For Academy Award winners and long – time collaborators Leonardo DiCaprio and , having a discussion about their creative processes over dinner is nothing unusual. Apart from being partners in filmmaking, the two are also friends. DiCaprio said that Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street was one of the “most free, exciting, spontaneous, and hilarious film productions I’ve ever been involved in. I’ve never seen Martin Scorsese that happy on a set in my entire life.” So, it was quite natural for Scorsese to join DiCaprio, TIME’s 2025 , for a conversation onstage at the “A Year in TIME” event in New York City on Dec. 10.
Before the release of TIME’s Person of the Year issue, “A Year in TIME” also included conversations with the 2025 CEO of the Year and Athlete of the Year , as well as a performance by the artists behind the Breakthrough of the Year .
As the night came to an end, DiCaprio and Scorsese reflected on their work, revealed more about their partnership, and looked forward to their seventh joint project. After Killers of the Flower Moon, Wolf of Wall Street, Shutter Island, The Departed, The Aviator, and Gangs of New York, it’s the ghost story What Happens at Night, which will start filming in February.
DiCaprio, who told TIME that he sees acting as a long – distance race rather than a short sprint, has built a , receiving seven Oscar nominations and winning one. Throughout DiCaprio’s career, he has had a special respect for Scorsese. He even thanked the filmmaker during his 2016 , which recognized his performance in the Alejandro González Iñárritu – directed The Revenant.
DiCaprio told Scorsese that their shared experiences have influenced his work with other filmmakers, especially Paul Thomas Anderson recently. Anderson’s 2025 film , an adaptation of the 1990 novel Vineland focused on late 60s radicalism, starred DiCaprio as a . Both the and have become favorites for next year’s Oscars.
Remembering how his relationship with Scorsese began, DiCaprio said, “When I was 18, on the way out of a party, he said to me, ‘Hey kid, great job on Gilbert Grape.’” Since then, “our working process has developed over time.”
Working together on Gangs of New York, which Scorsese fondly described as “chaotic,” started the duo’s partnership. By the time they worked on Wolf of Wall Street, which Scorsese said DiCaprio persuaded him to do, the two trusted each other and felt confident enough to debate the approach and direction of the film. Just like in any close relationship, they’ve learned to understand each other’s viewpoints. “Marty is extremely detail – oriented as a filmmaker. He thinks about every single aspect,” DiCaprio said. “Over the years, I’ve learned when there’s room for flexibility and how to change the storyline, but I’ve also learned when there’s a specific shot list.”
“There will be specific times when I’ll directly tell you what I need. It has to be this way,” Scorsese explained. “But if you bring the project to life, you have to be open to letting the essence of the picture shine through.”
And the essence of the movie varies with each story. For example, although both The Departed and The Wolf of Wall Street explore similar ideas of “moral ground zero,” the characters’ journeys, their motivations, and what they hold dear all affect the final form of the story.
“Marty has said many times that the plot is not important to him. He wants to follow the essence of a particular character, and all the plot details or how things turn out are somewhat secondary,” DiCaprio said. Turning to Scorsese, he added, “To have your trust in me over the years to take on these characters and follow that dynamic and go with the essence of the character has been amazing.”
A Year in TIME was presented by Rolex, American Family Insurance, Serum Institute of India, La Croix, and The Macallan.
