In a rare misstep for Martin Scorsese, that Italian septuagenarian dreamboat signed on to executive produce HBOâs Vinyl, a 1970s music-and-cocaine romp that got the ax after one season. (Despite, actually, originally securing a season two renewal. Cruel.) Scorsese lent his directorial chops with the pilot and slowly receded the scope of his power in the subsequent episodes, a decision he now believes set the show up for failure. âIt was ultimately tragic for me because we tried for one year,â Scorsese explained at the Rome Film Festival, per THR. âWe tried for one year with HBO, but we couldnât get the creative elements together. It was something that I realized, in order to make it right ⌠I think I would have had to direct every episode and be there for the three to four years.â Scorsese points to Paolo Sorrentinoâs stunning The Young Pope as the perfect example of a film director adapting to the landscape of television, primarily because Sorrentino also assumed the role of showrunner.
âIf you do it, you do it right like Sorrentino does,â Scorsese explained. âYou do everything. You do it all ⌠if you donât [want to make that commitment], you shouldnât be making the series.â Or, rather, cast a very hot papal figure.