Martin Scorsese has time and again proven why he ranks amongst the best filmmakers of today and his work will certainly be talked about for centuries to come. From Goodfellas (1990) to Shutter Island (2010), Martin Scorsese has a ton of gems in his portfolio but a sixteen-minute-long short film will remain to be the most unique work of his career.
Martin Scorsese’s The Audition (2015) | Melco Crown Entertainment
Back in 2015, Martin Scorsese brought together a star-studded ensemble both in front of and behind the camera to create The Audition. The project is unlike any other short film the world has seen and was actually created as a clever way of advertising a casino when mainland China banned any and all advertising of casinos.

Martin Scorsese’s The Audition Is One of a Kind

A still from Ocean’s Eleven (2001) | Warner Bros.
Starting with Ocean’s 11 in 1960 the franchise has been a treat to fans of the film industry as they got to see a ton of huge stars working together in a single film. Whether it was George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt in Ocean’s Eleven (2001) or Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway in Ocean’s 8 (2018), all the films have managed to boast a star-studded ensemble that perfectly brought the stories to life. Clearly, the fans have more than one reason to love these movies.

Perhaps Martin Scorsese’s fans felt the same way in 2015 when he came out with his short film, The Audition. The 16-minute-long comedy film stars Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Scorsese himself, along with a cameo from Pitt. It is truly Ocean’s 11 on steroids!

What makes the short film even more interesting is that the cast members play fictionalized versions of themselves. DiCaprio and De Niro meet up with Scorsese at Manila’s City of Dream resort to audition for his next film but things don’t work out for them as the director decides to go with Pitt in the end.

The short film was made as sort of a loophole that allowed Melco Crown Entertainment to advertise the Studio City casino in Macau and raise awareness about its grand opening. The short film was made on a whopping budget of $70 million and each actor was paid a reported amount of $13 million for less than a week’s work.

Leonardo DiCaprio Talks About The Audition

Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Audition | Melco Crown Entertainment
At a press conference, DiCaprio opened up about working with De Niro and Scorsese and stated that it was an honor that he got to work with two men who are like father figures to him.

The great honor for me is these two men are really like my two fathers in the world of cinema. My first film was with Bob De Niro. I was 15 years old. We did a film together called This Boy’s Life. I’ve had the fortune of working with Marty quite a few times.

DiCaprio then added that the idea of him and De Niro competing with each other in the short film was very “humorous” for the both of them.

The premise of this competition was very humorous for both of us. Because we’ve both done a lot of films with Mr. Scorsese so what would it be like if we both showed up at this casino competing for the same role but we didn’t know it yet. But for me, the great joy was finally getting to be on set with both of these guys. This is the greatest relationship in cinema history in my opinion.

In the end, the Titanic actor added that while the short film has 3 fabulous actors in it, it was actually Scorsese who “stole the show.”

Scorsese has directed both DiCaprio and De Niro in multiple projects but The Audition was the one where the forces collided for the very first time. The trio would later reunite for Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), a film that was heavily nominated at the 2024 Oscars.