7 December 2008
7 Dec 08 Scorsese Attached to "Falcon's Tale"
According to Production Weekly, director Martin Scorsese is attached to direct Falcon’s Tale, a new film based on an unpublished book optioned by Paramount. The book, by James Keene and Hillel Levin, is set to be released in fall of 2009. It's the true story of Keene, a convicted drug dealer who was serving a 10 year sentence when he was approached by the FBI to go undercover in a high security prison for the criminally insane.
Keene's job was to discover the whereabouts of a serial killer’s victims. Only one other person in the prison knew of his real identity and mission.
Academy Award-winning screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) is penning the screenplay adaptation.
Steve Buscemi On Board For 'BoardWalk'
"Fargo" and "Reservoir Dogs" actor Steve Buscemi is in talks to star in Martin Scorsese's HBO pilot "Boardwalk Empire."
The pilot, written by Terrence Winter, is based on a book on the beginnings of Atlantic City as a gambling mecca in the 1920s. Buscemi would play Nucky Johnson, a liquor businessman whose livelihood is threatened by Prohibition. The 2002 book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City
"Gosford Park" and "No Country for Old Men" actress
Kelly Macdonald is also in talks for the series. She would be playing an Irish immigrant named Margaret, who finds herself stuck in a bad marriage after trying to get out of her parents' house.
Knowing the quality that HBO puts in their series (The Sopranos, Deadwood, Rome, etc.), and with the likes of Scorsese, Buscemi, and Mark Wahlberg (as producer) involved, this could be a huge hit on the cable channel.
The Ebert Book on Scorsese
Don't miss the latest book on the director by legendary movie reviewer Robert Ebert, an avid fan of Scorsese and his films for 40 years. The book is now available online and in stores.
Scorsese by Ebert
From Publishers Weekly:
Ebert, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, is an unabashed fan of Scorsese, whom he considers the most gifted director of his generation. To prove it, he's compiled his reviews of every Scorsese film—beginning with I Call First in 1967 to his latest, Shine a Light.Along the way, Ebert pays special tribute to five masterpieces, including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Mean Streets, which he calls one of the source points of modern movies. These three films in particular, Ebert argues, reflect Scorsese's ongoing preoccupation with sex and guilt, themes fueled by a Catholic upbringing and his childhood in New York City's Little Italy.
Citing the director's strong collaboration with actor Robert De Niro and screenwriter Paul Schrader, Ebert says all three men seem fascinated by the lives of tortured, violent, guilt-ridden characters, usually men who cannot relate to women, such as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver or Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull.
Of special note are interviews with Scorsese over a 25-year period, in which the director candidly discusses his body of work.
"No one has done as much as Ebert to connect the creators of movies with their consumers. He has immense power, and he's used it for good, as an apostle of the cinema." - Richard Corliss, Time "The most powerful pundit in America is veteran film critic Roger Ebert." - Forbes "As film criticism becomes more marginalized, Ebert may come to be seen as the last of a kind - the critic who actually has the power to influence a national audience." - Booklist
17 November 2008 Happy Birthday Marty!
Happy 66th Birthday, Marty, from scorsesefilms.com. And to your daughter, Francesca, who turned 9 yesterday on November 16!
14 November 08 Ex-FBI Agent of 'Departed' Fame Convicted
Former FBI agent and golden boy John 'Zip' Connelly has been convicted this week for aiding the mafia. The agent, who was the inspiration for the story used in Scorsese's 'The Departed,' faces life in prison after his close ties with two New England mobsters, James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, who were FBI informants for three decades, was revealed. Connolly protected the men from prosecution for alleged murder and other crimes in return for $235,000 in bribes.
Matt Damon played a corrupt Connolly-like cop and Jack Nicholson was the Boston mobster chief modeled on Bulger, currently the FBI's second most wanted man. In the Scorsese film, the character of an undercover policeman, played by Leonardo diCaprio, was also based on a real officer. However, unlike the movie, the real officer turned criminal and was jailed for 10 years.
Connolly was convicted of second-degree murder for leaking information to the Boston mob which eventually led to the 1982 shooting death of a casino executive who also had ties to gangsters and who had been flipped as an informant for the FBI.
