Featurette on Shutter Island
21 February 2010 Shutter Island Wins Weekend Box Office
Shutter Island topped the Friday opening box office taking in $14 million, and went on to score an estimated $40.2 million, easily bumping the love story Valentine's Day to claim the weekend's top spot.
It is the biggest box office weekend ever for a Martin Scorsese picture. His previous best was $26.9 million for The Departed four years ago in 2006 which also starred Leonardo DiCaprio.
It looks like the gamble to delay the opening of the R-rated thriller for four months has paid off for Paramount. Congratulations to Mr. Scorsese!
19 February 2010 DiCaprio to Play Sinatra?
Martin Scorsese told a reporter at the premiere last night for Shutter Island that he'll be working on plans to direct a Frank Sinatra biopic, but that the actor who plays Frank will not sing, just lip-synch.
The director tells the Hollywood Reporter's columnist Roger Friedman, "With those records, Frank will do the singing. But we're waiting for a finished script."
Ee-gads! Is Leonardo DiCaprio going to be cast as Frank? Is he going to lose 50 pounds to pull off the svelt frame of Ol Blue Eyes? Why not cast Harry Connick, Jr., who actually looks a bit like Sinatra and has a lifetime of living and breathing the music of that era? Or perhaps an unknown actor?
However, Leo (sort of) denied the rumors that he had even been offered the part: "There are no plans to do that (role) as of yet."
Scorsese is saying that his next project will be a small film, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It is a mystery set in Paris, chronicling the life of a 12-year-old orphan and thief living inside the walls of a train station.
Meanwhile, his 17th centuryJesuit priest film Silence has been put on hold so he can shoot Hugo Cabret first, with Silence to follow immediately afterwards.
There is also the announced The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt biopic (natch, with Leo as Rough Rider Teddy) that needs to be scheduled, and Scorsese is longing to do a project with Robert DeNiro again.
16 February 2010 - Early Reviews on Shutter Island are Thumbs Up
'Shutter Island' opens in wide-release this week with early reviews rating it a psychological thrill ride. On the popular Rotten Tomatoes website, it has garnered a positive 89% - about 10 positive reviews ("fresh tomatoes") to 2 negatives or "rotten tomatoes". Here are a few comments:
Drew McWeeny of hitfix.com: "Scorsese's in Cape Fear mode here, making his own version of the sort of thing that rocked his world when he was younger... [a] horror film, but with a haunted house that travels on two legs."
Devin Faraci of chud.com :"The work of a master at his height. This is Scorsese flexing his muscles and cracking his knuckles and making a movie that's intense and thrilling and engrossing and beautiful and dense."
Marshall Fine of hollywoodandfine.com: "Shutter Island is like a lunatic's trip to Wonderland, where no one and nothing is what it appears to be. It builds suspense with only brief respites, reaching a climax that is truly shattering. This is one man's journey into madness – and Martin Scorsese is your most welcome tour guide. Hang on tight."
Thomas Caldwell of Cinema Autopsy: "Shutter Island is the work of a true master who is completely accomplished in the art of filmmaking. An hour later you will be making plans to see it again."
12 February 2010 - The Great Directors' Series: Scorsese
Tim Ryan at Rottentomatoes.com has an interesting round-up of 15 of Scorsese's best films, from his early 70s films, to the black comedy The King of Comedy, his historical dramas like The Age of Innocence, and his most recent work with Leonardo DiCaprio. It's a nice journey through Scorsese's career (thus far!) Take a look at rottentomatoes.com.
Cynthia McFadden’s interview with Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio airs on ABC News "Nightline" Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 11:35pm (ET/PT).
4 February 2010 - Scorsese and Others to Honor Kurosawa
Hollywood's most renowned directors and actors will be in attendance at a memorial tribute to the late Akira Kurosawa. It will be held on March 23, 2010, on what would have been the director's 100th birthday. The Guest of Honor will be Akira Kurosawa's son and President of Kurosawa Production, Hisao Kurosawa. Joining him with be some of Kurosawa's closest friends in Hollywood included Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Richard Gere.
One of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century who introduced the west to Japanese cinema, Kurosawa won multiple awards for many of his films, including Rashomon in 1951, Kagemusha in 1980 and Ran in 1985. In 1989 he won an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, which was presented to Kurosawa by Lucas and Spielberg
The Tribute will be a main event during the 2010 Green Globe Film Awards, which includes over 100 Viewers' Choice Awards which can be voted on through the event Web site at www.movie-voters.com. The Dinner Gala will be held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel's California Ballroom in Los Angeles on 23 March 2010.
