However, the project came at a bad time for the director. He snared Marty, along with Minnelli, who’d struggled to make another hit after “Cabaret,” and Robert De Niro to co-star in his gritty riff on “A Star Is Born.” There was no finished script when shooting started on “New York, New York,” so Scorsese used improv. “As brilliant as he was, was probably not as tough as it should’ve been for the mid-70s when everything we were doing was a little tougher,” he said.īut Winkler was impressed with Scorsese’s “Mean Streets,” and pursued the hotshot. So, Winkler and screenwriter Earl Mac Rauch concocted the roles of Francine Evans and Jimmy Doyle, a pop singer and erratic jazz saxophonist who romantically meet at a club in New York at the end of World War II.Īt first the powerful producer sought out Gene Kelly to direct the film, but ultimately decided the “Singin’ In The Rain” genius’ Golden Age sensibilities weren’t the right fit. “What it was like to be really married to the breadwinner, but you were really much more talented than that person was.” Francine Evans (Minnelli) and Jimmy Doyle (De Niro) were inspired by a couple producer Irwin Winkler met at a downtown club. “I always wondered about their relationship,” Winkler said. “That one really was very personal to me as the producer.”īrooklyn-born Winkler, who is also responsible for the “Rocky” and “Creed” movies, was inspired by his early days working as a New York music manager and, in particular, by a singer named Felicia Sanders at the Bon Soir club in Greenwich Village and her (more gifted) jazz pianist husband, Irving Joseph. “It’s a movie I’ve loved from its inception and through its making,” Winkler, 91, told The Post. Still, producer Irwin Winkler - who stuck by his friend Scorsese after the film bombed and went on to successfully work with him on “Raging Bull,” “Goodfellas,” “The Irishman” and more - remembers their first collaboration fondly. Robert De Niro (left), Liza Minnelli and director Martin Scorsese on the set of 1977’s “New York, New York.” Corbis via Getty Images “New York, New York” ultimately grossed just $16.4 million off a $14 million budget, almost certainly incurring losses for its studio United Artists - during the summer of Twentieth Century Fox’s “Star Wars,” no less. Critics complained that the “Taxi Driver” visionary’s edginess butted heads with the glitzy musical sequences in the second half. The mostly forgotten flick, which isn’t easily viewable on any streaming service, paid or otherwise, got lousy reviews that railed against its nearly-three-hour runtime. John Kander and Fred Ebb’s catchy number made its debut as the theme to 1977’s “New York, New York,” a rare flop of a film for director Martin Scorsese - on which the new Broadway show is loosely based. Yet relatively few New Yorkers realize where the tune, first sung by Liza Minnelli, actually originated. The ditty is synonymous with the city - not to mention Frank Sinatra. You hear it at Yankees games, Fourth of July fireworks displays and during special occasions in Times Square. James Theatre, ends with the iconic title number that kicks off with the lyric “Start spreadin’ the news!” The new Broadway musical “ New York, New York,” opening Wednesday at the St. ‘Bad Cinderella’ producer gives cast bizarre gift as Broadway show sinks Tony Awards has ‘no plan,’ going back to WGA for for ‘Hail Mary’ attemptīilly Crystal reflects on ‘terrific family man’ and friend Yogi Berra Writers Guild won’t picket 2023 Tony Awards, but denies interim agreement for show
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