1 5 Things You Didn't Know About The Departed

1. The Departed is a remake

Scorsese has only treaded into remake territory once before with Cape Fear in 1991. The Departed is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong action flick Infernal Affairs.

Infernal Affairs made a big splash overseas and was released stateside to mostly positive reviews. The plot involved an undercover cop who infiltrated a gang and a mole who infiltrated the police department. Ultimately, both ended up trying to track each other down.

The general plot of The Departed will be similar to that of Infernal Affairs, but there will be many differences. Martin Scorsese apparently has not seen -- nor does he have the intention of seeing -- Infernal Affairs. It is likely that the setting and characters will be the first of many elements that Scorsese will alter from the original.

We know that Scorsese is far from having an aversion to brutal violence, but his films are very character-driven; as such, The Departed will likely lack the dynamic energy of the original.

2. The Departed is a Brad and Jennifer production

As if we haven’t heard enough about Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Brangelina, The Departed is a film that falls under the umbrella of Plan B, the production company that was started by Brad and Jennifer. Plan B was previously developing films with Warner Bros., but inked a three-year deal with Paramount in 2006.

While fall 2006 appears to be laden with Oscar pretenders and contenders, Scorsese’s name, a heavyweight cast and continued snubs may very well carry The Departed to the promised land. Which raises the question: What would happen if Scorsese ascended the podium to claim best director?

Would Brad and Jennifer join Scorsese? Would Brangelina make an appearance? Would a violent and heated catfight erupt? Needless to say, the paparazzi are likely rooting for The Departed in the hopes of some juicy Oscar gossip and scandal. It’s a subplot that Scorsese likely never intended, but he might have to deal with it if The Departed makes it all the way.

Find out about De Niro’s step down, budgets and salaries, and how Jack Nicholson has been a villain.

3. Robert De Niro dropped out of production

Robert De Niro has been a Scorsese mainstay for years, having worked with him on such classics as Raging Bull (1980), Taxi Driver (1976) and Goodfellas (1990). But De Niro declined the offer to fill the role of brutal mafia lord Frank Costello in The Departed, and Jack Nicholson was cast instead. 

While De Niro’s reasons for refusing the role of Frank Costello are unclear, it is interesting to know that Leonardo DiCaprio was originally attached to De Niro’s film The Good Shepard, but has since dropped out and is appearing in The Departed.

Ultimately, this could mean nothing, but begs the question: Has DiCaprio supplanted De Niro as Scorsese’s leading man of choice or has De Niro effectively abdicated the throne?

With The Departed, Martin and Leo will be collaborating for the third time, and a fourth film, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, is scheduled for 2008. The duo first collaborated in the brutally violent Gangs of New York (2002), and their second outing was the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator (2004).

4. Salaries devoured 50% of The Departed’s budget

As if Leonardo DiCaprio’s presence wasn’t enough, Scorsese has really stacked the deck with his casting for The Departed. Also on board are Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, and Matt Damon.

For a film that has been described as largely character-driven, $90 million seems like a pretty generous budget. Given the kind of numbers the aforementioned thespians typically demand for commercial flicks, you have to wonder how much of this $90 million went into the actual production.

DiCaprio pulls in close to $20 million for most of his films, Damon hauled in $10 million for The Bourne Identity (2002), and Jack Nicholson typically rakes in about $10 million to $15 million per film.

Between this holy trinity of stars, you’re looking at roughly 50% of the budget before you get to the solid supporting cast. Then again, Scorsese has the kind of clout that can make actors jump at the opportunity to play a tree in one of his films for a grande latte. It’s not unlikely that Scorsese’s cast compromised their typical salaries.

5. Jack Nicholson will be returning to villainous form

De Niro’s departure opened the door for Jack Nicholson to come on board as the villainous Frank Costello. Initially reluctant to take the part, Nicholson only changed his mind after a sit-down with DiCaprio and Scorsese.

Nicholson’s work was primarily comedic in the 1990s and early 2000s, with films like As Good As It Gets (1997), Anger Management (2003) and Something’s Gotta Give (2003). Nicholson has proved his gift for comedy, but it’s been some time since we’ve seen our Jack play the raving, nefarious villain.  

While DiCaprio and Scorsese may have initially been happy to get Nicholson on board, there were some murmurings that the waters weren’t placid during the production of The Departed. These rumors of discontent seemed to revolve primarily around Nicholson, who reportedly doctored dialogue and demanded that Scorsese film his version first.

This is rumor-mill stuff, but given the enormous glut of star power on this project, it wouldn’t be terribly surprising to see a few of these guys throw their weight around.

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