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The two brothers are usually seen together in photos.
But for the video interview with us, they pop up on our computer screen, sitting separately from each other in different rooms.
The film directors Joe and Anthony Russo, better known as the Russo brothers, now have their own film production company and have risen to become the most powerful men in Hollywood.
You have directed four comic book adaptations from the cosmos of Marvel superheroes.
The last of these, “Avengers: Endgame,” released in 2019, is the most successful film of all time, with gross revenues of $ 2.8 billion worldwide.
The two started out as independent directors.
Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney produced their second film "Safecrackers" in 2002, which was a flop at the time, but has now achieved cult status.
With their new film "Cherry", which will be streamed on Apple TV + from March 12th, the two are returning to their origins.
They only adopted one superhero actor from the Marvel films - Tom Holland, who previously played Spiderman, this time mimes a US soldier who was traumatized in Iraq and who later becomes a drug addict.
WORLD:
In the film business, the Coen brothers were the most successful directing siblings for a long time - until the Russos competed with them.
How does this brotherly directing actually work, especially when you disagree?
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Joe Russo:
We'll sort that out in arm wrestling (laughs).
Seriously, we've been working together for a long time now.
We've spent a lot of life together, a lot of it together in the cinema, that's where we both grew up, so to speak.
We watched the same films, shared the same influences.
"Thank goodness streaming is on the rise"
Anthony and Joe Russo are Hollywood's hottest directing brothers right now.
With “Avengers: Endgame” the duo even managed the most successful movie of all time.
See the filmmakers here in the WELT interview with Martin Scholz.
Source: WORLD / Martin Scholz
WORLD:
Films like Star Wars, but also works by Fellini and Truffaut that you saw in an art house cinema in your hometown of Cleveland.
Joe:
Yeah.
Much of our work processes take place unconsciously without us having to talk about it.
We believe in the mastermind principle, which states that two heads are exponentially better than one.
In plain language: if both of our brains focus on one topic, we will come to a better result.
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In the fight against pain reliever addiction, the US government is now setting an example and is indicting a drug manufacturer and its ex-chairman for the first time.
Source: WORLD / Fanny Juschten
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WORLD:
In your new film “Cherry” you describe the consequences of the opioid epidemic in the USA.
Tom Holland plays a drug addict ex-GI.
You see him and subconsciously think: Spiderman as a junkie.
How important is Holland's charisma in a film like this?
Joe:
Getting Tom into the role was crucial.
This film has a difficult, troubled subject.
With that in mind, it's important to have a lead that people empathize with.
Because if a film is too disturbing, one often tends to push it away because one does not want to or cannot process the events emotionally because they are too painful.
WORLD:
You show Holland in disturbing scenes, he vomits in a drug intoxication, spits blood.
Is it easier to stream works like this instead of in the cinema?
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Joe:
The cinema business has changed over the past 20 years.
The standards by which a movie is considered successful today force directors to forego risky subjects.
It is very expensive to make films, and cinema tickets are also expensive.
To watch films on streaming platforms, the financial entry barrier is significantly lower.
This means that streaming makers are more open to experimental films because the financial expectations are completely different.
If someone has to pay $ 20 for a cinema ticket today, they expect an eventful experience.
As a result, movies aren't very diverse.
So, as a filmmaker, I'm very grateful for the rise of Netflix, Apple, and Amazon, which are doing a great job promoting stories of diversity and diversity.
And: You spend a lot of money to tell these high-quality stories.
That being said, our film “Cherry” will reach ten times as many people on a digital distribution platform as it would via the cinemas.
This is very important to us because with films like this we want to stimulate debate.
Now plays a junkie after Spiderman: Tom Holland (left) with Joe Russo during the filming of "Cherry" §
Source: Apple TV +
WORLD:
The opioid epidemic has had devastating effects in the USA since 2015, for the first time in 100 years life expectancy fell due to drug deaths in the following years.
This has rarely been an issue in Hollywood films so far - apart from the film "Ben is back", in which Julia Roberts plays the mother of a drug addict son in 2018.
So is there no longer any room for such topics in the event cinema?
Anthony Russo:
In part, it sure is.
There aren't many studios today that fund films about post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction.
Because they don't expect to make a lot of money with it.
I would like to add to your statistics: Last year the US had the highest number of drug deaths ever recorded.
So it's getting worse and worse.
Joe and I knew we were in a unique position after four successful Marvel films.
That made us a brand, and we wanted to use it like a lever to make other films with difficult, pressing topics with our production company AGBO.
“Cherry” is just one example of this.
That is part of our responsibility as filmmakers.
Like Julia Roberts, we are able to push through and realize such films.
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With "Avengers: Endgame" the most successful film series of all time comes to an end for the time being.
The new trailer already provides a foretaste of the eagerly awaited film.
Source: Marvel / Stefan Wittmann
WORLD:
Let's stay with challenging topics: You produced the film “Mosul” for Netflix, which describes the fight by police officers in Iraq against the terrorist militia “Islamic State”.
Only Arabic actors can be seen, Arabic is also spoken, the film is subtitled.
How many obstacles did you have to overcome to punch through a movie like this?
Joe:
We wrote the check with our studio to fund “Mosul”.
