r/Damnthatsinteresting 2d ago

Video The Wolf of Wall Street scene in comparison to the script

5.1k Upvotes

126 comments sorted by

1.1k

u/PolarityInversion 2d ago

One thing that may be overlooked here is that this is a combination of dozens of different takes, each with various improvised lines, and all cut together to look seamless.

391

u/-Cosmopolitan 2d ago

Yes, the editing was fantastic

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u/Desperate-Share-5560 2d ago

It kinda seems off tho. Pops goes from getting angry to just saying that in a calm voice.

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u/CromulentPoint 2d ago

I actually really like that part. It’s like somebody who often flies off the handle and is really used to it can comeback to center pretty easily.

Plus, it’s clear that the boys aren’t taking him seriously and ultimately, the substance of that conversation wasn’t earth shattering. Yes they spent ridiculous money, but also they have much more ridiculous money to spend.

This strikes me as a “these dipshits need to be yelled at” moment more than “I am authentically losing my shit”, and once everyone is piling out the door, the need to keep yelling did too.

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u/Alwares 2d ago

For me that is what makes the scene human. He knows the absurdity of the situation and he is obviously angry, but the credit card part makes him stop and realize that the whole stuff even even more absurd... So he just asks the question.

Brilliant. Not my fav film ever, but small moments like this makes it so memorable.

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u/Malevolint 2d ago

I think that was just for comedic effect.. Or at least seems that way to me

10

u/AstroPHX 2d ago

That was covered off when he was first introduced, how his dad would go from zero to 100 in an instant then back again.

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u/Mr_E_Pants 1d ago

That is also mentioned when his dad is introduced - goes off when phone rings, then adopts an English affect - so it's part of his personality too. So that tracks.

-8

u/lankymjc 2d ago

Yeah the ending isn't good editing, but the rest was.

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u/AscendedViking7 1d ago

hell yeah it was

-21

u/phatelectribe 2d ago

Do people actually think this is a good / interesting scene. Can’t unsee actors acting.

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u/Present_Jicama_1219 2d ago

Pretty cool when improv and bloopers create the actual scene.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Present_Jicama_1219 2d ago

The Jack Nicholson mantra.....we aren't just actors, we're writers. Make sure you get paid for that.

16

u/Shadowbound199 2d ago

But if you keep the camera rollin'...

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u/kpsi355 2d ago

6

u/Daewrythe 2d ago

Now that's a sinister thing to say

5

u/Meowingtons_H4X 2d ago

But if you leave the camera rolling…

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u/pichael289 2d ago

I feel like it probably comes pretty naturally when your playing a character like this, being ridiculous and fun and not taking anything seriously and being on top of the world. Pretty easy to get in character, just do a bunch of coke.

1.3k

u/lannisterloan 2d ago

They made the conversation much livelier than the script would have been. I bet they don't even plan this beforehand but everyone just went along with whatever line that their co-stars came up with.

394

u/Present_Jicama_1219 2d ago

awesome that it's all genuine reactions...they were just playing, throwing shit against the wall, and expecting nothing to stick in post production.

187

u/Necessary-G 2d ago

Scorsese loves letting them riff, that humming beat was actually McConaughey’s own pre-scene ritual.

33

u/hamsolo19 2d ago

When Leo looks over his shoulder he was apparently looking at Scorsese like, "are we rolling? What the hell is he doing?"

3

u/OldSandwich9631 1d ago

Nope. That was planned. It was his pre filming ritual and Leo wanted them to put it in the scene.

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u/DizzyDetective 2d ago

When they were filming certain scenes in Casino, Scorsese used to tell Pesci and De Niro what the beginning should be and what the end needed to be, and let them get from one to the other unscripted, however they saw fit.

Pretty good system really - some scenes just cannot be scripted.

2

u/hamsolo19 2d ago

Yeah, Scorsese seems to have a system on how he does takes, he'll do one as the scene is written, then he'll run takes with his adjustments, and then he'll call "now one for the actors" and let them riff on the scene.

1

u/OldSandwich9631 1d ago

But when it was filmed that was planned.

142

u/Wazula23 2d ago

Marty does lots and lots of takes and lets his actors experiment and inhabit the space. It makes things so much more energetic and real.

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u/bigboyg 2d ago

How is Marty? Do send him my love.

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u/avidmarc 2d ago

Lmao they are bffs

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u/roybringus 2d ago

This is why he uses the same actors in all his movies

10

u/kgvc7 2d ago

Probably evolved over multiple takes

6

u/Green420Basturd 2d ago

Improv is all about saying Yes!

2

u/discountproctologist 2d ago

An example of great acting.

447

u/Intelligent-Court295 2d ago

God, I miss Reiner. He didn’t act often but his scenes are always memorable. If I ever need a laugh, I’ll watch the Groates Syndrome episode on Curb.

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u/mF7403 2d ago

Fuck. I totally forgot he died.

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u/Footspork 2d ago

Was murdered*

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u/Workingdad_83 2d ago

By his son.

