Martin Scorsese Turned Down Bunch Of Movies Before Returning In 1988

Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest filmmakers of this generation. He has given an uncountable number of extraordinary movies in his illustrious career. But there was a time when he thought of quitting the film industry and started to reject the scripts that were coming his way.

Speaking in an interview with Deadline, the 77-year-old filmmaker revealed that he rejected a lot of scripts after making “The King Of Comedy” in 1982 and only donned the director’s hat when he was ready to make movies again.

The esteemed director noted that he rejected movies like “Beverly Hills Cop” and murder-thriller “Witness” after “The King Of Comedy” bombed at the box office. “Beverly Hills Cop” came out in 1984 with Eddie Murphy in the lead role. The action-comedy film was eventually directed by Martin Brest. The movie turned out to be a massive hit and was even nominated for an Academy Award.

“I was getting many scripts, 'Witness', 'Beverly Hills Cop', there were a lot. But I didn't want to make those. Then you choose your course. It's a harder course,” Scorsese said.

The “Wolf Of Wall Street” helmer has always been quite vocal on how “The King Of Comedy” changed everything for him. In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Scorsese explained how he and his partners were “attacked” by everyone when the movie came out.

Later in the discussion, the Academy Award-winning director admitted that he was not in the right frame of mind after the movie flopped and spent most of the 1980s assessing his position in Hollywood. After not directing a movie in six years, Scorsese made a comeback with “The Last Temptation Of Christ” in 1988.

“Ultimately I got back on track in 1987, 1988 finishing up ‘The Last Temptation’, which then led to 'New York Stories' and ultimately ‘Goodfellas.’ But all through the '80s, I was trying to find my way as a filmmaker because I had exhausted certain things. I was going in another way,” Scorsese said.

In related news, his newest collaboration with Robert DeNiro, “The Irishman,” has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and a Best Director nod for Scorsese. This is Scorsese’s ninth nomination in the Directing category which makes him the most-nominated living director in the history of the Oscars.