{"id":455676,"date":"2025-12-18T14:07:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/455676\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T14:07:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:07:27","slug":"the-francesca-scorsese-guide-to-moviegoing-in-new-york-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/455676\/","title":{"rendered":"The Francesca Scorsese Guide to Moviegoing in New York City"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Francesca<\/a><\/p>\n

Francesca Scorsese, photographed by Dev Bowman at Anthology Film Archives. Blazer Balenciaga Turtleneck The Frankie Shop.<\/p>\n

When I met Francesca Scorsese<\/a> for coffee earlier this month, the state of theatrical moviegoing had officially entered something of a crisis state. Days earlier, Netflix announced its $72 billion acquisition of Warner Brothers, an inauspicious development for the Hollywood studio system and the survival of movie theaters, for which Francesca\u2019s father, Martin Scorsese<\/a>, has been one of the industry\u2019s most full-throated advocates. For the 26-year-old, though, the venerable director of several of the greatest American movies ever made is simply \u201cdad.\u201d That means that Francesca, who\u2019s just directed her first episode of television on the Fox Nation series\u00a0The Saints, has a leg up on most if not all of her peers. But it also means she received the kind of film education most cinephiles could only dream of, having grown up in what she describes as a \u201cdreamland of make-believe and pretend.\u201d More recently, as she prepares to write a book for A24 about her singular cinematic upbringing (which included several cameos in her father\u2019s movies and standing appointments at his private uptown screening room), Scorsese\u2019s had the occasion to revisit the films that shaped her. So, on an arctic afternoon downtown, we took shelter in the lobby of the Bowery Hotel, where Scorsese regaled me with several tales from a charmed life of moviegoing.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

JAKE NEVINS: So, after many years of being known predominantly as your father\u2019s daughter, you\u2019re striking out on your own. What\u2019s it like to make that pivot?<\/p>\n

FRANCESCA SCORSESE: That\u2019s a good question. I feel like it just happened naturally. I was in school, and then as I started to create my own things, that\u2019s where the shift happened, if that makes sense.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Did you ever grapple internally with whether or not you wanted to be in the industry?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Not at all.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Really?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Not at all, no. My dad would always bring me on set since I was very, very small and it created like, an altered state of reality for me. I was just in this dreamland of make-believe and pretend, and seeing my dad do what he loves to do was amazing. I don\u2019t think I really processed that there was anything else that you could do. So I was like, \u201cI\u2019m going to go into the industry. This is what I want to do. I\u2019ve known it my whole life. Why not?\u201d I just didn\u2019t find any interest in anything else. And I was always like, \u201cWhy am I learning algebra?\u201d [Laughs] I\u2019m just kidding, but you know what I mean?<\/p>\n

