Current:Home > FinanceMartin Scorsese on faith in filmmaking, ‘The Saints’ and what his next movie might be-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Martin Scorsese on faith in filmmaking, ‘The Saints’ and what his next movie might be
View Date:2025-01-06 21:42:06
NEW YORK (AP) — When Martin Scorsese was a child growing up in New York’s Little Italy, he would gaze up at the figures he saw around St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral.
“Who are these people? What is a saint?” Scorsese recalls. “The minute I walk out the door of the cathedral and I don’t see any saints. I saw people trying to behave well within a world that was very primal and oppressed by organized crime. As a child, you wonder about the saints: Are they human?”
For decades, Scorsese has pondered a project dedicated to the saints. Now, he’s finally realized it in “Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints,” an eight-part docudrama series debuting Sunday on Fox Nation, the streaming service from Fox News Media.
The one-hour episodes, written by Kent Jones and directed by Elizabeth Chomko, each chronicle a saint: Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene, Moses the Black, Sebastian and Maximillian Kolbe. Joan of Arc kicks off the series on Sunday, with three weekly installments to follow; the last four will stream closer to Easter next year.
In naturalistic reenactments followed by brief Scorsese-led discussions with experts, “The Saints” emphasizes that, yes, the saints were very human. They were flawed, imperfect people, which, to Scorsese, only heightens their great sacrifices and gestures of compassion. The Polish priest Kolbe, for example, helped spread antisemitism before, during WWII, sheltering Jews and, ultimately, volunteering to die in the place of a man who had been condemned at Auschwitz.
Here are some key quotes from a recent interview with Scorsese, who turns 82 on Sunday. An expanded version can be found at www.apnews.com/martin-scorsese
On the saints
“It took time to think about that 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.”
On Fox Nation
“They went with the scripts. They went with the shoot. They went with the cuts. Now what I think is: Do we take these thoughts or expressions and only express them to people who agree with us? It’s not going to do us any good. I’m talking about keeping an open mind.”
On his faith and cinema
“The filmmaking comes from God. It comes from a gift. And that gift is also involved with an energy or a need to tell stories. As a storyteller, somehow there’s a grace that’s been given to me that’s made me obsessive about that. The grace has been through me having that ability but also to fight over the years to create these films. Because each one is a fight. Sometimes you trip, you fall, you hit the canvas, can’t get up. You crawl over bleeding and knocked around. They throw some water on you and somehow you make it through. Then you go to another.”
On his next film
“(The Life of Jesus) is an option but I’m still working on it. There’s a very strong possibility of me doing a film version of Marilynne Robinson’s “Home,” but that’s a scheduling issue. There’s also a possibility of me going back and dealing with the stories from my mother and father from the past and how they grew up. Stories about immigrants which tied into my trip to Sicily. Right now, there’s been a long period after ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ Even though I don’t like getting up early, I’d like to shoot a movie right now. Time is going. I’ll be 82. Gotta go.”
On recent movies
“There was one film I liked a great deal I saw two weeks ago called “I Saw the TV Glow.” It really was emotionally and psychologically powerful and very moving. It builds on you, in a way. I didn’t know who made it. It’s this Jane Schoenbrun.”
On the election
“Well, of course I have strong feelings. I think you can tell from my work, what I’ve said over the years. I think it’s a great sadness, but at the same time, it’s an opportunity. A real opportunity to make changes ultimately, maybe, in the future, never to despair, and to understand the needs of other people, too. Deep introspection is needed at this point. Action? I’m not a politician. I’d be the worst you could imagine. I wouldn’t know what actions to take except to continue with dialogue and, somehow, compassion with each other. This is what it’s about.”
veryGood! (9746)
Related
- How to protect your Social Security number from the Dark Web
- Where RHOC's Gina Kirschenheiter Stands With Boyfriend Travis Mullen After He Moved Out of Her House
- Warner Bros. Discovery sues NBA to secure media rights awarded to Amazon
- Kamala Harris urges viewers to vote in 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' appearance: Watch
- Eva Longoria calls US 'dystopian' under Trump, has moved with husband and son
- Australian amputates part of finger to compete at Paris Olympics
- Dodgers Player Freddie Freeman's 3-Year-Old Son Can't Stand or Walk Amid Viral Infection
- Manhattan diamond dealer charged in scheme to swap real diamonds for fakes
- Utah AD Mark Harlan fined $40,000 for ripping referees and the Big 12 after loss to BYU
- Georgia wide receiver Rara Thomas arrested on cruelty to children, battery charges
Ranking
- Why Cynthia Erivo Needed Prosthetic Ears for Wicked
- Snoop Dogg opening ceremony highlights: Best moments from rapper's Paris commentary
- Lululemon's 2024 Back to School Collection: Must-Have Apparel, Accessories & Essentials for Students
- Mexican drug lord Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada and 'El Chapo' Guzman's son arrested in Texas
- Brittany Cartwright Defends Hooking Up With Jax Taylor's Friend Amid Their Divorce
- Rob Lowe's son John Owen says he had 'mental breakdown' over working with famous dad
- Scores of wildfires are scorching swaths of the US and Canada. Here’s the latest on them
- Belgium women's basketball guard Julie Allemand to miss 2024 Paris Olympics with injury
Recommendation
-
Joan says 'Yes!' to 'Golden Bachelorette' finale fantasy beach proposal. Who did she pick?
-
Ohio court rules that so-called boneless chicken wings can, in fact, contain bones
-
Which NFL teams will crash playoff party? Ranking 18 candidates by likelihood
-
Justice Department defends group’s right to sue over AI robocalls sent to New Hampshire voters
-
Jennifer Hudson, Kylie Minogue and Billy Porter to perform at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade
-
SAG-AFTRA announces video game performers' strike over AI, pay
-
Chipotle CEO addresses portion complaints spawned by viral 'Camera Trick' TikTok challenge
-
Fostering a kitten? A Californian university wants to hear from you