Martin Scorsese was recently giving a talk at The Economic Club of Chicago, and was asked; “what are you watching now?” And Scorsese replied; “I watched… the other night… Derry Girls?” When the audience began to clap and cheer, he made a fist salute and said; “those nuns!”
Lisa McGee, the head writer and showrunner of Derry Girls, responded on Twitter by saying; “Excuse me while I drop dead and actually die a death.” The 80 year old Scorsese is famously kept young, and up-to-date with current trends by his 23 year old daughter Francesca, who has a strong social media presence.
While the popular Netflix series – which is set in 1990s Northern Ireland – may seem like it could not be further from Martin Scorsese, he is a Catholic Italian-American. The Italian and Irish immigrant populations in New York have historically a lot in common and often intermingled. Scorsese’s films have featured American characters with Irish backgrounds, as well as Italian. Religion has also been a large theme in Scorsese’s filmography – most notably in The Last Temptation of Christ and Silence. Therefore it’s unsurprising that the thing he enthusiastically picked up on in Derry Girls is the nuns.
Another Twitter user posted a clip from Derry Girls where the gang are trying to flush drugged scones down the toilet and James says; “this is how you get rid of drugs Clare, I’ve seen Goodfellas like twenty times.” When the scones understandably clog the toilet, Erin says; “Jesus Christ why is water rising James?!” And he responds; “I dunno, the water didn’t rise in Goodfellas.” The Twitterer said; “now I need to know what he [Scorsese] thought of this scene.”
Scorsese seems to be a constant source of social media fascination these days – whether it’s the never-ending Marvel debate/feud, or the Tumblr kids making up a whole Scorsese ‘classic’ and creating detailed lore around it. Thanks to his Gen-Z daughter, Scorsese will always be famous…and down with the kids.
Check out our guide to the best drama movies.