Latest news with #Mr.Scorsese
Fox News
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Martin Scorsese threatened to get a gun to protect ‘Taxi Driver' from studio cuts
Though it's been nearly 40 years since Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" hit theaters, the Oscar Award-winning director still recalls the extreme measures he considered taking in order to convince the studio to greenlight the 1976 film in its entirety. In a preview clip for Apple TV+'s documentary "Mr. Scorsese," the 82-year-old director, along with Steven Spielberg, recalled the studio's (Columbia Pictures) concern about the movie's bloody content. "Marty was very upset," Spielberg, 78, said at the beginning of the clip. "I get a call at the office, and he said, 'Steve, Steve, this is Marty. Can you come over to the house?'" "They wanted me to cut all the blood spurting," Scorsese reveals. "They wanted me to cut the guy who loses the hand..." "You got a gun?" an interviewer asks him behind the scenes. "I was going to get one," he admits. "So you said you were going to get a gun?" the interviewer asks. "And you said you were going to do what with the gun?" WATCH: NEW EPISODES OF 'MARTIN SCORSESE PRESENTS THE SAINTS' NOW STREAMING ON FOX NATION "I don't know. I was angry. I said I was going to threaten them... I'll maybe just shoot or something. I had no idea. I mean, I was just threatening. What I wanted to do, and not with a gun, I would go in, find out where the rough cut is, and break the windows and take it away. They were going to destroy the film anyway, you know. So let me destroy it. I'll destroy it. But before destroying it, I'm going to steal it." "Spielberg said, 'Marty, stop that. Marty you can't do that.' I said... The more they said no, the more I said I was going to do it," he continues. Spielberg said someone, possibly Scorsese, "mollified" the Motion Picture Association of America. "What if we take that whole sequence and tone the color down and make it feel more like a tabloid," Scorsese said. "He saved the movie because he didn't have to cut any of the violence, he just had to take the color red down to a kind of brown," Spielberg explained. A representative for Scorsese did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. The film, which starred Jodie Foster and Robert De Niro, received four nominations at the 49th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (De Niro) and Best Supporting Actress (Foster). In 2024, Foster — who has been acting since she was 3 years old — opened up about her experience filming the thriller. "I first worked with Martin Scorsese when I was about 10 on 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore,'" she said in an interview with W magazine. "By the time I was 12, I'd made a lot more films than De Niro or Scorsese." "They were definitely scared of me. 'What do we do with this 12-year-old?' I was in my hot pants and corkies, or whatever those platform shoes were called." Foster played a child prostitute in the 1976 drama. De Niro was 31 during filming, and he'd been acting for around a decade. Scorsese had directed seven full-length films and a number of shorts at the time.
Boston Globe
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘Mr. Scorsese' promises an intimate look at one of the great American directors
'The 'Mr. Scorsese' team was given exclusive, unrestricted access to Scorsese's private archives and conducted extensive interviews with the filmmaker. It is anchored by conversations with Scorsese, his friends, family and creative collaborators including Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Robbie Robertson, Thelma Schoonmaker, Steven Spielberg, Sharon Stone, Jodie Foster, Paul Schrader, Margot Robbie, Cate Blanchett, Jay Cocks and Rodrigo Prieto, along with his children, wife Helen Morris and close childhood friends.' At 82, Scorsese has a long list of movies in development, including an adaptation of the nonfiction shipwreck book 'The Wager' (by Boston University and Tufts graduate Advertisement The series looks like a cinephile's dream, a candid in-depth study of a filmmaker who loves to talk (often very fast). Advertisement Chris Vognar can be reached at
News18
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Mr. Scorsese documentary series to be released in October, first look out
Los Angeles [US], August 11 (ANI): Martin Scorsese documentary series, 'Mr. Scorsese', is all set to be released on October Miller has directed the five-part documentary event about the legendary filmmaker, as per Deadline. Here's a sneak peek at the first look shared by the makers The 'Mr. Scorsese' team was given exclusive, unrestricted access to Scorsese's private archives and conducted extensive interviews with the filmmaker. It is anchored by conversations with Scorsese, his friends, family and creative collaborators including Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Robbie Robertson, Thelma Schoonmaker, Steven Spielberg, Sharon Stone, Jodie Foster, Paul Schrader, Margot Robbie, Cate Blanchett, Jay Cocks and Rodrigo Prieto, along with his children, wife Helen Morris and close childhood Apple TV+ project delves into how Martin Scorsese's vibrant life experiences have shaped his artistic vision. Beginning with his early work on student films at New York University and continuing through to the present, the documentary explores the recurring themes that have captivated Scorsese, including the complex interplay of good and evil within the core of human nature.'This project is a filmmaker's dream, to have had such access to legends of the industry, from Marty himself to his prolific collaborators, close friends and family members," Miller said.'I was honoured he trusted me to create this documentary, which I believe will resonate with everyone from dedicated Scorsese fans to anyone who has grappled with failure and reached for stars. I'm excited to share a sneak peek of 'Mr. Scorsese,' which includes the true version of a mythic (a never-before-told) story about 'Taxi Driver,' and how thanks to Marty's perseverance and dedication to his art, the film retained its integrity and went on to become one of the most culturally significant films of all time." (ANI)
