Yes, it’s for commercial purposes, but who doesn’t want to see this team work together? Martin Scorsese will be directing a short film to promote Melco-Crown Entertainment, a global resort and casino brand. The short will star early Scorsese favorite Robert DeNiro, late Scorsese favorite Leonardo Di Caprio and an unknown newcomer named Brad Pitt. Ratpac Entertainment’s Brett Ratner and RSA’s Jules Daly will produce the film.
The film’s content is not known, but it will probably be pretty glitzy. It will premiere next year at Melco-Crown’s new film-themed resort Studio City in Macau. This will be the first time DeNiro and DiCaprio will have worked together in a Scorsese film (though outside of Scorcese, they teamed on "This Boy’s Life," with De Niro pointing his young co-star Scorsese’s way).
If this news made you think of Scorsese as a mere commercial director, here’s an 11-minute video of Scorsese delivering a verbal love letter to Roberto Rossellini. This interview is also included on The Criterion Collection’s box set "3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman." It should work as a perfect antidote to the above news, a rare occurrence in which Scorsese and Ratner’s names are mentioned in the same sentence. [Deadline]