http://www.ocregister.com/show/barrywood.shtml Harvey and Marty are best of friends April 14, 2002 By BARRY KOLTNOW The Orange County Register I'm expecting an announcement in the mail any day that director Martin Scorsese and studio executive Harvey Weinstein are registering for china and silver. They make a lovely couple, don't they? In case you haven't heard, the tough movie director and even tougher movie mogul are the best of friends now. I suppose we have The New York Times to thank for that. There are not many things that could bring together diverse characters such as Scorsese and Weinstein, but the opportunity to get even with a journalist is one of them. Laura Holson of the Times wrote a front-page story last Sunday in which she detailed an ongoing battle between the stubborn movie titans over "Gangs of New York," a costly epic about New York gangsters before the Civil War. The film is a Miramax Films production, of which Weinstein is co-chairman, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio. Scorsese is directing the $100 million movie. The feud stems from a difference in visions. Scorsese envisions a long film. Weinstein envisions a shorter film. OK, that is an oversimplification of the issues. The bottom line is that Scorsese sees his films with an artist's eye. He would like a lot of people to see his movies, but he doesn't lose sleep over it. He would rather make a quality film than worry over whether it appeals to a mass audience. Weinstein, on the other hand, is the consummate businessman. Although he has proven himself to be a champion of quality films, he does lose sleep over concerns about the commercial prospects of his films. One of the bones of contention was the length of the movie. There were rumors of a four-hour version, a 3-hour, 40-minute version and a 2- hour, 40-minute version. Scorsese and Weinstein reportedly were an hour apart on how they saw the final film. There also were problems with the release date, which already had been moved once (from last fall) and was in danger of being moved again. At stake in this titanic battle (neither man had anything to do with the movie "Titanic") is which approach would prevail in Hollywood -- the businessmen or the artist. This is a classic Hollywood debate, and the movie community held its collective breath. But it didn't have to hold its breath for very long. Just 24 hours after The New York Times story, Scorsese and Weinstein announced to the industry trade papers that they didn't know what the Times was talking about. In fact, they said they were in total agreement about the length of the movie (2 hours, 40 minutes) and the release date (Christmas week). One can only wonder about that Sunday-afternoon phone call. HARVEY WEINSTEIN: Hey, Marty, did you see The New York Times today?" MARTIN SCORSESE: I saw it. WEINSTEIN: Well, what are we going to do about it? SCORSESE: You could make an announcement admitting that you were wrong. WEINSTEIN: No, seriously. SCORSESE: I was being serious. WEINSTEIN: We have to spin this thing, and we have to do it right now. We could have another "Heaven's Gate" on our hands. SCORSESE: Harvey, I'm not going to back down. I am the man who made "Raging Bull." WEINSTEIN: You also are the man who made "Boxcar Bertha," so let's not get too high and mighty. SCORSESE: That was a long time ago. I've grown as an artist. WEINSTEIN: You've also grown as a guy who makes movies that people don't want to see. SCORSESE: People want to see my movies, but they're not the kind of people that you want. WEINSTEIN: What kind of people do I want? SCORSESE: Young people with pimples. WEINSTEIN: That's not fair. Many people who enjoy my movies haven't had pimples in years. SCORSESE: I think this one is going to be different. I think I'm going to bring in all the people, yours and mine. It's got action, it's got violence, it's got sex and it's got Leo DiCaprio. WEINSTEIN: Who is getting older by the minute. If we delay this thing one more time, Leo's fans are going to be Merchant & Ivory's audience. There already are five guys from the WB who are bigger than Leo. SCORSESE: Even so, I won't compromise on the length. WEINSTEIN: Marty, it's too long. Kids have an attention span of about three minutes, and adults have to go to the bathroom. SCORSESE: OK, what if I cut it to 2 hours, 40 minutes, but I increase the special- edition DVD version to 12 hours. WEINSTEIN: I don't care what you do with the DVD. Make it a trilogy, for all I care. SCORSESE: How are we going to announce this? WEINSTEIN: We have to do it today so it looks like the newspaper story was wrong. SCORSESE: Do you think people will believe that? WEINSTEIN: Of course. They still believe that "Shake speare in Love" was a better movie than "Saving Private Ryan." |
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