DiCaprio finds joy in local project with De Niro, Scorsese

From left, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Scorsese

Studio City’s opening occurred yesterday evening, in the new property’s 5,000-seat multipurpose Event Center.
A premier of the Studio City-inspired short movie “The Audition,” that led to the presence of the actors Leonardo Di Caprio and Robert De Niro as well as the director Martin Scorsese, took place at the first event held at the resort.
After the 15-minute movie, the celebration program continued with a live concert featuring names such as Mariah Carey, Hong Kong’s star singer Aaron Kwok and the South Korean girl-band SISTAR that delighted a special audience of VIP guests.
Earlier in the morning, a press presentation of the movie was held, where Leonardo DiCaprio said: “For me the great joy was finally getting to be on set with both of these guys.”
“The Audition” co-star Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese also attended the press briefing. “To be able to have scenes with Bob and being directed by Marty is a small slice of heaven for me as an actor,” DiCaprio expressed. He described the two as his “fathers in the world of cinema,” DiCaprio added.
Scorsese described the film as “reality-based with some humor.” The plot follows DiCaprio and De Niro who are invited to Macau by Scorsese to compete for the same part in a movie. Brad Pitt also appears in the film but did not attend the opening.
Scorsese has directed multiple films with DiCaprio and De Niro, but “The Audition” marks the first time the three, along with Pitt, have collaborated.
Producer Brett Ratner said he hoped that the short could be turned into a feature film.
“It’s just a teaser. We come to Macau, Marty comes here, lives at the hotel for three months, six months and we make a big event movie,” he said. MDT/Agencies

Macau plays a part in Scorsese’s movie

director Martin Scorsese is preparing a movie portraying 17th century Macau. The movie titled “Silence”, expected to premiere in 2016, tells the story of two Jesuit priests who face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity. Part of the movie portrays Macau as it was in the seventeenth century and is based on the novel by the Japanese writer Shusaku Endohas. The director mentioned that it “was a good opportunity to study the history of the region and the Portuguese presence here.” Mr Scorsese added that when researching for the movie he was surprised by the influence that the Portuguese and Spanish had in this area of the world. A makeshift Macau was built in a studio in Taiwan, where the Macau scenes were shot.