Martin Scorsese Retirement: Legendary Director Admits Career Is Near Its End

Martin Scorsese has admitted that his retirement from filmmaking is imminent, conceding that he only has a “couple more” movies left in him.

Scorsese made these comments at the Marrakech film festival before confirming that Leonardo DiCaprio, who he worked with on The Wolf of Wall Street, has resuscitated his directing desire.

DiCaprio and Scorsese have now worked on five films together, which includes the upcoming Wolf of Wall Street, The Aviator, Gangs of New York, The Departed, and Shutter Island. Their latest effort is expected to feature prominently in the awards season over the next few months.

Scorsese, who is acting as the jury president at the event in the Moroccan city, stated: “I have the desire to make many films, but as of now, I’m 71 and there’s only a couple more left if I get to make them.”

The 71-year-old then began to reminisce about his origins as a director, noting, “I miss the time when I had the desire to experiment and try different kinds of films, I miss that time, but that’s done, it’s over.”

He then explained that he has now entered a new phase of his career. Scorsese explains: “There is obligation as you get older, you have family. I’ve been very lucky in the last 10 years or so to have found projects that combine the desire [and fulfill] the obligation to my family and the financiers.”

Scorsese also admitted that originally working with Leonardo DiCaprio proved to be troublesome, because of the actor’s popularity after James Cameron’s Titanic.

“When I did Gangs of New York and The Aviator, people kept asking me, ‘Is he an actor?,'” he remarked.

He went on to add, “I said yes. I saw What’s Eating Gilbert’s Grape, [and] the film he did with [Robert] De Niro, This Boy’s Life before Titanic. So there’s a stigma there which people still refer to.”

Scorsese the confirmed that working alongside the 39-year-old had reinvigorated his passion for the medium, exclaiming, “But we found that he regenerated my enthusiasm for making films. Mainly because, as you get older, it gets physically difficult and also the business especially – the financial issues. You’re responsible for a lot of money, if you get it. It’s all pressure, but can you do it? His enthusiasm and excitement really kept me going, for another five pictures now.”

What’s your favorite Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio film? Do you think their creative relationship has proved to be more fruitful than Scorsese’s with De Niro?

[Image via DFree/Shutterstock]