The Wolf of Wall Street (2013 film)
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''The Wolf of Wall Street'' is a 2013 American epic
biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...
crime film directed by
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...
and written by
Terence Winter Terence Patrick Winter (born October 2, 1960) is an American writer and producer of television and film. He is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO television series ''Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–14). Before creating ''Boardwal ...
, based on the 2007 memoir of the same name by
Jordan Belfort Jordan Ross Belfort (; born July 9, 1962) is an American entrepreneur, speaker, author, former stockbroker, and financial criminal. In 1999, he pleaded guilty to fraud and related crimes in connection with stock-market manipulation and running ...
. It recounts Belfort's perspective on his career as a stockbroker in New York City and how his firm, Stratton Oakmont, engaged in rampant corruption and fraud on Wall Street, which ultimately led to his downfall. Leonardo DiCaprio, who was also a producer of the film, stars as Belfort, with
Jonah Hill Jonah Hill Feldstein (born December 20, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his comedic roles in films including ''Superbad'' (2007), '' Knocked Up'' (2007), '' 21 Jump Street'' (2012), '' This Is the End'' (201 ...
as his business partner and friend, Donnie Azoff,
Margot Robbie Margot Elise Robbie (; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. Known for her work in both blockbuster and independent films, she has received several accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Golden Glob ...
as his wife, Naomi Lapaglia, and
Kyle Chandler Kyle Martin Chandler (born September 17, 1965) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut in a 1988 television film, '' Quiet Victory: The Charlie Wedemeyer Story'', Chandler's first regular television role was in the ABC drama '' Ho ...
as
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
agent Patrick Denham, who tries to take Belfort down. Rights for Belfort's memoir were secured in 2007 by DiCaprio and
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
and with Scorsese set to direct, but content restrictions stalled production. The project was later greenlit under an independent production house
Red Granite Pictures Red Granite Pictures was an American film production and distribution company, co-founded by Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland in 2010. Its productions included ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' and ''Dumb and Dumber To''. It was dissolved in 2018 after be ...
. Filming took place in late 2012 in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and was shot mostly on film stock. The film premiered in New York City on December 17, 2013, and was released in the United States on December 25, 2013, by Paramount Pictures, and was the first major American film to be released exclusively through
digital distribution Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of digital media content such as audio, video, e-books, video games, and other s ...
. It was a major commercial success, grossing $406 million worldwide during its theatrical run, becoming Scorsese's highest-grossing film. The film was controversial for its morally ambiguous depiction of events and lack of sympathy for victims, as well as explicit sexual content, extreme
profanity Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...
, depiction of hard drug use, and the use of animals during production. It set a Guinness World Record for the most instances of swearing in a film. The film's financing became implicated in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad corruption scandal, leading to Red Granite Pictures being investigated by the
U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
and
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission ( ms, Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia), abbreviated MACC or ''SPRM'', (formerly known as Anti-Corruption Agency, ACA or ''Badan Pencegah Rasuah'', ''BPR'') is a government agency in Malaysia that ...
. The film received positive reviews from critics (along with some moral censure) and appeared in several 'best of the year' lists. It was nominated for several awards, including five at the 86th Academy Awards ceremony:
Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...
, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor (for DiCaprio) and Best Supporting Actor (for Hill). DiCaprio won Best Actor – Musical or Comedy at the
71st Golden Globe Awards The 71st Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and American television of 2013, was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 12, 2014, by NBC, as part of the 2013-14 film awards season. The ...
, where the film was also nominated for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy.


