Martin Scorsese has had a prolific career with many memorable and acclaimed films under his belt. He recently released his passion project Killers of The Flower Moon which was received quite positively by critics and audiences. The maverick director has had many projects that took a long time to make due to many factors including script developments, casting changes, and the director’s own hesitations.
One of these projects was his 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ. The religious drama was something Scorsese wanted to make but it took a very long time for the project to come to fruition. He was going through a lull phase at the time with some of his prior films failing at the box office and he wanted to make a biblical film, which was further supported by his long-time friend Robert De Niro.
Martin Scorsese Immersed Himself Making The Last Temptation of Christ
The Last Temptation of Christ was one of Martin Scorsese‘s passion projects in the 80s. He had long wanted to make a biblical story. Dismal box office returns of some of his previous films had initially hindered the development process and he wanted to prove his skills as a director by attempting a bold and risky project. He even ushered in a character for himself in the film, playing Isaiah.
In an interview with Deadline, he rubbished rumors of Robert De Niro being considered for the role of Jesus in the film. Instead, he revealed that his long-time collaborator and friend offered to help and support Scorsese if he found problems or hurdles making the film. Scorsese said,
“No, that’s not true. Not really. That was a myth that’s been started. Everyone else involved with it, their producers and the studio asked me to talk to Bob about doing it. Out of respect for everyone, including Bob, we did have a conversation but I knew that was not his kind of role. He did tell me, listen, if you have trouble getting it made, I’ll do it for you. But it was a different time. But primarily, I was going off on my own, and the studio and my producers said could you please talk to Bob about it. I said, okay.”
The film became a thought-provoking and provocative film. Although it was a controversial film at the time when it came out in 1988, the film was a box office success and it revitalized Scorsese’s career while also reinvigorating his passion for filmmaking and the love of the audience.
Martin Scorsese Is Proud of His Decades-Long Friendship with Robert de Niro
Martin Scorsese and his frequent collaborator Robert De Niro have been friends for over 50 years and have now worked together on 10 films together. In a recent appearance at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center with Stephen Colbert, the director reflected on his friendship with De Niro and their recent moment of self-reflection that they had together. He said (via WION),
“I was saying at his 80th birthday party that we allowed ourselves about 60 seconds at Cannes. At night, after the film, a few months ago, we had some champagne, and we leaned back, and the pool was down there, and the hotel we had was very beautiful. There were spotlights, and the sky, and the stars. And he looked at me and leaned back, and he said, ‘Would you believe, in 50 years, where we are?’”
De Niro also starred in Scorsese’s latest film Killers of the Flower Moon. Their collaborations marked some of the strongest works in their respective careers.
