the indie studio behind Uncut Gems (Josh and Benny Safdie), Hereditary (Ari Aster) and last year’s best picture, Everything Everywhere All at Once (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) can continue giving directors a platform to show they can live up to the standards of previous generations.
To my mind, there’s already a young trio who’ve ascended to a higher plane: Greta Gerwig, 40, Jordan Peele, 44 and Damien Chazelle, 38. All three have demonstrated that they can produce an “event” movie that can both make a ton of cash and be in the awards season conversation.
If Napoleon is the final charge of an old war horse, then Scott and his contemporaries should know that cinema is in fine young hands. Even if it doesn’t seem like it at first glance. Vive la revolution!
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