User:Wildroot/Scorsese

Silence
The helmer first read Endo’s novel 25 years ago, when Archbishop Paul Moore sent it to him following a screening of “Last Temptation of Christ” held for New York religious readers. He

Silence is an upcoming historical drama based on the 1966 Japanese novel of the same name by Shūsaku Endō. Martin Scorsese will direct the film, which stars Andrew Garfield as a seventeenth-century Portuguese Jesuit missionary who travels to Japan with a fellow priest (Adam Driver) and translator (Ken Watanabe) amid rumors that his mentor (Liam Neeson) has abandoned the Church.

Cast

 * Andrew Garfield as Father Sebastião Rodrigues
 * Liam Neeson as Ferreira
 * Ken Watanabe
 * Adam Driver as Francisco Garrpe
 * Issey Ogata

Production
Archbishop Paul Moore, Jr. sent Endō's novel to director Martin Scorsese in 1988 following a screening of The Last Temptation of Christ in New York. Scorsese was struck by the novel's sense of "cutting away the dogma, cutting away everything and dealing with the very essence of Christianity,” which resonated with him since his teenage years when he nearly joined the Catholic priesthood. “It’s something that has always been part of my life. It’s difficult for people to understand who are not part of that world that I grew up in, which was Roman Catholicism in New York City in the 1950s. I was impressed enough to try to become part of that world, and realized at the age of 15 or 16 that it was much tougher, much more complicated than I thought … in terms of vocation.” Almost immediately after reading the book, Scorsese began working on an adaptation with frequent screenwriting partner Jay Cocks, and Italian producer Gianni Nunnari purchased the film rights to the novel on Scorsese's behalf. but other projects interrupted the process, and the first draft was not completed until 1996. Scorsese had difficulty acquiring funding from major film studios, despite the box office success of Casino. "The landscape of Hollywood had changed. It was clear that it no longer pays for studios that are owned by major corporations to make a $50-$60 million profit on a movie. They want to make more."

Over the years Scorsese's thoughts regularly returned back to Silence. In February 2009 Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio del Toro and Gael García Bernal were in discussions to star in the film, which would have been entirely financed by Graham King's GK Films. Scorsese was hoping for filming to begin by the end of 2009 with New Zealand doubling as Japan. The director opted to focus on Hugo instead, with Del Toro still attached in 2011. In August 2012 a lawsuit arose when the Italian production company Cecchi Gori Pictures sued Scorsese for choosing The Wolf of Wall Street over Silence as his next film. The company been mired in financial restructuring and litigation, with one of its primary remaining assets was the film rights to Silence. Cecchi Gori claims it had spent $750,000 developing "Silence," based on contractual assurances that Scorsese would direct it after completing Hugo. As part of a settlement related to the film that Cecchi Gori and Scorsese agreed to earlier this year, the director allegedly agreed to start production on "Silence" by the end of 2012. In addition to breach of contract for not starting work on "Silence," the lawsuit claims Scorsese and Sikelia owe Cecchi Gori $1.5 million, plus 20% of all "back-end" compensation received by the director, related to "Hugo." Under a 2004 agreement with Nunnari, Scorsese allegedly agreed to pay that amount because he made the adaptation of the children's book ahead of "Silence." The lawsuit accuses Scorsese and Sikelia of two counts of breach of written contract, intentional misrepresentation and negligent misrepresentation.


 * http://variety.com/2012/film/news/scorsese-calls-silence-lawsuit-absurd-6038

In May 2013 it was announced the Scorsese had found a new financier with and Emmett/Furla Films and Belgian producer Paul Breuls’ Corsan Films. Scorsese choose Andrew Garfield for the lead role, alongside Ken Watanabe and Issey Ogata in supporting roles. Filming was expected to begin in June 2014. Scorsese admits that the mostly Japanese-language production is meant for a smaller audience than his hits “Shutter Island,” “The Departed” and “The Aviator,” Location scouting is still under way for the production. Scorsese hints that a veteran collaborator, singer-songwriter Robbie Robertson, may come onboard for the soundtrack. Scorsese's settlement between Cecchi Gori Pictures reached an agreement in January 2014 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, and filming was expected to start the following August in Taiwan. Liam Neeson joined the cast that January and negotiations were underway with Paramount Pictures in July 2014 for U.S. distribution rights.