NEVINS: I do.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: It was just natural. I never really had any pushback. The only pushback was actually from my dad when I said that I wanted to get into acting. That was when I was a teenager, and I was going through it a little bit.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: As teenagers do.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: As teenagers do. So I was like, \u201cI\u2019m going to act.\u201d I don\u2019t think it took him by surprise, but he knows how dark and scary it can be, especially for a young woman, and how intense it is. So I think it just came out of a place of protection.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: But that had more to do with acting specifically, right?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Yeah, specifically that. Filmmaking, he was like, \u201cDo it. Go.\u201d<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Right. Do you remember the first time you became conscious of being Martin Scorsese\u2019s kid?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: This is ridiculous, but going on the carpet and getting photos taken, paparazzi, that\u2019s not normal. But I just thought it was normal, and then\u2014<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Did you really think it was normal?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I don\u2019t think I even thought about it. And then I think when I was around three or four years old, I was at a Cold Stone Creamery. [Laughs] And I was in line and I don\u2019t know what happened, but I saw this older woman and I tapped her and I was like, \u201cMy dad\u2019s Martin Scorsese.\u201d And she was like, \u201cWow.\u201d And when I saw the reaction I was like, \u201cOh, okay. This random woman in Cold Stone knows who he is, so he must be a pretty big deal.\u201d But I just thought it was a normal thing for so long. And then seeing so many films\u2014that was just normal. In school there were so many kids watching Harry Potter and Hannah Montana and all these things, and I never really got into them because I was watching more classic films. So that\u2019s also where I was like, \u201cWhy is nobody watching what I\u2019m watching?\u201d<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Were there rules about which films of his you were allowed to watch at certain ages?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I mean, none of them are really child-friendly except for Hugo, which came about because of me. And I was in it as well, which was fun. But yeah, there were rules, definitely. I\u2019m writing a book with A24 about my film upbringing and all the films that shaped me into who I am today as an artist, as a woman. And the thing is, my dad kept track of every single film he showed me throughout the years since I was a baby. It has my first film ever that I saw\u2014I was just sleeping in a bassinet. I didn\u2019t actually see it, but I was there in the theater while my parents watched the film. So it\u2019s like, \u201cFrancesca sleeps in her bassinet. This is the first time that she watches Cinderella, the original Technicolor.\u201d IIt goes to Rosemary\u2019s Baby. It goes to [Alfred] Hitchcock, all of these incredible films. I completely forgot the question, but that\u2019s what the book is about. But my dad\u2019s films, it\u2019s funny\u2014he\u2019s actually really shy when it comes to showing me his films.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Like, bashful about it?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He\u2019ll put it on and then leave. He can\u2019t watch me watch it. I\u2019m still waiting to watch a few of them because he\u2019s like, \u201cI want to show you this one at this time and at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Like which ones?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: The Color of Money.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Okay.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Casino.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: I just watched Casino for the first time a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Really?<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Yeah. I was really hungover and I was just like, \u201cI\u2019ve got all day.\u201d<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Was it good?<\/p>\n

NEVINS: [Laughs] Very good. But it was partially informed by Mr. Scorsese, Rebecca Miller\u2019s terrific new docuseries about your dad. I\u2019m dying to know if you watched it.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Yeah, I did.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: It colored in a lot for me.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Yeah, me too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jacket Hermes Jeans Agolde.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Well, I imagine you had a very distinct experience watching it. What was that like?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: It\u2019s definitely a little weird. I\u2019ve heard a bunch of those stories before, but it was different to see it unfold before my eyes and have it be told through the mouths of other people.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Which stories had you heard?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Well, sometimes he\u2019ll just go on and on and on about things, like a dad, and I\u2019ll just be like, \u201cYeah, okay.\u201d I won\u2019t really pay full attention or absorb everything. But I\u2019m also a very visual person, so watching this was a crazy experience. It was interesting how it was sectioned out into literally chapters of his life. There were some girlfriends I didn\u2019t know he had, and that was a big jump scare. And it was interesting to dive a little deeper into his relationship with his other daughters\u2014my sisters. It\u2019s just so cool, everything that he managed to do and how many films\u2026 I mean, they even skipped a few.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: He\u2019s a pretty prolific guy.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: How on earth did he do that? But it just made me really excited because he\u2019s so passionate. He\u2019s always been so passionate. And a lot of the old home video footage was amazing. It just felt like I could see him how everyone else sees him. I know him so much more personally. And it was very emotional and hard to watch the last episode.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: You mentioned your relationship with your sisters, with whom there\u2019s a big age gap.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Big.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: And you guys had drastically different experiences growing up, partially because your father got older and came into a better understanding of how to parent while working.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Each of us had very different versions of him.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Right. How cognizant of that were you?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I\u2019ve known. I mean, we\u2019re close. There\u2019s definitely, I wouldn\u2019t say animosity, but it\u2019s a little bit of a tension there, and I almost feel a little bit of guilt. You know what I mean? And I know I shouldn\u2019t. I didn\u2019t ask to be here. But I got a very hands-on version of him. I got the best version of him, and they didn\u2019t really grow up with a dad. He left when they were born or very young. He had stories he wanted to tell and places he wanted to go and he just couldn\u2019t settle down. But obviously, as he\u2019s gotten older, he\u2019s mellowed out a lot. He still has that same burning passion, but he was able to settle down with my mom and with me.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Right. Before we get into your work in particular, I\u2019m curious: What\u2019s it like to watch a movie with your father, and how often do you get a chance to?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: We used to do it every weekend. It\u2019s like our way of bonding, almost. We sit back, we have some pizza, and we watch a film. And a lot of the time it\u2019s like, \u201cOh, I wanted to show you this because you were talking about this thing, or you\u2019re working on this documentary, or you\u2019re going to be in this film, so you have to watch this.\u201d Or he\u2019s like, \u201cI haven\u2019t seen it yet and I have to watch it for an interview.\u201d That\u2019s what happened the other day when we watched Don\u2019t Look Now. I had a pretty strong reaction to it and my dad was like, \u201cGeez!\u201d And then he felt disappointed, like he thought he disappointed me. And I was like, \u201cNo, not at all. I thought it was a beautiful film. There were just parts of it that were confusing or weird or didn\u2019t really make sense, and plot holes.\u201d And I really saw him be a little bit shocked by my own opinion, but he\u2019s given me that ability to have that opinion and voice my opinions. He felt like he\u2019d let me down in a way. And I was like, \u201cDad, you just showed me a movie. I\u2019m okay.\u201d You know what I mean?<\/p>\n

