Most surprising is DiCaprio’s reaction to it all: he can’t quite believe he’s gotten to work as much as he has with one of his cinematic heroes.
“The Wolf of Wall Street” marks the fifth collaboration between him and Scorsese, a partnership that began in 2002 on the period piece “ Gangs of New York.” Since then, it has blossomed into one of Hollywood’s greatest actor-director relationships. In fact, DiCaprio has a lot to be proud of-and not just for the acclaim his latest work has already received. But this is what we wanted to put up on the screen, and that’s not something you’re going to see very often nowadays, which is what I am absolutely most proud of of making this movie.” “I have been doing a lot of press for the film and speaking openly about it because I want more films like this to be able to get made,” DiCaprio said.
The hostility from the latter camp has sent the usually private DiCaprio on a months-long press tour to support the movie and Scorsese’s vision (not to mention an Oscar campaign, with the film receiving five nominations). Others think it’s a disgusting and blasphemous film that’s unwilling and uninterested in punishing its immoral lead character.
Some love it for its brutal and honest portrayal of a greedy Wall Street broker who stole millions of dollars from innocent people. The overall response ‘Wolf’ has gotten since it hit theaters last December has been, to say the least, complicated. Thus, his decision to call those with their hands up “hipsters.” Nevertheless, DiCaprio’s definition of the word shouldn’t matter as much as the sentiment behind it-a feeling of excitement and satisfaction. When more than half the crowd raised their hands, he seemed genuinely happy, like the work he had put in over the last several years paid off. As for the hipster comment, Leo had just asked those in the audience whether they had already seen “ The Wolf of Wall Street,” one of the most divisive films of 2013.
The panel, which included longtime Scorsese editor Thelma Schoonmaker along with screenwriter Terence Winter, was part of a two-day series highlighting all five films Scorsese and DiCaprio have collaborated on. “We got hipsters in the house!” This phrase makes even less sense now than when I heard Leonardo DiCaprio say it last night at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City, where hundreds braved the horrendous weather to hear him talk about his decade-long partnership with director Martin Scorsese.