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Screenplay
Scorsese first became aware of Paul D. Zimmerman's script after it was brought to him by Robert De Niro in 1974, but declined the project citing that he felt no personal connection with it. Michael Cimino was attached to direct, however Cimino's involvement with the script fell through, when he left the project to instead direct Heaven's Gate. Prompted by the alienation he felt from his growing celebrity status, and de Niro’s claims that the film could be made "real fast", and that it would be a "New York movie" Scorsese’s interest in the project was rekindled.