Legendary director Martin Scorsese penned a heartfelt essay to fellow filmmaker and “friend” Rob Reiner, in which he recalled a memorable scene he shot in one of his movies that has taken on a whole new meaning since he and his wife, Michele’s brutal murder allegedly at the hands of their son, Nick.
Scorsese, 83, and Reiner were friends for decades after growing close in Los Angeles in the early 1970s, bonding over their New York roots and shared love of comedy.
When it came time to cast for his 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Scorsese immediately thought of Reiner to play Max Belfort, the father of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jordan Belfort, who was based on a real-life crooked stock trader.
In his New York Times missive, Scorsese lauded Reiner as a “master of comedy” and said he “understood the human predicament of his character” in the Oscar nominee for Best Picture.
“The man loved his son, he was happy with his success, but he knew that he was destined for a fall. There’s that wonderful moment where Rob watches as Jon Favreau explains to Leo that he can get out relatively unscathed if he just walks away from his company before the SEC has a chance to charge him with violations,” Scorsese recalled.
“The look on Rob’s face, as he realizes Leo is hesitating and that he ultimately won’t stop, is so eloquent. ‘You got all the money in the world,’ he says. ‘You need everybody else’s money?’”
The “Taxi Driver” and “Goodfellas” director described Reiner, whose own renowned film credits include beloved classics like “A Few Good Men” and “When Harry Met Sally,” as expertly portraying “a loving father, mystified by his son” in the famous scene.
“Now, it breaks my heart to even think of the tenderness of Rob’s performance in this and other scenes,” he said.
Reiner, 78, and his wife, Daniele, 68, were found stabbed to death inside their Brentwood, California home on Dec. 14, their troubled son, Nick, 32, has since been charged with their murders.
“What happened to Rob and Michele is an obscenity, an abyss in lived reality,” Scorsese wrote of his friend’s brutal slaying.
“The only thing that will help me to accept it is the passing of time.”
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