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XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX TUESDAY MAY 15, 2002 11:02:09 ET XXXXX HARVEY, MARTY BATTLE OVER 'GANGS' **Summer Sneak Exclusive** "I'm sick of my image of killing and maiming!" declares DISNEYMIRAMAX cochairman Harvey Weinstein. "It's complete horseshit!" In their first joint interview about their long-delayed epic movie GANGS OF NEW YORK, the film's director, Martin Scorsese, and its producer, Weinstein, defend the film and their sometimes stormy working relationship in July editions of ESQUIRE. "I've been a bad boy on movies. Mea culpa," Weinstein says grudgingly. "But I was good with Marty." The interview, obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT, was conducted by Kim Masters a few weeks ago, according to publishing sources. Masters is the first reporter to see a twenty-minute compilation of scenes from the still unfinished film, which she viewed with Scorsese in his Manhattan office. The two men had hoped to unveil the picture at this week's CANNES FILM FESTIVAL but instead will present the compilation of scenes from the picture, which is now scheduled for release next December, a full year later than originally planned. The delays have been a source of embarrassment for all involved. Last fall, Weinstein, apparently searching for cover, even invoked 9/11 and the World Trade Center. "Our decision to postpone the film's release is based on its setting in downtown Manhattan during the Civil War in the midst of the 1860s draft riots -- one of the most difficult and challenging times in American history," Weinstein said in a statement. "In light of the ever-changing current events, we have chosen to err on the side of sensitivity." But now Masters reveals the delay may have had nothing to do with 9/11 "sensitivity." MORE Recently Scorsese won permission to shoot additional "inserts" for the film and is still reworking the ending. The following are excerpts from Masters's story, hitting racks in early June: FINISH, MARTY The picture had been shooting for three months and the end was not in sight. With the price tag shooting past $90 million, the budget was busted. It was Weinstein's urgent wish that Scorsese should get on with it. So he gave Scorsese, the devout Catholic, a lovely gold Star of David, and exhorted, "Think like a Jew!" "I'm trying," Scorsese replied. But whatever Weinstein had in mind--if he meant that Scorsese should speed it up, cut the script, save a buck -- none of that was on the director's agenda. Now, with the picture still not quite finished, Scorsese admits that he was so enraptured that he indulged his greed. "It's my kind of provoking the danger," he explains. "They would say, 'You have to finish,' and I'd think, 'Well, can I go a little bit further?'" JAR OF EARS Then there was the violence issue. In the film, one gang cuts off rivals' ears, which wind up in a large jar in the Satan's Circus bar. "I tried to get that out of the goddamned movie three years ago," Weinstein bursts out when the subject is raised. "I said, 'I hate that in the script.' Who wants to see a goddamned jar of ears?" "There's a jar of ears. Big deal," Scorsese says. "She pays with the ear and gets a drink!" Weinstein continues. "It's disgusting!" (The ear, incidentally, is one that the Cameron Diaz character has bitten off her victim.) "It's done like the fight scenes in Raging Bull -- you never see her bite," Scorsese replies. "It's all done through suggestion." "That ear is bloody and in the jar," Weinstein says. "He couldn't resist." The two move on to the depiction of Towser, a dog that entertains by mauling rats. "I could say, 'Marty, I promise you, you'll get your $3 million back if you take out the ears and the rats," Weinstein says mournfully. "He doesn't give a shit." MARTY'S REAR-VIEW MIRRORS It was clear to members of the crew when things had gone especially badly between Scorsese and Weinstein. "A couple of times Marty came in a couple of hours late, really pissed off," one remembers. "The first [assistant director] would say, 'There's been a discussion with Harvey." Scorsese's habit of mounting rear-view mirrors on monitors (to ensure that no one is looking over his shoulder) gave a crew member the inspiration to play a joke. He posted a picture of Weinstein on the mirror with a warning: "Objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear." Scorsese left it in place. CAST STRESS The cast too was aware of the stress. In a scene where the character played by Daniel Day Lewis plunges his knife into an anonymous man's hand and his victim screams, Day Lewis added an improvisation to his next line. "Don't make that sound--Harvey," he said. 7 MINUTES IN TRIBECA In a surprise move, director Scorsese debuted seven-minutes of GANGS at the Tribeca Film Festival last weekend. One giant step toward opening day. Developing... ----------------------------------------------------------- Filed By Matt Drudge Reports are moved when circumstances warrant http://www.drudgereportArchives.com for updates (c)DRUDGE REPORT 2002 Not for reproduction without permission of the author |
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