3 November 08 Scorsese Remakes Kirosawa's High and Low
According to Variety, Martin Scorsese is set to produce a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 thriller 'High and Low' with Mike Nichols (Charlie Wilson's War) tapped as the director. In addition, screenwriter David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross) has been brought on to adapt the original screenplay.
Kurosawa's film was based on a novel that centers on a businessman who has mortgaged all he owns to raise the money for a crucial business deal. The executive is then told that his son has been kidnapped and prepares to hand over everything he has in return for the boy's safe return. The twist is that the snatched child turns out to be the son of his chauffeur, who the kidnappers mistook for their real quarry. The businessman then has to decide if the boy's life is worth sacrificing the money set aside for the corporate buyout.
Scorsese commissioned the script from Mamet in 1999, so this has been a long time coming. The film has yet to begin casting, but looks like it's a green light. Scott Rudin will produce while Scorsese will be the executive producer.
8 October 08 Scorsese and DeNiro: New Movie Rumor
According to the Guardian Newspaper in London, there's a rumor that Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese are reuniting for another mob movie. If so, it would be their 9th collaboration together. The script, "I Heard You Paint Houses" is adapted from Charles Brandt's true-crime book about reputed mob hit man Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran.
Mr. Brandt writes that Sheeran confessed to being the assassion who killed and dismembered missing Teamsters union leader Jimmy Hoffa. Mob boss Russell Bufalino reportedly ordered the hit.
The Oscar-winning screenwriter Steve Zaillian, who wrote Schindler's List and the recent American Gangster, will adapt the book for the big screen.
Brandt's book on the union leader's killing claims Sheeran, who is believed to have killed at least 25 people, used his friendship with Hoffa to lure him to a bogus meeting and drive him to a house in northwestern Detroit, where he shot him twice before fleeing. The body was said to be cremated within an hour of the killing.
4 September 08 Scorsese at New York Film Festival
Martin Scorsese and others will be gracing Gotham's mean streets during the New York Film Festival's just-announced special events.
On Oct. 10, Scorsese will introduce Albert Lewin's 1951 James Mason-Ava Gardner romancer "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman," and filmmakers including "The Wrestler" helmer Darren Aronofsky and Wong Kar Wai will take part in the fest's annual series of interviews, the HBO Films Dialogues.
Other events will include an Oct. 6 screening of a new print of Josef von Sternberg's 1928 silent "The Last Command," accompanied by a new score performed live by the Alloy Orchestra. The New York Film Festival events will run Sept. 26-Oct. 12.
Source: Variety
12 July 08 HBO Greenlights Scorsese Project
The now "untitled" Scorsese HBO Project (previously called 'Boardwalk Empire'), set in Atlantic City of the 1920s, has been official greenlighted as of July 11. Sopranos executive producer Terry Winter has written this pilot, which he is executive producing along with Martin Scorsese. HBO executives Richard Plepler and Michael Lombardo made the announcement Thursday at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in Beverly Hills.
12 July 08 Tina Fey Co-Stars With Scorsese in New Commercial
This month American Express launched a new TV spot featuring comedienne Tina Fey Martin Scorsese showcasing how American Express provides exclusive travel benefits for Platinum Card members.
The television spot depicts Fey, who has a chance encounter with Martin Scorsese at an airport check-in counter, trying to join him in the exclusive club room reserved for elite passengers, after he says he has some "important business" to discuss with her.
Stuck with a coach ticket, Fey tries to use her celebrity to get by the club's front desk, but to no avail. It's only after she pulls out an American Express platinum card that she's allowed entry. Hoping she's going to be offered a part in one of his movies, the spot closes with Scorsese trying to sell Fey a timeshare in Boca!
Of the TV ad, Fey joked: "Some people travel for business and some people travel to see the world, but I think most of us travel so our kids will know their cousins, and as an excuse to play miniature golf." She added, "Since shooting the commercial with Mr. Scorsese, I have used my American Express Platinum Card to try to get into a fancy airport lounge and it did actually work!"