2 Feb 2010 Scorsese Working on George Harrison Film
In an interview with Roger Moore of the Orlando Sentinel, director Martin Scorsese revealed his current workload now that Shutter Island is just weeks away from its premiere on February 17th. Scorsese told Moore in an interview that he is currently working on the George Harrison documentary.
"Hopefully you’ll see that in theaters by the end of this year. We’re literally two thirds of the way through it as I speak," Scorsese said.
"We’re editing it, and editing is really making the movie, in this case. We’re going through all this footage. ALL of it. David Tedeschi’s editing it, who cut Shine a Light for us.
"And we’re getting to it, all of it. So much to go through. That Concert for Bangladesh, that alone…beautiful film."
Scorsese said that he won't get to the Teddy Roosevelt project now, but confirmed that his next film is Silence, about 18th century Jesuit priests in Japan.
25 January 2010 - Auction for Shutter Island Premiere tickets
Want to go to a Hollywood premiere and perhaps meet Martin Scorsese in person? Then go to Ebay.com and bid on TWO (2) tickets for the New York Premiere of Scorsese's new film, Shutter Island. The auction, which closes on February 1, 2010, at 5 pm PST, is now open and taking bids.
Here are the details: Recipient and 1 guest will attend the premiere of Shutter Island.
Date of premiere: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 7:30 pm.
Location: The Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City
Proceeds of the ebay auction of the tickets benefits the Children's Charity's Mission is to assist addicted, abused, neglected and physically-challenged children.
Go to ebay and check on the details of the Shutter Island tickets auction - and good luck to everyone!
Advanced Screening Passes in Washington D.C.
Enter to win free tickets to a screening in Washington D.C. to be held on February 18, 2010 at the Regal Gallery Place. The contest is open to residents of D.C., Virginia, and Maryland only.
Shutter Island opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, February 19, 2010!
18 January 2010: Scorsese honored at the Golden Globes
Legendary director Martin Scorsese was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award last night at the Golden Globes Awards Show. The director was presented the honor by his longtime friend Robert DeNiro and his Shutter Island leading man, Leonardo DiCaprio.
In his acceptance speech, Scorsese gave his opinion of where the credit is due - to all the great directors who came before him:
"As far as I’m concerned, making films and preserving them are the same thing. In this room, none of us who make films and watch them would be here without the people who came here before us. Whether it’s DeMille, Hitchcock, the Senegalese filmmaker [Ousmane] Sembène, Kurosawa or John Ford, de Sica, Bergman, Satiajit Ray, we’re all walking in their footsteps every day, all of us…
[DeMille] made these pictures for us, the audience, so we could live in their wonders. He was from the beginning, when films were born. He helped create the narrative style and language that we use today, shaped film as an art form, as a business, and as a mythical landscape. He led the way for all of us. When we look at his films, or Hitchcock or Kubrick, we all remember that motion pictures are part of a continuum, a living, ongoing history. And for me to be a part of all that, well ...I thank you, and I thank you so much."
29 December 2009: Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The weekend film program at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is in financial trouble but will get a boost from Martin Scorsese next month. The filmmaker is scheduled to appear to talk about the role of film at museums.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker will share the stage with Michael Govan, the director of LACMA, in what is being billed as a public conversation about the role of film at museums. "His discussion with Govan will touch on the importance of film preservation and the key role that film should play in a museum or cultural institution," said the museum in a statement.
Scorsese is scheduled to speak at LACMA's Bing Theater on January 20, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. The event is open to the public. Tickets cost $10 for LACMA members and $12 for the general public.
Read the article at latimesblogs.com.
The Golden Globes Awards
DeNiro and DiCaprio to Honor Scorsese on January 17
Actors Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio will present Martin Scorsese with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 67th annual Globes ceremony in January 2010.
The DeMille award recognizes outstanding contributions to entertainment. Past winners include last year's recipient, Steven Spielberg, along with Warren Beatty, Anthony Hopkins and Michael Douglas.
The Golden Globe Awards will be presented Sunday January 17 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and broadcast live on NBC.
Scorsese Produced Film Opens December 18
A new film THE YOUNG VICTORIA, starring Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend, hits theaters in the US on December 18. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, and written by Academy Award Winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park), it is produced by a team including Martin Scorsese, Graham King (The Departed), Tim Headington and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.
