Martin Scorsese’s Wild Offer: Directing ‘Flashdance 2’ for Free
Martin Scorsese once volunteered to direct a sequel to Flashdance without pay, all in a bid to secure funding for his dream project, The Last Temptation of Christ. This surprising move revealed just how far he was willing to go to bring his vision to life.
Hollywood has changed so much over the decades that it ’s tough to picture a group like the ‘Movie Brats’ ever shaking up the industry again. Back in the day, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Brian De Palma, and George Lucas took the film world by storm, putting their own stamp on cinema. Each of them, in their own way, reached a rare spot in the business: they got to make the movies they truly cared about, with big studio budgets and almost total creative freedom, walking the fine line between art and commercial success.
Today, the path to the top for directors is a lot more narrow. Some start with small indie films and eventually get a shot at blockbusters, like Gareth Edwards, Colin Trevorrow, or Taika Waititi. Others are thrown straight into the deep end, sometimes with mixed results—just look at Carl Rinsch. Ryan Coogler seems to be an exception, but even before he was trusted with Sinners, his first three movies were a Rocky sequel, a comic book adaptation, and then a sequel to that comic book movie.
Scorsese’s Unlikely Pitch
Scorsese has always been known for following his own path, rarely taking on projects just for the paycheck. The closest he ever came to being a director- for-hire was with The Color of Money and Cape Fear, both of which still carry his unmistakable style. But sometimes, even the most passionate filmmakers have to make tough choices. When he was struggling to get The Last Temptation of Christ off the ground, Scorsese was ready to do whatever it took to make it happen.
“We cut the shooting days down to 55 days, 55 days, all shot in Israel very quickly, and the budget down to $7.8 million, then to $6 million, including the $4 million we already spent. No salary for me,”
he told Mary Pat Kelly.
“And I told [Jeffrey] Katzenberg I would do Flashdance 2, if he wanted.”
Flashdance’s Surprising Legacy
Adrian Lyne’s dance-fueled romance was a massive box office hit, pulling in $200 million and becoming the second-highest-grossing movie of the year, just behind Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. While it might not be considered a classic in the traditional sense, the soundtrack became a cultural phenomenon, winning an Oscar, two Golden Globes, and three Grammys.
There’s a version of history where Flashdance’s story could have taken a wild turn. David Cronenberg had already passed on the chance to direct, and Scorsese was willing to step in for the sequel—if it meant his passion project would finally get made. In a town where sequels are usually greenlit the moment a movie becomes a hit, it’s surprising that Flashdance never got a follow-up. Scorsese probably breathed a sigh of relief, even though it would have been one of the most unexpected films of his career, for better or worse. In the end, he did get to make his dream movie, but he was ready to do just about anything to see it through.