Like many, I was totally awe-struck by Deadline’s interview with Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon. It is fantastic and I definitely recommend reading the whole thing. It is full of great stories and tidbits, not just about Killers of the Flower Moon but from many of Scorcese’s films. The part of the interview that I cannot stop thinking about are the parting lines.
“I wish I could take a break for eight weeks and make a film at the same time [laughs]. The whole world has opened up to me, but it’s too late. It’s too late. […] I’m old. I read stuff. I see things. I want to tell stories, and there’s no more time. Kurosawa, when he got his Oscar, […] he said, “I’m only now beginning to see the possibility of what cinema could be, and it’s too late.” He was 83. At the time, I said, “What does he mean?” Now I know what he means.”
– Martin Scorsese, Deadline
On the surface, this quote might seem bleak or regretful. Especially when paired with other quotes from earlier in the interview. “There are others whose names I won’t mention that I tried [to work with], and it just never fit. People I admired so much. I feel I missed it.” But for me, these words don’t speak of regret but rather of possibility.
Wisdom from Scorsese and Kurasawa
So often, young artists like myself are told, “You have more time,” and, “You don’t have to accomplish everything you want before you’re thirty.” These bits of advice can lift some of that self-inflicted pressure. But what those tidbits can’t do is put life into perspective. Not only do we “have more time,” we have our whole lives. And, if you believe Scorsese and Kurosawa, the relationship between art and artist only deepens over time. Not only will we keep making art, but we will also make more meaningful and fulfilling art.
Personally, I am struck by the contrast between people like Scorsese and our culture at large. In our day and age, most people dream of retirement, getting to spend their twilight years in ease and leisure. But it is not so for the artist. At eighty years young, Scorsese has continued to put out some of his best work. There is no possibility of retiring the creative mind. And that is probably for the best because there is much important work to be done.
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