After many more “Rocky” installments, “we’re now making ‘Creed 3’,” Winkler said, with a satisfied smile. De Niro, Scorsese and Winkler were already working together at the time on 1977’s “New York, New York.” The bargain worked out well for the studio and for the trio. Winkler agreed to produce a “Rocky” sequel only if UA would greenlight De Niro’s passion project. ** There wouldn’t have been a “Raging Bull” without “Rocky II.” Winkler was riding high at MGM/UA at the time after 1976’s “Rocky” proved a smash hit. “Since I’m not an island person there was nothing else to do but work on the script,” he said. The island setting was perfect for Scorsese. Martin in the Caribbean to do a final pass. After that, Winkler sent Scorsese and De Niro to St. “Schrader gave us the structure - the biggest problem was the structure,” he said. ** Screenwriter Mardik Martin did the first draft of the “Raging Bull” script but it was “Taxi Driver” scribe Paul Schrader who “cracked it,” De Niro recalled. The audience of movie buffs swooned at the mention of two other bona fide classic films. “Then I had to do ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘The Deer Hunter,’ ” De Niro said. De Niro recalled that he was working on Bernardo Bertolucci’s “1900” when he first read La Motta’s biography. Scorsese and De Niro first began talking about it in 1974 but it took Scorsese some time to understand the character, and both of them were busy. ** “Raging Bull” was a long-gestating project. Here are seven more things we learned from revisiting the majesty of movies via “Raging Bull.” “It’s late in New York, Ben,” Scorsese chided at one point. So Mankiewicz could be forgiven for holding the “Raging Bull” quartet on stage while he had them. (And yet, Joe Pesci nearly steals the picture with his prowess as Joey, La Motta’s brother-manager.) Scorsese’s take on the highs and lows of 1940s “Bronx Bull” boxer Jake La Motta endures as masterpiece, a blend of grit, arthouse, matchless fight sequences and an Oscar-winning performance by De Niro that stands as a high-water mark for an actor’s transformation into a character. The movie demonstrated its own legend by screening to a nearly packed (and vaccine-screened) house.
As the “Raging Bull” foursome shared memories of making the movie and perspective on its impact after 40-plus years, Mankiewicz couldn’t help going over (by a lot) his allotted Q&A time.
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