"I have had less success using it to get me a part in a Scorsese movie."
5 June 08 New Scorsese HBO Project
Terence Winter, a Sopranos writer, is penning Scorsese's new HBO project Boardwalk Empire, which will be produced by Entourage bros Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson.
The drama, which has not been ordered to plot, is based on Nelson Johnson's book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City, which revolves around the now-gambling mecca's early 20th century origins, according to Variety:
"Winter rose up the ranks on "The Sopranos" to exec producer and later in its run helmed episodes of the hit drama -- which, like "Boardwalk Empire," took place in New Jersey. He recently scored the WGA nod for drama series episode, for the "Sopranos" seg "The Second Coming."
"HBO's been my home for nine years," Winter said. "From day one I've never been happier working for any network or group of people. They presented me with the ('Boardwalk Empire') book and said they thought a series was there -- go find it."
Winter has been busy on two different film projects for Scorsese: the adaptation of "The Wolf of Wall Street" at Warner Bros. and rock 'n' roll epic "The Long Play."
[source: Variety]
16 May 08 Sinatra Movie Rumors
There's a rumor floating around that Scorsese is considering doing a biopic on the legendary crooner and actor Frank Sinatra. (Hey! What happened to 'Dino', Marty??)
The story goes that Sinatra's youngest daughter, Tina, who is also a film producer, spilled the beans and said that the "most prominent Italian-American filmmaker" (and it's not Coppola!) would be doing the film.
"Marty has always wanted to do this," Sinatra told Sun Media during a phone interview from Los Angeles.
According to Tina, the deal isn't signed yet but she's indicating Marty is the goodfella to do her father's story and believes he can detach Sinatra from all the mob stuff...
"I don't want him to be driving the getaway car. That would not be fair. But I trust him (Scorsese) implicitly," she said, dismissing the notion that her pop was a stooge for gangsters.
She feels that Scorsese is in "a reflective period and is willing to present the truth about her father."
4 April 08 'Shine A Light' Opens to Rave Reviews
There are high marks across the board from almost all newspaper and internet reviewers on Scorsese's Rolling Stones documentary, Shine a Light, which debuts today, 4 April. It's an exhilarating musical experience and a tribute to the longest lasting rock and roll band in music history. The director used 18 cameras to cover the concert at the Beacon theater (where it was filmed) and also included extensive interview footage. It's a must-see for all Scorsese and Stones fans, as well as anyone who loves rock music.
Premiere.com posted their coverage of Shine A Light. The feature examines the why the Rolling Stones have been an inspiration to Scorsese throughout his career and discusses past Stones documentaries. It also includes Ethan Russell’s amazing photos from their 1969 tour.
31 March 08 Shine A Light concert film opens in record number of IMAX Theatres on April 4
The highly anticipated Rolling Stones concert film 'Shine A Light', directed by Martin Scorsese, will be released in a record 93 IMAX theatres domestically on April 4, simultaneously with the film's wide release.
In a press conference on March 30, Scorsese says the music of the Stones has always struck powerful chords with him, so much that he used the group's violence-laced song "Gimme Shelter" in three of his films.
"The music has been very important to me over the years. It dealt with aspects of the life that I was growing up around, that I was associated with or saw or was experiencing and trying to make sense of," Scorsese said.
"It was tougher, it had an edge. Beautiful, honest and brutal at times. And it's always stayed with me and become a well of inspiration to this day."
More information on Shine A Light.
12 March 08 Win the Tux Off Marty's Back!
There's still plenty of time to get in on the bidding to own the clothes off Marty's back -- literally. The tuxedo he wore to the 2007 Oscars where he accepted the Best Director statue for "The Departed" is being auctioned off for charity at clothesoffourback.org.
This is a beautiful Armani tuxedo that Scorsese wore to both the 2007 Golden Globes and Academy Awards. The tuxedo consists of jacket, pants, vest and shirt. The auction runs until March 17 and it's one of many auctions for celebrity clothing and accessory items including things from Helen Mirren, Cate Blanchett, and Penelope Cruz.
