Martin Scorsese is addressing speculation that he may finally throw in the towel after a career spanning more than six decades. Fortunately, the legendary filmmaker reassures fans that rumors of his retirement are greatly exaggerated.
The 81-year-old actor made the announcement Monday night in Turin, Italy, where he was honored with the Cinema Museum's prestigious Stella della Mole award. Some of the attendees included Willem Dafoe, Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore and production designer Dante Ferretti.
“I'm definitely not saying goodbye to cinema,” Scorsese said at the press conference held at the event. Hollywood Reporter. “I still have many more movies to make and I hope God gives me the strength to make them.”
These remarks came after two projects that were expected to be shot back-to-back this year were recently postponed. The first one is Life of JesusA biblical epic based on the 1973 novel Shūsaku Endō is still in development with no cast attached. Diversity was reported last month. However, the second film, a Frank Sinatra biopic that was planned to begin production in November, was canceled without any date change.
It was said that the second movie, which has already made a big impact, would star Scorsese's frequent collaborators Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence and would be about the singer's turbulent marriage with actress Ava Gardner.
During Monday's ceremony, Scorsese also talked about his current project, a documentary set in Italy that focuses on underwater archaeologists using DNA analysis on items recovered from ancient shipwreck sites to piece together stories about ships and sailors.
“I'm shooting between Ustica and Taormina. It's a documentary about marine archaeology,” Scorsese said. “I saw an amphora [an ancient Greek or Roman jar] “He was pulled from the sea and it affected me deeply.”