It’s probably a minor detail to a lot of people but there are those movie buffs that would be interested in bringing up the idea that Steven Spielberg did show up at one point during the filming of The Wolf of Wall Street and help Martin Scorsese out with a particular scene. The ‘Steve Madden Speech’ was the moment that Spielberg came in and while he was just stopping by to say hello he apparently ended up spending the whole day there and even helping out Scorsese with the scene when it came to advising and directing the actors on where they should be to optimize the experience. This is the kind of a movie that a lot of people couldn’t possibly see Spielberg trying to get in on but the fact that he showed up was kind of interesting since obviously he was visiting just to say hey and got caught up in the moment. Thankfully Scorsese is obviously the kind of guy that respects a peer enough to either ask him or let him help out here and there as he sees fit and as a result the scene might have been a little more rounded than it might have been in the first place. As it stands, the movie has managed to gain a lot of criticism since its release considering the subject matter and what went into the making of it.
Obviously the real Jordan Belfort would have something to say about it and those that took part in his schemes would as well since the movie took on a very fictional approach to something that was all too real. Trying to ascertain just what did happen and what really took place is a bit difficult since Jordan Belfort became his own narrator and wrote the book that inspired the movie. The con man/businessman that started a great deal of the debauchery and illegal activities does actually describe a lot of what went on in lurid and very realistic detail. What’s really interesting as it’s noted in CinemaBlend is that a lot of the stuff he talks about really happened, which is amusing and horrifying in equal regards. To think that Spielberg would have a part in this movie at all is surprising, but thinking that he might enjoy the story and have helped out just for one scene is a little easier to believe. Considering how much happened in this story it’s interesting to note that while some of it is likely made up, a lot of it was true to form since Belfort became a rather notorious individual in his time and appears to have been in the habit of building up the story in a way that made it more attractive to prospective buyers. The book actually earned him a $500,000 advance from Random House Publishing if you can believe that.
If there’s anything a person can glean from a story like the one the one Belfort has lived, it’s that a truly motivated con man can make those around him think that he’s a wise and highly intelligent person, at least until he starts to get greedy and wants more. Jordan had everything at the tips of his fingers at one point and was the head of a company that was making millions upon millions by defrauding people left and right. But obviously that life caught up with him in a big way as things came crashing down eventually and the entirety of Stratton Oakmont came crashing down on his shoulders. This movie took a lot of liberties and did so in the manner that Scorsese tends to enjoy obviously, by making it as dramatic and provocative as possible, but it managed to interest a lot of people and as a result became a very popular story that folks couldn’t get enough of. Drama, debauchery, dark humor, what’s not to love after all? If not for the fact that it touched upon a nerve in almost every scene in some way this movie might not have been all that enjoyable.
It is kind of odd to think that Scorsese took on a story such as this but at the same time it’s also not too hard to believe since he’s been taking on stories that are highly provocative for a while now and people have loved him for it. Whether those stories are shown in their true form or given an extra push to make sure that people are going to pay attention is another matter obviously since now and again the truth isn’t quite enough to hold someone’s attention, but highlighting the truth and building it up into something a little more glamorous, for good or ill, is something that people are almost always going to be willing to pay for. Folks love a story that’s filled with drama after all, real or fabricated.
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