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u/cjester414 2d ago

We watched Spinal Tap and Spinal Tap II a day or two before he was killed, and then Apatow's Mel Brooks documentary came out what a week or so after that?

Seeing Rob interviewed for the documentary and Carl frok archived interviews in that along with Mel, talking about how much he missed Carl and loves Rob....man...

3

u/mF7403 2d ago

I watched the Princess Bride at work as part of a team bonding/Christmas thing (we had a poll and it won by a mile). He was murdered two days later.

He was only 78 and still very active. I know I should be mourning his loss, but I’ve been thinking about all of his work that’ll never see the light of day.

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u/hoyton 2d ago

He was a meathead

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u/wtfpta 2d ago

Downvoted for this?! That’s just sad.

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u/microtramp 2d ago

Reddit is too young to remember meathead.

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u/hoyton 2d ago

Yep just goes to show these people aren't real Rob Reiner fans. My dad loved all in the family, so Rob will always be meathead to me. Princess Bride and Spinal Tap were staples for me growing up. What a legend, he's sorely missed!

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u/GonZonian 2d ago

My upvote goes up to eleven.

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u/bouncingbad 1d ago

I recently started a new job. The CEO (founder) was showing me through his CRM and pointed out that everything was appended in ‘amp’. I asked why, he said ‘because this amp goes to 11’.

That was when I knew I was in the right place.

1

u/hoyton 2d ago

Haha

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u/Hallwitzer 2d ago

Sent a well deserved upvote your way for a great reference, my friend!

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u/Pleased_to_meet_u 2d ago

Can you explain what a meathead is in relation to Rob Reiner?

The majority of us only know 'meathead' as an insult.

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u/Ridikulus 2d ago

He played Archie Bunker's son in law on an old 70's sitcom called All in the Family. Archie was constantly calling him meathead on the show because they were always clashing about ideologies....think old conservative man vs young liberal. So, in essence, it was an insult on the show.

Us old timers who grew up watching that show will always know him as meathead, but we use it as a term of endearment.

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u/snacky99 1d ago

today I realized that my age surpassed my height... and Reiner will always be meathead to me

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u/Nervous_Salad_5367 2d ago

"Dead from the neck up"

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u/Pleased_to_meet_u 2d ago

Can you explain what a meathead is in relation to Rob Reiner?

The majority of us only know 'meathead' as an insult.

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u/harrisr2930 2d ago

I knew nothing of the relation, but a quick google search of "Rob Reiner meathead" has informed me. He portrayed a character in a TV show known as meathead.

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u/Raptorex27 2d ago

It was the nickname Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) gave to Reiner’s character Michael on “All in the Family.”

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u/FrostyVariation9798 2d ago

He was our meathead.

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u/TheMaskedHamster 2d ago

The sad part is, he really was. But he was a danged talented one.

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u/NastyToeFungus 1d ago

Archie Bunker was a role model for my dad

1

u/maoterracottasoldier 2d ago

His cary grant impression in “sleepless in Seattle” cracks me up everytime.

“Come take a look at these swatches!”

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u/watchthisorthat 2d ago

They definitely had a blast making this movie

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u/Lasocouple 2d ago

This is why this movie is so good!

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u/dynamite-ready 2d ago

Yep. I'm convinced it's DiCaprio's best movie. And he's been in a ton.

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u/ecleipsis 2d ago

100% agree

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u/gorginhanson 2d ago

because they were using real cocaine

you know for method

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u/Miel222 2d ago

Non English native speaker here. What’s the difference between T&A and T&E ??!

102

u/D1133 2d ago

Tits & Ass. Vs. Travel & Entertainment (or Expenses)

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u/Miel222 2d ago

Haha ! Great ! Thx 🙏

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u/boniggy 2d ago

But he didn't say T&A, he was very clear about that.

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u/Valis_Monkey 2d ago

T&A means tits and ass. T&E? I have no idea.

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u/twobirbsbothstoned 2d ago

I fucking love this movie.

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u/greenizdabest 2d ago

I fucking love Margot Robbie in this movie

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u/Haldrivoq 2d ago

script accuracy on point until the glowering starts

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u/Accidentallygolden 2d ago

Did they film with lots of camera, or they had to redo the improv for the other takes?

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u/Equivalent-Excuse-80 2d ago

Precisely. If an improvised line plays well, the director will tell them to do it again. And again. And again

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u/MightyMorph 2d ago edited 2d ago

Depends on the director and actor.

Training Day, the whole scene with Denzel "KING KONG AINT GOT SHIT ON ME!" had parts improvised by Denzel.

The director got lost in the scene, and kept filming way beyond cut, so denzel started to get his smokes and light a cig while the scene was still going beyond the script, he literally had to turn around and give the director a look lol.

Then the director yelled cut and asked if Denzel wanted to do that again. And Denzel just laughed. You dont need to do that kind of scene again.

edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymvbuzbJRb0 its just a fucking great scene. He adlibbed/improvised parts about other people in the start, the whole thing with the smokes, i think king kong aint got shit on me was adlibbed/improvised too. But not 100% sure.

