Martin Scorsese To Direct Melco-Crown Casino Short Film

Melco-Crown Entertainment is expected to open its new $2.3 billion hotel-casino complex called Studio City in Cotai, Macau, next year, and keen to ensure the gambling venue opens with great fanfare the company has contracted Martin Scorsese to direct a casino-themed film including actors Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt to premiere at its official opening.
Melco-Crown Entertainment is a joint venture company formed by Laurence Ho and Australian billionaire James Packer, which has a strong presence in Macau’s burgeoning casino market. Packer also runs independent film company RatPac Entertainment, which has now partnered with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment company to produce the big-budget short movie.
As well as marking the opening of its Studio City complex, the film is also designed to help promote “the company’s expansion in Asia and globally.” One thing for certain is that the movie is sure to  prove a smash having been written by American writer and producer Terence Winter of Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and Wolf Of Wall Street fame.
Melco-Crown has also achieved an unprecedented coup by bringing together one of cinema’s most influential filmmakers, with three of Hollywood’s biggest actors. Over the years, Scorsese has made eight films with Robert De Niro including Taxi Driver (1976), Goodfellas (1980) and Casino (1995), and five with Leonardo DiCaprio, including Gangs of New York (2002), The Departed (2006) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), but the two actors have never starred together in the same movie.
When it opens the Studio City resort will boast four hotels complete with 2,000 rooms, 1,500 slot machines, 500 gaming tables, and a shopping mall. It will also feature a theater with 2,300 seats, and commenting on its grand opening, a company spokesperson, said:
“We are extremely excited about our newest integrated resort in Macau, which remains firmly on track to open in mid-2015. The property’s cinematic theme and vast array of unique entertainment and attractions will enhance Macau’s appeal as a leading tourist destination in Asia.”