‘Mr. Scorsese’ Interview: Director Rebecca Miller

In addition to Scorsese, the series includes new interviews with Robert De Niro (‘Raging Bull’), Leonardo DiCaprio (‘The Departed’), Daniel Day-Lewis (‘Gangs of New York’), Margot Robbie (‘The Wolf of Wall Street’), Cate Blanchett (‘The Aviator’), Jodie Foster (‘Taxi Driver‘), Steven Spielberg (‘Saving Private Ryan’), Spike Lee (‘Do the Right Thing’), and Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Rebecca Miller about her work on ‘Mr. Scorsese’, how she got involved in the project, interviewing Martin Scorsese, his working relationship Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, which interview surprised her the most, pacing the series over five episodes, what Scorsese had to say about ‘Taxi Driver’, and what she hopes people take away from watching the series.

Related Article: Director Martin Scorsese Talks ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ and His Body of Work

‘Mr. Scorsese’ director Rebecca Miller.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how you got involved with this project and when conducting the interviews with Martin Scorsese, what was it like essentially directing the greatest director of all time?

Rebecca Miller: Well, I got involved with it really by a formless hunch, a feeling. I had made another documentary, Damon Cardasis my producing partner said, “What would you like to do?” Because I said I’d like to make another one. He said, “What’s the subject?” I thought of Martin Scorsese first. You know, he made it so easy in a way to interview him. He almost makes fun of himself in the very beginning of the series where he’s making jokes about, “You need a slate” and stuff like that. But really, he was just so open, I think, is the word. Just very open. I wasn’t really directing him so much as just listening to him, you know, and then asking the next question. We led each other into some very unexpected places.

(L to R) Archival photo of Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese on the set of “The Aviator” featured in ‘Mr. Scorsese,’ premiering October 17, 2025 on Apple TV+.

MF: Mr. Scorsese has had many great collaborators over the years, but the three that stick out from the documentary were Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Can you talk about interviewing them and is there a through line between their collaborations that you can put your finger on?

RM: The first word that comes to mind is trust. In fact, he mentions that with regards to them. You know, he knew that De Niro, even though he was becoming a star after ‘Mean Streets’, he could trust him. That he wasn’t going to abandon him or allow anyone to take the work away from him, because that was still a possibility from Marty at that time. With Thelma, he knew that he could trust her to help him make the work that he needed to make and not be obstructionist or egotistical about it. The same thing with, I think with Leonardo, because that’s what Marty needs is to be able to trust people that he’s collaborating with. Then once that trust is there, you’re free to experiment and to really be wild because you trust each other.

(L to R) Archival photo of Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker featured in ‘Mr. Scorsese,’ premiering October 17, 2025 on Apple TV+.

MF: Of all the interviews you did with Mr. Scorsese’s friends, family and colleagues, was there one interview that really surprised you and was there anyone you wanted to speak with but were unable to?

RM: I got to talk to so many people, and people that I never expected to be able to speak to. His childhood friends were like a particular boon, it was just so amazing that I got to talk to them, especially because one of them died shortly after I interviewed him. But also, the model for Johnny Boy (from ‘Mean Streets’), you know, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I didn’t even know that I would necessarily have them.

(L to R) Robert De Niro, Frank “Butch” Piccirillo and Martin Scorsese in ‘Mr. Scorsese,’ premiering October 17, 2025 on Apple TV+.

MF: Can you talk about pacing and the challenge of fitting in all aspects of Mr. Scorsese’s life and career into just five episodes?

RM: I mean, I didn’t want to rush, but on the other hand, I really wanted there to be a sense of pacing and of urgency, because his work has that, and his personality has that. I wanted it to reflect his personality. I wanted the film to feel like Marty himself. Maybe that’s why sometimes there are certain cuts that feel like his cuts, because they’re originating with him and his personality. Then, of course, his work is an outgrowth of his personality. But you know, the number of segments really, at first it was going to be one feature film. Then I quite quickly realized there was no way I could do it that way, because the childhood and early adulthood really needed time, so you could understand how deeply connected his work in general is to those early years. Once you do that, once you spend that first episode, then you need more time to get to the rest of it. Because essentially, the series is really the dance between the art and the life. They’re creating each other. Art’s creating life, life’s creating art, and at a certain point, we kind of ran out of life in a way. That’s the point where you’re like, “Okay, that’s the end”. So, it’s the dance between those two things.

Archival photo of Martin Scorsese on the set of ‘Gangs of New York’ featured in ‘Mr. Scorsese,’ premiering October 17, 2025 on Apple TV+.

MF: Was there any movie that you asked Mr. Scorsese about where you were surprised by his answer?

RM: Well, I mean, I was very intrigued by his answers to ‘Taxi Driver’. I talked to him about it. I asked, “What is it about you at that time that’s in that film?” And you can see him close his eyes and sort of be resistant, but also want to give an answer. He gives this extraordinary answer but over throughout, there’s this thread of the deep connection between what he’s going through as a person, his own suffering, his obsessions, and the films that he’s making.

Archival photo of Martin Scorsese on the set of ‘The Departed’ featured in ‘Mr. Scorsese,’ premiering October 17, 2025 on Apple TV+.

MF: In the series, Mr. Scorsese talks says that in the stories he tells, the human struggle is what he is most interested in? Can you talk about his passion for that idea in terms of his filmography?

RM: I think overall, there’s a sort of sense of, as Nicholas Pileggi says, “Underdogs trying to score”, and very often, these people are struggling to become themselves. It’s like they want to become themselves, but in that process of trying to become themselves, like Jake LaMotta (in ‘Raging Bull’), for example, you can lose your soul, and that’s interesting too. The loss of the self, the loss of the soul, the kind of darkness that can come into sight of people. It’s not always good news in Scorsese’s universe.

Martin Scorsese in ‘Mr. Scorsese,’ premiering October 17, 2025 on Apple TV+.

MF: Finally, what will you remember most about making this series and what do you hope fans learn about Mr. Scorsese and his work that they did not already know?

RM: I mean, just having him in my life and the friendship that I have with him is such an immense reward. The idea that I was able to maybe give him back to the people that love him in a form that they didn’t know or anticipate, and to shed something new on the films and maybe bring people back to the films or to the films when they haven’t seen them, that to me is a great reward.

Martin Scorsese in ‘Mr. Scorsese,’ premiering October 17, 2025 on Apple TV+.

What is the story of ‘Mr. Scorsese’?

Explore the many lives of Martin Scorsese through intimate interviews with the man himself, access to his private archives, plus conversations with Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Daniel Day-Lewis, Steven Spielberg, and more.

Who is featured in ‘Mr. Scorsese’?

• Martin Scorsese as Himself
• Francesca Scorsese as Herself
• Thelma Schoonmaker as Herself
• Isabella Rossellini as Herself
• Robert De Niro as Himself
• Leonardo DiCaprio as Himself
• Margot Robbie as Herself
• Cate Blanchett as Herself
• Spike Lee as Himself
• Steven Spielberg as Himself
• Mick Jagger as Himself

Martin Scorsese in ‘Mr. Scorsese,’ premiering October 17, 2025 on Apple TV+.

List of Martin Scorsese Movies:

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