Director Martin Scorsese is reflecting on his relationship with the late Robbie Robertson in a new interview with Variety.
“I just miss Robbie, period,” Scorsese tells the trade. “The friendship, the work, the tales he told — all of it.”
The pair had been friends for 47 years and collaborated on 14 projects, including the Scorsese-directed concert documentary The Last Waltz, featuring Robbie’s group The Band. Their final project was Scorsese’s most recent release, Killers of the Flower Moon, which Robertson completed before his death in August 2023.
“It meant a lot to both of us that we did this project together,” he says. “He saw it through to the end, and that was nice.”
So what was it that brought these two artists together in the first place? Scorsese says he and Robertson bonded over the love of their preferred craft.
“He lived his music. I lived my movies,” he shares. “And when Robbie and I shared a house in Hollywood, he played me music, I showed him movies and we never stopped sharing our suggestions and thoughts and impressions and passions and pouring it all into the work.”
He adds, “It wasn’t really a conscious thing. Looking back on it now, I realize that it just happened spontaneously between us. It could have been as simple as each of us looking for inspiration.”
Scorsese already has plans for his next project, which means he’s going to have to find a new person to collaborate with on the music, but he knows it will never be the same.
“I’ll work with people who bring something different,” he says, “but I would never imagine that someone could replace Robbie.”
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