Schoonmaker is “so excited” for what she says is going to be “a little art film” and very low budget. “We’re all taking a big cut to work on it,” she told me. Later, speaking to the Venice press corps, she added, it’s “so different from Wolf Of Wall Street, you can’t imagine.” On every movie, Scorsese “sets himself a new challenge and wants to change. He doesn’t want to repeat himself” even though “everybody would like us to make Goodfellas over and over and over again.” Silence will shoot in Taiwan rather than Japan where the story is set. Schoonmaker says that decision came based on conversations Scorsese had with Ang Lee when they were making the rounds of various 3D panels during promotion for Hugo and Life Of Pi. “Ang said, ‘You should go to Taiwan, they’re very efficient and they’ll welcome you.’ So that’s where we’re going,” Schoonmaker explained.

Ramones
It took Rosegarten more than a year to piece the rights together between the family and Ramones Prods., which oversees the tunes.

According to Rosegarten, "I grew up listening to the Ramones and seeing them in concert. Joey's story is fascinating and very touching. He overcame incredible physical and mental hardship to front one of the most influential bands in the history of rock and roll. He helped cement the Ramones at the forefront of the punk movement in the late seventies and eighties, only to die a tragic death at 49. I am both excited and honored that Mickey and Charlotte have trusted me to help tell Joey's story." Leigh said, "I've been friends with Rory since 1979, when he unofficially managed my band, The Rattlers, until he went to college. I trusted him with my career and life back then, and now I trust him with my brother's life story. I am thrilled to have him by my side for this project. Rory and I finally get to work together on a story close to both of our hearts." "Rory has been a friend of Mickey's for a long time. He is a caring and thoughtful guy and I'm confident he'll handle this story with all the sensitivity it warrants," said Lesher. Said Rosegarten, "I'm really amazed how many studios contacted me when the word leaked that I was going to do this project. Everyone has been very enthusiastic about making a "Joey" film. The band has had a tremendous impact on popular music in the United States, but the most exciting thing is how huge they are worldwide. The movie will have an astounding foreign appeal." Instrumental in helping Rory put the deal together was entertainment attorney Jon Moonves. Not an easy project to take on, it took nearly a year to finalize. Rosegarten observed, "Between the estate, Mickey and Ramones Productions, it was a giant jigsaw puzzle. This was a tricky deal, but everyone pulled together to make it work." Will be publisher by Touchstone Books in fall of 2007.

October 2009: Fox Searchlight is in negotiations to board a project about the life of the Ramones, based on the upcoming memoir "I Slept With Joey Ramone," by the musician's brother, and featuring the band's tunes. The project, which initially had been conceived independently under manager-producer Rory Rosegarten, would get a significant boost with the involvement of the 20th Century Fox unit. Written by Joey Ramone's brother Mickey Leigh and longtime punk writer and Ramones chronicler Legs McNeil, it centers on the life of Joey Ramone, aka Jeffrey Hyman, the lead singer of the seminal punk act. The memoir is scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster imprint Fireside in December. Rosegarten is a former executive producer of "Everybody Loves Raymond" who negotiated several years ago to buy the rights to the book as it was being written and, most critical, the rights to the music. The studio negotiation process has been a complicated one because of the multiple rights involved. The deal with Fox Searchlight is not closed, caution people close to the situation.

August 2014: Ramones estate with Martin Scorsese's involvement. The 40th anniversary of the Ramones is coming up in 2016, that’s when the first album came out. So we have a lot of projects leading up to that. Among the others are a theatrical play, a book and a film, which already has Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese attached.