$150,000,000
Martin Scorsese
Net Worth
Born in (City)
New York
Born in (Country)
United States of America
Date of Birth
17th December, 1942
Date of Death
-
Mother
Catherine Scorsese
Father
Charles Scorsese
Children
- Cathy Scorsese
- Domenica Camron Scorsese
- Francesca Scorsese
About
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential directors in film history. Scorsese's body of work explores themes such as Italian-American identity, Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, faith, machismo, nihilism, crime and sectarianism. Many of his films are known for their depiction of violence and the liberal use of profanity. Scorsese has also dedicated his life to film preservation and film restoration by founding the nonprofit organization The Film Foundation in 1990, as well as the World Cinema Foundation in 2007 and the African Film Heritage Project in 2017.
Early Life
Martin Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942, in the Flushing area of New York City's Queens borough. His family moved to Little Italy in Manhattan before he started school. Both of Scorsese's parents, Charles Scorsese and Catherine Scorsese (born Cappa), worked in New York's Garment District. Charles was a clothes presser and an actor while Catherine was a seamstress and an actress. Both of them were of Italian descent The original surname of the family was Scozzese, later changed to Scorsese because of a transcription error. Scorsese was raised in a predominantly Catholic environment.
As a boy, he had asthma and could not play sports or take part in any activities with other children, so his parents and his older brother would often take him to movie theaters; it was at this stage in his life that he developed a passion for cinema.
He attended the all-boys Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, graduating in 1960. He had initially desired to become a priest, attending a preparatory seminary but failed after the first year. This gave way to cinema and consequently Scorsese enrolled in NYU's Washington Square College (now known as the College of Arts and Science), where he earned a B.A. in English in 1964. He went on to earn his M.A. from New York University's School of the Arts (now known as the Tisch School of the Arts) in 1968, a year after the school was founded.
Road to Success
While doing his master’s degree Martin Scorsese made short films. His most famous short film is "The Big Shave "(1967), a dark comedy based on the involvement of America in the Vietnam War. In 1967 he made his first full length feature film Who’s That Knocking at My Door. Throughout his entire career, he avoided comparing his movies with his contemporary filmmakers. Starting from 1970, he created those movies that set a benchmark in American Movie Industry. He became friends with Brian De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. He was introduced to Robert De Niro by Brian De Palma. Martin Scorsese and Robert de Niro have given some of the best cult classics of Hollywood. Scorsese worked as the assistant director and one of the editors on the documentary Woodstock in 1970. He met actor- director John Cassavetes then. John Cassavetes later became a friend and mentor for Him. John Cassavetes encouraged him to make movies on his own, rather than someone else’s projects. His movie Mean Street released in 1973 was a huge hit for both him and De Niro. And then came Taxi Driver in 1976. This mode established Martin Scorsese as one of the important directors of all time. It is one of the best performances for Robert De Niro. Taxi Driver won the Palme d’Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. It also received four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. After this and until the early 1980’s his movies didn’t go well, which made him depressed. Thanks to Robert De Niro his life was back on track. They both made Raging Bull in 1980. The film had mixed responses because of its violent content. However it was critically acclaimed as one the best movies crafted by Martin Scorsese.
Challenges
As a child, Scorsese had asthma issues which prevented him from going out and playing with other kids of his own age. He was more than mildly depressed when his films were not winning attention like his hit movie, Taxi Driver (1976) which won awards. Drug abuse, and abuse of his body in general, culminated in a terrifying episode of internal bleeding when Robert de Niro came with a movie proposal that changed the former’s life. Further challenges he had to face was that even though some of his movies had positive critics it didn’t do well in the box office. Some movies were critically acclaimed but had mixed reviews due to the violence he portrayed in his movies. Also he admitted that shooting a movie is physically challenging because of the climate and the “mosquitoes”. Having issues with the studio system during production, he had to turn to independent financiers to back his project.
Failures
In 1977 he directed the Broadway musical The Act, starring Liza Minnelli. The disappointing reception that New York, New York received drove Scorsese into depression. By this stage the director had developed a serious cocaine addiction. After Taxi Driver in 1976 and until the early 1980’s his movies didn’t go well, which made him depressed. He had four failed marriages until, in 1999, when he tied the knot with Helen Morris. “Hugo,” Martin Scorsese’s rare turn into family-friendly entertainment, was a critical darling and 11-time Oscar nominee, but Paramount’s massive budget near the $170 million mark was always going to be tough to match for a meditative 3D kids film. The film’s $73 million gross in the U.S. and $185 million worldwide total would’ve actually been impressive had Scorsese not driven the budget so high with his commitment to using 3D visual effects to tell a relatively small scale story.
Achievements
The most nominated living director for Oscars totaling 9 times.|1990 - Best Director for Goodfellas, BAFTA Awards|1995 - Golden Lion- Lifetime Achievement Award, Venice International Film Festival|1997 - AFI Lifetime Achievement Award|2002 - Golden Globe Award for Best Direction for Gangs of New York|2005 - French Legion of Honor in recognition of his contribution to cinema|2006 - Outstanding Directing for The Departed, Directors Guild of America Award; Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed|2010 - Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award|2017 : Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis, for his contribution to Polish Cinema|
Quotes
- There
- Now more than ever we need to talk to each other, to listen to each other and understand how we see the world, and cinema is the best medium for doing this.