April 15, 2026
SIFF, Festa Italiana, and Greg Olson Productions Present
MARTIN SCORSESE
MAESTRO OF CINEMA
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Leonardo DiCaprio: I won the rights to Belfort’s book in a bidding war with Brad Pitt, and I was fixated on Scorsese to direct. There wasn’t anybody else who could bring the rawness and toughness, the music, particularly the humor required to convey the excitement of these young punks — these robber barons — taking on the Wall Street system. I hope people understand that we’re not condoning this behavior, we’re indicting it. The book and film are a cautionary tale, and you’ll realize what we’re saying about these people and their world, which is an intoxicating one. If you’re an audience member, you want to be completely submerged in the film. It was a conscious decision on our part, so the experience would almost be like taking a drug. What the characters are doing is ridiculous and absurd, and we laugh. But who is suffering behind the curtain? The comedy is dark. It’s funny but not funny. I told Marty, “I don’t think we’ll be able to do a movie like this too many times in the future. It’s old school, really independent filmmaking on a large scale." Scorsese’s editor and collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker: Leo just completely trusts Marty, who understands that things can be humiliating for actors. He’s acted himself, and he’s been very nervous when he’s done so. So he knows that actors need to feel secure. One they get that feeling, they’re willing to just blossom and do anything. Leo has been incredibly good about just trusting Marty. He’s so brave in this movie, isn’t he? It’s wild, what he’s doing. He understands that Marty will do right by him, once we get into the editing room. That trust is built over the years more and more and more. I love that Leo can make fun of himself. And there’s nothing like a handsome actor doing that. The priority is absolutely on the best take for performance, and I don’t understand why people get so hung up on continuity issues. You know why continuity bumps don’t matter? Because you’re being carried along by the power of the film. So throughout the history of Scorsese and I cutting improvisational scenes, we have decided to go with the performance, in this film with the humor of a line, as opposed to trying to make sure a coffee cup is in the right place. Martin Scorsese: Yeah, it’s another look at America, another look at who we are. And a look at human nature. The comedy in films I’ve directed comes out of human nature. It comes out of misunderstanding, which happens every day, and with the enjoyment of the humor that comes out of a situation. But in the case of The Wolf of Wall Street, the humor comes out of the characters’ enjoyment. They’re doing bad things, and there’s a tension that I hope to get with the audience itself, as they find themselves maybe enjoying some of what the guys are doing, and checking themselves for that. What’s in us that makes enjoy this? Thanks to Los Angeles film professor and author John Trafton for his essay. Greg Olson Productions is sponsored by Inn at the Market.
Directed by: Martin Scorsese Screenplay by: Terence Winter from Jordan Belfort’s book Cinematography by: Rodrigo Prieto Edited by: Thelma Schoonmaker Music Curation by: Martin Scorsese & Robbie Robertson
THE PLAYERS: Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort Jonah Hill as Donnie Azoff Margot Robbie as Naomi Lapaglia Michael McConaughey as Mark Hanna Kyle Chandler as Agent Patrick Denham Rob Reiner as Max Belfort Jon Bernthal as Brad Jon Favreau as Manny Riskin Jean Dujardin as Jean Jacques Saurel Joanna Lumley as Aunt Emma