NEVINS: It\u2019s funny, because you can Google \u201cMartin Scorsese\u2019s favorite international films\u201d and \u201cMartin Scorsese\u2019s favorite comedies\u201d and there\u2019s almost always some incredibly comprehensive guide he\u2019s made. Of course, you and I have grown up in a culture of obsessive list-making.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Obsessive.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: From Letterboxd to Spotify Wrapped, the culture encourages us to denominate things.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: And he\u2019s been doing that since the 1990s.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Right. You grew up with the world\u2019s greatest film curriculum.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Yeah, but I didn\u2019t even know it. But for this book, I\u2019ve had to rewatch a lot of them to remind myself.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: That must have been fun.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: It is fun. I\u2019m still going.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: And now you\u2019ve just made your TV directorial debut. Tell me how that came about.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Well, I was such a fan of the first season of The Saints, and I was honestly in the office a lot while my dad was editing. I\u2019d pop in and I\u2019d watch or I\u2019d give little notes every once in a while. And my dad was\u2014<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Is he like, sitting there with Thelma [Schoonmaker]?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Well, not with Thelma. [Laughs] With this guy, Kevin [Chapados], currently for The Saints.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Is he ever like, \u201cWe\u2019re busy\u201d? Or is there an open-door policy for you?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: No, I come in, open-door policy. I\u2019ll sit on the floor next to him, whatever. He\u2019s in his little chair. It\u2019s funny because we had a lot of the same opinions. I\u2019ll say something and he\u2019ll be like, \u201cYes, exactly. That\u2019s what I was about to say. And Matti Leshem, who\u2019s the creator of the show, he\u2019s a good friend. So I don\u2019t know, it just came about. They were like, \u201cWe\u2019d love for you to do an episode.\u201d And I was like, \u201cI mean, I\u2019m honored. I would love to look into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

