The Audition | Scorsese ad-film premieres in Busan

Martin Scorsese’s latest film, “The Audition”, premiered Saturday at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea. The film has been criticized for its seemingly unsubtle commercial features, featuring lengthy scenes of the soon-to-be-opened attractions and features of a resort.
The film is intended to promote Melco Crown Entertainment’s new resort, Studio City – a USD3.2 billion project on the Macau enclave – as well as a similar property called City of Dreams in Manila, Philippines. The film was partially shot at some of the gaming operator’s Macau properties.
BIFF programmer Pak Dosin defended their decision to screen the film, saying that it had been selected based on its merits and that he “liked it very much.”
“The Audition” was originally planned to premiere at the Venice Film Festival, but was pulled from the program after it was criticized for its “openly commercial references.”
Venice Film Festival director, Alberto Barbera, also defended their original decision to screen the film, saying that “[i]t’s a Scorsese film, not a commercial” and that “the casino paid for the film, but it’s not in the film at all.”
The 16-minute film features a cast of A-list stars portraying exaggerated forms of themselves, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro.  Martin Scorsese directed the film.
“The Audition” first drew considerable attention after a trailer was leaked on YouTube, which showed De Niro and DiCaprio competing for the same role in a hypothetical Scorsese production. The trailer was removed from the website shortly after its release.
The Busan International Film Festival continues until October 10. Staff reporter