Plot

In 1987,
Jordan Belfort Jordan Ross Belfort (; born July 9, 1962) is an American entrepreneur, speaker, author, former stockbroker, and financial criminal. In 1999, he pleaded guilty to fraud and related crimes in connection with stock-market manipulation and running ...
lands a job as a Wall Street stockbroker for
L.F. Rothschild L.F. Rothschild (later known as L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin) was a merchant and investment banking firm based in the United States and founded in 1899. The firm collapsed following the 1987 stock market crash. History L.F. Rothschild ...
, employed under Mark Hanna. He is quickly enticed into the drug-fueled stockbroker culture and Hanna's belief that a broker's only goal is to make money for himself. Jordan loses his job following
Black Monday Black Monday refers to specific Mondays when undesirable or turbulent events have occurred. It has been used to designate massacres, military battles, and stock market crashes. Historic events *1209, Dublin – when a group of 500 recently arriv ...
, the largest one- day stock market drop in history, and takes a job at a boiler room brokerage firm on Long Island that specializes in
penny stock Penny stocks are common shares of small public companies that trade for less than one dollar per share. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) uses the term "Penny stock" to refer to a security, a financial instrument which represents a ...
s. Jordan makes a small fortune thanks to his aggressive pitching style and the high commissions. Jordan befriends his neighbor Donnie Azoff, and the two found their own company. They recruit several of Jordan's friends, whom Jordan trains in the art of the "hard sell." Jordan's tactics and salesmanship largely contribute to the success of his
pump and dump Pump and dump (P&D) is a form of securities fraud that involves artificially inflating the price of an owned stock through false and misleading positive statements, in order to sell the cheaply purchased stock at a higher price. Once the operat ...
scheme, which involves inflating the price of a stock by issuing misleading, positive statements in order to sell it at an artificially augmented price. When the scheme's perpetrators sell their overvalued securities, the price drops immensely, and those who were conned into buying at the inflated price are left with stock that is suddenly worth much less than what they paid. To cloak this, Jordan gives the firm the respectable-sounding name Stratton Oakmont in 1989. After an exposé in ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'', hundreds of ambitious young financiers flock to his company. Jordan becomes immensely successful and slides into a decadent lifestyle of prostitutes and drugs. He has an affair with a woman named Naomi Lapaglia; when his wife finds out, Jordan divorces her and marries Naomi in 1991. Meanwhile, the SEC and the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
begin investigating Stratton Oakmont. In 1993, Jordan illegally makes $22 million in three hours after securing the
IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
of
Steve Madden Steven Madden (born March 23, 1958) is an American fashion designer and businessman. He is the founder and former CEO of Steve Madden, Ltd., a publicly traded company. Life and career Madden was born in Far Rockaway, Queens, the son of a Jewi ...
. This brings him and his firm further to the attention of the FBI. To hide his money, Jordan opens a
Swiss bank account Banking in Switzerland dates to the early eighteenth century through Switzerland's merchant trade and has, over the centuries, grown into a complex, regulated, and international industry. Banking is seen as Culture of Switzerland, emblematic of ...
with corrupt banker Jean-Jacques Saurel in the name of Naomi's Aunt Emma, who is a British subject and thus outside the immediate reach of American authorities. He uses the wife and in-laws of his friend Brad Bodnick, who have European passports, to smuggle the cash into Switzerland. Donnie and Brad get into a public brawl during a money exchange which results in Brad being arrested, but Donnie escapes. Jordan learns from his private investigator that the FBI is wiretapping his phones. Fearing for his son, Jordan's father advises him to leave Stratton Oakmont and lie low while Jordan's lawyer negotiates a deal to keep him out of prison. Jordan, however, cannot bear to quit and talks himself into staying in the middle of his farewell speech. In 1996, Jordan, Donnie, and their wives are on a yacht trip to
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
when they learn that Aunt Emma has died. Jordan proceeds to Switzerland to forge her name and save the account. To bypass border controls, he orders his yacht captain to sail to
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, but the ship capsizes in a storm. After their rescue, the plane sent to take them to
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
is destroyed when a seagull flies into the engine; Jordan takes this as a sign from God to address his worsening drug addiction and attempts to sober up. In 1998, the FBI arrests Jordan because Saurel (detained for an unrelated offense) has informed the FBI about Jordan. Since the evidence against him is overwhelming, Jordan agrees to gather evidence on his colleagues in exchange for leniency. Naomi tells Jordan she is divorcing him and wants full custody of their daughter and infant son. In a cocaine-fueled rage, Jordan hits Naomi and tries to drive away with his daughter but crashes his car in the driveway. Later, Jordan wears a wire to work but slips a note to Donnie, warning him. The FBI discovers this, arrests Jordan, and raids and shuts down Stratton Oakmont. Despite breaching his deal, Jordan receives a reduced sentence of 36 months in a
minimum security prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
for his testimony and is released in 2000 after serving 22 months. After his release, Jordan makes a living hosting seminars on sales techniques.


