Martin Scorsese Had Notes for ‘The Studio’ but Held Them Back Like a Mensch

Martin Scorsese has no problem poking fun at himself. He once appeared in an American Express commercial in the early 2000s, where he was getting pictures developed at a one-hour photo place. They were pictures of his nephew’s fifth birthday party, and Marty was not pleased with them. He laments the shot composition, lighting, and direction. He’s complaining about his own work, but laying it all on the poor employee, who is left stunned by the legendary filmmaker. It’s very silly, and, according to The Studio co-creators Evan Goldberg and Alex Gregory, not really what Scorsese is like (at least with other people’s work).

Goldberg and Gregory recently explained to people that Scorsese had some input while shooting his scenes in the Apple TV+ show. However, he withheld it out of respect for the filmmaker. I’ve been lucky enough to direct a few things, and I have a longstanding rule that anyone on set can come up to me with an idea or suggestion, and the worst thing that can happen is I say “no.” I borrowed that method from Richard Donner, and it has worked out well for me. It sounds like, even if Goldberg and directing partner Seth Rogen don’t have a similar rule (they directed all episodes of the show), they would have made an exception for Scorsese. Goldberg explained to People that the Hugo director “had one note, but he didn’t give it until” after they got the shot.”

“There was a moment where him and Charlize Theron were whispering to each other, and it took like 10 takes to get the shot,” he explained to the outlet. “And then we got it and I was like, ‘What were you whispering about?’ He was like, ‘I knew you were doing this wrong, but I didn’t wanna be a backseat director, so I just didn’t say anything.’ And I was like, ‘Well, we could have used that time, but I appreciate that you didn’t wanna manhandle us.’” It sounds like a whole lot of mutual respect was happening on that set.

As I said, I don’t mind people approaching me with ideas on a set, but there is something different about another director stepping forward. Whoever is helming the project should be the one in charge. However, this is Martin Scorsese we’re talking about. Were he to step forward and offer a bit of advice, it likely would have hit a bit differently. We’ll never know. Instead, Scorsese waited patiently and decided to let the talented Goldberg and Rogen figure it out on their own.

Everyone was happy to have Marty around, even if he didn’t offer his expertise. It was a big get, with Gregory noting that they were “pretty shocked Martin Scorsese was in the show.” As we’ve discussed here before, his appearance helped convince others to play themselves on the show. Now, the crew has nothing but nice things to say about him. “The fact that he actually showed up, ‘cause we kept thinking, ‘He’s gonna cancel. It’s too amazing,’” Goldberg noted. “‘It’s too special. He’s just the best.’” He is the best, even if he can’t shoot a five-year-old’s birthday party.