‘The Audition’ slated to cost USD70 million

Lawrence Ho (left) and James Packer (2nd from left) pose with film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, director Martin Scorsese and producer Brett Ratner

In an interview with the LA Times, Australian gaming magnate James Packer has refused to confirm the alleged USD70 million price tag, attached to Studio City’s opening-night promotional movie “The Audition.” Packer was a partner in the production of the film and, according to the newspaper, opening-day media materials avoided putting an exact figure on the movie. However, Packer did not deny that such expenditure was excessive.
USD70 million was the figure that began to circulate last year before the trailer was released online at the start of the year. Some media outlets reported that the actors earned USD13 million each for the movie, despite the fact that it took less than a week to shoot.
The film, Martin Scorsese’s latest, stars Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. The plot revolves around De Niro and DiCaprio, playing themselves, unexpectedly realizing that they are competing for the same role in an imaginary Scorsese film. According to the LA Times, Brad Pitt doesn’t appear on screen until the 12-minute mark.
Scorsese, De Niro and DiCaprio were in town on Tuesday as Melco Crown Entertainment officially opened its Hollywood-themed Studio City resort. The casino resort showed the movie in the 5,000-seat theater, in what was described as an “intimate” environment.
According to the LA Times, James Packer is alleged to have said, “The way I think about it is [that] our company, Australia Crown, is paying for half of it, and Lawrence’s [Ho] company is paying for the other half of it. And so if the numbers that are quoted are right, and it’s over three years, and you divide that by two, its 11 bucks a year,” he said, “for the best marketing campaign in the history of the world. So it depends on how you allocate and look at it.”
“If that was the case [that the film cost USD70 million], and you thought about it the way I just described it, all of a sudden it’s not so much.”
In the same interview, Mr Ho said that the short film was an “incredible” way to promote the resort in the age of social media and smartphones. He added that it conformed with the MSAR’s policy to diversify Macau’s economy and ease the region’s reliance on the gaming industry.
“Nobody in this market, at least from the government’s stand-
point, has seen anything like this. This is a really historic moment for Macau,” said Ho.
“The Audition” has come under some criticism since its debut at the Busan International Film Festival earlier this month. The movie had previously been pulled from the Venice Film Festival, allegedly because of “technical issues,” though some believe that its unashamed commercialism may have been the real cause.
In a news conference on Tuesday, Scorsese defended the project, saying he
had great creative freedom. “A short film is even tougher in a way,” he said. “It has to be something that’s not a prologue to a bigger work. It has to be contained in and of itself.” Staff Reporter