Martin Scorsese on 'The Saints,' faith in filmmaking and what his next movie might be

National Catholic Register ^ | Jake Coyle, AP

[CondoleezzaProtege]

AP: What made you want to make “The Saints”?

SCORSESE: I go back to my early childhood and respite and the sanctuary I found in St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral. Not being able to play sports or be a tough guy in the streets. And, you know, the streets were pretty tough down there. I found a sanctuary in that place. It's now a basilica. The first Catholic Cathedral in New York in 1810, 1812. It figures in “Gangs of New York.” The Know Nothings and anti-immigration groups attacked it in 1844. Archbishop Hughes fought back. It’s a place rife with history. In this contemplation, I was curious about these figures, these statues, and what they represented. They had stories.

AP: Did you understand them then or did they seem divine?

SCORSESE: It took time to think and to learn that, no, the point is that they are human. For me, if they were able to do that, it’s a good example for us. If you take it and put it in a tough world — if you’re in a world of business or Hollywood or politics or whatever — if you’re grounded in something which is a real, acting out of compassion and love, this is something that has to be admired and emulated. They make mistakes. I found that by over-appreciating that person, it almost takes you off the hook. “At least there’s someone doing it.” Well, what about you? Dorothy Day was quite something but she knew: Don’t put that label on me because it gets everyone off the hook.

AP: Some were surprised that you’re releasing “The Saints” with Fox Nation. What led you to them?

SCORSESE: I’ve been wanting to do this for years. I tried doing this back in 1980 with RAI Television in Rome…

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TOPICS: Catholic; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: film; hollywood; saints; scorcese

[Dr. Sivana]

I saw Scorsese's "Silence", about the Jesuits in Japan. The cinematography was great, the acting was fine, most of the scripting was okay. Besides the unsatisfying ending, I felt uneasy about it. I had a "Shoes of the Fisherman" sixties vibe about it. At first, I attributed it to the generation that Scorsese was from, and that was certainly part of it. But then I found that the source material for the historical novel was from . . . the 1960s!

The goal is to end with more questions than you started, and that there are no absolutes. Maybe no answers at all. At its best, it is fun and creative (The Prisoner), but most of the time it is drudgery and self-indulgent, and gets very dated, very quickly.

Between "Silence" and "The Last Temptation of Christ" (which I will never see), I am not willing to take a chance on another Scorsese religious exercise.

[If You Want It Fixed - Fix It]

Total garbage guy, by demonstration.

[Claud]

Dunno what it is with that generation....they can’t do a straight story. Everything has to be “edgy” or “complicated”...and a mess. Just like their lives I suppose.

Reminds me of the Office, when the writers wanted this woman to successfully proposition Jim to cheat on his wife on a business trip. The actor refused, saying that it was totally out of character for Jim. And most people today believe he was 100% right, and that would have ruined the show.

Just sick to death of the whole liberal tendency to pollute and corrupt everything pure and good.