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Martin Scorsese Considered Violent Tactic to Steal 'Taxi Driver' From Studio
Martin Scorsese Considered Violent Tactic to Steal 'Taxi Driver' From Studio originally appeared on Parade. Martin Scorsese revealed the surprising lengths he was willing to take to make sure that his version of Taxi Driver was on the final cut. In a first-look clip from the the upcoming five-part Apple TV+ documentary Mr. Scorsese, Scorsese, 82, and friend Steven Spielberg discussed how Columbia Pictures was concerned about some of the bloody content in the movie. The production studio almost even stopped Scorsese's vision from appearing in theaters. "Marty was very upset," Spielberg, 78, said in the beginning of the clip. "I get a call at the office, and he said (imitating Scorsese's hyper New York City accent), 'Steve, Steve, this is Marty. Can you come over to the house.'" Scorsese added, "They wanted me to cut all the blood spurting. They wanted me to cut the guy who loses the hand …" When an interviewer offscreen asked if he had a gun, Scorsese responded, "I was going to get one." The interviewer asked Scorsese what he was "going to do what with the gun," and he admitted that he didn't have a solid plan. Parade Daily🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 "I was angry. I said I was going to threaten them … I'll maybe just shoot or something. I had no idea. I mean, I was just threatening. What I wanted to do, and not with a gun, I would go in, find out where the rough cut is, and break the windows and take it away," Scorsese said. "They were going to destroy the film anyway, you know. So let me destroy it. I'll destroy it. But before destroying it, I'm going to steal it." He continued, "Spielberg said, 'Marty, stop that. Marty you can't do that.' I said… The more they said no, the more I said I was going to do it." Spielberg then shared that someone came up with a plan to "mollify" the MPAA [Motion Picture Association of America], in which Scorsese toned down the bloodiness of the offending sequence with the color of the scene. "He just had to take the color red down to a kind of brown," Spielberg explained. Once the 1976 film was released, it was critically acclaimed and was nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards. Additionally, stars Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster earned acting nods. Martin Scorsese Considered Violent Tactic to Steal 'Taxi Driver' From Studio first appeared on Parade on Aug 11, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Angry' Martin Scorsese wanted to use a gun and steal ‘Taxi Driver' rough cut from Columbia Pictures
You talkin' to him? Martin Scorsese, 82, said he nearly threatened the movie studio over a disagreement about his 1976 classic 'Taxi Driver.' In a first-look clip from the October Apple TV+ documentary 'Mr. Scorsese,' the legendary director opened up to Steven Spielberg about how Columbia Pictures was allegedly anxious about the movie's disturbing content, and wanted him to cut some key materials. Advertisement 9 Martin Scorsese in the '70s, in a photo shown in 'Mr. Scorsese.' Apple TV 9 Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese during Artist's Rights Foundation in 1996 at Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California. WireImage 'Marty was very upset,' Spielberg, 78, recalled in the clip. Advertisement 'I get a call at the office, and he said, 'Steve, Steve, this is Marty. Can you come over to the house?'' Scorsese was then shown saying, 'They wanted me to cut all the blood spurting. They wanted me to cut the guy who loses the hand…' 9 Martin Scorsese at the TCM Classic Film Festival 92NY on January 25, 2025 in New York City. Getty Images for TCM 9 Robert DeNiro in 'Taxi Driver.' Everett Collection / Everett Collection Advertisement An unseen interviewer asked the 'Goodfellas' director if he got a gun, to which Scorsese replied onscreen, 'I was going to get one.' When asked what he planned to do with a gun, Scorsese explained, 'I don't know. I was angry. I said I was going to threaten them… I'll maybe just shoot or something. I had no idea.' 'The Wolf of Wall Street' director added, 'I mean, I was just threatening. What I wanted to do, and not with a gun, I would go in, find out where the rough cut is, and break the windows and take it away. They were going to destroy the film anyway, you know.' 9 Robert De Niro in 'Taxi Driver.' Everett Collection / Everett Collection Advertisement The Oscar-winning filmmaker added, 'So let me destroy it. I'll destroy it. But before destroying it, I'm going to steal it.' Scorsese explained that Spielberg talked him out of it, telling him, 'Marty, stop that. Marty, you can't do that.' Laughing, he recalled, 'I said… The more they said no, the more I said I was going to do it.' 9 Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese on the set of 'Taxi Driver' in 1976. Everett Collection 9 Robert De Niro in 'Taxi Driver.' Courtesy Everett Collection Spielberg recalled that in the end, someone came up with an idea to 'mollify' the Motion Picture Association of America by toning down the bloodiness of the scene to make it look grainier, like a tabloid photo. 'He just had to take the color red down to a kind of brown,' Spielberg said. 'Taxi Driver,' which follows the deteriorating mental state of former Vietnam War vet turned taxi driver Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), went on to earn a 'Best Picture' Oscar nomination. Advertisement 9 Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese on the set of 'Taxi Driver' on July 15, 1975, in New York City. Penske Media via Getty Images 9 Jodie Foster and Robert De Niro in 'Taxi Driver.' Courtesy Everett Collection De Niro and his co-star Jodie Foster, who was just 12 when she played a teen prostitute in 'Taxi Driver, also got Oscar nods for their roles in the flick. 'Mr. Scorsese' premieres on AppleTV+ on Oct. 17.