Cast


Production


Development

In 2007, Leonardo DiCaprio and
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
won a bidding war for the rights to Jordan Belfort's memoir ''The Wolf of Wall Street'', with Belfort making $1 million off the deal. Having worked on writing the film's script, Martin Scorsese was considered to direct the film but abandoned the project to work on ''
Shutter Island ''Shutter Island'' is a novel by American writer Dennis Lehane, published by HarperCollins in April 2003. It is about a U.S. Marshal who goes to an isolated hospital for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of a patient who is ...
'' (2010). He describes having "wasted five months of islife" without getting a green light on production dates by the Warner Bros. studio. In 2010, Warner Bros. had offered the directorial role to Ridley Scott, with Leonardo DiCaprio playing the male lead, but the studio eventually abandoned the project. In 2012, a green light was given by the
independent company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...
Red Granite Pictures Red Granite Pictures was an American film production and distribution company, co-founded by Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland in 2010. Its productions included ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' and ''Dumb and Dumber To''. It was dissolved in 2018 after be ...
, imposing no content restrictions. Scorsese, knowing there would be no limits to the content he would produce, came back on board, resulting in an R rating. Red Granite Pictures also asked Paramount Pictures to distribute the film; Paramount Pictures agreed to distribute the film in North America and Japan, but passed on the rest of the international market. The rights to internationally distribute the film were acquired by
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
. According to Jordan Belfort,
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
asked him to tone down or excise the depictions of debauchery in some passages of his memoir before publication, especially those relating to his bachelor party, which featured acts of
zoophilia Zoophilia is a paraphilia involving a sexual fixation on non-human animals. Bestiality is cross-species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals. The terms are often used interchangeably, but some researchers make a distinction b ...
, rampant use of drugs and
nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has ...
, and a particularly "disturbing" act that he recounted on
Logan Paul Logan Alexander Paul (born April 1, 1995) is an American media personality, podcaster, actor, and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is inactive due to a knee injury. He has over 23 m ...
's podcast; neither the published version of the memoir nor the film contains references to this. In the film, most of the real-life characters' names have been changed from Belfort's original memoir. Donnie Azoff is based on
Danny Porush Daniel Mark Porush (born February 1957) is an American businessman and former stock broker who ran a "pump and dump" stock fraud scheme in the 1990s. In 1999, he was convicted of securities fraud and money laundering at the Stratton Oakmont broke ...
. The name was changed after Porush threatened to sue the filmmakers. Porush maintains that much of the film was fictional and that Donnie Azoff was not in fact an accurate depiction of him. Former
Donna Karan Donna Karan (, born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as "DK", is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life Karan was born Donna Ivy Faske to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabin ...
Jeanswear CEO Elliot Lavigne does not appear explicitly in the film, but an incident recounted in the book, in which Belfort gives Lavigne
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, a form of artificial ventilation, is the act of assisting or stimulating respiration in which a rescuer presses their mouth against that of the victim and blows air into the person's lungs. Artificial respiration ta ...
to save him from choking to death, is similar to a scene in the film involving Donnie. The FBI agent known as Patrick Denham is the stand-in for real-life Gregory Coleman, and lawyer Manny Riskin is based on Ira Sorkin. Belfort's first wife Denise Lombardo is renamed Teresa Petrillo, while second wife Nadine Caridi became Naomi Lapaglia on-screen. In contrast, Mark Hanna's name remains the same as the LF Rothschild stockbroker who, like Belfort, was convicted of fraud and served time in prison. Belfort's parents Max and Leah Belfort's names remained the same for the film. The role of Aunt Emma was initially offered to Julie Andrews, who refused it as she was recovering from an ankle injury, and she was replaced by
Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...
. In January 2014, Jonah Hill revealed in an interview with
Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, '' The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terr ...
that he had made only $60,000 on the film (the lowest possible
SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA, stylized as SAG·AFTRA ) is an American labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television actors, journalists, radio personalities, recordi ...
rate for his amount of work), while his co-star Leonardo DiCaprio (who also produced) received $10 million.