Proceeds from the auction benefit The World Food Program for Darfur. At last peek, bidding on Scorsese's tux was up to $650 which is a fraction of what this Armani tux is worth! So come on, folks, bid up and take home the shirt off Marty's back!
10 March 08 'Shine a light' Info and Trailer Link
On April 4th, Academy Award®-winning filmmaker and the world's greatest rock n' roll band will unite to bring audiences the year's most extraordinary musical film event, "Shine A Light," to theaters everywhere.
Martin Scorsese's concert documentary "Shine A Light" will show the world the Rolling Stones as they've never been seen before. Filmed at the famed Beacon Theatre in New York City in Fall 2006, Scorsese assembled a legendary team of cinematographers to capture the raw energy of the legendary band.
Read more information on 'Shine a Light'.
26 Feb 08 New Cast Announced for Shutter Island
Three new additions have been announced for Scorsese's upcoming drama 'Shutter Island'. Already starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Sir Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams and Patricia Clarkson, the newest confirmations are Max von Sydow, Emily Mortimer and Jackie Earle Haley, according to Variety. The film is to begin shooting on March 6th.
Von Sydow is to play a hospital physician, while Haley is cast as one of the Shutter Island inmates. Mortimer is to play the escaped woman of whom DiCaprio and Ruffalo are in pursuit.
26 Feb 08 New Poll Picks Top 10 Scorsese Films
Askmen.com has come up with their picks for the top 10 Scorsese films and it's a list that die hard fans are going to have their own opinions on. Who would think that "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" would make the top 10 and not "The Last Temptation of Christ"? Take a look and see for yourself what the staff at askmen.com selected:
- Raging Bull
- Goodfellas
- Taxi Driver
- The Departed
- The Aviator
- Casino
- Gangs of New York
- Mean Streets
- The King of Comedy
- Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
19 Feb 08 Bob Marley Project Announced
Martin Scorsese is to produce a documentary on the life of reggae legend, Bob Marley. The film is scheduled to be completed by by February 6, 2010, which would have been the singer's 65th birthday.
Ziggy Marley, Marley's eldest son, told the New Zealand Herald newspaper that he was excited that Scorsese will be doing the project.
"I am thrilled that the Marley family will finally have the opportunity to document our father's legacy and we are truly honoured to have Scorsese guide the journey," Ziggy Marley said.
Marley's son Ziggy is co-producer of the new documentary, which has still to be given a name.
19 Feb 08 Scorsese Says Turn Off the Phones!
In a new theater public service announcement, director Martin Scorsese is urging moviegoers, “Please don’t interrupt our movies," with ringing cell phones.
According to a recent survey conducted by Nielsen Cinema Research, 98% movie-goers seem to feel the same way and voluntarily put their phones on vibrate or turn it off. Now if we could just get the other 2% to join the rest of the human race...
View Scorsese's PSA announcement as part of of AT & T's Be Sensible campaign at Youtube.com or at www.att.com. It's 40 seconds long and very entertaining. You gotta luv this guy!
(Thanks, Samara!)
18 Jan 08 Scorsese and Keitel Team Up to Produce
Old friends Harvey Keitel and Martin Scorsese are teaming up to bring Daphna Kastner's New York drama "Chaos" to the big screen. According to Variety, Keitel will produce the project while Scorsese acts as an executive producer.
The script, which was written by Kastner, will follow the lives of two heartbroken individuals as their destinies meet on the mean streets of downtown Manhattan.
Producer Michael Cerenzie stated, "Marty, Harvey, Christine and I all share a tremendous passion for Daphna Kastner's original script and a strong belief in her talent as a filmmaker."
The film will go into production later this year.
9 Jan 08 "Shine A Light" on April 4 Release
Martin Scorsese's film which follows The Rolling Stones' 2006 world tour will be released on April 4. Scorsese shot 'Shine A Light' over two nights as the legendary band played intimate concerts at New York's Beacon Theatre.
The film will also show backstage footage as well as rare archive footage and a host of new interviews.
Musicians making guest appearances include White Stripes guitarist Jack White.
The Stones' 'Bigger Bang' tour usually found the band rocking stadiums and arenas but they played to just a few thousand at the New York shows.
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