It was a passion project for us.
To be honest, we were stunned because we really couldn't find a single Hollywood film that featured Arab actors as heroes or protagonists.
I still remember how I met the actors on the set of "Mosul" and they said to me: "This is the first time in our career that we finally don't have to play the bad guys." when you consider that we are now living in the year 2021.
It was very important to us to direct this film as authentically as possible.
WORLD:
Your friend and sponsor Steven Soderbergh advised you: "Take turns making an independent film, then another blockbuster." You have recently shot four superhero films in a row.
Do you have some kind of converter that tells you how many independent films you can now make in return?
Anthony:
(laughs) No, we don't know either.
But, should our new films fail to bring in any more money at some point, the investments would quickly fail.
We are very aware of that.
And that would be the point in time when we would have to deliver another film for the other side.
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Joe:
We're busy right now.
We're working with the Obamas on a film called Exit West, which is about the refugee crisis in the Middle East.
We are also planning a one about the data analysis company Cambridge Analytica and the dangers of misinformation on social media.
And we financed a film called “Relic”, which is about dementia and in which only actresses are involved, staged by a director who is making her debut with it.
All of these projects have to do with us, we use our influence to make them happen.
WORLD:
The corona pandemic has accelerated the loss of importance of the cinemas through streaming.
Million dollar blockbusters like James Bond, "Wonder Woman 1984" were postponed several times and brought the studios huge losses.
Critics asked whether this could lead to a move away from the ridiculously expensive event films.
How do you see it
Take a break for Captain America: Joe Russo (left), with Chris Evans and Anthony Russo on the set of "Avengers Infinity War"
Credit: picture alliance / Everett Collection
Anthony:
After the cinemas reopened in China, one of the last weekends recorded the third highest sales ever recorded in the Chinese film industry.
So this is a definite comeback for cinema.
Audiences in other countries will react similarly as soon as it is safe to go to cinemas again.
Everyone will be pissed off for this experience that was denied to all of us for so long during the pandemic.
That being said, I think the trend towards big, global event films will continue in theaters.
Today there is a global audience that uses online communication to prepare for a new blockbuster and is happy to be part of it.
A very powerful expectation arose that did not exist 20 years ago.
One consequence of the focus on event films, however, is that there is less space in cinemas for films that tell the human experience in deeper stories.
WORLD:
Films like "Cherry" for example?
Anthony:
Yeah.
But thank goodness streaming is on the rise.
Streaming today offers more filmmakers than ever the opportunity to reach a large audience.
WORLD:
Now you grew up in
art house cinemas
yourself.
Don't you feel sad that this kind of cinema culture is dying, that the films you saw there will only be streamed?
Anthony:
Joe and I, we love the cinema experience.
We grew up with this experience; it was what motivated us to become filmmakers in the first place.
But we also love that the world is modernizing and changing.
Because it opens up new ways of reaching an audience.
So the fact that streaming is now playing a bigger role does not intimidate us.
Every new path to the audience is a positive development.
WORLD:
Back to event cinema: legendary director Martin Scorsese was furious in 2019: "Marvel films are not a cinema." They reminded him of an amusement park.
Have you discussed that with him?
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Joe:
You tell me.
Anthony: The
two of us would never define what cinema is and what isn't.
For us filmmaking is an organic process that is constantly evolving.
"Avengers: Endgame" is the most successful film in cinema history.
Apparently he motivated a lot of viewers to go to the cinema.
That had reached a new dimension.
Joe and I, we ourselves often sat in the cinemas that showed our film.
WORLD:
Did you learn anything about your film there?
Anthony:
Yes, we felt a noticeable energy among the audience, it was different from anything we have ever experienced.
We don't mind that Martin Scorsese might not know what this experience is all about.
We just find this attempt to define exactly what cinema is senseless.
Especially if you only use your own way of working as a benchmark.
WORLD:
Your studio AGBO is financially supported by the Chinese film distribution company Huayi Brothers - also to enable access to your productions for the Chinese market.
Similar alliances between Hollywood and China have recently sparked heated controversy.
The latest Disney production "Mulan" was criticized by many critics as a Chinese propaganda film.
The fact that parts of the film were shot in the Xingjang region, where Beijing is locking up the Muslim Uyghur minority in re-education camps, caused further negative headlines.
How do you deal with oppression and censorship in China in your day-to-day business?
Joe:
First of all, we're working with a private Chinese company, not the government.
As artists, we don't allow ourselves to be influenced how we make our films.
We don't make any compromises.
We have been lucky so far.
I don't think any of our films have been censored in China yet.
But I don't know whether “Cherry” would be shown in China.
If not, that would be okay.
We cannot control the market in China.
We make the films we want to make.
Ultimately, it is best if we as filmmakers don't let politics cloud our consciousness.
Anthony:
You're addressing a very complex subject.
One must not forget that films are not only censored in China.
There is also censorship in Russia and in several Middle Eastern countries.
Censorship in China and elsewhere is a problem for any filmmaker, regardless of whether you work with a Chinese company or not.
For us, the following applies: We make films for a global audience.
If they are also shown in countries where there is censorship - then so be it.
Or they are not shown there.
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