Filming

Filming Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...
began on August 8, 2012, in New York City. Jonah Hill announced on Twitter that his first day of shooting was September 4, 2012. Filming also took place in
Closter, New Jersey Closter (Westergaard, Barbara"Closter: Bergen" ''New Jersey: A Guide to the State'', p. 78. Rutgers University Press, 2006. . Accessed July 22, 2011. "Known locally as the "hub of the Northern Valley," Closter (pronounced with a long ''o'') was ...
, and Harrison, New York.
Vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (c ...
powder was used as the fake substance for cocaine in the film; Jonah Hill was hospitalized with
bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
due to snorting large quantities over the course of filming. Scorsese's longtime editor
Thelma Schoonmaker Thelma Schoonmaker (; born January 3, 1940) is an American film editor, known for her over five decades of work with frequent director Martin Scorsese. She started working with Scorsese on his debut feature film '' Who's That Knocking at My Doo ...
, who has received seven
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominations for Best Film Editing, stated that the film would be shot digitally instead of on film. Scorsese had been a proponent of shooting on film, but decided to shoot ''
Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...
'' digitally because it was being photographed in 3D. Despite being filmed in 2D, ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' was originally planned to be shot digitally. Schoonmaker expressed her disappointment with the decision: "It would appear that we've lost the battle. I think Marty just feels it's unfortunately over, and there's been no bigger champion of film than him." After extensive comparison tests during pre-production, eventually the majority of the film was shot on film stock, while scenes that used green screen effects or low light were shot with the digital
Arri Alexa The Arri Alexa (stylised as ΛLEXΛ) is a digital motion picture camera system developed by Arri. First introduced in April 2010, the camera was Arri's first major transition into digital cinematography after previous efforts such as the Arrif ...
camera system. The film contains 400–450
VFX Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
shots.


Profanity

The film set a Guinness World Record for the most instances of swearing in a motion picture. It uses the word " fuck" 506 times and also includes 3 uses of "cunt", 2 uses of "twat", 1 use of "fuckface", and 4 uses of "prick", averaging 2.81 times per minute. The previous record holders were Scorsese's 1995 gangster film ''
Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
'', which had 422 uses of the word, including in the voice-over narration, and the 1997 British film '' Nil by Mouth'', in which the word was used 428 times. The record has since been topped by '' Swearnet: The Movie'', which says the word 935 times. The film's distributor in the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
cut some 45 minutes off the runtime to delete explicit scenes of swearing, religious profanity, drug use, and sex and "muted" dialogue containing expletives. '' The National'' reported that filmgoers in the UAE believed the film should not have been shown rather than being edited so heavily.


Release


Theatrical

''The Wolf of Wall Street'' premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on December 17, 2013, followed by a wide release on December 25, 2013. The film's original release date of November 15 was pushed back after cuts were made to reduce the runtime. On October 22, 2013, it was reported that the film was set for release that Christmas. On October 29, Paramount officially confirmed that the film would release on Christmas Day, with a running time of 165 minutes. This runtime was changed to 180 minutes on November 25. It was officially rated R by the Motion Picture Association for "sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence". In the UK, the film received an 18 certificate from the
British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
for "very strong language, strong sex ndhard drug use". The film is banned in
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
, and
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
because of its scenes depicting sex, drugs, and excessive use of profanity, and additional scenes have been cut in the versions playing in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. In
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
, after cuts were made to an orgy scene as well as some religiously profane or denigrating language, the film was passed R21. The release of ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' marked a shift in cinema history when Paramount became the first major studio to distribute movies to theaters exclusively in a digital format, eliminating 35mm film entirely. '' Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues'' was the last Paramount production to include a 35mm film version, while ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' was the first major movie distributed entirely digitally.


Home media

''The Wolf of Wall Street'' was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
and
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
on March 25, 2014. On January 27, 2014, it was revealed that a four-hour director's cut would be attached to the home release. It was later revealed by Paramount Pictures and Red Granite Pictures that the home release would feature only the theatrical release.