In The Young Victoria, Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) delivers an incredibly compelling performance as Queen Victoria in the turbulent first years of her reign. Rupert Friend (Pride & Prejudice) portrays Prince Albert, the suitor who wins her heart and becomes her partner in one of history’s greatest romances. This love story, set amongst all the intrigue of the court, also features Paul Bettany (Master & Commander, The Da Vinci Code), Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Jim Broadbent (Gangs of New York), Thomas Kretschmann (Valkyrie), and Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Tristan & Isolde).
Interview with Scorsese, Producer of The Young Victoria
3 Nov 09 Scorsese inspired by "I Walked with a Zombie"?
What noir films inspired Scorsese for the mood and setting of Shutter Island?
“Oh, for the atmospherics, the way of setting mood, 'Cat People,' 'I Walked with a Zombie' and 'Out of the Past,'” he says ... as if I was bound to know all about the work of the mid 20th-century French director Jacques Tourneur."
So now we know. For more of Scorsese and his Approach to Mentoring, read Simon Schama's article at www.ft.com
3 Nov 09 Scorsese & DeNiro Inaugurate Doha Tribeca Festival
Doha, Qatar [28 October 2009] – After nearly a year of intense planning, the Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) kicks off w with the likes of legendary director Martin Scorsese, Academy Award-winning actors Robert De Niro and Sir Ben Kingsley, and Egyptian screen sensation Youssra.
DTFF, a partnership between the Qatar Museums Authority and Tribeca Enterprises, will run 29 October through 1 November.
As part of Opening Night, DTFF also will feature a free, open-air screening of "Amelia" on the enormous 24-meter wide screen constructed on the grounds of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). More than 3,000 members of the Qatari community are expected to attend, and DTFF will live-stream all of the glamour from the red carpet, including celebrity interviews, to the giant screen, so that festivalgoers don’t miss a moment of the excitement.
During DTFF’s educational workshops. Scorsese will offer feedback to budding filmmakers as well as general comment about the art of filmmaking. Additionally, his World Cinema Foundation has restored a print of "The Mummy" (Al-Momia), the most important film from Egypt from 1969, which will be screened at Souq Waqif, a traditional bazaar in the middle of Doha.
Source: www.examiner.com
1 Sept 09 Scorsese Directs "Boardwalk" Pilot for HBO
Cable channel HBO has given the green light to the new series "Boardwalk Empire " which will debut in the fall of 2010.
"Fargo" and "Reservoir Dogs" actor Steve Buscemi stars as Nucky Thompson, a man described as “equal parts politician and gangster,” who runs Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition. Mr. Scorsese is directing the pilot episode.
The premium cable network has picked up 11 episodes plus the pilot of the 1920s period drama.
Scorsese is expected to remain creatively involved in the show and might direct another episode, subject to his availability.
Also appearing on the series will be Michael Pitt, Kelly MacDonald, Michael Shannon, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza, Aleksa Palladino, Paul Sparks, Shea Whigham, Anthony Laciura, Michael Kenneth Williams, Dabney Coleman, Michael Stuhlbarg and Paz de la Huerta.
The 2002 book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City
22 August 2009: Paramount Announces that the Release of 'Shutter Island'
Will be Delayed for 5 Months Due to U.S. Economic Recession
Paramount Studios has suddenly and uexpectedly pushed the US and worldwide release date of the highly anticipated Scorsese film, "Shutter Island," from October 2 to February 19, 2010. This not only takes the film out of any Academy Award contention for next year, it lands the film in a less than desirable February opening, a time of year when few films do well.
According to Reuters, Paramount Pictures Chairman and CEO Brad Grey said in a statement that reason for the delay is the "difficult economic climate."
"Leonardo DiCaprio is among the most talented actors working today and Martin Scorsese is not just one of the world's most significant filmmakers, but also a personal friend," Grey said. "Following a highly successful 2009, we have every confidence that Shutter Island is a great anchor to lead off our 2010 slate and the shift in date is the best decision for the film, the studio and ultimately Viacom."
According to Hollywood insider Nikki Finke, his source says the studio told the filmmaker “ it doesn’t have the financing in 2009 to spend the $50M to $60M necessary to market a big awards pic like this.”
But Finke has some follow-ups, that the studio does had the advertising budget but fears it won't have the DVD sales they want, given the state of the economy.
