Film director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro have had one of the longest-lasting and critically renowned creative partnerships in all of American cinema. On Sunday, as part of the programming for the Tribeca Film Festival (which De Niro cofounded in 2002), the two of them sat down for a 90-minute discussion of Scorseses films at the Upper West Sides Beacon Theatre.
Related: Martin Scorseses Music: An A to Z Guide to the Directors Soundtracks
The duo discussed Scorseses film career and his upbringing, including the nine films that hes made with De Niro since 1973. While they provided few details for their upcoming film, titled The Irishman, set to be released on Netflix later this year, Scorsese revealed many tidbits and anecdotes from past projects involving De Niro. A running theme, it seems, was that De Niro has convinced Scorsese to take on many career-changing opportunities, from adapting the story of boxer Jake LaMotta for Raging Bull to casting an up-and-coming young actor named Leonardo DiCaprio in a project. Here are 10 things we learned from their discussion.
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1. De Niro was the first person to recommend Leonardo DiCaprio to Scorsese
After co-starring with the then 19-year-old actor in 1993s A Boys Life, De Niro raved about DiCaprios acting ability to Scorsese, calling him impressive He doesnt say that all that much, quipped Scorsese and saying that he should cast DiCaprio in a film. DiCaprio wouldnt appear in a Scorsese project until 2002s Gangs of New York, but the two have subsequently made four other films together that feature some of DiCaprios most memorable onscreen performances.
DiCaprio, as it turns out, was in attendance at the Beacon Theatre, and Scorsese and De Niro gave him a quick shoutout. DiCaprio stood up and waved from one of the front rows, earning a chorus of cheers and applause from the audience.
2. De Niros rambling story inMean Streetswas completely improvised
Scorsese and De Niro opened their conversation by playing a clip fromMean Streets, their first movie together, in which De Niros character gives a long-winded excuse for not paying back a lone shark to his uncle Charlie (played by Harvey Keitel). De Niro had rehearsed the scene with Scorsese before principal filming began, coming up with details for his characters story on the fly, and Scorsese had jotted them down in a notebook.
However, when it came time to film the scene on the last day of shooting, nearly a month later, Scorsese forgot his notebook. He had to remember everything from four weeks earlier, said Scorsese on De Niros improvisation.
3. Terrence Malick sent Scorsese a letter aboutSilence
Themes of religion and faith often underscore Scorseses work, and one of his most intense grapplings with faith is his 2016 film Silence. Scorsese recalled receiving a letter from director Terrence Malick after he had seen the film, and remembered one line in particular: What does Christ want from us? Scorsese found the question to be highly profound, whether or not youre a believer, and thought that it summed up his artistic depictions of religion throughout his own career.
4. Scorsese (and film executives) initially didnt want to make Raging Bull
De Niro repeatedly tried to convince Scorsese into make Raging Bull after reading Jake LaMottas memoir of the same name, but Scorsese waffled on the project for several years, claiming he knew nothing about sports. (He suffered from asthma as a child and found boxing to be boring.) When he eventually came around to LaMottas story, seeing how his struggle could be made universal, Scorsese still had a tough time convincing studio execs that it was worth adapting.
I dont want to make a movie about this guy, this guy is a cockroach, Scorsese recalled one of the suits saying in a meeting.
De Niro, also present in the meeting, gave what Scorsese called an articulate response: No, hes not. The studio greenlit Raging Bull soon afterward.
5. A member of the U.S. presidential cabinet said The Wolf of Wall Street misrepresented the financial world
Scorsese wouldnt reveal the name of the cabinet member who called his 2013 film on corrupt stockbroker Jordan Belfort a misrepresentation of Wall Street. But he did say he thought of Belfort as an American everyman, citing Herman Melvilles 1857 novelThe Confidence-Man as an example of Americas baked-in history of opportunity and bravado gone unchecked.
6. Working with Jerry Lewis on The King of Comedytaught Scorsese how to work with professional actors
Before 1982sThe King of Comedy, Scorsese thought of his productions as very homegrown affairs working with relatively low budgets, collaborating with the same circle of people (including De Niro), and even casting his parents in minor roles.
When he cast Jerry Lewis as the venerable talk show host Jerry Langford, Scorsese suddenly learned what it was like to shoot a film with a pro. Lewis would only appear to film his scenes, read his lines and do his job, and he insisted that Scorsese send him home from the set at a reasonable time if he knew he wasnt needed anymore on a particular shoot day. Essentially, Scorsese recalled, Lewis taught him to not take an actors time for granted.
7. Scorsese callsCasino his version ofParadise Lost
Scorsese and De Niro showed a clip from1995sCasino in which Joe Pesci unleashes a curse-filled tirade at De Niros character in the desert. Scorsese said hearing Pescis voice was like jazz, then went on to say that he thought ofCasinoas a version ofParadise Lost. God gives them this paradise of sin Las Vegas! and they can do anything, and they screw it up. And then theyre cast out of the paradise.
8.Norman Mailer liked Raging Bull except the fight scenes
The notoriously fiery writer Norman Mailer was another early cheerleader forRaging Bull, urging Scorsese to adapt the book into a movie. Incredibly, despite the film receiving a great deal of controversy for its violent boxing sequences, Mailer found the fight scenes to be underwhelming.
I put the fight scenes in thanks to you, Scorsese remembered telling Mailer at an event two years afterRaging Bull came out. And he goes, Yeah, its the only thing I didnt like in the picture.'
9. A priest introduced Scorsese to Graham Greene and James Joyce books
Scorsese talked to De Niro extensively about his upbringing in Manhattans Lower East Side during the late 1940s and early 1950s, saying that the rough-and-tumble world greatly influenced his work. He referenced his oft-discussed tenement home at 253 Elizabeth Street where he grew up, in the third-floor apartment, where he had Gods viewpoint from the fire escape that would appear time and time again in his films.
But Scorsese also mentioned his old parish minister, Father Principe, who introduced Scorsese to many classic novels in his youth as a form of escapism. He told us, Get out of here. Theres good people here, but you dont have to live in this style or in this cycle getting married at 21, having children. Take the opportunity, take the advantage of where you are in this life.'
10. They didnt say much onThe Irishman, except that it falls in line with their other works
At the end of their discussion, an audience member shouted for De Niro and Scorsese to reveal more about their upcoming Netflix project,The Irishman.
Its generally in the milieu of the pictures weve done together, said Scorsese cryptically. But I think, and I hope, from a different vantage point. The years have gone by, and we see things in a special way, I hope.
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