Reception


Box office

''The Wolf of Wall Street'' grossed $116.9 million in North America and $289 million internationally, for a total gross of $406 million, making it Scorsese's highest-grossing film worldwide. In North America, the film opened at number five in its first weekend, with $19.4 million in 3,387 theaters, behind '' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'', '' Frozen'', '' Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues'', and '' American Hustle''. In Australia, it is the highest grossing R-rated film, earning $12.96 million.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' holds an approval rating of 80% based on 289 reviews and an average rating of 7.80/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Funny, self-referential, and irreverent to a fault, ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' finds Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio at their most infectiously dynamic." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a
weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
score of 75 out of 100 based on 47 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' magazine named ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' as the third best film of 2013, behind ''
12 Years a Slave ''Twelve Years a Slave'' is an 1853 memoir and slave narrative by American Solomon Northup as told to and written by David Wilson. Northup, a black man who was born free in New York state, details himself being tricked to go to Washington, D.C. ...
'' and ''
Gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
'' at numbers one and two, respectively.
Mick LaSalle Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broad ...
of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'' said "it is the best and most enjoyable American film to be released this year."
Richard Brody Richard Brody (born 1958) is an American film critic who has written for ''The New Yorker'' since 1999. Education Brody grew up in Roslyn, New York, and attended Princeton University, receiving a B.A. in comparative literature in 1980. He firs ...
of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' described the film as "Olympian", saying that if it was Scorsese's last film it "would rank among the most harshly awe-inspiring farewells of the cinema." ''
The Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
s
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...
gave the film a "B+" score, saying the film was "good, not great Scorsese". Dana Stevens of '' Slate'' was more critical labeling the film "epic in size, claustrophobically narrow in scope." Marshall Fine of ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' argued that the story "wants us to be interested in characters who are dull people to start with, made duller by their delusions of being interesting because they are high". Some critics viewed the film as an irresponsible glorification of Belfort and his associates rather than a satirical takedown. DiCaprio defended the film, arguing that it does not glorify the excessive lifestyle it depicts. In 2016, the film was ranked #78 on the
BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century The 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century is a list compiled in August 2016 by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), chosen by a voting poll of 177 film critics from around the world. It was compiled by collating the top ten films submitte ...
list. In June 2017,
Richard Brody Richard Brody (born 1958) is an American film critic who has written for ''The New Yorker'' since 1999. Education Brody grew up in Roslyn, New York, and attended Princeton University, receiving a B.A. in comparative literature in 1980. He firs ...
named ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' as the second best film of the 21st century so far, behind Jean-Luc Godard's '' In Praise of Love''. In 2019, Brody named ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' the best film of the 2010s.


Audience response

The film received an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale from audiences surveyed by CinemaScore, the lowest rating of any film opening that week. The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' argues that the film attracted conservative viewers by depicting a more moral tone in its marketing than the film itself depicted. Christina McDowell, daughter of Tom Prousalis, who worked closely with the real-life Belfort at Stratton Oakmont, wrote an
open letter An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an indiv ...
addressing Scorsese, DiCaprio, and Belfort himself, criticizing the film for insufficiently portraying the victims of the financial crimes created by Stratton Oakmont, for disregarding the damage that was done to her family as a result, and for giving celebrity status to persons (Belfort and his partners, including her father) who do not deserve it. Steven Perlberg of ''
Business Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...
'' saw an advance screening of the film at a
Regal Cinemas Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. A division of Cineworld, Regal operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with over 7,200 screens i ...
near the Goldman Sachs building, with an audience of financial workers. Perlberg reported cheers from the audience at what he considered to be all the wrong moments, stating, "When Belfort—a drug addict attempting to remain sober—rips up a couch cushion to get to his secret coke stash, there were cheers." Former Assistant United States Attorney Joel M. Cohen, who prosecuted the real Belfort, criticized both the film and the book on which it is based. He said that he believes some of Belfort's claims were "invented", as for instance " elfortaggrandized his importance and reverence for him by others at his firm." He strongly criticized the film for not depicting the "thousands of
cam Calmodulin (CaM) (an abbreviation for calcium-modulated protein) is a multifunctional intermediate calcium-binding messenger protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells. It is an intracellular target of the secondary messenger Ca2+, and the bin ...
victims who lost hundreds of millions of dollars", not accepting the filmmakers' argument that it would have diverted attention from the wrongdoers. He deplored the ending—"beyond an insult" to Belfort's victims—in which the real Belfort appears, while showing "a large sign advertising the name of Mr. Belfort's real motivational speaking company", and a positive depiction of Belfort uttering "variants of the same falsehoods he trained others to use against his victims".


