The Wolf of Wall Street: the incredible scene that Di Caprio improvised that nobody noticed went viral
The quintessential financial movie, which tells the story of investor Jordan Belfort, has a couple of improvised 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 films about the financial market 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 granted to his actors -encouraging improvisation above all else- that caused the emergence of one of the most iconic scenes in the film.
This is the "heartbeat 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 to the lead actor and boss in his first work in the financial market.
It was this one who decided to incorporate improvisation by starting to beat his chest in the middle of filming and thus completely change the tone of the film.
McConaughey's idea was to perform a routine that he usually does before he starts filming anything, but in the middle of the scene, so he caught Di Caprio off guard. The actor's confused face is one of the key factors that gave the necessary tone to the entire sequence. "That improvisation ended up changing the tone of the film," said the protagonist in an interview after the premiere.
BASED ON A TRUE STORY
It is important to remember that the film is based on the book that bears the same name and that tells the story of Belfort as a broker in the New York Stock Exchange, his experiences in small markets, his growth in the world of financial investments and his eventual end 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 Strattom Oakmont, an investment firm that operated by selling "junk stocks" and scamming investors, his He went through the investment company LF Rothschild, from which he was quickly fired, and his resounding fall.
MORE LEONARDO DI CAPRIO IMPROVISATIONS
But this last scene is not the only one in the film that was improvised, as Scorsese saw to it that the actors decided how to act much of the film on their own.
Among the examples are the moment in which Di Caprio opens the door of a luxury car with his leg -something that caused an injury for which it could only be recorded once- or when Margot Robbie, who plays Naomi Lapaglia ( Belford's partner), she decided to appear completely naked to seduce the protagonist -although the director assured that this was not necessary-.
It was this supporting actress who had one of the most tense 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. Finally this did not happen.
But the real improvisation came during the deposition scenes, where Scorsese decided not to give a fixed script and instead let the actors answer the questions however they wanted, giving the only instruction that they "say nothing of importance." to understand the plot.
