Martin Scorsese Wishes He Could Change Some of the Dialogue in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ — ‘It Affects the Next Scene and the Next Scene’

Martin Scorsese’s 2013 comedy The Wolf of Wall Street is a laugh a minute. Full of outrageous scenes and hilarious dialogue, the movie definitely ranks as one of Scorsese’s best.

However, despite the film’s popularity, Scorsese still has a few parts he would change. In his opinion, the dialogue could use some work, because the “rhythm” is off.

‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ was a big hit

The Wolf of Wall Street was one of Scorsese’s most controversial films yet. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belford, a stock market shark who pushes questionable stock on unsuspecting investors. Largely autobiographical, The Wolf of Wall Street takes a close look at the greed and manipulation that rules Wall Street.

Released in 2013, The Wolf of Wall Street was a major hit. Its outrageous scenes, dark humor, and strong cast made it very appealing, and its box office performance proves it. The film earned $392 million at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo.

The Wolf of Wall Street was also well-received by critics. It was included on many critics’ year-end lists, with most praising DiCaprio and Jonah Hill’s performances. Scorsese’s direction and screenwriter Terence’s Winter’s ability to successfully adapt the book also received praise. 

Scorsese wishes he could change the dialogue in the movie

Even though The Wolf of Wall Street has received nearly universal acclaim,  there are still parts Scorsese wishes he could change. He shared in a past interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he’d like to change some of the dialogue because of its “rhythm.”

“There’s a couple of lines of dialogue I’d have liked to put back in,” Scorsese admitted. “But with just the rhythm, is just off just a bit, it affects the next scene and the next scene. And it was, uh, really really quite an experience putting this together in the editing room

Scorsese didn’t specify which lines of dialogue he was talking about, but it does make movie watchers wonder which scenes he’s talking about specifically. 

The filmmaking process still makes Scorsese nervous 

Even though he’s widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time, Scorsese is still human. He revealed in the same interview that the massive challenge of directing and editing films still makes him nervous. 

“Nervous? All the time,” Scorsese replied. “It’s a horrible, wonderfully, wonderful and horrible—at the same time—experience.”

When asked who he relies on for advice when the going gets tough, Scorsese revealed he looks to the people around him. 

“I have close people who work with me, really,” Scorsese said. “The actors, the DP, Rodrigo Prieto on this. Adam Sumner, who’s the assistant director … he works a lot on Steven Spielberg films …”

Steven Spielberg helped Scorsese direct the speech scene 

Although Scorsese already had one of Speilberg’s collaborators working with him, Spielberg himself came on set as well. Scorsese also revealed in the interview that Spielberg actually helped him direct DiCaprio’s iconic speech scene. 

“Well he came on the set, the day we were shooting the speeches,” Scorsese said. “So he was there, he came in to say ‘hello,’ and he stayed the whole day, and was helping us, ‘I think we should move the—’.”

Despite having several scenes that Scorsese wishes he could change, The Wolf of Wall Street remains one of the most popular Scorsese and DiCaprio collaborations.