Top ten lists

''The Wolf of Wall Street'' was listed on many critics' top ten lists for films released in 2013, and was chosen as one of the top ten films of the year by the American Film Institute. Metacritic analysis found the film was the 9th-most mentioned film on "best of the year" film rankings and the 22nd-most mentioned on "best of the decade" film rankings. * 1st – Sasha Stone, ''Awards Daily'' * 1st – Stephen Schaefer, '' Boston Herald'' * 1st – Richard Brody, ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' (tied with ''
To the Wonder ''To the Wonder'' is a 2012 American experimental romantic drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams, and Javier Bardem. Filmed in Oklahoma and Paris, the film chronicles a couple ...
'') * 2nd –
Wesley Morris Wesley Morris (born 1975) is an American film critic and podcast host. He is currently critic-at-large for ''The New York Times'', as well as co-host, with Jenna Wortham, of the ''New York Times'' podcast '' Still Processing.'' Previously, Mor ...
, ''
Grantland ''Grantland'' was a sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. The blog was started in 2011 by veteran writer and sports journalist Bill Simmons, who remained as editor-in-chief until May 2015. ''Grantland'' was named after famed e ...
'' * 2nd –
Mick LaSalle Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broad ...
, ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'' * 2nd – Ben Kenigsberg, ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' * 3rd –
James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic and former engineer. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of r ...
, ''Reelviews'' * 3rd – '' MTV'' * 3rd –
Glenn Kenny Glenn Kenny (born August 8, 1959) is an American film critic and journalist. He writes for ''The New York Times'' and '' RogerEbert.com''. Biography Kenny attended William Paterson University, where he majored in English literature.Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' * 4th – Scott Feinberg, ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' * 4th – Drew McWeeny, ''
HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
'' * 4th – ''
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'' * 4th – Christopher Orr, ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' * 4th – Barbara Vancheri, ''
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'' * 5th –
Caryn James Caryn A. James (born Caryn A. Fuoroli) is an American film critic, journalist, university lecturer and writer. Biography James is one of at least three children born to James M. Fuoroli Sr. and Joan A. Ford. A native of Providence, Rhode Isla ...
, ''
Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
'' * 5th – Stephen Holden, ''
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'' * 5th –
Rex Reed Rex Taylor Reed (born October 2, 1938) is an American film critic, occasional actor, and television host. He writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for '' The New York Observer''. Early life Reed was born on October 2, 1938, in Fort Wo ...
, ''
The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...
'' * 5th – Katey Rich, '' Vanity Fair'' * 5th – David Chen, '' /Film'' * 6th – ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...
'' * 7th –
Matt Zoller Seitz Matt Zoller Seitz (born December 26, 1968) is an American film and television critic, author and film-maker. Career Matt Zoller Seitz is editor-at-large at RogerEbert.com, and the television critic for '' New York'' magazine and Vulture.com, as ...
, ''RogerEbert.com'' * 7th – ''
Film School Rejects Film School Rejects is an American blog devoted to movie reviews, interviews, film industry news, and feature commentary. It was founded by Neil Miller in February 2006. The site was nominated for Best News Blog by ''Total Film'' magazine and na ...
'' * 7th –
Todd McCarthy Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...
, ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' * 7th – Scott Tobias, ''
The Dissolve ''The Dissolve'' was a film review, news, and commentary website which was operated by Pitchfork and based in Chicago, Illinois. The site was focused on reviews, commentary, interviews, and news about contemporary and classic films.{{cite web, url ...
'' * 7th – Scott Mantz, ''
Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...
'' * 7th – Mark Mohan, ''
The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...
'' * 7th – Sam Adams, ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' * 8th –
Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin (; born April 24, 1976) is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for '' The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.
, ''
The Dissolve ''The Dissolve'' was a film review, news, and commentary website which was operated by Pitchfork and based in Chicago, Illinois. The site was focused on reviews, commentary, interviews, and news about contemporary and classic films.{{cite web, url ...
'' * 8th – Bill Goodykoontz, ''
Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...
'' * 8th – Randy Myers, ''
San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...
'' * 9th – Joe Neumaier, '' New York Daily News'' * 10th – Andrew O'Hehir, ''
Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...
'' * 10th – Jessica Kiang and Katie Walsh, ''
Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
'' * 10th –
A.O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis. Early life Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...
, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' * 10th – Rene Rodriguez, '' Miami Herald'' * 10th – Marjorie Baumgarten, ''
Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...
'' * 10th – Keith Uhlich, ''
Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...
'' * ''Top 10 – (unranked top 10 lists)'' * Top 10 – James Verniere, '' Boston Herald'' * Top 10 – Stephen Whitty, ''
The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...
'' * Top 10 – Joe Williams, ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...
''


