Martin Scorsese has recently recalled one of his classic movies which was considered flop of the year in a video posted to his daughter Francesca’s TikTok account.
Martin’s daughter questioned his father about Gen-Z slang where the acclaimed director was successful in guessing the meaning of the phrase “slept-on”.
Later, Francesca used the phrase in an example sentence, saying, “The King of Comedy was slept on,” after which Martin shared the movie feedback at the time.
“People hated it when it came out,” said Martin.
The movie-maker stated, “No, it was the flop of the year. That’s what it was called on Entertainment Tonight, New Year’s Eve ’83-’84. It’s okay, it’s alright.”
King of Comedy was released in 1983 and follows the story of Rupert Pupkin (played by Robert De Niro), “a sociopathic aspiring comedian who kidnaps a talk show host so he can perform his set on television”.
Although the movie was praised by critics, it was box office failure as it grossed only $2.5 million on a much larger budget.
In the video, Francesca tried to get her dad Martin to guess the meaning of the phrase “hits different” by using the example sentence “Watching a movie in 70 [millimetre film] hits different”.
To this, Martin replied, “It’s an easy one. You perceive it in a totally different way.”
“Not totally different way, but you see it… it’s another perspective on the image, so to speak, and the effect the film has on the audience,” he added.
Meanwhile, Martin’s new directed movie Killers of the Flower Moon, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and De Niro, is set to release in cinemas on October 20.