Amph The Films Of Martin Scorsese: Scorsese and Dicaprio Reunite for "The Wolf of Wall Street"

DeNiro shouldn't have played this part anymore than he should have played Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York. For one, DeNiro couldn't pass as Irish. Also, using Daniel Day-Lewis as an example, it takes away from the shock value. Daniel Day-Lewis playing that role was mind-blowing casting, and it got him a nice Oscar nomination.

That said, in The Departed, I would've preferred Bill Murray in the role instead of Nicholson. The actor who plays the role in Infernal Affairs was generally considered more of a comedic actor before that. Bill Murray in the role would be far more interesting than DeNiro or Nicholson. DeNiro, like Nicholson, would just be playing a role he's done before.

 

I dont think DeNiro shouldve played Bill the Butcher at all but he wouldve absolutely kicked ass as Costello. Nicholsen is great in the film but still goes way too over the top in some parts.

 

I agree. But I don't think DeNiro would be much better. The casting of this role was a great opportunity to cause some intrigue. DeNiro wouldn't be interesting at all in this role. Again, Bill Murray. Or even someone like Harrison Ford would have been interesting.

 

I rather like the idea of Ford as a villian.

 

I rather like the idea of Ford as a villian.

Now that's a very appealing idea. His natural disposition
seems to be kind of grumpy, and I'm sure he could use that
in a villainous role somehow. Also, he briefly played a
villainized version of Indiana Jones in Temple of Doom,
and he seemed to like it. Might give his career a whole
new spin.

 

And it needs it. He's bit beyond ze action hero at the moment.

 

Agreed. He's good at playing shallow self-serving characters, ie Han Solo, so he might actually make a good mob boss.I would also suggest Dustin Hoffman as another possible alternative to Nicholson, as he made gave a show stealing performance in Hook. As for Robert DeNero, I agree that he probably wouldn't make a very good Irishmen, but if you made the character Italian, then DeNero might be interesting to watch.

 

I like that it's about the Irish. You'd have to rewrite the movie quite a bit to change it to the Italians. Scorsese's done that though.

 

He basically played one in Mosquito Coast (the character was unsympathetic, at the very least). That movie didn't do so well. Perhaps that was enough to dissuade him from further such forays.

Pity, as he did a great job with the character and the film was quite good.

 

Mosquito Coast is Ford's best performance. In fact, is two best performances are in this and another Peter Weir movie -- Witness. Maybe Ford needs to call that guy up.

 

Finally saw The Departed this weekend. Brilliant film, and its easily up there with Goodfellas among the very best Scorcese has ever done.

 

A lot of reviewers complained about the ending...

 

Which in my opinion vindicates that he should have used the ending of Infernal Affairs.

 

I didn't see the original...what *was* the ending?

 

Yea, the ending was a bit too ridiculous, although it was shocking as hell. Never saw Infernal Affairs so I dont know how they ended that one.

 

Scorsese has four films in development:

1. A Rolling Stones documentary. I wish he'd leave this area alone. Wasn't being parodied in "This is Spinal Tap" enough?

2. A documentary on the development of the Airbus\

3. "Silence" (2008) "Two Jesuit priests, Sebastião Rodrigues and Francis Garrpe, travel to seventeenth century Imperial Japan (which has isolated itself from all foreign contact) to see how the evangelical mission is going. There they witness the persecution of Japanese Christians at the hands of their own government, which wishes to purge Japan of all western influence. Eventually the priests separate and Rodrigues travels the countryside, wondering why God remains silent while His children suffer." (From IMDB)

4. "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" This is based on a non-fiction book that I've read. Roosevelt's early life has some interesting things...the charge up San Juan Hill, his stint as a rancher in the West, the death of his mother and his first wife on the same day...but it's going to be tough to avoid 'exposition dialogue.'

 

4. "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" This is based on a non-fiction book that I've read. Roosevelt's early life has some interesting things...the charge up San Juan Hill, his stint as a rancher in the West, the death of his mother and his first wife on the same day...but it's going to be tough to avoid 'exposition dialogue.'

Is Leonardo gonna play Teddy?

 

I finally got to see The Departed but I prefer the original. As good of an actor as Leo is he can't compete with Tony Leung, few can.

What strikes me about the remake is how the ending is similar to the one enforced by Chinese censors. In the original Hong Kong ending Andy Lau gets away with everything. Thus dooming Lau to the worst level of hell according to Buddhism. The Chinese censors disapproved so the ending was changed so that Lau's character gets arrested, yet this happens so suddenly that it undermines the entire film. Was this Scorsese's original choice or was this something forced upon him? My guess is that Scorsese actually chose this ending knowing the American audience wouldn't like an ending so bleak. The only reason Mark Wahlberg's character is in the film is to dispense "justice" so that Damon gets what he deserves. What I find funny is that both China & the US have the same ending but arrived there from different sources. In one it was dictated by the state & the other by the market.

 

DiCaprio would be good casting as Roosevelt, definitely.

 

Is Martin Scorsese taking on a Sinatra biopic?

 

I finally saw it over the weekend -- spoiler-free by some miracle. Really enjooyed it, but the last 15 minutes were a bit too random. And yeah, the Marky-Mark bit was silly. Just, but silly.

Question: Was Delahunt really a cop. Costello thought it was a trick, but why else wouldn't he tell anyone that Billy was the rat?

As for The Rise of TR, one of my favorite books, I'm very curious to see how it tgurns out.

 

It's an excellent book, but should be read in conjunction with "Mornings on Horseback."

 

I haven't gotten to mornings yet. I love McCullogh, though, his The Great Bridge is another personal favorite.

Theodore Rex, Morris's follow-up to Rise, covering the Presidential years, was also excellent.

 

Yes, Morris on TR is good. On Ronald Reagan, alas, he's awful.

 

Ebert on Scorsese