Scorsese feted at MoMA by friends

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‘An epitome of modern filmmaking’

NEW YORK, Nov 20, (AP): Many young boys grow up with superheroes adorning their walls. Jonah Hill grew up with a picture of Martin Scorsese on his.

The actor related the poignant anecdote at a star-studded benefit Monday evening at the Museum of Modern Art, honoring the celebrated director both for his contributions to both cinema and to film restoration and preservation.

“You might not even understand how often just the image of you creates young people who want to be filmmakers every single day,” said Hill, who worked with Scorsese on “The Wolf of Wall Street” and just released his directorial debut, “Mid90s”, last month.

Hill added: “As far as I’m concerned that’s the coolest thing in the entire world. Thank you for just existing, because I am only up here because you did what you did.”

Also among the speakers at MoMA’s annual film benefit, which raises funds to bring great works of film to the museum’s collection, were Hollywood heavyweights Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, two of the actors most closely associated with Scorsese.

DiCaprio, who’s appeared in five Scorsese films including “Shutter Island”, ‘’The Departed” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” also went back to his youth to describe the influence Scorsese, 76, had on him.

He told the audience how when he was just 15, and starting his journey as an actor, his father took him to a movie theater for inspiration.

Screen

“He pointed at the screen, and as the reels of ‘Goodfellas’ began to spin, he said, ‘This is the epitome of modern filmmaking,’” DiCaprio recounted. “’This is someone who you may be lucky enough one day to work with, and when it comes to directors, Martin Scorsese is where the bar is set.’”

Lifelong

The actor added that from that moment, “I made it a goal, I made it a relentless ambition to work alongside the master we’re celebrating here tonight.” The pair is about to start on its sixth collaboration, the crime thriller “Killers of the Flower Moon”.

DiCaprio also spoke of Scorsese as a lifelong teacher, from his constant on-set references to film history to his efforts to restore and preserve old films with The Film Foundation, which he founded in 1990.

“No one on earth has so relentlessly pioneered the salvation of movie history with such commitment the way Martin Scorsese has,” DiCaprio said.

De Niro, who’s made nine feature films with Scorsese, including classics like “Taxi Driver”, “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas”, spoke of the director’s many years of friendship.

“Marty’s gift for friendship is directly related to his many gifts for filmmaking,” the actor said. The director has, he said, “a giant heart that understands and embraces every character he helps us create, and every story he tells.”

De Niro also quipped to the crowd that Scorsese’s first career ambition was to be a priest. “My theory was that he changed when he realized that being a priest meant serving God, but being a director meant being …,” he said.

Hill told the story of how Scorsese had instructed an actor in “The Wolf of Wall Street” to punch him for real, because the fake punches were looking, well, fake.

Hill noted that he had adopted that technique for “Mid90s”, but Scorsese, when he came to the podium, jokingly admonished him. “I wouldn’t advise that for young filmmakers,” he said.

Also:

LOS ANGELES: Warner Bros’ “Space Jam 2”, starring LeBron James and produced by Ryan Coogler, is set to film in California.

The upcoming sequel is one of 15 film projects that have been selected for the state’s Film & TV Tax Credit Program 2.0. “Space Jam 2” received the largest conditional allocation with a $21.8 million tax credit. “Mouse Guard” scored the second-biggest cut ($10.2 million) of the new $73.3 million available in tax credits.

Others include Andy Samberg’s “Palm Springs”, Universal’s “Marry Me” and “24/7”, Lionsgate’s “Margaritaville” and 20th Century Fox’s “The Boy Who Knew Too Much”. Four of the projects (“Janis”, “Cry, Baby”, “Lexi” and “Luminous”) will film in the San Francisco area.

“One of the goals for Program 2.0 is to bring production jobs and spending to regions across the state,and we’re beginning to see that happen more often and on a larger scale,” said Amy Lemisch, California Film Commission’s executive director. “We’re thrilled to see Program 2.0 have such far-reaching benefits.”

The $73.3 million in tax credits will result in $370 million in qualified expenditures, including $194.7 million in wages for below-the-line crew members and employ an estimated 2,300 crew, 750 cast, and 28,000 extras and stand-ins over a combined 554 shoot days. Warner Bros’ “Space Jam 2” is on track to generate more than $100 million in qualified spending, including almost $43.2 million in below-the-line wages.

“I’m thrilled to be shooting in my home state of California,” said Samberg, who will produce and star in “Palm Springs”. “Not only was I born and raised here, but, as everyone knows, the California Raisins were a major creative influence, which I think will definitely rub off on this production.”

The commission reported on Nov 2 that California’s expanded production tax incentive program has resulted in nearly $6 billion in in-state spending over the past three years, generated from $815 million in tax credits. California’s credit covers up to 25% of in-state production costs, which is not as lucrative as other locations but is aimed at putting the brakes on runaway production.

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