The Wolf of Wall Street is a completely different type of film, of course.”
She explained, “When I encounter people outside of this industry and they learn I had some connection with Hugo, they make a point of telling me how much they loved that film. I asked her how it was to go from such an artistic and technically complex film, like Hugo, to something as over-the-top as The Wolf of Wall Street. Schoonmaker has been a long-time collaborator with Martin Scorsese, most recently having edited Hugo. I recently spoke with Thelma Schoonmaker, film editor for The Wolf of Wall Street. Click here, here and here for some reactions.) ( Note: Due to the damage caused by the real Belfort and Stratton Oakmont to its investors, the release of the film is not without its critics. Leo DiCaprio stars as Belfort, along with Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughy as fellow brokers. The film adaptation was written by Terence Winter ( Boardwalk Empire, Sopranos), who himself spent some time working in a tamer environment at Merrill Lynch during law school. He served three years in federal prison and was sentenced to pay $110 million in restitution after cooperating with the FBI. The memoir chronicles Belfort’s excursions into excesses and debauchery that eventually led to his downfall and federal prosecution for securities fraud and money laundering. Following this path is Scorsese’s newest, The Wolf of Wall Street, based on the memoir of stock broker Jordan Belfort.īelfort founded the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont in the 1990s, which eventually devolved into an operation based on swindling investors. That’s an approach he’s used with great success in films like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York and others.
He has a unique ability to get us to understand and often be seduced by the people who live outside of the accepted norms. Few directors have Martin Scorsese’s talent to tell entertaining stories about the seamier side of life.