That, and the fact that Leo wouldn't have been available to promote the picture in the fall anyway...
Shutter Island Trailer
4 Aug 09 A Look at Restored Films
Martin Scorsese announced in May that his World Cinema Foundation has partnered with The Auteurs website, a curated rotating online film festival, to promote the films the WCF is restoring. Check out The Auteurs’ site for a new selection each week. This sneak peek lasts for the month of August only.
10 July 09 Scorsese on the Death of Michael Jackson
"Michael Jackson was extraordinary. When we worked together on 'Bad,' I was in awe of his absolute mastery of movement on one hand, and of the music on the other. Every step he took was absolutely precise and fluid at the same time. It was like watchine quicksilver in motion. He was winderful to work with, an absolute professional at all times, and, it really goes without saying, a true artist. It will be a while before I can get used to the idea that he's no longer with us." - Scorsese speaking to TV Guide magazine.
19 June 09 "Red Shoes" to be Restored
It is his favorite film, so it stands to reason that Martin Scorsese would be the one to step forward and restore the classic 1956 film, "The Red Shoes" to its original Technicolor hue. Cited as one of the greatest British films ever made, the original negative of The Red Shoes fell into disrepair and would have eventually be lost forever without restoration.
"So many moments, so many conflicting emotions," Scorsese says of The Red Shoes, "such a swirl of color and light and sound, all burned into my mind from that very first viewing — the first of many."
“My father took me to see this film in 1950, when I was eight years old,” Scorsese said at Cannes where he showed the film. “And I’ve never forgotten it. I wouldn’t know how to begin to explain what this film has meant to me over the years. It’s about the joy and exuberance of film-making itself. It’s one of the true miracles of film history.”
Scorsese identifies as crucial a scene between Vicky and Lermontov when they first meet — one that marks her early ambition. "Why do you want to dance?" he asks her. "Why do you want to live?" she retorts.
"Over the years, I’ve thought a lot about that exchange," Scorsese says. "It expresses so much about the burning need for art and I identified with that feeling the very first time I saw the picture with my father."
This process, funded by the Film Foundation, a non-profit organisation established by Scorsese in 1990, was undertaken over two and half years by preservation experts at the University of California, Los Angeles Film and Television Archive.
Scorsese also heads the World Cinema Foundation, which is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of neglected films from around the world. Each year, the Cannes festival screens three or four films restored with funding from the Foundation
The Red Shoes will be soon available on DVD.
READ MORE at the London Telegraph
14 May 09 Scorsese Looking for His Sinatra
Martin Scorsese has signed on to direct and produce a biopic of the legendary singer Frank Sinatra for Universal Studios.
"Sinatra" will focus on his love affairs and marriages (including actresses Mia Farrow and Ava Gardner, who were 2 of his 4 wives), his friendships with President John Kennedy and the rest of the Rat Pack, including Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, and Peter Lawford.
It may also include his ties to the Mob, but since his daughter Nancy Sinatra will be involved in the project, there may be some unpleasantries that will go unmentioned. Or perhaps they will: Nancy has said publicly in the past that she would "trust Scorsese implicitly" to "present the truth" about her father.
The Sinatra family closely guards the image of the singer, which is why no official biopic of him has ever been done before. Phil Alden Robinson is writing the screenplay, and Scorsese will direct as well as produce through his Sikelia Productions. Tina Sinatra will be an executive producer along with Robinson and Garry LeMel, the former president of Warner Bros music division and himself a musician. The producers will be Peter Guber and his movie exec Cathy Schulman.
"This has been a passion project for Peter Guber for a long time, and first he got together with the Sinatra Estate, and then with Scorsese who's also a huge Sinatra fan," an insider tells Deadline Hollywood Daily.
Who will play Frank? That has not been determined yet, or at least, not announced by Scorsese. Leonardo DiCaprio, has been mentioned as a possible frontrunner, but let's hope the director doesn't go down that road again...
11 May 09 Scorsese to Introduce 'Red Shoes' at Cannes
It's been announced that MARTIN SCORSESE will introduce a special screening of the restored movie classic, and one of his favorite films, The Red Shoes, at the Cannes Film Festival in France on 15 May 2009.
Described as a 'cleaned-up version,' the 1948 masterpiece has undergone an extensive two-year digital restoration by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation, in association with the British Film Institute and ITV Global Entertainment Ltd and Janus Films.
The restoration was funded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Film Foundation and the Louis B. Mayer Foundation.
