The Movie That Left the Legendary Director Martin Scorsese Stressed and Anxious

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Among Martin Scorsese’s many iconic films with Robert De Niro, The King of Comedy is notably dark, offering a sharp look at America’s fascination with celebrity.

Robert De Niro plays Rupert Pupkin, a man whose intense need for recognition becomes disturbing. To truly understand an obsessive personality, De Niro went to the extraordinary length of meeting with someone who had been stalking him for years.

So, I was reading this biography of Robert De Niro, and Scorsese tells this crazy story. Apparently, this guy was just… waiting for De Niro, with his wife, who looked totally mortified by the whole thing. It wasn’t some big, dramatic demand, though. He just wanted De Niro to come over for dinner, way outside the city! De Niro finally asked him why he was being followed, and the guy just said he wanted to grab a drink and chat, and that his mom sent her regards. Seriously, that’s it! It’s just a really weird encounter, you know?

Watching the making of this film felt almost as unsettling as the character’s inner turmoil. It was a really difficult time for Scorsese, with his health declining and the studio, 20th Century Fox, breathing down his neck. He relied heavily on people he trusted, like editor Thelma Schoonmaker, but his drive for perfection pushed him to the brink. He actually confessed in his book that there were days he’d get a problem message about the film and just decide it was impossible to work – he was completely overwhelmed. Even when friends tried to explain the studio was getting frantic about the mounting costs, the film flopped spectacularly when it came out in 1983. It only earned around $2 million on a $20 million budget, which was devastating. It forced him to scale back and focus on smaller projects like After Hours. Sadly, it also put his passion project, The Last Temptation of Christ, on hold for years, until he was finally able to get it funded after The Color of Money became a hit in 1986.

As of February, Robert De Niro, despite being in his eighties, remains incredibly active in Hollywood. He recently received a lifetime achievement award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and is currently starring in the Netflix thriller series Zero Day. He’s also getting excellent reviews for playing two roles in the mob film The Alto Knights, which was released in March 2025. Fans are eagerly awaiting his next project, the crime thriller The Whisper Man.

Meanwhile, Martin Scorsese was in Prague as of February 12th, preparing to direct his newest film, What Happens at Night. This spooky, snow-covered ghost story will be his seventh movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, and also features Jennifer Lawrence and Mads Mikkelsen. The film centers on a couple’s disturbing stay at an isolated European hotel and is predicted to be a strong contender for awards in 2027.

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2026-02-12 23:15