Scorsese’s ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ May Not Be Ready for 2013

We’ve already seen the first casuality of the fall movie season when earlier this week The Weinstein Company pushed the Grace Kelly biopic Grace of Monaco from its November release date to sometime next spring; now the online rumormill is speculating that Martin Scorsese’s eagerly anticipated latest feature The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio may not be done in time for 2013 awards run. Something seemed amiss when Wolf distributor Paramount Pictures scheduled its other 2013 awards prospect– Alexander Payne’s Nebraska in the same slot that was purported to the Scorsese crime drama, and while there hasn’t been any official word of the film being delayed, that hasn’t stopped the speculation.

Reportedly, Paramount execs were due to screen the first cut of the film last weekend, while Scorsese was trying to trim down the rumored three-hour running time.  The massive first cut of The Wolf of Wall Street is also rumored necessary for the film to avoid a NC-17 rating, which calls into question as to whether the film will be ready on time.  If it indeed turns out not ready for release during this calendar year, it wouldn’t be the first time a Scorsese film that was originally pegged as an awards contender was delayed until the following year. His Shutter Island, which also starred DiCaprio, was released in February 2010 because it wasn’t yet ready for an awards launch the year prior and wound up becoming the famed auteur’s highest grossing film.  A similar fate occurred last year with Baz Luhrmann’s update of The Great Gatsby (coincidentally another DiCaprio picture) which was delayed from Christmas 2012 to this past May, where it became a surprisingly big moneymaker for Warner Bros.

There’s further speculation that if The Wolf of Wall Street is ready in time for a Christmas release as a part of the already crowded holiday glut of films heading to the screens, Paramount may delay the release of their upcoming Jack Ryan reboot.  The Chris Pine-Keira Knightley relaunch of Tom Clancey’s famed character was directed by Kenneth Branaugh, and may move to the Martin Luther King weekend in January if Scorsese’s team can deliver in time.  Again, no word or official response has come out from Paramount regarding the subject.  Either way, it remains a stalemate until word comes in.  The flashy trailer for the film debuted to much fanfare last June.

The Wolf of Wall Street tells the true story of the rise and fall of stockbroker Jordan Belfort (the film is adapted from his book), exploring his ascent and eventual fall from grace motivated by crime, greed and corruption.  From a screenplay by Terence Winter, who collaborated with Scorsese on the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire, the film marks the fifth time Scorsese and DiCaprio have worked together following Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed and Shutter Island.  Scorsese earned his first Oscar win for The Departed, while DiCaprio was nominated for his performance as Howard Hughes in The Aviator.  Rounding out the immense ensemble cast includes Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Jean Dujardin, Kyle Chandler and Cristin Milioti (currently playing the mother on the hit comedy How I Met Your Mother.)