Controversies


Use of animals

''The Wolf of Wall Street'' uses animals including a chimpanzee, a lion, a
snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...
, a
fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
, and
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
s. The chimpanzee and the lion were provided by the Big Cat Habitat wildlife sanctuary in
Sarasota County, Florida Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton, FL ...
. The four-year-old chimpanzee Chance spent time with actor Leonardo DiCaprio and learned to roller skate over the course of three weeks. The sanctuary also provided a lion named Handsome because the trading company depicted in the film used a lion as its symbol. Danny Porush denied that there were any animals in the office, although he admitted to eating an employee's goldfish. In December 2013, prior to the film's premiere, the organization Friends of Animals criticized the use of the chimpanzee and organized a boycott of the film. ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported, "
Friends of Animals Friends of Animals (FoA) is a non-profit international animal advocacy organization, established in New York City in 1957, working to free animals around the world from cruelty and institutionalized exploitation. The organization's headquarters is ...
thinks the chimp... suffered irreversible psychological damage after being forced to act." ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' commented on the increasing criticism of Hollywood's use of animals, stating that "''The Wolf of Wall Streets use of a chimpanzee arrives as Hollywood comes under ever-increasing scrutiny for its employment of animals on screen". PETA also launched a campaign to highlight mistreatment of ape "actors" and to petition for DiCaprio not to work with great apes.


1MDB scandal

From 2015,
Red Granite Pictures Red Granite Pictures was an American film production and distribution company, co-founded by Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland in 2010. Its productions included ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' and ''Dumb and Dumber To''. It was dissolved in 2018 after be ...
and the film's financing became implicated in the
1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal The 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, often referred to as the 1MDB scandal or just 1MDB, describes a corruption, bribery and money laundering conspiracy in which the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) w ...
, a major international corruption scandal that began in
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. The
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission ( ms, Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia), abbreviated MACC or ''SPRM'', (formerly known as Anti-Corruption Agency, ACA or ''Badan Pencegah Rasuah'', ''BPR'') is a government agency in Malaysia that ...
(MACC) alleged the film was financed by money stolen from the Malaysian
1Malaysia Development Berhad 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB; ) is an insolvent Malaysian strategic development company, wholly owned by the Minister of Finance (Incorporated). 1MDB was established to drive strategic initiatives for long-term economic development ...
(1MDB) sovereign wealth fund by producer
Riza Aziz Riza Shahriz bin Abdul Aziz, better known as Riza Aziz, is a Malaysian film producer and the co-founder of Red Granite Pictures, a Los Angeles-based film production company. Career Riza holds a BS degree in Government & Economics and an MS ...
, the stepson of then-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Riza pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges in July 2019 after he was arrested in connection with the scandal. It is revealed in court filings that there was a $9 million advance given to the producers of ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' from a company owned by fugitive businessman
Jho Low Low Taek Jho (, born 4 November 1981), often called Jho Low, is a Malaysian fugitive businessman, wanted by authorities internationally in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal (1MDB scandal). He has been named the mastermin ...
. Low was given a "special thanks" in the film's credits. The film is part of a broader investigation into these illicit monetary movements, and, in 2016, was named in a series of civil complaints filed by the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...
"for having provided a trust account through which hundreds of millions of dollars belonging to the 1MDB fund were illicitly siphoned". To settle the civil lawsuit, Red Granite Pictures agreed to pay US$60 million to the U.S. government with no "admission of wrongdoing or liability on the part of Red Granite". This settlement was part of a more expansive U.S. effort to seize approximately $1.7 billion in assets allegedly purchased with funds embezzled from 1MDB. In January 2020, Belfort sued Red Granite for $300 million, also wishing to void his rights deal; he said that he would never have sold the rights to the production company if he had known where the film was being financed from.


Thematic controversy and debate

Various scholars and individuals have criticized the film as materialistic, encouraging greedy behavior, extreme wealth, and advocating for the infamous individuals portrayed in the film. Christina McDowell, whose father, Tom Prousalis, worked in association with Jordan Belfort, accused the filmmakers of "exacerbating our national obsession with wealth and status and glorifying greed and psychopathic behavior". She continues to emphasize the gravity and timely significance of Belfort's crimes stating that ''Wolf of Wall Street'' is a "reckless attempt at continuing to pretend that these sorts of schemes are entertaining, even as the country is reeling from yet another round of Wall Street scandals". In response to Leonardo DiCaprio defending himself from criticism, ''Variety'' journalist Whitney Friedlander describes the film as "still three hours of cash, drugs, hookers, repeat". Friedlander argues that the film is a "celebration of this lifestyle" and argues that short-lived extreme wealth and extraordinary experiences are superior to a societally normal behavior. There are also those like Nikole TenBrink, vice president of marketing and membership at
Risk and Insurance Management Society The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) is a professional association dedicated to advancing the practice of risk management. It was founded in 1950, and is headquartered in Manhattan. It publishes the industry-focused ''Risk Man ...
, who believes that the film is a "cautionary tale of what can happen when fraud is left unchecked". She describes Belfort's business acumen, his talent in communicating and selling his ideas, and his ability to motivate others as offering "valuable lessons for risk professionals as they seek to avoid similar pitfalls".


