The Hilarious Way Steven Soderbergh Responds To The Russo Brothers' Questions

Steven Soderbergh, the filmmaker behind "Traffic," "Ocean's Eleven," "Solaris," "Contagion," and "Magic Mike," is one of the most widely respected working directors in the industry. Meanwhile, the Russo brothers' oeuvre is a bit more mainstream. The duo is the talent behind major hits in the Marvel Cinematic Universe like "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Infinity War," and "Avengers: Endgame." Their two directorial efforts after their time in the MCU, however, crime drama "Cherry" and action-thriller "The Gray Man," have been more niche.

"The Gray Man," released on Netflix on July 22, stars Ryan Gosling as a CIA superspy who finds himself the target of top assassins from all around the world, including Chris Evans' Lloyd Hansen, after discovering some top-secret information that puts the agency in hot water. Since Soderbergh served as an early mentor to Anthony and Joe Russo, film fans might wonder if the two still reach out to him for notes.

TheWrap reached out to ask precisely that question in its interview with the Russo brothers about "The Gray Man" ahead of the film's release. "No, we didn't get any notes," said Anthony Russo. "We haven't got a note from Soderbergh in probably 20 years." Meanwhile, Joe Russo had an even more amusing answer. "l tell you what's very funny is that I probably text with him like every two to three months and it invariably involves a Mariah Carey gif," he confessed. "I'll ask him a fairly serious question and I will get a Mariah Carey gif in response to my question. Usually obtuse."

While the art and effort behind making massive blockbusters like those concocted by all three filmmakers can be fairly serious business, it's nice to know that there's still some levity there. Either way, it probably won't be long before there are more sassy texts among the three of them.