Leonardo DiCaprio was determined to reteam with his longtime collaborator Martin Scorsese to film gritty new drama “The Wolf Of Wall Street” because he was convinced no other director could do the movie justice.The actor, who had worked with Scorsese on four previous projects, including The Departed, picked up the rights to disgraced New York financier Jordan Belfort’s memoir in 2007 after becoming captivated by his story about his life in banking and his stint behind bars for securities fraud and money laundering.
DiCaprio took the idea to Scorsese and they landed a deal to make the film with Warner Bros. studio bosses, but the financing agreement collapsed in the stock market crash of 2008, forcing the “Goodfellas” filmmaker to walk away from the movie.
“The Titanic” star approached a handful of other directors to help bring Belfort’s story to the big screen, but he didn’t feel right working on “The Wolf of Wall Street” with anyone other than Scorsese – and it wasn’t until 2011 that the pair managed to strike a new deal with executives at independent production company Red Granite Pictures.
DiCaprio tells New York magazine, “Marty directing was Jordan’s dream scenario, absolutely. When Marty couldn’t do it the first time, I set it up with a few other directors, but I never felt comfortable pulling the trigger. I was fixated on him (Scorsese). There wasn’t anybody else who could bring the rawness and toughness, the music, and particularly the humor required to convey the excitement of these young punks – these robber barons – taking on the Wall Street system.”
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