NEVINS: And to what degree did you lean on or consult your father? I mean, I have no idea what it takes to direct an episode of television. I just work in Word documents. But I do know that film is a hugely collaborative medium. So did you talk to him, or mostly just learn by osmosis?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Mostly by osmosis. Kent Jones wrote the script, so if there was any collaboration, it was mostly in the script for pre-production. And then I went to Italy. I was in Rome for about a month for pre-production, and my dad did not come. He was in New York doing his own thing. So honestly, I didn\u2019t really speak to him that much. He\u2019d call me every once in a while, but I didn\u2019t really collaborate with him until post-production.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NEVINS: That\u2019s pretty cool. He\u2019s like, \u201cGo do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: He was just like, \u201cDo it.\u201d And I was like, \u201cOh god.\u201d But it was nice and very liberating and cool. I was location scouting, I was casting, I was doing everything. And at the end of the day, he would receive the rushes, so he\u2019d just text me and be like, \u201cRushes look great.\u201d Or he\u2019s like, \u201cI\u2019m about to watch the rushes now. Love you, bye.\u201d I mean, then of course he was just there as a supportive dad. So he ended up watching it and had a few notes. And then for three days after that, we worked on it all together\u2014me, him, and the editor, just tweaking things. I storyboarded everything too, so I sent him photos of that.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Which he\u2019s known for doing pretty meticulously himself.<\/p>\n

\"Francesca<\/a><\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Yes. He told me to make sure I had everything visually prepared. Sometimes I\u2019d show him and he\u2019d be like, \u201cCan you send me scans of those?\u201d So now he has a packet of all my drawings, which is really cute.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Over the course of this experience, did you surprise yourself at all?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I did surprise myself. I think a lot of it was also storyboarding. I was really shocked by how well some of the shots worked and how beautiful they looked, and I was like\u2014<\/p>\n

NEVINS: You were prepared for things to have to change a little bit?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Yes, exactly. But also, there were just a lot of men around, and I\u2019m just this young little blonde American girl running around telling them what to do. And a lot of the time, people were pretty defiant or looked down on me a little bit. But the first day on set, I really asserted myself, and it was really wild to see those men actually respecting me. I felt very accomplished. Like, \u201cFuck yeah, they better.\u201d And then in the end, by the last day of shooting, I was best friends with everybody and they were all so sweet and lovely to me because I think they realized I actually knew what I was doing, in a sense. Also, I mean, I\u2019m the daughter of the executive producer. \u201cOh, she just got it because she is who she is.\u201d I mean, yes, but also hopefully I bring some talent to it. I\u2019ll try my best at what I\u2019m doing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Well, it\u2019s good to be honest about the opportunity that you\u2019ve been afforded, but also\u2014<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: You have to be good at what you do.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Right. And you seem to take it seriously.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I think a lot of people really put my own work in an unfair light. People will compare it to my dad\u2019s. I am like, \u201cThis is my first or second thing. Why are my student films on Letterboxd?\u201d You know what I mean?<\/p>\n

NEVINS: [Laughs] And what\u2019s next for you?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I need to be occupied. I get into these big holes of depression or anxiety if I\u2019m not constantly doing something. So this just came out, which is super exciting. I\u2019ve also been going to a bunch of events for Chanel, I just went to something for Michael Kors. I\u2019m writing this book. I\u2019m about to shoot my next short film. I\u2019m editing a documentary, actually, with my best friend\u2014a feature-length documentary about my family.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Cool. So, you made a list of your favorite movie theaters in New York for us.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I did, yeah.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: In the spirit of celebrating the theatrical moviegoing experience, for which your dad is one of our biggest advocates, I\u2019m going to go down the list and have you tell us about a particularly fond memory or screening you\u2019ve had at each one. Let\u2019s start with Anthology Film Archives, where you were photographed today.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Anthology, yes. I was actually just there this week because right before the Chanel runway show, they had a screening of a bunch of short films, which included Agn\u00e8s Varda\u2019s four-minute-long documentary on [Pier Paolo] Pasolini walking through Times Square in the \u201970s. It\u2019s absolutely incredible, and I\u2019d never seen it before. And I went with Ines [Barquet], my friend who I\u2019m doing this documentary with. I also went there the first time I saw [The] Last Temptation of Christ. It\u2019s lovely and it\u2019s good vibes in there.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Really good vibes. I almost feel like I\u2019m in an elementary school hallway.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Right? I feel like I\u2019m learning when I\u2019m there.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Next up: the Angelika [Film Center].<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Angelika\u2014I\u2019ve been on a few dates there. I think I saw Queer there, which is beautiful.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: And we\u2019ve also got The Roxy [Cinema New York].<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I think it\u2019s so cute. It\u2019s picture perfect. You go in there and it feels nostalgic and old-timey. I went to the premiere of a short film that I was in called Fame And Other Four Letter Words. That was this year.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Cool. And I love that you picked IPIC Seaport. I saw La La Land there really zonked on edibles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: [Laughs] Stop. I went with a bunch of my friends and we saw The Meg in 4D. The seats are moving. There\u2019s water splashing you. It\u2019s like a rollercoaster. And Jurassic Park, I also saw there in 4D. I live right by there, so it\u2019s a nice little walk.\u00a0 I love that little area; it almost feels like a little village or a little town.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

