Martin Scorsese's 'Hugo' Draws Inspiration From His Daughter
Martin Scorsese said he drew the inspiration for his latest 3D film “Hugo” from his daughter Francesca after the story became one of her favorite children's books.
Scorsese said the Brian Selznick book captivated him in 2007 after reading it to his daughter, who was eight at the time.
The book is a tale of a young orphan, Hugo, who lives in the walls of a Paris train station and tries to bring a robot machine to life.
"I thought, wouldn't it be nice to make a movie she could see, or that we could see together," said Scorsese to USA today.
"Just watching her turn the pages of the book (which has 284 pictures), I knew that people would respond...I don't consider it a children's movie. I think it's a movie children should see with their parents. Then talk about it," he added.
“Hugo” producer Graham King said he had a feeling Scorsese was looking to make a film for his daughter.
"In the back of my mind, I could see that he was looking for something for his daughter," said King. "So I sent him the book."
“Hugo” is the first film by Scorsese shot in 3D. The legendary director said he fell in love with the animation years ago when he visited Vincent Price's House of Wax at New York's Academy of Music.
Scorsese said he went home and tried to create 3D images.
"I might cut out a shoe and paste it on top of another picture, then another, to give it context, give it background like 3D. I knew I wanted to make a movie that could do that,” the director explained.
“Hugo” was released in theaters Nov. 23.
