Guillermo del Toro says he would shorten his own life to extend Martin Scorsese’s after ‘cruel’ essay slates director

‘This article baited them traffic, but at what cost?’ Oscar-winner wrote

Guillermo del Toro went to great lengths to defend legendary director Martin Scorsese after a magazine piece called him an “uneven talent”.

The article written by Sean Egan accused the Goodfellas director of “self-indulgence”, saying that “no studio dares utter the word ‘no’ to him” and that he has “debased his talent”.

Writing on Twitter, del Toro – who is himself considered one of the great directors of his generation – called The Critic essay “cruel and ill-intentioned”.

“I very, very seldom post anything contradictory here - but- the amount of misconceptions, sloppy inaccuracies and hostile adjectives not backed by an actual rationale is offensive, cruel and ill-intentioned. This article baited them traffic, but at what cost?” the Oscar-winner wrote.

“To be clear: If God offered to shorten my life to lengthen Scorsese's- I'd take the deal,” he continued. “This man understands Cinema. Defends Cinema. Embodies Cinema. He has always fought for the art of it and against the industry of it. He has never been tamed and has a firm place in history.

“I don’t s*** talk, I don’t ‘slam’ and I support- but if anyone thinks that WWS is ‘...achingly slow’ or that Raging Bull is ‘... bad filmmaking’ and that ‘No studio dares to utter the word “no” to him.’ Film language discussions, history lessons and research may be needed.

“Most of the article is akin to faulting Picasso for ‘Not getting perspective right’ or Gaugin [sic] for being ‘garish’. If you assail these cornerstones, you should lay it out- you disassemble the work and build your position- not just hand an opinion with ‘slamming’ adjectives.

Del Toro concluded: “When I read pieces like this one. Aimed at one of the most benign forces and one of the wisest, I do feel the tremors of an impending culture collapse- and I do wonder: ‘To what end?’ ...and find myself at a loss.”

The Independent has contacted The Critic for comment.