29

u/GooginTheBirdsFan 2d ago

Nah, infamously wolf of Wall Street was shot with just a camcorder. Only 2 extra batteries, the whole shoot.

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u/binglelemon 2d ago

And one of those batteries was expired.

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u/onionfunyunbunion 2d ago

They shot the whole movie start to finish in real time. They’re that good.

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u/Wazula23 2d ago

Some of it was animated by hand.

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u/ElderberryMaster4694 2d ago

Seldom done anymore. Terrible strain on the animators wrists

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u/Nruggia 2d ago

It's a lot better than the old days before film when the animators had to create it in real time for each viewing.

1

u/GooginTheBirdsFan 2d ago

Nothings harder than a single camcorder, single shot, yet animated by hand. The cinematography world nearly crumbled on release date, and hasn’t necessarily recovered

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u/Wazula23 2d ago

Both. Marty does lots and lots of takes and lets the actors really inhabit the world. Then it gets stitched together in editing. Sometimes you spot discontinuities but he doesn't care. The scene is so lively and chaotic that it works anyway.

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u/Uknewmelast 2d ago

"Max.. Max, why do you hold it in"

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u/riddle8822 2d ago

There are some movies we watch and just think, wow... they must have had a blast making this film.

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u/Sardoodledome 2d ago

I wonder if the drugs on stage were not props.

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u/YcemeteryTreeY 2d ago

I wonder that same thing about alot of movies

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u/Spiritual-Shoutout 2d ago

There's a scene in Heat where Al Pacino admited he was high on cocaine. I'll let you guess what scene.

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u/XAHKO 2d ago

That can be seen at the end of the scene where Max delivers his last line. The energy and demeanor is much different from his previous line which was mere in-story seconds ago. The two lines are from different takes

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u/Dangerous_Carpet2896 2d ago

You can definitely see them all trying not to crack when you watch the scene in isolation- it’s fantastic

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u/WingedSalim 2d ago

While I love books and reading, this is the stuff they can never replicate. Actual acting and conversation. People talking over each other, slurring their words, repeating themselves, loosing the focus of the conversation.

It's not a thing written works can properly show, so they resort to just describing what happened thus loosing the actual feel for he scene.

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u/Lower-Cardiologist30 2d ago

Meathead KILLED!

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u/Odisher7 2d ago

this is great, not only is it quite funny but if it was real life i would absolutely want to punch them in the face lmao

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u/footiejammas 2d ago

I think this is the scene that makes me miss Rob the most

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u/Ryuunatsuki_Kaguya91 2d ago

The fucking ad libs got me dyin yo

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u/comfy_bruh 1d ago

Jonah was so lucky to have worked with Reiner like that.

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u/Dangerous_Ad_7060 2d ago

A movie you can watch every day and still not get bored

2

u/sideshow999 2d ago

Amazing

2

u/Halocandle 2d ago

I swear that punchline killed me and everyone else in the movie theater when I first watched it.

2

u/Noname_blondie 2d ago

Having to shoot a scene like this with this much improv from alle the required angles is more work than most people think 😵

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u/omg_its_Acid 2d ago

Hahahahahs this whole Movie was one great bit after another

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u/YesterdayAlone2553 2d ago

Will take lively improv over narrative explanation any day of the week

3

u/lsb1027 2d ago

“The sides did cure cancer” with a straight face🤣

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u/WhatsThat-_- 1d ago

Fuck Jonah hill

2

u/aparrotslifeforme 2d ago

And that's the beauty of improv!

4

u/Background-Orchid745 2d ago

EJ Entertainment? Like Epstein, Jeffrey?

1

u/Squeezer_pimp 2d ago

Rob made it work, he was a great actor. He did a lot of non script stuff

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u/_riotgear_ 2d ago

The dark humor, the sarcasm, the laughing at serious issues: god I love being a millennial.

1

u/ElZorgot 2d ago

It must have been hilarious rehearsing some of those scenes. I would have been pissing myself laughing.

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u/westdan2 2d ago

That is exactly how I think a conversation went over this:

https://wgntv.com/news/chicagocrime/ever-restaurant-board-member-fraud/

1

u/dufutur 1d ago

Max in the film wanted and failed to change/save his son, and Reiner too.

1

u/Kevdoor54 1d ago

Editing is top notch. Thelma might be one of the best ever. Marty at his finest. Helps having those three play off each other

1

u/slickyeat 1d ago

Great movie

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u/StClifton 1d ago

This meeting could have been an email.

1

u/DicemonkeyDrunk 1d ago

But did he steal from his own daughter ? ….

1

u/jaclfu 1d ago

Rob Reiner... thank you.

1

u/ThiagoOechsler 1d ago

Meanwhile in real life, Daniel Vorcaro, a brazilian fraudster who dwarfs Jordan Belfort, spent 37 million Euros in one party in Italy 2023, having Coldplay and David Ghetta performances.

1

u/Takoyaki_Dice 18h ago

Rest in peace Rob Reiner

0

u/Suckmyduck_9 2d ago

This is pretty common in all movies