Scorsese, the founder of The Film Foundation, said: "Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger created a vision in The Red Shoes, one that has never really been matched. There's no question that it's one of the most beautiful color films ever made, and one of the truest to the experience of the artist, the joy and pain of devoting yourself to a life of creation."
The film will be presented by Scorsese's long-time editing partner and Powell's widow Thelma Schoonmaker.
19 April 09 Scorsese Gets Humanitarian Award
London, Apr 8 (ANI): Legendary director Martin Scorsese will be honored with a Humanitarian award by the Multicultural Motion Picture Association (MPAA).
The Oscar-winner will become the second recipient of the prestigious award, as Clint Eastwood was the first person to be honoured with it last year, reports the Daily express.
According to MPAA, the Jack Valenti Humanitarian Award is given to an "individual working in the motion picture industry whose contributions and commitment to service exemplify compassion, humanitarianism and dedication to community embodied in the award's namesake."
The director will be honoured with the award during a daylong conference at Washington, D.C.'s Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture on April 21.
Martin is a well-known humanitarian in Hollywood. Since 1990, his Film Foundation has been committed to fostering greater awareness of the urgent need to preserve motion picture history. (ANI)
19 March 09 Storyboards from "Shutter Island"
The storyboards by artist Karl Shelfelman on his site, www.shefelboards.com give us a sense of the action coming up in Scorsese's fall project, Shutter Island. There are 11 boards used for the production posted online for fans to see (look for the images marked "Ashecliffe.")
Shelfelman also did boards for The Departed. They look awesome. This could shape up to be the best Scorsese-DiCaprio collaboration of all the films.
7 Feb 09 Daniel Day-Lewis to Make "Silence" With Scorsese
Director Martin Scorsese is about to begin another labor of love: his next project is one he's been wanting to do for over a decade. "Silence" is the 17th century story of two Jesuit missionaries who encounter violence and prejudice when they travel to Japan. The semi-retired Daniel Day-Lewis (The Age of Innocense, Gangs of New York) and Benicio Del Toro have already signed on to star, and Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien) is rumored to be in talks for the movie. Filming is scheduled to start later this year in New Zealand. The screenplay by Jay Cocks has been adapted from the novel by Shusaku Endo.
In the novel, the story follows two Jesuit priests, Sebastião Rodrigues and Francis Garrpe, who travel to Japan during the Shogunate dynasty to observe the progress of an evangelical mission taking place there and to locate their missing master. They discover that the government, which is trying to rid the country of western influence and particularly Christianity, forces Christians to commit apostasy which forces them to worship in secret.
Graham King, of GK Films, will provide financing for the film. Scorsese and King previously worked together on Gangs of New York.
Day-Lewis is currently shooting Rob Marshall's musical "Nine." Scorsese's film "Shutter Island" with Leonardo diCaprio will hit theaters this October (2009). The director is currently working on a documentary on the late Beatle, George Harrison.
8 Jan 09 Scorsese Endorsese Naples Mob Drama
Martin Scorsese is publicly endorsing an Italian drama about organised crime in Naples. 'Gomorrah,' by filmmaker Matteo Garrone, will carry the credit "Martin Scorsese Presents" when it opens in US theaters on 13 February.
Gomorrah, based on a bestselling book on the Camorra clan, won the Grand Prix at last year's Cannes Film Festival and took home five prizes from last month's European Film Awards.
Scorsese, 66, praised Garrone's acclaimed film as "a tough, forceful look at the Neapolitan underworld".
Scorsese, director of such acclaimed mob thrillers as GoodFellas and The Departed, said Gomorrah was "despairing but also enlightening and, because of its frankness, strangely heartening. I admire the bluntness of this picture and the devotion of Garrone and his actors in their pursuit of a terrible truth."
6 Jan 09 Marty will be a presenter at the Golden Globes
Martin Scorsese will be one of the presenters on hand at The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards to be telecast live on NBC Sunday, 11 January, at The Beverly Hilton.
Other presenters include: The Jonas Brothers, Simon Baker, Drew Barrymore, Glenn Close, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cameron Diaz, Aaron Eckhart, Laurence Fishburne, Ricky Gervais, Jake Gyllenhaal, Salma Hayek, Jessica Lange, Blake Lively, Jennifer Lopez, Amy Poehler, Chris Rock and Seth Rogen.
Steven Spielberg will receive this year's Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field."
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