How They Got Comfortable Working with Scorsese.
Margot Robbie: It’s hard to do [nudity] the first time. It seems really intimidating. Now that I’ve done it, it doesn’t seem like a big deal at all. It wasn’t like I couldn’t see why the character needed it. There are scripts that I pick up and there is no reason for he or she to take their clothes off and it’s so stupid: nudity for the sake of nudity. That I do not agree with. Ever.
I don’t think there’s anything shameful about nudity, though. I think if it’s justifiable for the character, then it should be there. In this case, that’s Naomi’s power over Jordan. That’s how she gets what she wants. That’s her currency in a room full of millionaires. She sees it as getting a better life for herself and getting what she wants via the sexual power that she has over men, and particularly over Jordan. It makes perfect sense for her to use her body to manipulate him.
It was never a question of “Why is the character doing this?” It was more of a question of “Am I able to do this?” It’s just different in this day and age. I have to know that if I do this there will forever be Internet clips, slow motion versions of [these sexual scenes] and it isn’t just a repercussion on myself. My brother, my grandmother, if they just search my name, they will have to deal with that. So it’s not something to be taken lightly.
But Martin Scorsese doesn’t exploit nudity. There isn’t nudity for the sake of nudity in his films. He does violence very well, but he doesn’t use nudity for shock value, or sexual situations lightly. So, I wasn’t nervous about shooting it, just nervous about the record of it afterward. But, you know, [laughs] everyone gets naked in the movie anyway.
The Hampton’s party scene was my first day [on set], so I got to meet Jonah while he was [laughs, and mimics masturbation] doing things to himself. We’ve been friends ever since… But I was so bummed, every time they were doing a massive party scene it was always just the guys and goddamnit, they’re having so much fun!
Jonah Hill: What I was able to do with Donnie doesn’t come along often in people’s careers—to be that unhinged, messed up, fractured and out of control. I think what Scorsese does better than anybody else is he creates organized chaos. He creates a safe and organized place for people to become completely unhinged, and I don’t know how he does that.
Every part of working with him was so amazing. I remember one day he asked me, “Have you seen Elaine May’s [film] A New Leaf? I said, “no,” and then the next day someone handed me a copy of the film. It was a bonus to not only work with your hero and learn from him, but [someone] who also knows more about the history of film than pretty much anyone in the world and why things are important – it’s just amazing.
(Director) Rob Reiner (who plays Jordan’s father in the film) was there a lot, too, which was great… Steven Spielberg came one day while we were working and sat behind the monitors and we would all get a notepad. It was just the most surreal, amazing thing you could imagine.
But some things are different [than I imagined]. For instance he’ll laugh after almost every scene. He’ll laugh at something he thinks is funny, but also just at something he likes. We’ll do a really heavy scene and he’ll just laugh … and it’s the greatest sound in the entire world. The sound of laughter is always great.
Cosmic Interventions in Making Wolf.
Jonah Hill: What’s great about Leo is that, even though he’s made five movies with him, he has the same reverence we all have for Scorsese. He grew up worshipping GoodFellas and he understands that you might be intimidated and he tries to make it more comfortable.
We got to spend so much time together… That’s usually the process that I enjoy. I spent a lot of time with Brad Pitt (for Moneyball) and Michael Cera on Superbad and we got on the same page of what we’re making. Leo and I just talked and talked and talked, and I got a new friend … I think the movies that I’ve made that are good are the ones where the people are all on the same page. It’s that unspoken, cosmic thing.
Margot Robbie: When I recorded the audition tape, I didn’t think that it would go to Scorsese. We were hoping to just get it seen by (casting director) Ellen Lewis. Nothing happened for a while and then we got a call and I was rushing out to meet Leo and Martin in New York, but I was contracted to “Pan Am” at the time, which was in limbo of whether they were going to do a second season. I still didn’t know if it was going to be renewed, or if it was canceled. Because I was contracted if it did go to a second season then I couldn’t do Wolf …
When [the news of cancelation] came, everyone kept saying, “Oh! You must be so devastated that ‘Pan Am’ was canceled,” and I was. I was because I loved everyone so much and it was so much fun to shoot, but when it was stalling [grits teeth] I was like, “Come on, don’t let me miss out on The Wolf of Wall Street!”
It was a blessing in disguise. “Everything happens for a reason” is something that we have to tell ourselves all the time, because it’s good to have the idea that something good is around the corner. [smiles] In this case it was.
Brian Formo is a featured contributor on the CraveOnline Film Channel. You can follow him on Twitter at @BrianEmilFormo.
