The quintessential financial movie, which tells the story of investor Jordan Belfort, has a couple of impromptu scenes that recently came to light. What are they and why are they so funny?
"The Wolf of Wall Street" is one of the most important financial market films in recent years, with the protagonist Leonardo Di Caprio, who played Jordan Belford, and the director Martin Scorsese playing fundamental roles in the success achieved. And it was the freedom that the latter gave his actors -fostering improvisation above all else- that caused the emergence of one of the most iconic scenes in the film.
This is the "beat scene", which quickly became popular after the premiere and stars Di Caprio himself and Matthew McConaughey, who in the film plays the role of Mark Hanna -mentor of the main actor and boss in his first work in the financial market.
It was this one who decided to incorporate improvisation by beginning to beat his chest in the middle of filming and thus completely changing the tone of the film.
McConaughey's idea was to perform a routine that he usually performs before starting to shoot anything, but in the middle of a scene, so he caught DiCaprio off guard. The actor's confused face is one of the key factors that set the tone for the entire sequence. "That improvisation ended up changing the tone of the film," said the protagonist in an interview after the premiere.
The Wolf of Wall Street is based on a true story
It is important to remember that the film is based on the book of the same name, which tells the story of Belfort as a broker on the New York Stock Exchange, his experiences in small markets, his growth in the world of financial investments and his eventual after pleading guilty to market manipulation and money laundering among other crimes related to high finance.
In the original book, which has been translated into 18 languages and sold in more than 40 countries, Belfort explains the founding of Stratton Oakmont, an investment firm that operated by selling "junk stocks" and defrauding its investors, He went through the investor LF Rothschild, from which he was promptly fired, and his resounding fall.
More improvisations by Leonardo di Caprio
But this last scene is not the only one in the film that was improvised, since Scorsese made sure that the actors decided how to act much of the film on their own.
Among the examples is the moment in which Di Caprio opens the door of a luxury car with his leg -something that caused him an injury for which it could only be recorded once- or when Margot Robbie, who plays Naomi Lapaglia ( Belford couple), decided to appear completely N- to seduce the protagonist -even though the director assured that this was not necessary-.
It was this supporting actress who had one of the tensest situations due to the freedom given by Scorsese, since in a scene in which they fight with Belford, she seems to have hit the protagonist very hard, to the point of fearing that she would be sued by damage. Ultimately this did not happen.
But the real improvisation came during the statement scenes, where Scorsese decided not to give a set script and instead let the actors answer the questions however they wanted, giving as his only instruction that "don't say anything that matters." to understand the plot.
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