NEVINS: Next up, we have MoMI [Museum of the Moving Image].<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Yeah, I\u2019m actually on the board at the Museum of the Moving Image now. I definitely want to do a lot more with them. Basically, I\u2019ve seen all these films that my dad showed me that he\u2019s written down over the years. Actually, he has his own screening room. If there was an epic film he wanted to show me, like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Lawrence of Arabia, he would bring me to MoMI or the Director\u2019s Guild Theater, which is also on my list. So I went and I saw films at MoMI for the first time\u2014 big, grand epics. We rented out the theater. It was just us and this massive screen.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Amazing. And you also picked the AMC Lincoln Square. I think I saw the Claire Denis space movie there, the one with Robert Pattinson.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I\u2019ve just gone to a lot of events there\u2014a lot of premieres. I just went for Die My Love and I went for The Running Man. The premieres are always really fun there and the popcorn\u2019s good.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Next up is Metrograph.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: That\u2019s actually where I saw Taxi Driver for the first time.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: How old were you when you first saw Taxi Driver?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I think I was 15. It was a great experience.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: What\u2019s your go-to movie theater refreshment?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Okay, this is ridiculous, but just cold water, because popcorn gets stuck in my throat. I also like a slushy. But I need water if I go because I will choke on the popcorn and cause a scene in the theater, and it\u2019s embarrassing.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: What\u2019s your favorite film of your dad\u2019s?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Goodfellas or Italianamerican.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Least favorite film of your dad\u2019s?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I think I\u2019m going to say Age of Innocence. I was really young when he showed it to me and I think it went over my head. I think it was just a little slow for me then. [Laughs] He\u2019s going to hate that.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Last movie that made you cry?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: This is ridiculous\u2026 Soul, the animated film. It is so beautiful, and I\u2019ve been trying to get my dad to watch it.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Name a movie you\u2019ll only watch on a big screen.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: 2001.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Best New York movie theater for a date.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Angelika or IPIC, because that\u2019s a vibe.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: If you could appear in one of your dad\u2019s films, which would it be?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: His next one.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: With Leo [DiCaprio] and Jennifer [Lawrence]?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Yeah.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: I know I\u2019m not going to get anything out of you about that, but I have to ask.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I\u2019ve read the script. It\u2019s great. I was actually at the table read. They had me play J. Law\u2019s character for the table read. It was just ridiculous.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Very cool.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: [Laughs] No pressure.<\/p>\n

NEVINS: Name an actor you really want to work with, or one that you want your dad to work with.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: I want my dad to work with Colman Domingo. I love him. I love his vibe. I love his everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NEVINS: And lastly, what\u2019s your pick for Best Picture this year?<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Queer came out this year, right?<\/p>\n

NEVINS: I think Queer would have been last year.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: Stop. [Laughs] Oh, fuck. What the hell did I watch? What\u2019s your pick?<\/p>\n

NEVINS: In a just world, One Battle After Another will win Best Picture.<\/p>\n

SCORSESE: That\u2019s PTA [Paul Thomas Anderson], right? My dad was like, \u201cI cannot believe you didn\u2019t see it. He\u2019s amazing.\u201d So maybe I should just say that.<\/p>\n

\"Francesca<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t