Jordan Belfort's reaction

In an interview on ''London Real'', Jordan Belfort commented on the film's depiction of himself and of Stratton Oakmont. In this interview, Belfort mentions that the film did an excellent job at describing the "overall feeling" of those years, stating that "the camaraderie, the insanity, that was accurate". Regarding his use of drugs, Belfort mentions that his actual habits were "much worse" than what is depicted in the film, stating that he was "on 22 different drugs at the end". Belfort also analyzes the major inaccuracies regarding the film's oversimplification of Stratton Oakmont's gradual transition from advocating for "speculative stocks" in order to "help build America" to committing crimes. During the interview, Belfort expresses that he "didn't like hearing" overly simplified and blunt depictions of his crimes because "it made me look like I was just trying to rip people off". While unhappy with these practices, Belfort does acknowledge the cinematic benefits of these oversimplifications as "a very easy way in three hours" to "move the audience emotionally".


Nadine Maculoso's reaction

On 28 September 2022, Dr Nadine Maculoso, Belfort's ex-wife who the character of Naomi was based off, came forward and posted a TikTok saying that the depiction of Belfort's character and their relationship was accurate, and she now hopes to educate people on signs of domestic abuse and toxic relationships.


Accolades

The film was nominated for five
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
:
Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...
for Scorsese, Best Adapted Screenplay for Winter, Best Actor for DiCaprio, and Best Supporting Actor for Hill. It was also nominated for four
BAFTAs The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...
, including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay, and two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. DiCaprio won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack to ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' features both original and existing music tracks. It was released on December 17, 2013, for digital download. More than sixty songs were used in the film, but only sixteen were included on the official soundtrack. Notably, among the exceptions are original compositions by Theodore Shapiro.


See also

* ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' (1929 film) * ''
Scam 1992 ''Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story'' is an Indian Hindi-language biographical financial thriller streaming television series on SonyLIV directed by Hansal Mehta, with Jai Mehta serving as the co-director. Based on the 1992 Indian stock mark ...
'' * ''
The Big Bull ''The Big Bull'' is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language financial thriller film directed and written by Kookie Gulati, based on stockbroker Harshad Mehta who was involved in financial crimes over a period of 10 years during 1980–1990. The film stars ...
'' * ''Boiler Room'' (film) *
Gordon Gekko Gordon Gekko is a composite character in the 1987 film '' Wall Street'' and its 2010 sequel '' Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'', both directed by Oliver Stone. Gekko was portrayed by actor Michael Douglas, whose performance in the first fil ...
*
Microcap stock fraud In business and investing, term microcap stock (also micro-cap) refers to the stock of public companies in the United States which have a market capitalization of roughly $50 million to $300 million. The shares of companies with a market capitali ...
* List of films that most frequently use the word "fuck"


References


External links

* * * *
Paramount Movies – Wolf of Wall Street
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf Of Wall Street 2013 films 2013 black comedy films 2010s American films 2010s English-language films 2010s biographical films 2010s business films 2010s legal films American black comedy films American business films American legal films Appian Way Productions films Biographical films about businesspeople Biographical films about fraudsters Comedy films based on actual events Cultural depictions of American men Cultural depictions of businesspeople Cultural depictions of fraudsters Fiction with unreliable narrators Fictional portrayals of the New York City Police Department Films about con artists Films about drugs Films about father–son relationships Films about financial crises Films about narcissism Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation Films about the New York City Police Department Films about the upper class Films banned in Nepal Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Martin Scorsese Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance Films produced by Leonardo DiCaprio Films produced by Martin Scorsese Films set in 1987 Films set in 1989 Films set in 1991 Films set in 1993 Films set in 1996 Films set in 1998 Films set in Geneva Films set in Italy Films set in London Films set in New York City Films set in New Zealand Films set in Switzerland Films set in the 1990s Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in New York City Paramount Pictures films Red Granite Pictures films Self-reflexive films Trading films Film and television memes Internet memes Universal Pictures films Film controversies Wall Street films Works subject to a lawsuit Film controversies in Malaysia